AIRY, George Biddell.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

A Treatise on Magnetism Designed for the use of Students in the University. First edition, the dedication copy, signed by Airy at the foot of the dedication leaf to John Frederick Herschel and presumably presented to Herschel: the book subsequently remained in the Herschel family library.Airy (1801-1892) met Herschel (1792-1871) in 1823, after which they became lifelong friends and scientific collaborators. In his Autobiography, Airy recalled that the view of Saturn through Herschel's 20-foot telescope was "the best view of it that I have ever had" (p. 82). In the printed dedication, Airy deems Herschel "one of a small band who by their private efforts established in the university the form of mathematics then and now accepted in the scientific world" (p. [iii]). Airy was among the first Englishmen to organize the institutional study of magnetism. In his first few years as Astronomer Royal, he had created a "Magnetical Observatory" at Greenwich. As well as providing Britain's contribution to the global study of the Earth's magnetic field, Airy guided the observatory through a series of experiments to understand the influence of the new iron-hulled ships on compasses. In his capacity as one of the Visitors monitoring the Observatory's work, Herschel had been a committed supporter of this magnetic focus. Despite this early success, by 1870 Airy still felt that Britain lacked a university-level work devoted to magnetism, prompting him to draw up the present tract from lectures h

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