Researching Disbound Illustration From Old Book

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I have an illustrated plate from a seventeenth century book.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/5444960147_c75fca7000_z.jpg

I referred the illustration to curators at the Adler Planetarium here in Chicago. They were unable to determine the source of the illustration. Such illustrations were common in seventeenth century books about astronomy, navigation, or natural philosophy (what general science was called at that time).

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@wandeljw,

wandeljw wrote:

I have an illustrated plate from a seventeenth century book.

I referred the illustration to curators at the Adler Planetarium here in Chicago. They were unable to determine the source of the illustration. Such illustrations were common in seventeenth century books about astronomy, navigation, or natural philosophy (what general science was called at that time).

Hi Wand,
I remember seeing this illustration on a thread some time ago, but I can't remember who posted it. Was it you, or did someone else also post that same illustration?

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@wandeljw,

The illustration shows three different world system theories that were being debated in the seventeenth century. Figure B is the Ptolemaic or geocentric model. Figure C illustrates the model proposed by Tycho Brahe. Figure D shows the Copernican or heliocentric model.

(One curator at the Adler Planetarium remarked, "I wonder what model was used in the book for Figure A.")

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@rosborne979,

That was me, rosborne. I have still been unable to identify what book it came from.

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@wandeljw,

wandeljw wrote:

That was me, rosborne. I have still been unable to identify what book it came from.

I suppose we need more clues... or perhaps the curator you spoke with can recommend another museum curator who might know more. At this point it's probably only beneficial to follow the trail of "experts" as they challenge each other with the mystery.

I've forgotten the details of this from the original thread. Do you have a link to that other thread?

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@rosborne979,

Here is a link to my previous thread:

http://able2know.org/topic/118946-1#post-3302617

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rosborne wrote:

At this point it's probably only beneficial to follow the trail of "experts" as they challenge each other with the mystery.

Another curator noticed a strange coincidence. My illustration is labeled "XXIV". A different illustration of the same three models is also labeled "XXIV" in Johannes Kepler's 1609 book "Astronomia Nova".

The illustration in Kepler's book:

https://libwebspace.library.cmu.edu:4430/posner/sp09/subcontents/images/355px-Kepler_astronomia_nova.jpg

For Kepler's book the illustration was produced from a woodcut. My illustration was produced from a copper-plate engraving and then colored by hand.

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Paper in Europe was made by hand during the seventeenth century. A liquid solution made from cloth fibers was poured over a wire mold and left to dry. Paper made in this way shows "chain lines" from the wires in the mold.

Prints made from engraved plates also leave plate marks on the paper.

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Here is a slightly sharper photo of the illustration:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/5632019616_c57e6b68f7_z.jpg

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Researching Disbound Illustration From Old Book

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