Adelaide Philosophical Society. Annual Report and Transactions for the Year ending 30th September, 1870
Adelaide, Printed by Andrew, Thomas, & Clark, at the 'Register,' 'Observer,' and 'Journal' Offices, 1871.
Quarto, [42] pages with a diagram plus 7 plates (2 showing sunspot observations, the remainder meteorological graphs, numbered 1-5).
Printed yellow wrappers lightly creased and marked, with minor loss to the ends of the spine; small burst with minor loss to one leaf, affecting a few words in a handful of lines of text in one column (recto and verso); small light stains to the bottom edge of the five meteorological graphs at the rear; a few creases, marks and other signs of age and handling; overall, in excellent condition.
The pamphlet comprises a title page, list of office-bearers and members, and the report for the year (each one leaf, verso blank), followed by 11 papers read at the society's meetings during the year. The papers are: 'Irrigation' by C.S. Hare (2 pages with a small diagram); 'The Camel in South Australia' by J.S. Lloyd (4 pages); 'The Use and Properties of Plants. No. II' by Richard Schomburgk (2 pages); 'The Currents of the Air and the Ocean. No. III' by Benjamin Herschel (3 pages); 'The Importance of Silk Culture as a Branch of Colonial Industry' by T.S. Reed (2 pages); 'Remarks on Sun Maps' by D.B. Adamson (1 page plus 2 plates); 'Light Railway Construction' by R.C. Patterson (6 pages); 'The Influence of Forests on Climate' by Richard Schomburgk (2 pages, being the leaf with minor loss); 'Light Railway Construction' by A.F. Lindsay (5 pages); 'The Cause of Disease in Silkworms' by Richard Schomburgk (1 page); and 'Some Observations on the Rainfall at Adelaide, and the Connection between Meteorological Changes and the Yield of Wheat' by Benjamin Herschel (3 pages plus 5 plates containing meteorological graphs). Loosely inserted is a lengthy newspaper clipping from 'The Register', 19 May 1858, on 'Camels in Australia', based heavily on information supplied by Arthur Horrocks, brother of the ill-fated explorer John Ainsworth Horrocks. The Adelaide Philosophical Society was founded in 1853, and in 1880 became the Royal Society of South Australia. This annual report lists the name of the 73 current members: the president (His Excellency Sir James Fergusson), 12 'Honorary and Corresponding Members', and 60 ordinary members. The final paragraph of the short report will sound familiar to anyone who has served on a committee: 'The Council wish to impress upon members the necessity of paying their subscriptions punctually; during the past year, out of sixty-seven ordinary members, it appears only thirty-nine have paid their annual subscriptions'. These extremely small numbers, let alone the passage of 150 or more years, must account for the utmost rarity of this publication. Provenance: Thomas Gill (1849-1923), the South Australian historian and bibliographer, with his ownership signature on the front cover; later, the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, with its stamp, ditto. 'Gill was also a governor of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia from 1896 until his death, and a member of the Library Association of Australasia.... He wrote "The History and Topography of Glen Osmond" (1905) for the Glen Osmond Institute. Gill was treasurer of the South Australian branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia from its inception in 1885 until his death. The society's acquisition of the valuable York Gate Library was largely due to his energy and enthusiasm. His library was sold to the society for £300 as his will directed', but numerous items from his collection (mainly duplicates of existing holdings in the RGSSA library) were later sold.
Item #144583
Price (AUD):
$2,200.00