Four 18th Century Celestial Charts Engravings in Brass Frames by Doppelmayr

Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (1677-1750) was a famous German geographer and astronomer, who was Professor of Mathematics at the Aegidien Gymnasium in Nuremberg, Germany. He wrote extensively on astronomy, geography, cartography, spherical trigonometry, sundials and mathematical and other scientific instruments and was involved in the production of terrestrial and celestial globes. He was a member of the Royal Society of London and the Berlin and St. Petersburg Academies of Sciences. In the early 1700s, Doppelmayr created astronomical and cosmological plates that were incorporated in atlases published by Johann Baptist Homann (1664-1724), and ones published after Homann's death by his heirs until 1848. Thirty of these plates were published in the Atlas Novus Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Twenty of these plates focused on the cosmological systems of Copernicus and Tycho Brahe, as well as known details of the planets and other bodies in the solar system. The other ten plates focussed on constellations and the locations known stars and comets. Johann Baptist Homann (1663-1724) was a mapmaker who founded a respected and prolific publishing company, which continued long after his death as Homann Heirs. Homann lived his entire life in Bavaria, particularly in Nuremberg. Initially, Johann trained to become a priest before converting to Protestantism and working as a notary. In 1702, Johann founded a publishing house that specialized in engravings. The firm flourished, becoming the leading map publisher in Germany and an important entity in the European map market. In 1715, Johann was named Imperial Geographer to the Holy Roman Empire by Charles VI and made a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Most importantly for his business, his reputation and contacts gained him imperial printing privileges which protected his publications and recommended him to customers.