The separate sections making the Astrographic Catalog, each covering a given declination zone, have been released during a time period spanning for almost a century, and appear quite different from one another in format, sometimes in contents. For example, some observatories give only the linear coordinates (Bordeaux), some both the linear and the spherical ones (Paris), some add proper motions (Greenwich) This lack of “standardization” in publication can make it difficult to recognize the astrographic catalogue proper from a wealth of other publications which are just related to and not part of it. Some volumes bearing “Astrographic catalogue” on the title page and even a vol. number, in reality present data in relation to other enterprises. On the contrary what is titled “appendix” can sometimes contain fundamental information integrating the whole section of the catalogue. The section published by the Vatican Observatory is emblematic of the above discrepancies: whereas vol. 11 does not contain Astrographic catalogue data, three of the five appendixes (e.g. 1, 2 and 5) contain essential information, including an errata corrige.

And what about the following “mysterious” volume printed by the Vatican Observatory, different in format from the others and published in Italian?

Catalogo fotografico stellare, zona Vaticana (da +55° a +65° di declinazione) : coordinate rettilinee e costanti di correzione, Volume I (Zone + 60° +61° e +62°). – Roma : Tipografia Vaticana, 1903.

Only by reading the Carte du Ciel correspondence [1] could I figure out that this publication was a mistake: in a letter of 13 March 1909 addressed to the Committee in charge of the Carte du Ciel project, J.G. Hagen S.J. (1847-1930), Director of the Vatican Observatory, explains: [...] Pour les mesures des clichés du catalogue l’Observatoire a reçu deux nouvelles machines de Repsold et le personnel nécessaure a été engagé. Les mesures publiées en 1903 come Volume I du Catalogue seront refraites avec les nouvelles machines, et rangées suivant les déclinaisons. Par conséquent le volume susdit est à considérer comme non valable.

At the Palermo library we hold the majority of the Astrographic catalogue volumes, which allowed me to compile the following preliminary description of the AC. However, there are still doubts (expressed as questions, in red ink), especially on the number of volumes making each section, so I looked through online catalogues of other astronomical libraries or national libraries and was able to integrate some of the missing information. A great help came from the "Catalogue References" available in the website of the IAU Commission 8 working group on the AC and CdC plates - no longer existing.

Thanks are due to Sally Bosken of US Naval Observatory for kindly sending descriptions for v. 4-6 of the Tacubaya Observatory section.

Declination zone: (+90° to +65°) Assigned to Greenwich
Royal Observatory, GREENWICH, Great Britain

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0, Greenwich section dec. +64° to 90° from photographs taken and measured at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich / under the direction of William Henry Mahoney Christie .... – Edinburgh : printed for His Majesty’s Stationery Office by Neill & Co., 1904-1932. – 6 v. : ill. ; 31 cm. – The curator for v. 4-6 is Frank Watson Dyson . – The printing place for v. 4-6 is London.
V. 1 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of star images dec. +64° to + 72°. – 1904.
V. 2 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of star images dec. +72° to + 90°. – 1908.
V. 3 : Right ascensions, declinations, and photographic magnitude of stars, dec. +64° to 90°. – 1914.
V. 4 : Proper motions and photographic magnitudes. – 1921.
V. 5 : Proper motions of stars from dec. +64° to +72°. – 1929.
V. 6 : Proper motions of stars from dec. +72° to +90°. – 1932

Declination zone: (+64° to +55°) Assigned to the Vatican Observatory
Specola Vaticana, CITTÀ DEL VATICANO

Catalogo astrografico 1900.0, sezione vaticana, decl. da +55° a +65°, sopra fotografie eseguite e misurate all’Osservatorio Vaticano e calcolate all’Osservatorio di Oxford. – Roma : Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1914-1933. – 11 v. ; 33 cm. – ([Pubblicazioni della Specola Vaticana. Serie 3 : Astrofotografica]).
V. 1 : Coordinate rettilinee e diametri di immagini stellari su lastre il cui centro è in declinazione +64°. – 1914.
V. 2 : Coordinate ... +63°. – 1915.
V. 3 : Coordinate ... +62°. – 1917.
V. 4 : Coordinate ... +61°. – 1919.
V. 5 : Coordinate ... +60°. – 1919.
V. 6 : Coordinate ... +59°. – 1922.
V. 8 : Coordinate ... +57°. – 1925.
V. 9 : Coordinate ... +56°. – 1926.
V. 10 : Coordinate ... +55°. – 1928.
V. 11 : Corrections to the places of the Helsingfors-Gotha and Harvard (USA) Astronomische Gesellschaft catalogues deduced from photographic measures. – 1933.
Appendice 1 : Prontuari per la conversione delle coordinate rettilinee in coordinate sferiche nelle zone astrografiche vaticane / calcolati da V. Cerulli. – 1920.
Appendice 2 : Prontuari per la conversione delle coordinate sferiche in rettilinee .... – 1921.
Appendice 3 : Catalogo di stelle doppie, con distanze inferiori a 15” contenute nelle zone astrografiche vaticane / cercate e discusse da J. Stein, S.J. – 1926-1930. – 2 issues.
Appendice 4 : Catalogo di 928 stelle degli ammassi h E e χ Persei nella lastra +56° 2h 12 m del Catalogo Astrografico Vaticano / J. Stein, S.J. – 1928.
Appendice 5 : Corrections to Stein’s list of astrographic double stars and to the Vatican astrographic zone in general / by J. De Kort, S.J. – 1958.

The volumes in red should not be considered part of the proper catalogue .
WERE OTHER APPENDIXES PUBLISHED?

Declination zone: (+54° to +47°) Assigned to the Catania Observatory
 R. Osservatorio Astrofisico, CATANIA, Italy

Catalogo astrofotografico internazionale 1900.0 : zona di Catania fra le declinazioni +46° e +55°. – Catania : Offic. Tipogr. Giannotta, 1907-1942. – 9 v. : ill ; 31 cm. – Each vol. div. into 8 issues, of which n. 3-4 published in Naples by R. Osservatorio di Capodimonte.
V. 1 : Declinazione da +46° a + 48°. – 1925-1942.
V. 2 : Declinazione da +47° a + 49°. – 1921-1939.
V. 3 : Declinazione da +48° a +50°. – 1915-1939.
V. 4 : Declinazione da +49° a +51°. – 1913-1936.
V. 5 : Declinazione da +50° a +52°. – 1907-1935.
V. 6 : Declinazione da +51° a +52°. – 1909-1934.
V. 7 : Declinazione da +52° a +54°. – 1910-1931.
V. 8 : Declinazione da +53° a +55°. – 1911-1934.
[V. 9] : Appendix. – 1912.

Declination zone: (+46° to +40°) Assigned to the Helsingfors Observatory
Observatoire Astronomique de l’Université de Helsingfors, HELSINKI, Finland

Catalogue photographique du ciel, zone de Helsingfors entre +39° et +47° / publiée par Ander Donnet et Ragnar Furuhjelms[et Gustaf Järnefelt]. – 1. Série : Cordonnées rectilignes et équatoriales. – Helsingfors : Imprimerie Société Anonyme SANA, 1914-1937. – 8 v. in 12 issues ; 28 cm.
V. 1 : Exposé des méthodes employees. – 1925-1929. – 3 issues.

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V. 5 : Clichés de 12 h à 15 h. – 1924.
V. 6 : Clichés de 15 h à 18 h. – 1928.
V. 7 : Clichés de 18 h [à 21 h]. – 1934-1937. – 2 issues.
V. 8 : Clichés de 21 h [à 24 h]. – 1930-1932. – 2 issues.

Declination zone: (+39° to +32°) Assigned to the Potsdam Observatory,

The Potsdam section of the astrographic catalogue covers only a small portion of the zone assigned. Following World War I, the Observatory had to withdraw from the project, thus the entire zone was re-photographed and the plates measured by the Oxford, Uccle and Hyderabad Observatories. The zone between +36° and +39° was covered by the Nizamiah Observatory, Hyderabad and published as the last 4 vols. of the Nizamiah Obs. astrographic catalogue. The Observatoire de Belgique carried out the +34° to +35° zone and Oxford the +32° to +33° (known as Oxford II) zone.

Astrophysikalische Observatorium zu Potsdam, POTSDAM, Germany

Photographische Himmelskarte, zone +31° bis +40° declination : Catalog. – Potsdam : in Commission bei Wilhelm Engelmann in Leipzig, 1899-1912. – 6 v. ; 31 cm. – (Publikationen des Astrophysikalischen Observatoriums zu Potsdam / herausgegeben von ... H.C. Vogel). – Main series title in main title page.
V. 1 : 20627 scheinbare rechtwingklige Coordinaten von Sternen bis zur elften Grösse nebst genäherten Örtern für 1900.0 / nach aufnahmen von A. Schwassmann ... [etc.] ; redigirt von J. Scheiner. – 1899.
V. 2 : 20533 ... – 1901.
V. 3 : 20923 ... – 1903.
V. 4 : 20522 ... – 1907.
V. 5 : 20458 ... / bearbaitet von J. Scheiner. – 1910.
V. 6 : 20629 ... / bearbaitet von J. Scheiner. – 1912.
Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zu den Bänden 1-4 / von A. Biehl. – 1908.

Observatoire Royal, UCCLE, Belgique

Catalogue photographique du ciel, zone Uccle-Paris. – Paris : Union astronomique international, 1960-1962. – 2 v.
V. 1 : Cordonnées rectilignes des étoiles des clichés centrés sur la déclinaison + 34° (1900,0). – 1960.
V. 2 : Cordonnées rectilignes des étoiles des clichés centrés sur la déclinaison + 35° (1900,0). – 1962.

University Observatory, OXFORD, Great Britain

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0 Potsdam-Oxford section, dec. +31° to +34° / from photos taken by F.A. Bellamy and H.G. Scott Barrett and measured at the University Observatory, Oxford, by the methods initiated by Herbert Hall Turner. – Paris : Published under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union, 1953-1954. – 2 v. in 2 ; 27 cm
V. 1 : Zone + 32°. – 1953.
V. 2 : Zone + 33°. – 1954.

Declination zone: (+24° to +18°) Assigned to the Paris Observatory
Observatoire de Paris, PARIS, France

Catalogue photographique du ciel : Cordonnés rectilignes. – 1902-1946. – 8 v. ; 33 cm.
V. 1 :Zone +23° a +25°. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1902.
V. 2 :Zone +22° a +24°. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1907.
V. 3 :Zone +21° a +23°. – Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1911.
V. 4 : Zone +20° a +22°. – Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1915.
V. 5 : Zone +19° a +21°. – Laval : Imprimerie Bernoud, 1925.
V. 6 : Zone +18° a +20°. - Laval: Imprimerie Bernoud, 1929.
V. 7 : Zone +17° a +19°. - Laval: Imprimerie Bernoud, 1932.
V. 8 : Zone paires 18°, 20°, 22°, 22°, 24° : Ascensions droites et déclinaisons deduites des cordonnés rectilignes pour toutes les étoiles jusqu’a la grandeur 9.9. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1946. – Published only pt. 1.

WAS ONLY PT. 1 OF VOL. 8 PUBLISHED?

Declination zone: (+17° to +11°) Assigned to the Bordeaux Observatory
Observatoire de Bordeaux, BORDEAUX, France

Catalogue photographique du ciel : cordonnées rectilignes / Observatoire de Bordeaux. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1905-1934. – 7 v. ; 33 cm.
V. 1 : Zone +16° a +18°. – 1905.
V. 2 : Zone +15° a +17°. – 1907. – 2 pt.
V. 3 : Zone +14° a +16°. – 1911.
V. 4 : Zone +13° a + 15°. – 1914.
V. 5 : Zone +12° a +14°. – 1925.
V. 6 : Zone +11° a +13°. – Laval : Imprimerie Barnéoud, 1931.
V. 7 : Zone +10° a +12°. – Laval : Imprimerie Barnéoud, 1934.

Declination zone: (+10° to +05°) Assigned to the Toulouse Observatory
Observatoire de Toulouse, TOULOUSE, France

Catalogue photographique du ciel : cordonnées rectilignes. 1903-1948.– 7 v. ; 33 cm. – At head of title : Observatoire de Toulouse.
V. 1 : Zone +9° a +11°. – Laval : Imprimerie Barnéoud, 1948.
V. 2 : Zone +8° a +10°. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars ..., 1903-1911. – 2 issues.
V. 3 : Zone +7° a +9°. – Laval : Imprimerie Barnéoud, 1939.
V. 4 : Zone +6° a +8°. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1903-1913. – 2 issues.
V. 5 : Zone +5° a +7°. – Laval : Imprimerie Barnéoud, 1936.
V. 6 : Zone +4° a +6°. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars ..., 1904-1916. – 2 issues.
V. 7 : Zone +10° a +12°. - Paris : Gauthier-Villars ..., 1904-1924. – 4 issues.

Declination zone: (+04° to -02°) Assigned to the Algiers Observatory
Observatoire d’Alger, ALGER, Algeria

Catalogue photographique du ciel : cordonnées rectilignes / Observatoire d’Alger. – Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1903-1924. – 8 v. ; 33 cm.
Introduction / par Ch. Trépied. – 1903.
V. 1 : Zone +3° a +5°. – 1923-1924. – 2 pt. – Pt. 2: Laval : Imprimerie Barnèoud, 1923.
V. 2 : Zone +2° a +4° ... – 1924.
V. 3 : Zone +1° a +3°. – 1923.
V. 4 : Zone +0° a +2°, avec une appendice ... – 1923.
V. 5 : Zone -1° a +1°. – 2 pt. – 1903-1913.
V. 6 : Zone -2° a 0°. – 3 pt. – 1903-1913.
V. 7 : Zone -3° a -1°. – 2 pt. – 1903-1913.

Declination zone: ( -03° to -09°) Assigned to the San Fernando Observatory
Observatorio de Marina de SAN FERNANDO, Spain

Catálogo astrofotográfico para 1900.0 : sección del observatorio de Marina de San Fernando, declinación de -3 a -9 [grados]. – San Fernando : Sección Tipógrafico del Observatorio, 1921-1929. – 8 v. ; 34 cm.
V. 1 : Introduccion y tablas
V. 2-8 : Zona -3° a -9° [grados].

Declination zone: (-10° to -16°) Assigned to the Tacubaya Observatory
Observatorio Astronomico de Tacubaya, MEXICO

Catalogo astrofotografico, seccion del Observatorio Astronomico de Tacubaya, Mexico, de -9° a -17°. – 1913-1962. – 7 v. ; 33 cm. - [Tacubaya] : Departamento de Talleres Graficos de la Secreteria de Fomento
V. 1 : contiene las coordenadas rectilineas y ecuatoriales de las estrellas hasta la 11. magnitud. contenidas entre -14° y -17° de declinacion y de 0 h a 6 h de ascension recta. 1913.

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V. 4 : tomo II - Zona 13° : contiene las coordenadas rectilineas de las estrellas hasta la 11. magnitud. contenidas entre los -12° y 14-° de declinacion y de 12 a 24 h de ascension recta. – 1943
V. 5 : tomo II - Zona 12° : contiene las coordenadas rectilineas de las estrellas hasta la 11. magnitud. contenidas entre los -11° y 13-° de declinacion y de 12 a 24 h de ascension recta. – 1945.
V. 6 : tomo I - Zona 11° : contiene las coordenadas rectilineas de las estrellas hasta la 11. magnitud. contenidas entre los -10° y 12-° de declinacion y de 0 a 12 h de ascension recta. – 1947.

Declination zone: (-17° to -23°) Assigned to the Santiago Observatory

As by 1900 the work was not progressing, a resolution passed by the Congress in 1909 assigned the -17° to -20° zone to the Nizamiah Observatory, Hyderabad. In 1920 the Astronomical Union recommended that Hyderabad continue photographing down to -23° declination.

This zone is included in the first 7 vols. of the Nizamiah Obs. astrographic catalogue.

Nizamiah Observatory, HYDERABAD, India

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0, Hyderabad section. From photographs taken and measured at the Nizamiah Observatory, Hyderabad / under the direction of T.P. Bhaskaran. – 1918 - ?. –v. ; 31 cm. – (Publications of the Nizamiah Observatory). – At head of title: OsmaniaUniversity, Hyderabad. – V. 5-7 in main title: Pt. II, dec. -20° to -24°; v. 9: Pt. III, dec. +36° to +39°; v. 10-12: Pt. III, +35° to +40°

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V. 5 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 88,444 star-images on plates with centres in dec. -21°. – Edinburgh : printed for the OsmaniaUniversity ... by Neill & Co., 1924.
V. 6 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 81,821 star-images on plates with centres in dec. -22°. – Edinburgh : printed for the OsmaniaUniversity ... by Neill & Co., 1927.
V. 7 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 88,506 star-images on plates with centres in dec. -23°. – Edinburgh : printed for the OsmaniaUniversity ... by Neill & Co., 1930.

WAS VOLUME 8 EVER PUBLISHED?

V. 9 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 65,782 star-images on plates with centres in dec. +39°. – London : Percy Lund, 1934
V. 10 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 64,791 star-images on plates with centres in dec. +38°. – London : Percy Lund, 1936
V. 11 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 50,907 star-images on plates with centres in dec. +37°. – London : Percy Lund, 1938
V. 12 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 60,144 star-images on plates with centres in dec. +36°. – London : Percy Lund, 1946

Declination zone: (-24° to -31°) Assigned to the La Plata Observatory

As by 1900 the La Plata Observatory had been unable to start the work, the Cordoba Observatory offered to carry it out and the proposal was accepted by the Committee.

Observatorio Nacional Argentino, CORDOBA, Argentina

Catálogo astrográfico ... de fotografías hechas en el Observatorio Nacional Argentino, Córdoba : 1900.0. – Córdoba : El Observatorio, 1925-1934. – (Resultados del Observatorio Nacional Argentino ; v. 26-34)
7 v. ; 33 cm

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Perth Observatory, PERTH, Australia

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0, Perth section, Dec. -31° to -41°. From photographs taken and measured at the Perth observatory / under the direction of W. Ernest Cooke ... – Perth, W. Simpson, govt. printer, 1911 - 1919. –24 v. ; 31 cm.
( this part refers to the “Perth zone”, i.e. only those plates photographed and measured at Perth).

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0, Perth section, Dec. -31° to -41°.
V. 33. – 1922. – The volume contains the measures for the first six hours of zone -40°.

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0, Perth section, dec. -31° to -41°, from photographs taken at the Perth Observatory, Australia, and measured at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. – Paris : published under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union, 1949-1952. – 3 v. ; 27 cm. – In continuation of Perth Astrographic Catalogue v. 33. – This catalogue refers to the so-called Perth-Edinburgh AC zone.
V. 1 : Measures of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of 62502 star images on plates with centres in dec. -40°, r.a. 6h0m to 23h50m. – 1949.
V. 2 : Measures of ... 62923 star images ... in dec. – 39° ... – 1950.
V. 3 : Measures of ... 68284 star images ... in dec. – 38° ... – 1952.

Declination zone: (-41° to -51°) Assigned to the Cape Observatory
Royal Observatory, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

Cape astrographic zones ... Catalogue of rectangular co-ordinates and diameters of star-images derived from photographs taken at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope / commenced under the direction of Sir David Gill ...; completed and prepared for press under the supervision of S.S. Hough. – London : printed under the authority of His Majesty’s Stationery Office ..., 1913 – 1926. – 11 v.; 32 cm. – The printing place for V. 3 is Edinburgh.
V. 1 : Zone -41°. - 1913

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V. 3 : Zone -43°. – 1915.
V. 4 : Zone -44°. – 1916.
V. 5 : Zone -45°. – 1922.
V. 6 : Zone -46°. – 1915.
V. 7 : Zone -47°. – 1916.
V. 8 : Zone -48°. – 1922.
V. 9 : Zone -49°. – 1915.
V. 10 : Zone -50°. – 1916.
V. 11 : Zone -51°. – 1922.

Declination zone:( -52° to -64°) Assigned to the Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory, SYDNEY, Australia

Astrographic catalogue 1900.0, Sydney section, dec. -51° to -65°, from photographs taken at the Sydney Observatory, New South Wales, Australia. – Sydney : Alfred James Kent, 1923-1971. – The editor changes. – Title of v. 53: Explanation.

Declination zone: (-65° to -90°) Assigned to the Melbourne Observatory
Melbourne Observatory, MELBOURNE, Australia

Melbourne astrographic catalogue, 1900.0 : rectangular coordinates and diameters of star images from photographs taken and measured / under the direction of R.L.J. Ellery ... and Pietro Baracchi ... [etc.]. –8 v., 1926 –1963.
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V. 4 : Zones -71° and -72°. – Paris, 1955.
V. 5 : Zones -73° and -74°. – Paris, 1956.
V. 6 : Zones -75°, -76° and -77°. – Paris, 1958.
V. 7 : Zones -78°, -79°, -80° and -81°. – Paris, 1958.
V. 8 : Zones -82° to -90°. – Sydney, 1963.