A New Star Atlas by Richard Proctor 1870

"A New Star Atlas" by Richard Proctor 1870

Here is a very rare first edition of Richard Proctor's "A new Star Atlas", which was published in 1870. It is a large folio sized book, unlike the later editions, which I illustrate with a photograph of the first edition alongside the 1882 edition (the lighting was not very good when I took the pictures so there are some pinkish and greenish hues to them). The smaller later editions are fairly common, but you rarely see the first edition. The second edition of the folio sized atlas, also has a printing date of 1870. I have seen two of the second editions for sale and they have rather high sticker prices (1,000 USD and up). I didn't pay nearly that much for this first edition. The folio editions have nice color star charts, while the later editions have just black and white charts. One thing that I noticed right away is that the first edition printing was paid in part at least by about 260 subscribers (I didn't do an exact count) that are listed at the end of the atlas. I would imagine that all of the subscribers received a presentation copy of the atlas from the author. I checked the World Catalog and it only lists 21 copies of the 1870 edition in libraries around the world. The Linda Hall Library in Kansas City does not have a copy. I found a hand drawn map along with a newspaper clipping tucked away between a couple of the book's pages. This atlas is a former library book but considering how rare it is that did not bother me in the least.