This large, copper engraved chart of the solar system details the spiral motions of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn as observed from earth, and the geocentric motion of the inner planets Mercury and Venus according to the Tychonic hypothesis in the early 1700s. The path of the Sun in the sky is also shown. Smaller hemispheres at the upper edges explain the regressive movements of the planets with long explanations in the two lower hemispheres. The sheet is embellished with cherubs, representing the planets, prancing through the heavens.

Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr was a professor of mathematics at the Aegidien Gymnasium in Nuremberg. Doppelmayr and Johann Baptist Homann were frequent collaborators in producing celestial and astronomical charts for atlases. This chart was engraved between 1735 and 1742 and appeared in the two major compilations of Dopplemayr’s works published by Homann Heirs; Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis... in 1742, and the revised edition Atlas Novus Coelestis... in 1748. Read more about Doppelmayr's life and accomplishments here.

References: Kanas #7.8.3 & Fig. 3.18.

Condition: B+

A nice impression on watermarked paper with light toning along the centerfold and two small worm holes towards bottom of sheet.