Celestial Atlas
05.02.2026 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S| Auctioneer | CHRISTIE'S |
|---|---|
| Veranstaltungsort | Vereinigtes Königreich, London |
| Aufgeld | see on Website% |
ID 1540301
Los 53 | Celestial Atlas
Schätzwert
12000USD $ 12 000 – 18 000
Exceedingly rare example of Bevis’s “unpublished” star atlas. John Bevis was an amateur astronomer who yet managed to be the original discoverer of the Crab Nebula and one of only two people in Britain known to have observed Halley’s comet in 1759. Bevis’s atlas was a leap forward over that of Flamsteed, as it includes 600 more stars.
Bevis worked on these charts from 1747-49, planning to produce a large celestial atlas to be titled Uranographia. He attracted 5 subscribers, all instrument-makers, for 30 copies. In the autumn of 1750, however, Bevis was declared bankrupt and the plates were sequestered. A number of the pulls of the charts were already printed and retained by Bevis. A set is known to have been given to Charles Messier in 1771, and on Bevis's death soon after (supposedly caused by a fall from his telescope) John Horsfall, his executor, received the remaining charts.
At Horsfall's own death in 1785, his estate sale listed 6 copies of the 51 chart sets. There must have also been a few piles of additional loose engravings which began to be sold by an anonymous dealer/publisher in 1786. There are just two known letterpress title-pages; these are dated 1786 and dramatically describe the death, insolvency, and fire that made this elegant and immensely expensive set of charts available then at a bargain price. The 51 charts are known to have been printed in Bevis’s lifetime, but the printing date of the frontispiece and of the index present in this copy are yet to be determined. Most likely the dedicatory frontispiece was commissioned by Bevis but the letterpress index by the later publishers. The frontispiece depicts Frederick Prince of Wales (1707-1751) being presented with a star atlas, with the Royal Observatory in the background. See page 8 of this catalogue for a detail image of that frontispiece. There are about 21 sets known of the full 51 star charts. Most of these sets contain the frontispiece, but only eight of them include the index. See Kilburn, Kevin; Jay M. Pasachoff; and Owen Gingerich, "The Forgotten Star Atlas: John Bevis's Uranographia Brittanica." In: Journal of the History of Astronomy 34 (2003), pp.125-144.
Oblong folio (340 x 410mm). Engraved frontispiece; 51 engraved plates with printed arms of the dedicatees beneath each image being 48 constellation charts, a chart of the southern sky, and two planispheres, and a letterpress index leaf (frontispiece and pl. 1 with repaired excisions from upper right corners with small loss to pl. 1, mild toning, a little soiling to frontispiece and index, index with a repaired tear). Modern half calf over marbled boards preserving an early gilt-lettered red morocco cover label: “Celestial Atlas.”
| Herkunftsort: | England |
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| Kategorie des Auktionshauses: | Gedruckte Bücher |
| Herkunftsort: | England |
|---|---|
| Kategorie des Auktionshauses: | Gedruckte Bücher |
| Adresse der Versteigerung |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London Vereinigtes Königreich | |
|---|---|---|
| Vorschau |
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| Telefon | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
| Aufgeld | see on Website | |
| Nutzungsbedingungen | Nutzungsbedingungen |
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| Losnummer | 53 |
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| Auktionshaus | CHRISTIE'S |
| Auktionsdatum | 05.02.2026 |
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| Losnummer | 53 |
|---|---|
| Auktionshaus | CHRISTIE'S |
| Auktionsdatum | 05.02.2026 |
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| Losnummer | 53 |
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| Auktionshaus | CHRISTIE'S |
| Auktionsdatum | 05.02.2026 |
Вы уже сделали ставку в € 40 000 и ставка принята аукционным домом. Если вы хотите ее уменьшить, то обратитесь напрямую в администрацию аукционного дома.
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| Auktionshaus | CHRISTIE'S |
| Auktionsdatum | 05.02.2026 |
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| Losnummer | 53 |
|---|---|
| Auktionshaus | CHRISTIE'S |
| Auktionsdatum | 05.02.2026 |
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| Losnummer | 53 |
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| Auktionshaus | CHRISTIE'S |
| Auktionsdatum | 05.02.2026 |
