LA LANDE, Jérôme de Astronomie, par M. de La Lande.... Lot 1031

LA LANDE, Jérôme de Astronomie, par M. de La Lande. [...] Seconde édition revue et augmentée. Paris Veuve Desaint 1771 3 vol., 4to: [2]-[56]-608-248, [4]-830, [4]-840 pp.; 42 (folding) pl. (burned edges in 1st vol., ms. notes in brown ink, pencil drawings in 2nd vol., damp stains). Contemp. mottled calf (edges & corners bumped). 2nd French ed. of La Lande's "Traité d'astronomie" (1st ed.: 1764). Jérôme de La Lande (1732-1807) started his career as an astronomer making observations from the Cape of Good Hope to measure the parallax of the moon and Mars and hence determine their distances; later he assisted in calculating a more accurate orbit for Halley's comet. La Lande was also famous for his books, esp. those at a popular level where he had great success in presenting ideas to non-experts. As well as being an excellent astronomy text, the "Traité d'astronomie" was a practical manual for anyone wishing to observe since it contained much information on instruments, their use, and how to compute. Illustrated with a large folding world map in the 2nd vol.