Harmonia Macrocosmica 1708.

Harmonia Macrocosmica. Amsterdam 1708. Harmonica Macrocosmica consists of 29 double plates made in sumptuous baroque style. The first part describes cosmological theories, as well as illustrates motions of the sun and planets that were discovered by Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe. The last eight plates depict constellations of both celestial hemispheres and planispheres. These ones have a high level of artistic detail and are considered very precious by the collectors of fine arts.
Cellarius’s atlas is the seventh volume of a complex work started by Gerardus Mercator a century earlier. His idea was to publish an atlas that will cover everything known about cosmos, as well as geography, and history of the earth. He composed five volumes and the sixth one was finished by his son, Rumold.
The collection includes digitized plates of the famous atlas and are provided by the Library of ​Congress.