$24,000
Hevelius, Johannes (1611-1687) Selenographia . Danzig: for the Author, 1647. First edition of the first complete lunar atlas, folio, collated, lacking the half-title, illustrated with engraved title, and engraved portrait; 107 full-page engravings (including one constructed volvelle); three double-page engravings, and twenty-six text engravings; all illustrations engraved and signed by the author; typographical title printed in red and black, 2 x 4-inch portion clipped from the blank right bottom corner of the title; contents occasionally spotted, bound in original polished parchment over stiff boards, tooled in gilt on boards and spine, all edges gilt, very good. Hevelius's work on the moon is stunning. He engraved a plate for every night from the first glimmer of a crescent after no moon, through to the full moon, and then again the waning moon back to the last visible scrap before no moon again. He also describes his tools and methods in detail, and includes illustrations of the interior of his observatory in Danzig. Some copies contain 111 plates, the extra plate may have been added post publication. This copy contains 110 plates.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-11-18