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This finely engraved celestial map, published by Anthony Finley in Philadelphia in 1824, features the constellations Ursa Major and Leo Minor.
The stars are plotted against a grid of right ascension and declination, with the traditional mythological figures of the Great Bear and the Lesser Lion illustrated in soft hand coloring.
Ursa Major, the larger figure, is rendered in a stylized manner, with its key stars—such as Dubhe and Merak—clearly marked, forming the famous Big Dipper asterism. Below it lies the smaller constellation of Leo Minor, presented as a lion with fewer prominent stars. Other nearby constellations such as Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices are included, giving viewers a wider view of this region of the night sky.
This map reflects the fascination of the time with both the scientific and mythological aspects of astronomy, combining precise astronomical data with artistic renditions of the constellations.
From Finley’s Astronomical Recreations; or Sketches of the Relative Position & Mythological History of the Constellations, the first American celestial atlas.
Anthony Finley (1784-1836) was an American map publisher. Little is known about his life. He is presumed to have been born in Philadelphia, where he also died. A publisher, Finley was also involved in several Philadelphia civic and professional societies such as the Philadelphia Apprentices’ Library. He may have been in business as early as 1809 and his first publication dates from ca. 1811.
His first maps also date from this year, with two maps in Daniel Edward Clarke’s Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The first atlas published by Finley appeared in 1818, the Atlas classica, or, Select maps of ancient geography, both sacred and profane, for the use of colleges and schools in the United States. He is best known for his A New General Atlas Comprising a Complete Set of Maps (1824), which was a bestseller. There were two editions in 1824, with annual editions until 1834.
Finley was part of the first generation of American publishers who produced high quality, precise maps on American soil. He was in competition with other Philadelphia publishers, for example Henry S. Tanner. Finley’s A New American Atlas Designed Principally to Illustrate the Geography of the United States of America (1826) closely mirrors Tanner’s A New American Atlas Containing Maps of the Several States of the North American Union, with similar groupings of maps; the main difference is the smaller scale of Finley’s maps. Finley printed two editions of this atlas.
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