Subject: Celestial
Period: 1730-31 (published)
Publication: Mercurii philosophici firmamentum firmianum
Color: Hand Color
Size:
5.2 x 5.2 inches
13.2 x 13.2 cm
Little is known about Corbinianus Thomas, a Benedictine monk at Salzburg, but his Firmamentum is one of the unsung treasures of celestial cartography. It contained 54 small charts of individual constellations. Thomas used an interesting nomenclature system: Bayer Greek letter, Roman numeral for magnitude, and Arabic numeral for reference to a star catalog. This system originated on the large globes of Coronelli, as did many of Thomas's figures.
Charming star chart of the constellation Cassiopeia, the Queen, and wife of Cepheus, the King of Ethiopia.
References: Warner p. 251.
Condition: B
Damp stain at upper left.
