Finding Neptune

Uranus, the seventh planet, was officially discovered in 1781 by William Herschel and at that time was thought to be the farthest planet from the sun. However minor variations from its observed orbit and that predicted by computation indicated that an additional body might be present further out that was responsible for the perturbations. The challenge of calculating the hypothetical orbit of such a body and thus pinpointing its location for observation was independently taken up by Urbain Le Verrier and John Couch Adams. Unfortunately for Adams, Le Verrier published first.

Adams presented his findings to the Royal Astronomical Society on November 13, 1846, approximately two and half months after Le Verrier's calculations had been made public at a meeting of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris. In his paper An Explanation of the Observed Irregularities in the Motion of Uranus: On the Hypothesis of Disturbances Caused By a More Distant Planet; With a Determination of the Mass, Orbit, and Position of the Disturbing Body (London: W. Clowes & Sons, 1846) Adams discussed his own interest in the problem and attempts to resolve the issue but ultimately credited Le Verrier and Johann Galle with the discovery of what we now know as the planet Neptune.

I mention these dates merely to show that my results were arrived at independently, and previous to the publication of M. Le Verrier, and not with the intention of interfering with his just claims to honours of the discovery; for there is no doubt that his researches were first published to the world, and led to the actual discovery of the planet by Dr. Galle, so that the facts stated above cannot detract, in the slightest degree, from the credit due to M. Le Verrier.

Adams then goes into details of his attempts to calculate the orbit and the various methods that he employed. This was a tedious process of testing various hypotheses and then calculating the predicted orbit from those equations and comparing the predictions to observed data.

Rauner's copy of Adam's paper is a presentation copy from the author to a Lieutenant W. S. Swafford, R.N. Ask for Rare Book QB 681 .A32 1846.

Small, Smaller, Tiny

In Rauner, books come in all shapes and sizes. Indeed, some of our most interesting items can easily fit in the palm of your hand. Rauner's miniature books show that with some creativity and a small enough typeface, you can cram just about anything into a tiny book.

The smallest of the miniature books is a Koran approximately the size of someone's thumbnail. Written in Arabic, the words and designs within are impossibly small. However, the miniature book solves the problems inherent to its size through packaging. The book is enclosed in a small metal locket with an inset magnifying glass: a perfect fusion of style and practicality. It's owner, none other than Lawrence of Arabia, would have needed to travel light as he crossed and re-crossed the forbidding deserts of the Middle East during the First World War.

Another one of Rauner's smallest books explains its diminutive size through fantastic origins. Robin Goodfellow, "Attendant Sprite to Their Majesties Oberon and Titania," published the Fairy Annual in 1838. Inside lies a series of stories, poems and illustrations of fairies and other magical creatures. The book is almost too small for a human to read. However, elegantly bound in brown leather, the book would look perfect on the bookshelf of a fairy about one twentieth of our size.

The Diamond Etiquette of Courtship and Marriage (pictured above), conversely, is clearly intended for human use. Published in 1845, the pocket-sized book seems to be written on the concept that one never knows when they may need advice regarding their love lives. The book walks the reader from courtship (one must avoid being seen as a flirt) to marriage (and the associated end of intimacy with one's "bachelor friends.") The miniature nature of the book was likely more for show than practicality. However, the image of a nineteenth-century lady or gentleman pulling The Diamond Book of Etiquette from their sleeve upon a proposal of marriage demonstrates the usefulness of miniature books in urgent etiquette situations.

A final miniature book that could come in handy if discretely tucked away is I've Called You All Together… A Book of Toasts. I may not need The Fairy Annual or The Diamond Etiquette on me at all times. However, the extremely portable size of the Book of Toasts makes it ideal for every occasion. While the other items resemble normal books shrunk down several magnitudes, I've Called You All Together is styled for readability. The book uses accordion style binding to publish a series of toasts. Snippets include, "May we look forward with pleasure, and backward without regret," and "May your children have rich parents." The book is one of only fifty, so your dinner companions will think you have the most original toasts at the table when you subtly pull this out. Rauner has hundreds of other miniature books for all occasions, whether you want to have the Gettysburg Address or Humpty Dumpty in your pocket at all times.

Check out Rauner Miniature 117 for The Diamond Book of Etiquette, Presses P389iv for I’ve Called You All Together, Miniature 77 for The Fairy Annual, and Lawrence BP130.4 .K57 for the Koran.

Posted for Kate Taylor '13.