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A Striking Star Chart Illustrating Astronomical Instruments
Constellations.
CELLARIUS, A./ VALK & SCHENK [Amsterdam, 1660/1708]
Haemisphaerium scenographicum Australe coeli stellati et Terrae.
17 x 20 ΒΌ inches
Fine original color; reinforcement to bottom of centerfold, some marginal staining, else excellent.
The design of this chart is one of the most dramatic to be found in a work of this kind. The stars are here shown suspended over the Earth, as if being viewed from deep in space. The earth can be partially glimpsed below the constellations; parts of America, Africa, the Atlantic and the South Pole are visible. Cellarius subscribed to the notion that the stars were nestled in a sphere that moved in coordination with the earth, part of the celestial harmony suggested by the title of his atlas, Harmonia Macrocosmica. On this chart, Cellarius provided an up-to-date mapping of the constellations. Because it includes the southernmost skies, the chart is important for including what would have been the most recently observed constellations, i.e. those that could only have been seen on voyages to the deep southern latitudes. This chart is also important for illustrating much of the paraphernalia of astronomical observation of the period, including a well-detailed telescope.
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