FLAMSTEED, John and Jean FORTIN (editor).
Atlas céleste de Flamstéed ...
Paris, Le citoyen Lamarche, successeur de Robert de Vaugondy & J. Fortin, "L'an IIIe de la République Françoise" [= 1795]. Small 4to. With beautifully designed engraved maps of the celestial globe, including all astronomical constellations, on 30 double-page plates, versos blank, including 2 maps of the celestial hemispheres, and 2 maps of the celestial planisphere, one after a design by Abbé de La Caille with the plans of the southern constellations, all maps engraved by C. E. Voisard after Flamsteed, and the text written on the maps by Beaublé. With the title and text set within a simple woodcut frame. Contemporary half calf, black morocco title label lettered in gold on the spine, brown sprinkled paper sides, marbled edges. IX, [1] pp.; 30 double-page engraved plates; 47, [1 blank] pp.
€ 5,000
Second revised, corrected and enlarged edition of the French edition by Jean Fortin (1750-1831), of the famous celestial atlas by John Flamsteed (1646-1719), the first royal astronomer of the observatory at Greenwich in England. Originally intended as the atlas to his famous Historia Caelestis, the atlas was first published after Flamsteed's death in 1729, and it represented the first new up-to-date celestial atlas since the star catalogue of Tycho Brahe and the star atlas by Hevelius. The constellations had been most beautifully drawn by James Thornhill, and John Flamsteed had adopted Bayer's plan of stellar nomenclature in small Greek type, italics and Roman capitals. For the first French edition of 1776, all maps were most carefully reduced in size, and the position of the stars was fixed for the year 1780, instead of 1690 where Flamsteed had fixed them. Jean Fortin had been one of the most skilled precision mechanics and scientific instrument makers of his time. The present third edition of Flamsteed's atlas - which is also the second edition of Fortin's adaptation - was corrected and enlarged anew after the latest discoveries by J.J. le François de Lalande (1732-1807), the famous French astronomer. All changes of both French editions are fully explained in the preliminary text. The maps are now 25 x 23 cm.; two maps were added since Flamsteed: the Northern celestial hemisphere with new constellations, and the map of the southern planisphere by La Caille. The text presents a stellar catalogue, including explanations on how to recognize the constellations, and several exercises on how to apply astronomical observations to navigation or to calculations of time and place. The real interest of the present atlas lies in its beautiful celestial maps, all in fine and strong impressions.
The binding shows very slight signs of wear, pp. 25-32 are slightly browned. Otherwise a very fine copy. Brown, Astronomical Atlases, Maps & Charts, p. 47; Lalande 553; WorldCat 1036619209, 490192668, 1131720953, 2232482, 265442566, 23643197 (30 copies); no French ed. in Honeyman Coll., or in Kenney, Cat. San Diego State Univ. Library.
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