1793 Encyclopédie Hand-Colored Engraving, ASTRONOMY, Pl. 1 ARMILLARY SPHERE

Description: 1744-1829 Rare Large Quarto Hand-Colored Copper-Plate Engravingby Robert Bénard, from: E N C Y C L O P É D I EMÉTHODIQUE PHYSIQUE Par M. M MONGE, CASSINI, BERTELLON, HASSENFRATZ &c Chez PANCKOUCKE Astronomie, Pl. 5Sphere Armillaire (Armillary Sphere) This beautiful, handsome, hand-colored quarto engraving originates from the Encyclopédie méthodique, published in Paris between 1744-1829 by Charles-Joseph Panckoucke. Appears to be printed on the original, chain-lined laid cotton fiber paper. It's especially rare to find these hand-colored & in such clean shape. The hand water-coloring looks to me to be as beautiful & crisp as the day it was painted. This plate is one of the most beautiful of the series, & a beautiful rendering of a beautiful Armillary Sphere. The Volumes:The Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières (English: 'Methodical Encyclopedia by Order of Subject Matter') was published between 1782 and 1832 by the French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter's wife, Thérèse-Charlotte Agasse.Arranged by disciplines, it was a revised and much expanded version, in roughly 210 to 216 volumes (different sets were bound differently), of the alphabetically arranged Encyclopédie, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert.The full title was L'Encyclopédie méthodique ou par ordre de matières par une société de gens de lettres, de savants et d'artistes; précédée d'un vocabulaire universel, servant de table pour tout l'ouvrage, ornée des portraits de MM. Diderot et d'Alembert, premiers éditeurs de l'Encyclopédie. It was the largest encyclopedia and known for its many large, gorgeous, engravings.This original Diderot Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, better known as the Encyclopédie, was a paradigm-changing epic document that helped define 'The Age of Reason', a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. The Artists:This one is signed by Robert Bénard (1734 in Paris – 1794), a French engraver. He is mainly famous for having supplied a significant amount of plates (at least 1,800) to the Encyclopédie by Diderot & d'Alembert from 1751. Later, publisher Charles-Joseph Panckoucke reused many of his productions to illustrate the works of this present expanded version based on the original Diderot Encyclopedia. The Authors:The Physique volumes which I believed contained the Astronomie section, was authored by Gaspard Monge, Jean-Dominique Cassini, Pierre Bertholon de Saint-Lazare, &c. The Publisher & Printer:Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (1736 – 1798) was a French writer and publisher. He was responsible for numerous influential publications of the era, including the literary journal Mercure de France and the Encyclopédie Méthodique, a successor to the Encyclopédie by Denis Diderot (the present work) The Prints & Technique:Line-engraving or Copperplate engraving is a highly exacting & labor-intensive process for intaglio printmaking. The original drawing is cut into the surface of a copper plate, with shading created by many fine cut lines, or hatching. Before printing takes place, the plate is heated, covered with ink. The warm ink seeps into the finest of depressions and fills the lines and textures of the drawing. The rest of the plate is cleaned off. The copper plate is now pressed with a printing press on to moistened paper which soaks up the ink from the depressions in the plate. The copperplate-engraving technique is very exacting, time-consuming and exhausting for the engraver, who needs a lot of strength for it. Condition:Appears to be in Excellent condition for a 235-year-old engraving. The hand-coloring appears to remain as beautiful as the day it was printed. Very little if any age-toning for an antique print. Appears to be on the original laid, chain-lined handmade cotton fiber paper. These prints are very old & may have imperfections expected with age, such as age-toning of the paper, oxidation of the old original watercolors, spots, text-offsetting, artifacts from having been bound into a book, etc. Please examine the photos & details carefully.Text Page(s): This one comes without the original text page. I've included a scan of the title page of one of the volumes for reference, it's not part of the listing. About this Gorgeous Engraving & The Object it Illustrates:An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features, such as the ecliptic.As such, it differs from a celestial globe, which is a smooth sphere whose principal purpose is to map the constellations. It was invented separately, in ancient China possibly as early as the 4th century BC and ancient Greece during the 3rd century BC, with later uses in the Islamic world and Medieval Europe. With the Earth as center, an armillary sphere is known as Ptolemaic. With the Sun as center, it is known as Copernican. The Armillary Sphere drawn here looks to be an incredibly fine instrument, especially considering every part of this metal assemblage would have been made by hand with 18th Century skills & tools. Size: 11-3/4 x 9-1/2 inches approximately. Combined Shipping:Multiple prints combine into one USPS Flat-Rate envelope, or these can be combined with larger prints. Ebay should auto-combine multiple prints if you put them in your shopping cart & check out all at once. Or if you purchase individually, & eBay assesses multiple shipping charges for one combined package, I will endeavor to refund the shipping overage asap. Thanks for Visiting!

Price: 49.5 USD

Location: Great Barrington, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-11-21T03:01:48.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.95 USD