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Description

An interesting series of twenty-two figures describing celestial motion and globular projections. These include a celestial globe (Figure 1), a projection of Asia (Figure 7), a rendition of a spherical astrolabe (Figure X) and a climatic model of the earth (Figure 3). The work appears to be targeted at students, with the title discussing "juventutis erudiendae."

Of particular interest is Figure 13, labeled "Systema Tychonicum" and Figure 12, labeled "Systema Solis et Planetarum secundum hypothesin Copernici." This is evidently referencing the sixteenth-century debate over the nature of the Solar System. Tycho Brahe argued for a complex system, with the earth rotating the sun, but with the rest of the planets and fixed stars rotating around the earth. Copernicus devised the system we now recognize today, and in Figure 12 even Saturn and Jupiter with their respective moons are shown rotating the sun. By the time this map was made, the debate was settled in the scientific community, this is evidenced by Figure 12 taking up the center of the image while Figure 13 is smaller and to the bottom.

An interesting curiosity of importance to the study of astronomy.

Homann Heirs Biography

Homann Heirs was a German publishing firm that enjoyed a major place in the European map market throughout the eighteenth century. Founded in 1702 by Johann Baptist Homann, the business passed to his son, Christoph, upon Johann’s death in 1724. Christoph died in 1730, aged only 27, and the firm was inherited by subsequent Homann heirs. This altered the name of the company, which was known as Homann Erben, or Homann heirs. The firm continued in business until 1848.