Bayer, Star Atlas (11 results)

Wraps. Condition: Good. Format is 5 inches by 6.75 inches at the front of the top wrapper, which as a ornate drawing at the center. The two wings have a slot that the tapered back wing fits into. Inside is a set of 36 cards in alphabetical order, illustrated on one side only, depicting various constellations. Uranometria is a star atlas produced by Johann Bayer. It was published in Augsburg in 1603 by Christoph Mangle (Christophorus Mangus) under the full title Uranometria: omnium asterismorum continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aereis laminis expressa. This translates to "Uranometria, containing charts of all the constellations, drawn by a new method and engraved on copper plates". The word "Uranometria" derives from Urania, muse of the heavens and "uranos" the Greek word for sky/heavens. A literal translation of "Uranometria" is "Measuring the Heavens" (to be compared with "Geometry"â ""Geometria" in Greek, literally translated to "Measuring the Earth"). It was the first atlas to cover the entire celestial sphere. This set includes: Andromeda, Aquarius, Aquila, Argonavis 1603. Aries, Auriga, Bootes, Cancer, Canis Major, Capricornus, Casiopeia, Centaurus, Cepheus, Cetus, Corona, Cygnus, Draco, Eridanus, Gemini, Hercules, Hydra, Leo, Libra, Ophiuchus, Orion, Pegasus, Perseus, Pisces, Piscus Austrinus, Saittarius, Scorpius,Serpens, Taurus, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Virgo. Each card is a work of art and suitable for framing. Johann Bayer, (born 1572, Rain, Bavaria [Germany]â "died March 7, 1625, Augsburg [Germany]), German astronomer whose book Uranometria (1603) promulgated a system of identifying all stars visible to the naked eye. Bayer entered Ingolstadt University in 1592 to study philosophy and later moved to Augsburg. He became a lawyer by profession but, like many of his time, took a curious interest in the new advances in astronomy, leading to his publication of Uranometria, a popular guide to the constellations. In 1612 he was appointed legal adviser to the city council of Augsburg. Before Bayer's work, star charts were based on Ptolemy's star catalog, which was incomplete and ambiguous. Bayer updated Ptolemy's list of 48 constellations, adding 12 constellations newly recognized in the Southern Hemisphere. Based upon Tycho Brahe's determinations of stellar positions and magnitudes, Bayer assigned each visible star in a constellation one of the 24 Greek letters. For constellations with more than 24 visible stars, Bayer completed his listing with Latin letters. The nomenclature that Bayer developed is still used today and has been extended to apply to about 1,300 stars. Wrapper in two pieces, an inner sleeve that had flaps to hold the card and a outer wrapper with the author, title, and publisher on the front with a decoration. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus.

Hardcover. Color illus. paper over boards with beige title plate affixed to front; Portfolio with 10 loose folded sheets inside; Lined with off-white cloth; 10 color plates. Ten constellation illustrations from the original 1603 edition of Uranometria, a star atlas by Johannes Bayer. VG- (Light wear to extremities; A few spots of very light foxing; Overall in nice shape).

Ulm: Johann Gorlini, 1639. Coloured, with gold highlights. 285 x 380mm. The constellation of Cassiopeia, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

Ulm: Johann Gorlini, 1639. Coloured, with gold highlights. 285 x 380mm. The constellation of Cepheus , engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

Ulm: Johann Gorlini, 1639. Coloured, with gold highlights. 285 x 380mm. The constellation of Canis Major, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Ulm, 1641. Coloured with watercolour and gouache, stars highlighted in gold. 285 x 380mm. An early depiction in print of the Zodiac sign Aries, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Ulm, 1641. Coloured with watercolour and gouache, stars highlighted in gold. 285 x 380mm. An early depiction in print of the Zodiac sign Sagittarius, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Ulm, 1641. Coloured with watercolour and gouache, stars highlighted in gold. 285 x 380mm. An early depiction in print of the Zodiac sign Cancer, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Ulm, 1641. Coloured with watercolour and gouache, stars highlighted in gold. 285 x 380mm. An early depiction in print of the Zodiac sign Leo, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Ulm, 1641. Coloured with watercolour and gouache, stars highlighted in gold. 285 x 380mm. An early depiction in print of the Zodiac sign Libra, engraved by Alexander Mair for Bayer's 'Uranometria', a star atlas that shaped the way the heavens would be perceived for more than two centuries. Johann Bayer (1572-1625), an Augsburg lawyer, was an amateur astronomer in the years just prior to the invention of the telescope. His most important innovation was a new system of identifying stars by Greek and Roman letters, known today as the Bayer designation. His 'Uranometria' ('Measuring the Sky'), first published 1603, was the first celestial atlas to contain a chart of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. WARNER: Bayer 1.

Hardcover. Condition: VG. Bayer / 1639 and 1640 / Uranometria, omnium asterismorum continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aeris laminis expressa. [bound with:] Explicatio characterum aeneis uranometrias imaginum, tabulis, insculptorum, addita,   commodiore hac forma tertium redintegrata. (Safe 1, 70736) Large Octavo. Full 17th- or 18th-century vellum. Engraved title dated 1639, 51 engraved plates. Text collates as A4-I4, K4, L4-N4, O2. Second Edition in Early Vellum, Bound With the Extremely Rare Text. First published in Augsburg in 1609, Bayer's Uranometria was one of the great celestial atlases of the 17th century, a veritable golden age for start chart production. This is the second edition, published in Ulm in 1639. And bound with it is the extremely rare 1640 accompanying text also published in Ulm. Of the 51 engraved plates in the atlas, 48 are Ptolemaic constellations, 1 is a chart of the 12 new constellations unknown to Ptolemy, and 2 are of planispheres showing the northern and southern hemispheres Each plate has a carefully engraved grid, so that star positions can be read off to fractions of a degree. These positions were taken from the catalog of Tycho Brahe. Brahe's catalog had circulated in manuscript in the 1590s, but was not published until 1602. Another important feature of Bayer's atlas was the introduction of a new system of stellar nomenclature. Bayer assigned Greek letters to the brighter stars, generally in the order of magnitude, so that the bright star in the Bull's eye became alpha Tauri (and the brightest star in the Centaur became our familiar Alpha Centauri.) These letters were placed on the charts themselves, and also in a table that accompanied each chart. Bayer's charts are rarely offered separately on the market. Text This volume includes the extremely rare 1640 text to accompany the 1639 plate volume. We record one example having come to auction in the last 50 years, at Sotheby's in 2004 (sold for 1,440): "We have traced only one other copy, in the Royal Library in Stockholm." This is particularly desirable as Bayer's atlas almost always appears without accompanying text. The text has early marginal ink annotations in Latin. Provenance Ex-libris of Philip M. Chancellor, with the coat of arms and motto of the Chancellor family. Book.