A first trade edition copy of the Smyth Report, written by physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth and signed by 25 members of the Manhattan Project, has sold for $12,000 at PBA Galleries in New York.

Officially titled Atomic Energy for Military Purposes (1945), the book was released shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The atom bomb was a secret until it was dropped on Japan

It was designed to inform the public of the new, immensely powerful weapons now at the disposal of the US government. Prior to the flight of the Enola Gay, knowledge of the bomb was confined to a handful of people.

The shock of the attack led to the book becoming an instant bestseller.

PBA Galleries comment: "We have been able to confirm that at the first 19 of these individuals (and likely the other 6 as well) were part of the 'Project Y' team at Los Alamos.

"Mounted inside the front cover is a 3x3" printed label with the symbol of the Los Alamos Laboratory, designed by George Beyers, head of security at Los Alamos.

"This is the symbol for 'Project Y', code name for the laboratory that designed and fabricated the first atomic bomb. We can locate only one other mention of this symbol on any related artifact or document."

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