Cellarius, Andreas (c. 1596-1665).

folio (530 x 330mm.), [4 (title-page, index leaf)] pp., title-page printed in red and black, illustration: allegorical title engraved by F.H. van Hoven, woodcut vignette on printed title, 29 double-page engraved cosmographical charts, fine dark impressions, binding: contemporary half sheep over patterned paper-covered boards, occasional marginal soiling, binding scuffed

Koeman IV, Cel 3; Brown Astronomical Atlases, pp. 40-41

a fine dark copy of one of the most fascinating achievements from the golden age of Dutch cartography. The Harmonia macrocosmica is the only atlas of the period dealing with astronomy. Unlike later celestial atlases, Cellarius charts demonstrated various ancient and contemporary cosmological ideas, rather than just the names and positions of the stars. The purpose of the book was to assess different attempts to discover the underlying harmony of the universe. The charts represent the highest levels of seventeenth-century astronomical thought, with the diagrams showing aspects of the three great theories on the nature of the universe: the Ptolemaic, the Copernican and the Brahean.