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"Every Event In Nature Has A Natural Cause" -- Rare American Broadside with Diagram of the June 16, 1806 Solar Eclipse as seen from Philadelphia

Finely executed American broadside alerting Philadelphia area residence to an upcoming solar eclipse, with a diagram of the eclipse and a depiction of the phases of the expected solar eclipse of June 16, 1806

A nice example of newspaper publisher John Poulson's rare broadside alerting residents to the “Approaching Solar Eclipse.”  Poulson's text draws extensively from Boston instrument maker Andrew Newell’s pamphlet Darkness at Noon; or, The Great Solar Eclipse, of the 16th of June, 1806, described and represented in every particular (Boston: D. Carlisle & A. Newell, 1806).

Newell's pamphlet described the eclipse as it would be seen from Boston, explained what stars and planets would be visible when the sun was obscured, and offered advice on how to view the eclipse using “a piece of common window glass, smoaked on both sides sufficiently to prevent any injury to the eye.”  As a precision instrument maker, Newell was familiar with astronomy. His pamphlet also included information on the causes of eclipses, as well as a list of eclipses visible in New England from 1778 to 1811, and a catalog of major solar eclipses from 431 BC to 1438 AD.

Poulson's broadside offered Philadelphians a diagram illustrating what they would see on the morning of June 16, 1806, when the moon would begin to obscure the sun from the left side. By reproducing large portions of the pamphlet in broadside form, Poulson brought Newell’s astronomical teachings to a wider public. 

Some of the more interesting quotes from the broadside include:

The lovers of Astronomical Science will perhaps be highly gratified with the opportunity which may on Monday be afforded them, of beholding this interesting celestial phenomenon. And although we shall not be favored, in this city and is neighborhood , with a view of a total obscuration of the solar disk, which, it will be perceived by the ensuing paragraph, may be observed by the inhabitants of some parts of New York, and of the Eastern States...

* *  *

This eclipse can be seen with most advantage by a good telescope; but as few persons are possessed of this instrument, perhaps the best substitute is one of the dark glasses of a common quadrant. By this means the sun can be viewed without any offence to the eye. [Not True -- Don't Try It!]

Rarity

We locate two examples sold at auction (Sothebys 1963 and Hamilton Galleries 1981) and a single example in a dealer catalog (A.S. Rosenbach, 1948, priced at $12.00).

OCLC locates copies at the Library of Congress, American Philosophical Society, New York Historical Society and Hagley Museum & Library.

Note: This is likely the same example which was offered for sale by Alexander Autographs in 2008.