Results of the Meteorological Observations taken in… Victoria…
Results of the Meteorological Observations taken in the Colony of Victoria during the Years 1859–1862; and of the Nautical Observations collected and discussed at the Flagstaff Observatory, Melbourne, during the Years 1858–1862.
Melbourne: John Ferres, 1864.
Quarto, with a coloured frontispiece, plates and charts; a fine copy in contemporary calf, spine gilt, marbled endpapers and edges..
Celestial phenomena, with the splendid Aurora Australis plate
An important early record of scientific observation in colonial Australia, and the first major scientific publication devoted to the climate of Victoria. Neumayer, director of Melbourne's Flagstaff Observatory, established in 1858, here brings together four years of systematic meteorological observations from across the colony, with detailed records of temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, winds and other phenomena. Particularly notable are the observations of the Aurora Australis, magnetic storms and zodiacal light, illustrated by the striking coloured frontispiece; the volume also includes charts and plates.
The substantial nautical section draws on ships' logs and Neumayer's analysis of weather and oceanic conditions between Europe and Australia, including an important study of gales and cyclones in the southern hemisphere. The volume represents a significant stage in the institutionalisation of scientific observation in Australia and in Neumayer's wider programme of southern-hemisphere meteorological and magnetic research.
An important early record of scientific observation in colonial Australia, and the first major scientific publication devoted to the climate of Victoria. Neumayer, director of Melbourne's Flagstaff Observatory, established in 1858, here brings together four years of systematic meteorological observations from across the colony, with detailed records of temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, winds and other phenomena. Particularly notable are the observations of the Aurora Australis, magnetic storms and zodiacal light, illustrated by the striking coloured frontispiece; the volume also includes charts and plates.
The substantial nautical section draws on ships' logs and Neumayer's analysis of weather and oceanic conditions between Europe and Australia, including an important study of gales and cyclones in the southern hemisphere. The volume represents a significant stage in the institutionalisation of scientific observation in Australia and in Neumayer's wider programme of southern-hemisphere meteorological and magnetic research.
Born in Bavaria in 1849, Neumayer became an important figure in colonial science, convinced that Australia provided important opportunities for scientific research, and distinguished himself by his survey of Victoria and his work of many years at the Flagstaff Observatory. He was at one time a colleague of the artist Eugene von Guérard.
Provenance: From two distinguished collections: Commander Ingleton (Sydney collector, with bookplate); Frank Hobill Cole (earlier Melbourne collector, with bookplate).
Not recorded by Ferguson. Home, "Humboldtian Science Revisited", Annals of Science, 52 (1995), pp. 1–24; Gibbs, Origins of Australian Meteorology (1998).
Condition Report: Joints of the binding neatly renewed.
Price (AUD): $1,150.00
US$802.82 Other currencies