Stumbled upon these wonderful Astronomy cards from 1830 on ebay ~ aren't these gorgeous? Not only are they beautifully engraved and hand-colored, but they are cleverly designed to instruct as well. The 32 cards came packaged in the box shown above ~ I wonder how much they sold for when they were first produced?
According to the description, these 'hold-to-light' cards were "designed by a “young lady” to make the study of Astronomy “familiar and amusing”. Each card is pricked through with holes of different sizes relative to the apparent magnitude of each star within a given constellation. This rare find can be yours for a mere $2500 obo ~ available for 23 more days here.
I am also curious as to why each illustration has a loose thin outline. Were the illustrations supposed to be cut out and used separately? Or perhaps hung mobile style? Anyone have any ideas or conjectures?
According to the description, these 'hold-to-light' cards were "designed by a “young lady” to make the study of Astronomy “familiar and amusing”. Each card is pricked through with holes of different sizes relative to the apparent magnitude of each star within a given constellation. This rare find can be yours for a mere $2500 obo ~ available for 23 more days here.
I am also curious as to why each illustration has a loose thin outline. Were the illustrations supposed to be cut out and used separately? Or perhaps hung mobile style? Anyone have any ideas or conjectures?
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