Beautiful cosmic renderings – a range of engravings, woodblock prints and hand-colored art from the mid-to-late 1800s – reflected a new-found interest in the universe.
After celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, the universe beyond Earth has been on my mind. It was time to revisit to the David Rumsey Map Collection. If you're unfamiliar with it, I've written about the map collection previously, and many other excellent online resources, here and here.
With over 150,000 maps, the Rumsey collection digitization began in 1996. Currently more than 92,000 online images of atlases, maps, globes, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials from about 1550 to the present are available for personal use under a Creative Commons license.
Revolutionary Prints
The 19th century Industrial Revolutions created a demand for science and engineering information. In the 18th century, astronomy consisted of recording the precise details of the elements in the cosmos. By the 19th century, astronomy embraced developments in math and science to better understand the composition of the elements and the origins of the Universe. Illustrated books about the solar system, orbit patterns, eclipses, sun spots, and more cosmic happenings were written and illustrated, and studied in depth.
I've curated this collection of some of the most beautiful representations based on the information, design and typography, and execution of each image. These selections reflect the state of mid-to-late 19th century knowledge of the solar system. Enjoy!
Color plate from An Atlas of Astronomy, Eclipse of the Moon, 1869
Loose plate from James Reynolds' Introduction to Natural Philosophy, Transparent Solar System, 1850
One of 12 plates from Astronomischen Bilderatlas (Astronomical Images, Atlas of Ludwig Prentzinger), Seasonal Eclipses, 1851
From the book, Systems of Satellites, one of 72 plates represent the Moon and planets, 1892
Page from An Atlas of Astronomy, a series of 72 plates, Northern Index Map, 1892
Spread from An Atlas of Astronomy, a series of 72 plates, 1892
Spread from An Atlas of Astronomy, a series of 72 plates, 7th Day Moon, 1892
Hand-colored diagram from the book, Phases and Movements of the Moon, 1850
Black-and-white page from Smith's Illustrated Astronomy school textbook containing numerous original diagrams, Orbits of the Planets, 1850
Spread from An Atlas of Astronomy, a series of 72 plates, Chart for Sun Spot Observations No. 2, 1892
The top image is a remixed detail from the page, Sonne und Mond (Sun and Moon), from the book, Schul-Atlas, Bearbeitet und herausgegeben, 1896.
What do you think of the 19th century analysis of the universe?
#solarsystem #celestialrenderings #sunandmoon #illustrateduniverse #19thcenturyart #DavidRumseyMapCollection
All images: © David Rumsey Map Collection, used under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
