John Senex
Orbit of the Solar System, 1770 (c.)
28 x 24 in
71 x 61 cm
71 x 61 cm
CELEST1506
Rare and innovative diagram of the current knowledge of the the Solar System as theorised by Edmund Halley, Sir Isaac Newton and William Whiston. Separate issue. William Whiston succeeded Newton...
Rare and innovative diagram of the current knowledge of the the Solar System as theorised by Edmund Halley, Sir Isaac Newton and William Whiston. Separate issue.
William Whiston succeeded Newton as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. In 1712, he embarked upon a series of public lectures on Newton's astronomical theories. To publicise these lectures, he contracted John Senex to produce a diagram summarising the content of the talks. They became extremely popular and were issued as well as widely emulated in various forms throughout the 18th century.
The diagram explains and plots the movement of the known planets of the solar system as well as motions of the known comets. It is also unusual for its innovative typography, using several text panels of information in a circular shape to complement the shape of the planets in the solar system.
As this was a separate issue or usually sold as a single sheet of paper, it is unusual to find it in such pristine condition. This example was bound in an incomplete example of Hermann Moll's atlas "The World Described", hence explaining its aesthetic preservation.
[CELEST1506]
William Whiston succeeded Newton as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. In 1712, he embarked upon a series of public lectures on Newton's astronomical theories. To publicise these lectures, he contracted John Senex to produce a diagram summarising the content of the talks. They became extremely popular and were issued as well as widely emulated in various forms throughout the 18th century.
The diagram explains and plots the movement of the known planets of the solar system as well as motions of the known comets. It is also unusual for its innovative typography, using several text panels of information in a circular shape to complement the shape of the planets in the solar system.
As this was a separate issue or usually sold as a single sheet of paper, it is unusual to find it in such pristine condition. This example was bound in an incomplete example of Hermann Moll's atlas "The World Described", hence explaining its aesthetic preservation.
[CELEST1506]
