Accession No

2082

Brief Description

two celestial charts, engravings of the Northern and Southern celestial hemispheres, by Homann Heirs after Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, German, c. 1740

Origin

Germany; Nuremberg (Nürnberg)

Maker

Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel (also spelled Doppelmaier) [artist] Heirs, Homann (also spelled Homännische Erben / Homanni Heredes) [publisher]

Class

astronomy; prints

Earliest Date

1730

Latest Date

1742

Inscription Date

1730

Material

paper; card; glass; wood; metal (brass)

Dimensions

2028.1 breadth 800mm; height 703mm 2082.2 breadth 801mm; height 703mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Weinser & Douwma Ltd., 93 Great Russell Street, London, England, 24/07/1975.

Inscription

‘Hemisphærium Coeli Australe
in quo Fixarum loca secundum Eclipticæ ductum ad annum 1730 completum exhibentur à Ioh Gabriele Doppelmaiero Math. P. P. Acad. Imp. Leop. Carolinæ Naturæ Curios. nec non Reg. Scient. Acad. Borus. Socio
operà Ioh. Baptistæ Homanni Sac. Cœs. Maj. Geograp. Norimbergæ.’ (top of 2082.1)
Hemisphærium Coeli boreale
in quo Fixarum loca secundum Eclipticæ ductum ad annum 1730 completum exhibentur à Ioh Gabriele Doppelmaiero Mathem. P. P. Acad. Imp. Leop. Car. Nat. Curios. nec non Reg. Scient. Acad. Borus. Socio
operà Ioh. Baptistæ Homanni Sac. Cœs. Maj. Geogra. Norimbergæ.’ (top of 2082.2)

Description Notes

Two celestial charts, engravings of the Northern and Southern celestial hemispheres, by Homann Heirs after Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, German, c. 1740.

Two celestial charts engraved and hand coloured. Centre fold. Verso blank. Traces of blued binding stub. Sheet numbered on recto and verso in ink (5 for 2082.1; 4 for 2082.2). Each print shows a circle divided into the zodiac signs, numbered in degrees by 10˚, divided to 15´. Within the circle is a planisphere of the Southern constellations (2082.1) and Northern constellations (2082.2) outlined with conventional figures and including more recent discoveries, e.g. Robur Carolinum. To the left and right are tables headed ‘STELLÆ HEMISPHÆRII AUSTRALIS’ (2082.1) and ‘STELLÆ HEMISPHÆRII BOREALIS’ (2082.2), indicating the number and magnitude of stars in each constellation. In the four corners are vignettes illustrating observatories at Greenwich, Copenhagen, Kassel, Berlin (2082.1) and Hven, Paris, Dantzig, Nuremberg (2082.2).
Mounted and framed.

complete

References

Events

Description
These prints are early impressions from the plates used for Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr’s Atlas Novus Cœlestis (Nuremberg, 1742). They were printed prior to the addition of the plate number and the privilege. They came from a collection of astronomical charts and diagrams, probably formed in Germany c. 1740 and coloured by a contemporary hand, employing an unusually large pallet. They are based on charts first constructed by Doppelmayr in 1730.

Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (1671 - 1750) was Professor of Mathematics at the Aegidien Gymnasium in Nuremberg from 1704 until his death. A dedicated teacher and tireless experimentalist, his major work was the Atlas Novus Cœlestis, a collection of charts and astronomical diagrams designed to introduce and explain the fundamentals of astronomy. Homann Heirs, who published the atlas, were the leading mapmakers in Germany. Their engraver has decorated the borders of these two charts with illustrations of the six major European observatories of the period, together with the historic foundations of Tycho Brahe at Hven and Hevelius at Danzig. The constellations are depicted showing the stars up to the sixth magnitude. Among the Southern Hemisphere stars can be seen the constellation Robur Carolinum mapped by Halley from St. Helena in 1677.

The Homann publishing house was founded in 1702 by Johann Baptist Homann (1664-1724), a famous German cartographer, publisher and engraver. After his death in 1724 the company was taken over by his son Johann Christoph Homann. He continued printing the maps of his father but soon also started to publish maps under his own name. In 1730 J. C. Homann died, passing the company to his brother-in-law Johann Georg Ebersberger and to his former fellow student Michael Franz. These two men continued the company under the name “Homännische Erben / Homanni Heredes“ (Homann Heirs).

Created by: [Unknown: from catalogue card - prints and ephemera 2]

FM:41015