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This engraving by Alain Manesson Mallet is drawn from his work Description de l'Univers, first issued in Paris in 1683. The image presents a comparative illustration of two key cosmographic instruments: the armillary sphere (top) and the terrestrial globe (bottom).
The armillary sphere, composed of intersecting rings representing celestial circles such as the equator, ecliptic, tropics, and polar circles, was used to model the heavens and demonstrate the apparent motion of celestial bodies around the Earth. The terrestrial globe below, mounted on a decorative stand, maps the Earth with latitude circles including the tropics and polar circles, and features a visible European-centered map projection.
Alain Mannesson Mallet (1630-1706) was a French mapmaker and engineer who served in the armies of Louis XIV. After rising through the ranks, Mallet was appointed as Inspector of Fortifications, a job which also required mathematical skills and which made him a competent military engineer. Eventually, he joined the court of Louis XIV at Versailles, where he taught math and focused on writing.
Mallet is best known for his Description de L’Univers, first published in 1683, in five volumes. A wide-ranging geographical work, the Description included textual descriptions of the countries of the world, as well as maps of the celestial sky and the ancient and modern worlds. The Description continued to be published until the early eighteenth century. He also published a work in three volumes on warfare (1684) and a primer on geometry (1702).
![[ Phases of the Moon ] Phasis Lunae Gibberosae Crescentis, observata Solnoci Anno MDCXCVI die 9 Augusti hor. 10 pomer. [and] Phasis Lunae Adulta, observata Segedini Anno MDCXCVI. Die 11 Iulii, intra hor 10 et 11. pom](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/95540.jpg)
