Item #H15415 1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Buhl Planetarium, Leo J. Scanlon.
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh
1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh

1936-1940 binder of correspondance, brochures, scripts, lectures, on the founding and opening of Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh

Old 3-ring binder with acetate sheaths with over 100 pp. of correspondance with the directors of the Buhl foundation, fellow astronomers, and with Leo Stokely, the first director of the Buhl Planetarium. There are also invitations, brochures, programs from the opening ceremony, etc., as well as scripts for lectures to be delivered at Buhl Planetarium. Scanlon also kept carbons of his own letters. Leo J. Scanlon (1903-1999) was the co-founder, in 1929, of the Amateur Astronomers' Association of Pittsburgh, which at 550 members is one of the largest such in the nation. Following a visit to America's first major planetarium, Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Leo, and other AAAP members, lobbied foundations and government officials to have a planetarium built in Pittsburgh. Their efforts were successful with the opening of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science on October 24, 1939. This was no small feat, particularly in the middle of the Great Depression. Along with Allegheny Observatory Director Nicholas E. Wagman, Leo was one of the first two planetarium lecturers in the new facility. The correspondance documents his vision for the planetarium and also contains receipts for material, including lenses, purchased by him for the new planetarium. The correspondance includes the run-up to the opening, including calls to members of AAAP for volunteers, and a sweet note from Stokely, the first director, inviting Scanlon to visit the planetarium two weeks before its opening; "I am very anxious to start teaching you something of the operation of the new Planetarium. Very Good. Item #H15415

Price: $750.00

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