Rare 19th Century Observing Book Online

DobDobDob (Ron) · #1 21-09-2007, 01:44 PM

Hello members, I am very honored to announce the release of a book that has never been published. The book is handwritten by Charles Grover (1842 - 1921) and is the second volume of his personal observations that spanned 49 years, Volume One has been lost and never published.

The text and the amazing drawings can act as an example for aspiring amateur astronomers today showing how keeping a journal of your observations can make an incredible difference to the people around you and for those of future generations.

I have labored solidly for quite sometime now in association with Jerry Grover of England who is a great great grandson of Charles Grover and to him I am personally indebted beyond a level he will ever know. The book is free to read and I take pleasure in announcing it in the IIS forum and I commend it to all.

Please enjoy, “Drawings of the Sun, Moon and Planets observed by Charles Grover” Volume 2 beginning on December 21st, 1861, available here: http://www.antiquescopes.com/Vol2.aspx Please remember that this work is copyright protected and is made available for educational study only.

rmcpb (Rob) · #2 21-09-2007, 01:59 PM

Ron,

Looks great and I will enjoy it at my leisure. Your whole site is coming along really well, keep up the GREAT work.

And don't forget to use some old scope to look up sometimes

Rob.

DobDobDob (Ron) · #3 21-09-2007, 02:12 PM

Thanks Rob, I'll be looking up on Monday night at the Lunar Graze near Lithgow with Dave and a few others, but not on an antique telescope, my telescope on this expedition will be a relatively modern 6" Refractor made in China about 4 years ago

Yes the website has kept me busy for the last few months, and It has been an absolute pleasure to do and of course has such a long way to go. I can't begin to tell you how helpful and friendly the International astronomy community is, especially in the area of historians. I owe so much to so many helpful people from many countries.

Have a good weekend Rob

Ric · #4 21-09-2007, 03:18 PM

Fascinating Ron a great link to a great read back in a time when the skies were a lot clearer.

Cheers

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #5 21-09-2007, 04:32 PM

I'm looking forward to reading this.

mickoking · #6 21-09-2007, 07:13 PM

Awsome stuff Ron. I will have to read it when I get a spare evening.

glenc (Glen) · #7 22-09-2007, 09:12 AM

Thanks Ron, looks great.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #8 22-09-2007, 12:34 PM

Wow, what a fascinating book, and I've only just started. Congratulation on a wonderful job. Ron is there any possibility of downloading the whole book so it can be read at leisure?

DobDobDob (Ron) · #9 22-09-2007, 12:47 PM

Thank you to GlenC, Mickoking, jjjnettie and Ric, I hope you all enjoy the book, I particularly like the hand drawn images, they look fantastic and you have to remember the quality and size of the equipment used, especially at the start of the observations.

The other really interesting point is that despite the observations becoming less in number as Charles Grover aged, you still have a consistent 49 year period recorded by the one man. Even though he aged over those 49 years, the meticulous attention to observing notes does not seem to change and it's the consistency that is the key issue.

To be honest even though I formatted every page and did the code to get it on the Net, I have not actually thoroughly read it myself yet, so I am looking forward to a few days off to actually read it from start to finish. Once again thank you so much for your warm replies, I will pass them on to Jerry Grover in England who will be most pleased indeed.

DobDobDob (Ron) · #10 22-09-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

Wow, what a fascinating book, and I've only just started. Congratulation on a wonderful job. Ron is there any possibility of downloading the whole book so it can be read at leisure?

Hmnnnn I was hoping no one would ask that, but seeing you have, the answer will be yes, as soon as I convert it to PDF format, which will take me a week or so. When it's ready for a download in a single hit, I'll let everyone know via this forum

[1ponders] (Paul) · #11 22-09-2007, 01:05 PM

That's great news. Thanks Ron

okiscopey (Mike) · #12 22-09-2007, 01:29 PM

Ron, this is a great project. It's just amazing what could be achieved by a dedicated observer with a 2-inch refractor. Looking forward to the PDFs!

seeker372011 (Narayan) · #13 22-09-2007, 01:40 PM

a truly great project Ron!

DobDobDob (Ron) · #14 25-09-2007, 05:36 PM

Thank you again for all the nice comments. I have created a download page at: http://www.antiquescopes.com/BookVol2PDF.aspx which will deliver the pages in PDF format.

Please enjoy

[1ponders] (Paul) · #15 25-09-2007, 08:22 PM

Champion Ron.