I have a pile of material that was donated to the observatory. While some of the gear will be used for outreach, a fair amount of the pile is not usable for this. With JoAnne reminding me about the stack in her warehouse it is time for me to sort it out and dispose of it. Among the pile was an entire crate of books… Astronomy textbooks, star charts, observing guides, and more.
This pile of books included a full set of the classic Burnham’s Celestial Handbook, both volumes of Uranometria, and other treasures. After determining the observatory had no need for these I brought them to the last astronomy club meeting and gave them away. It was nice to see these books go to those who would appreciate them.
At the bottom of the pile was something that caught my eye, several old catalogs and manuals. These were just fun to read through. There are both Losmandy and Takahashi catalogs from 1998 and 1999, as well as a manual for a Takahashi FS Series refractor.
The 1999 Losmandy catalog was particularly interesting. My old Losmandy G11 is a workhorse mount, one that has seen many adventures with me. The manual includes a price list, showing that it once sold for $3400, quite a bit more than the $1400 I paid for mine used in about the same era. Interestingly Losmandy still sells this mount and most of same accessories found in this catalog.
As I read I realized that this catalog may also be good to scan and post so that others may find this catalog a useful resource. I hope to scan and post some of the other items in the stack that might be good to save.
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Hi, I appreciated the Losmandy Catalog. I have a wonderful Losmandy GM100-EQ that I purchased new in 1989. While more capable than the G11, the GM100-EQ design does not permit GoTon since it uses a tangent arm for the Declination axis. I have Losmandy catalogs from 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996 and now 1999. When I purchased my mount back in 1989-1990, I also acquired every available accessory. A many of the newer options for the G11 (except Gemini) are bolt-on upgrades for the GM100-EQ as well, for instance, the RA Extension. The mounts are similar in some ways and substantially different in others. The GM100-EQ can easily support higher loads above the saddle than the G11, visually and for imaging. What is interesting to note from all the catalogs are the changes to the Losmandy Name logo and fonts over the years on items like DA Adapters.