32 engraved plates (of which 8 are mezzotints & 2 are folding). Title printed in red & black. viii, 84, [4] pp. Large 4to, cont. calf (joints slightly cracked at ends), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. London: Printed for the Author, 1750.

First edition, and a fine and large copy, of a very remarkable book, famous for its influential theory of the Milky Way and for its beautiful, almost surreal, mezzotint plates. In this work, Wright (1711-86), explained the Milky Way as an optical effect caused by our immersion in a layer of stars. Wright also enunciated... More