Fine broadside illustrating the so-called “Leiden Sphere” – the first mechanical model of a Copernican solar system
Sphaera Armillaris Copernicana...
Amsterdam,
1711
Hand-coloured engraved broadsheet.
500 by 380mm. (19.75 by 15 inches).
1207
notes:
A fine broadside illustrating the so-called "Leiden Sphere," engraved by Pieter Van der AA.
The Leiden Sphere, a mechanical armillary sphere or orrery, was built around 1670 by the clockmaker Steven Tracy, for the mayor of Rotterdam, Adriaen Vroesen. It is among the earliest and most elaborate mechanical planetaria to be operated by a clockwork mechanism. The device depicts the Copernican solar system, in which the earth and the other planets revolve around a sta...
The Leiden Sphere, a mechanical armillary sphere or orrery, was built around 1670 by the clockmaker Steven Tracy, for the mayor of Rotterdam, Adriaen Vroesen. It is among the earliest and most elaborate mechanical planetaria to be operated by a clockwork mechanism. The device depicts the Copernican solar system, in which the earth and the other planets revolve around a sta...
provenance:
King, Henry C., Geared to the Stars... 1978: states that the first mechanical Copernican orrery was designed by Christian Huygens, and executed by Johannes van Ceulen (?Keulen) in 1682 - present predates it by 12 years??