The Stars In Six Maps
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A set of six maps defining the stars and constellations prepared by the Reverend W.R. Dawes for the atlas published from the early 1830's by The Society For the Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge. This set, with its own titlepage and Explanation sheet published c. 1860 by Thomas Letts. Although using the plates originally engraved in the 1830's these have been up-dated by Charles Orchard Dayman, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Francis Beaufort (1774-1857), hydrographer and surveyor, had been charged with overseeing this atlas publication for the S.D.U.K, a benevolent society who's aim was to create affordable and accessible printed works for an increasingly literate and better educated British population. Beaufort's original target of an atlas of some twenty maps produced over twelve months was to expand, much to the frustration of subscribers and the publishers, to a finished product of nearly 200 maps including town plans, produced over 15 years. Beaufort was renowned for his attention to detail and insistence on precision, and the consequent atlas volume represented the best collection of maps, in terms of scale and detail, produced to date. These charts are finely engraved and in delicate original pastel colours. Designed on a gnomic projection there are two circumpolar and four solstice/equinox charts.
region: Celestials / Star Charts
mapmaker:
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
place and date of publication:
London c. 1840 - c. 1860
medium and colour:
steelplate, Original colour
ref:
43462
size in mm: 300 by 290mm (11.75 by 11.5 inches). Price: £ 320 |
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