James Nasmyth

James Nasmyth (1808 - 1890), a Scottish mechanical engineer and amateur astronomer, began a sustained study of the lunar surface in 1842, culminating in the 1874 publication, with English astronomer James Carpenter, The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite. This book contained 24 photomechanical reproductions of photographs Nasmyth had taken of plaster models he made from his telescopic observations of the moon to serve as illustrations for his hypothesis of a volcanic origin of the moon's topography. The book came at a time when photomechanical processes were just becoming available in book publishing. Woodburytypes were developed in the mid-1860s and was widely used to publish photographs in books between 1870 and 1900. It was well received by a Victorian audience familiar with scientists' desires to make photographic representations of celestial phenomena. In total, four editions of the book were published in both English and German.

James Nasmyth's background is mechanical engineering - he is known for his invention of the steam hammer and hydraulic press - and roughly 30 years of work pursuing his personal interest in astronomy after his retirement, culminated in the publication The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite, with representations of the lunar surface that fascinate even today. Due to their work regarding the nature of the moon's surface, Nasmyth and Carpenter both have lunar craters named after them.