Fine Art. 15th - 20th Century Prints & Maps. Old Master, Views, Nature History And More
By Dahlströms Fine Art
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Jan 13, 2024
Grönviksvägen 124, 167 76 Bromma, Sweden
Terms of sale
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We offer in this sale Old Master Prints from the end of the 15th Century, rare antique maps, prints and drawings up to the 19th century, to modern & contemporary Fine Prints.
The auction has ended
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LOT 30:
John Bevis
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Sold for: €400
Start price:
€
70
Estimated price :
€700 - €800
Buyer's Premium: 23%
VAT: 25%
On commission only
Users from foreign countries may be exempted from tax payments, according to the relevant tax regulations
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Rare Celestial Map - Uranographia Britannica - John Bevis - Star Chart
Map from John Bevis’s (1695-1771) legendary Uranographia Britannica [c. 1748], a celestial atlas of both high astronomical ambition and artistic beauty which was never formally published, its engraved sheets languishing in legal limbo, sequestered by the courts for some 35 years after the bankruptcy in 1750 of Bevis’s partner, the London instrument maker John Neale. “The Uranographia, if published as scheduled, would certainly have joined the elite ranks of the Grand Atlases” (Ashworth, p. 53), namely Beyer’s Uranometria (1603), Schiller’s Coelestum Stellatum Christianum (1627), Hevelius’s Firmamentum (1690), Flamsteed’s Atlas Coelestis (1729), and Bode’s Uranographia (1801), the fine ‘working star charts’ which were essential tools of astronomers in the 17th and 18th centuries. “No expense was spared in the interest of accuracy and artistic quality. The plates of Uranographia Britannica were beautifully engraved … It has been suggested that they may have been contracted to Dutch craftsmen, then recognized as being the best. The artwork was superb, far better than in Johannes Bayer’s Uranometria on which the plates were based”.
The work is in good condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or fox or mottled marks to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
Dimensions: 50 cm x 37 cm; Date: c. 1748
