Brewster, David -- Astronomy and telescopes 67 autograph letters to James Veitch of Inchbonny, near Jedburgh, of between 1 and 4 pages each, some with integral blank, discussing object glasses, astronomical observations, his reading of works on astronomy, observations on telescopes in the Edinburgh Observatory, comparing of Brewster and Veitch`s calculations on the transit of Mercury, discussing a mistake respecting the hourly motion of Mercury, praising the "Nautical Almanack", a Newtonian telescope made by Mr Hauskbee, Makyelyne`s method for removing tremors from a reflecting telescope, flint glasses, Jupiter and various telescopes, common and Achromatic refractors, a machine for grinding glass, La Lande`s formula for computing the sun`s angle of position, grinding lenses, "the angle of Position", calculation of the elements of the occultation of Venus, requesting a frame for a glass globe, Dopplemayer`s "Celestial Atlas", his work on a Planisphere, thumbnail sketch of his 4 inch globe, requesting dir ctions for constructing the "Electrical Machine", details of a composition for reflecting specula, advice on setting up a globe apparatus, study of optics and double microscopes, praise of Chambers` Dictionary, Dr. Robison`s receipt from Dr. Herschel of a speculum, results obtained from Veitch`s 45 inch Newtonian reflector, improvements to reflector and praise for it at the Observatory, deficiencies of the Newtonian telescope at the Observatory, technical discussion on the Moon`s movements, longitudes of all the stars of the First Magnitude in his catalogue, eclipse of the moon seen through his Newtonian telescope, calculations of an eclipse due in March 1801, appreciation of Veitch`s early encouragement and support, technical disucssion of impending eclipse of the Moon and of the satellites of Jupiter, describes the Galvanic Column, telscope made by Messer in London, dispute relating to the moon, enclosing Table for moon calculations, expected occultation of Venus, Short`s method of making handles, illustra es with a diagram the action of light in a speculum of a parabolic figure, Veitch`s "very ingenious" method of accounting for the variation of meridians, deficiencies and abilities of the new director of the Edinburgh Observatory, requests details of Veitch`s instrument for finding the stars in daytime, description of his invention of two micrometers, Dr Herschel`s seven foot telescope, description of Veitch`s new plough to be included in his Encyclopaedia, request for plough drawings, advice of Mr Tulley of Islington on construction of achromatic telescopes, errors in astronomical tables, Veitch`s article on Grinding, work on book on New Philosophical Instruments, requesting Veitch to make another object glass for his microscope, appreciation of Veitch`s proposal to make a telescope for him, purchase of a portable transit instrument for the Astronomical Institution from Troughton, simplified method of interpolation, Capt. Colby of the Trigonometrical Survey drawing a perpendicular to the Meridian at the Obs rvatory, forwarding order from Professor Shumacker of the chair of Astronomy at Cophenhagen, for a reflecting telescope, receipt of observations on the occultation of Jupiter, observations on differential thermometer readings in rain, plates of Optics, urging Veitch not to publish the method of centring achromatic object glasses, introducing Professor Sedgwick of Cambridge, &c., 15 September 1797 - 11 May 1832; and 2 other letters to Veitch from John Grainger and Oliphant Brown Note: An important archive of Scottish scientific correspondence. David Brewster (1781-1868), Scottish physicist who investigated the polarization of light, discovering the law named after him for which he was awarded the Rumford Medal by the Royal Society in 1819. Born in Jedburgh, his education was extended by his friendship with James Veitch of Jedburgh, an amateur astronomer, and he entered the Univeristy of Edinburgh at the age of 14. One of Brewster`s major concerns was increasing the public awareness of the importance of scien e. He edited a number of scientific periodicals and wrote many books and articles on science. He was also instrumental in the foundation of several academic organizations including the Edinburgh School of Arts in 1821, the Royal Scottish Society for Arts in 1821, and the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1831. With James Veitch, Brewster built many optical devices such as microscopies and sundials, developing an expertise that resulted in the invention of the kaleidoscope in 1816. In trying to improve lenses for microscopes, he became interested in optics and particularly in the polarization for light that transverses it. Brewster then sought an expression for the polarization of light by reflection and found, in 1815, that the polarization of a beam of reflected light is greatest when the reflected and refracted rays are at right angles to each other. This is known as Brewster`s Law, and it may be stated in the form that the tangent of the angle of polarization is numerically equal to the refractive index of the reflecting medium when polarization is maximum. Brewster then worked on the polarization of light reflected by metals, and established the new field of optical mineralogy. During the 1820s he studied colour in the optical spectrum and worked on absorption spectroscopy of natural substances. James Veitch (1771-1838) was a self-educated polymath, who while earning his living as a ploughwright, also found the time to dabble in mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. He set up a scientific workshop on the Jedburgh turnpike where he gave lessons to local educated men in these subjects. By the late 1820s he had stopped making ploughs and devoted his time to making telescopes and clocks. His customers for telescopes included Brewster, Sir Walter Scott, the Earl of Hopetoun, the Earl of Minto, and Professor Schumacher of the Altona Observatory in Germany. Veitch`s early encouragement inspired David Brewster to take an interest in scientific matters and, as this correspondence shows, the friendship lasted more than 35 years [the last three letters are undated]. With Veitch`s help, Brewster had made his first telescope by the age of ten. Veitch was known to major public figures such as Walter Scott and Francis Jeffrey, editor the Edinburgh Review and, amongst others, Mary Somerville, also a native of Jedburgh, the first woman to have a work published in the the Royal Society of London`s Philosophical Transactions. Provenance:Veitch family, by descent.
![Peninsula War - [Burghersh, Lord] Memoir of the early campaigns of the Duke of Wellington in Portugal and Spain. London, 1820](http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10121/2776132/83.JPG)
![Beecher Stowe, Harriet Autograph quotation, signed and dated November 1860, "The light of joy again shall fan[?]/ The li](http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10121/2776132/150.JPG)
![Grant, William & Murison, David The Scottish national dictionary. Edinburgh, [1931] - 1976. 4to, 10 volumes, one of 2000](http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10121/2776132/184.JPG)
![Holy Bible - Alexander Ogstoun, bookbinder The Holy Bible. Edinburgh: Heir of Andrew Anderson, 1678. Large 8vo [230 x 160mm.]](http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10121/2776132/207.JPG)
![Bede, Cuthbert [Bradley, Edward] - Rosslyn Chapel - Knights Templar The visitor`s handbook to Rosslyn and Hawthornden. Edinbu](http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10121/2776132/212.JPG)
![Brewster, David The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Edinburgh: D. Blackwood &c., 1830. 17 (of 18) volumes [lacking volume 1], 4t](http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10121/2776132/263.JPG)
