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A striking star chart centered on Ophiuchus vel Serpentarius [The Snake Bearer], marvelously engraved and delicately colored. The chart shows the featured constellation in bright colors with neighboring stars and constellations in more moderated colors. Jamieson's work is one of the finest of its kind in the early 19th century. Alexander Jamieson published A Celestial Atlas Comprising A System Display of the Heaven. This work was published in London by G & W.B Wittaker, T. Caddell, and N. Hailes in 1822.
Many interpretations are made regarding the nature of the snake bearer. Originally, the Greeks bestowed upon the constellation either the story of the Trojan priest Laokoon slain by serpents, or Apollo wrestling with the serpent guard of Delphi. Ophiucus has become, in more recent interpretations, the ship's surgeon on the Argo Navis.
The chart includes a brightly colored Ophiuchus and more subtly colored parts of the constellations of Scorpio, Sagittarius, Taurus, Hercules, Cerberus, Libra, Scutum Sobieski, and others. The ecliptic line crosses the image at the bottom, while the image is aligned with the equinoctal. Much of the chart shows the constellations of the southern sky. The Milky Way passes through the lower left of the image.
This edition of Jamieson's work was later used for Urania's Mirror, a collection of star cards with punched holes so one could line them up with the constellations.
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