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Description: | This is one of 17 hand-coloured and decorative terrestrial and celestial engravings published in Paris in 1761, entitled 'On Longitude and Latitude'. Each presents various astronomical and geographical ideas, with a central diagram, copious text in two columns down either side, and floral, decorative frame-like borders. The subjects covered in these prints demonstrate how closely the disciplines of astronomy and geography were allied at this date, especially when presented as a body of knowledge to be consumed at home. These engravings were luxury goods, a fact which indicates the wealthy audience at which they were aimed.
The engravings were published as double-page spreads within the first volume of the "Atlas M�thodique et El�mentaire de G�ographie et d'Histoire" by Claude Buy de Mornas (1761). They were sold by Buy de Mornas (d. 1783), geographer to Louis XVI, and Louis-Charles Desnos (1725-1805), who ran one of the most important French map and globe making enterprises. The topics covered by these prints include exploration, terrestrial and celestial co-ordinates, the seasons, climate and peoples of the world, the Sun, the solar system and its various conceptions over history, the stars and phenomena such as eclipses and parallax.
caption: De la Longtitude et de la Latitude | Publisher: | "http://collections.rmg.co.uk/" | Rights holder: | "Royal Museums Greenwich" | Source: | Royal Museums Greenwich | Identifier: | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections... | Go to resource |
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