June 28, 2004
Published in 1927, E. E. Barnard’s famous A Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way has become the most valuable astronomy book printed in the 20th century. In the past year, I’ve seen Internet listings with prices in excess of $10,000. But bargains (such as they are) still exist for those with ready funds. On February 14, 2004, an eBay auction for a copy of Part 1 (the plates) of Selected Regions fetched $2,700. (A scanned copy of Part 2 was included.) A non-Internet auction conducted in 2002 contained two bidders eager to acquire both volumes. Astronomy book collectors deemed the final price — $3,200 — fair.
Published in 1927, E. E. Barnard’s famous A Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way has become the most valuable astronomy book printed in the 20th century. In the past year, I’ve seen Internet listings with prices in excess of $10,000. But bargains (such as they are) still exist for those with ready funds. On February 14, 2004, an eBay auction for a copy of Part 1 (the plates) of Selected Regions fetched $2,700. (A scanned copy of Part 2 was included.) A non-Internet auction conducted in 2002 contained two bidders eager to acquire both volumes. Astronomy book collectors deemed the final price — $3,200 — fair.
Astronomy‘s copy of Selected Regions was bought from a rare-book dealer in 1985. The price? $300.
Listed below are links to three PDFs related to listings from Barnard:
