(SCIENCE ENGINEERING) Edwin Martz Letter by a young astrono

Sale 2564 - Lot 305

Price Realized: $ 250

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Estimate: $ 250 - $ 350

(SCIENCE & ENGINEERING.) Edwin Martz. Letter by a young astronomer, accompanied by his early photographs of Mars. Autograph Letter Signed as "Ed. Martz Jr." to Walter S. Adams, director of Mount Wilson Observatory. 4 pages on 4 leaves, 4 x 3 inches; toned with minor wear. With photographic print, 10 x 8 inches, minor wear. Los Angeles County, CA, 14 August 1937

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Edwin P. Martz Jr. (1916-1967) made his mark as a young astronomer in 1937, creating the first color photographs of Mars. This letter encloses part of his research, demonstrating color separations of the 4th planet by red, yellow, green, and blue light--alas, in black and white. This work was done on 25 and 26 June 1937 at the venerable Mount Wilson Observatory in the mountains overlooking Los Angeles. The details are printed with the photo, and also in the accompanying letter, which was left (with the key to the observatory) on the secretary's desk as he departed: "Thank you for your kindness in letting me work with the 6-inch and 60-inch telescopes on the mountain the past few months. I feel I have obtained . . . planetary photographs that may prove of some value. In all, 225 plates were taken at Mt. Wilson and Griffith of Mars and Jupiter . . . on 35 nights of observation. I am carrying on analysis of these at the present time, along the lines pointed out by Professor Wright in 1924 and 1926."