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.