The Orbits of Venus and Mercury: An 18th C. Framed Celestial Map by Doppelmayr, 1736

Description

This 18th century hand-colored copperplate celestial map by Johann Doppelmayr entitled "Phænomena Motuum Irregularium quos Planetar inferiores Venus et Mercurius … more This 18th century hand-colored copperplate celestial map by Johann Doppelmayr entitled "Phænomena Motuum Irregularium quos Planetar inferiores Venus et Mercurius ad annum Salutis MDCCX," ("Regular Phenomena of the Lower Planetar Motions of Venus and Mercury for the Year 1710") was incorporated as plate 7 in 'Atlas Novus Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis', first published in Nuremberg, Germany in 1735 in association with the heirs of the famous and prolific cartographer and printer Johann Baptist Homann. 'Atlas Novus Coelestis in Quo Mundus spectabilis, et in Eodem Tam Errantium Quam Inerrantium Stellarum Phoenomena notabilia, Circa Ipsarum lumen, figuram, faciem, motum, Eclipses.secundum Nic. Copernici, et Ex Parte Tychonis De Brahe, Hypothesin' (The New Atlas of the Celestial World in which the World is to be Looked at, and the Phenomena Notable in the Same of the Errants and the Inerrant Stars, with respect to their light, shape, face, motion, and eclipses according to Nic. Copernicus and Tycho De Brahe: Hypothesis) includes diagrams illustrating the planetery systems of Copernicus, Tycho, and Riccioli; the elliptic theories of Kepler, Boulliau, Seth Ward, and Mercator; the lunar theories of Tycho, Horrocks, and Newton; and Halley's cometary theory. This plate and others were originally created by Doppelmayr for scientific publication by the academic society Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum to show the movements of Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus and Earth according to Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), who combined Copernican and Ptolemaic astronomical systems in his attempt to explain the universe through observed data, including the orbits of the known planets at the time.
This celestial chart/map depicts the heliocentric motions of the planets Mercury and Venus during the year 1710, with two diagrams depicting the transit of Mercury across the Sun on November 5, 1710 and the predicted transit of Venus across the Sun on June 6, 1761, demonstrated through Copernican mathematical theories. The planets are illustrated in a vignette as allegorical figures in chariots; Venus (Aphrodite) accompanied by the moon is in a chariot drawn by six horses and driven by a child figure racing above the clouds. Mercury's (Hermes) chariot sits above clouds. It is driven by a putti and drawn by two birds. Above Mercury, Zeus (Jupiter) sits astride the sun. Zodiac symbols, including Leo and Cancer, are depicted above the vignette.
This framed 18th century double page hand-colored engraved celestial map is printed on chain-linked laid paper. It is presented in an attractive polished medium brown-colored frame with contrasting black inner and outer trim. The frame measures 31.13" high by 34.88" wide by 1" in depth. There are a few small frame abrasions. The double mat consists of a beige fabric outer mat and a cranberry-colored inner mat. There is a central fold, as issued with mild separation of the lower fold, but the visible portions of the print are otherwise in very good condition. less