1661 Erhard Weigel Cosmographical Celestial Chart and Map w/ Habsburg Eagle

Quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius.

This is Erhard Weigel's rare and striking 1661 astroscopium, or allegorical chart of the constellations, framed by the janiform eagle of the Holy Roman Empire. The map is titled 'Speculum Uranico-Romanum', which translates to 'Roman Celestial Mirror', underscoring the mirroring of the celestial and political realms. As-above-so-below, the map presents Weigel's cosmographical framework, in which astronomy (mathematics) and politics were divinely sanctioned and mutually reinforcing: astronomy revealed God's mathematically ordered universe, while the Holy Roman Empire embodied His ordained Christian order. This fascinating image underwent several changes during its printing history: the present example is likely a proof state.

A Closer Look

The chart depicts the constellations of the northern and southern hemispheres in a modified cordiform projection. In the background below can be seen the map of Europe and the Near East, as if viewed from above: the globe curves at the horizon. The constellations are of the modern-classical format typical of the century's astronomical models, such as that of Cellarius; Plancius' constellation of the Unicorn is included, for instance. In the upper background, the planets, the moon, and the sun are portrayed in orbits around the globe (note that the sun, too, is given an orbit). Stars fill the corners; a comet also appears (a notable inclusion, as the study of comets would long be one of Weigel's specialties. At the top center is a radiant triangle, representing the Holy Trinity.

The chart's most dramatic feature is its framing by a janiform (double-headed) eagle, representing the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire in general and, specifically, Emperor Leopold I (r. 1658 - 1705). The use of the eagle-motif here is not a simple dedication; it is a cosmological framework, literally carrying the constellations on its wings. In Baroque thought, this implied that the Holy Roman Empire occupied a divinely ordained place within the divinely established universal order. For Weigel in particular, who pioneered the idea of Mathesis Universalis (mathematics as a universal language), astronomy revealed God's mathematically ordered universe, while the Holy Roman Empire represented the divinely sanctioned order of Christian society. Here, science, theology, and politics are presented as mutually reinforcing aspects of a single, ordered cosmographical system.

Printing History

The composition is engraved to a single copperplate, with the platemark visible surrounding it. In this form, it does not appear in any institutional collection, and we believe it to be a proof state. We identify the following variants:

• First State (1661) - Present example. No surround. Likely proof.
• First State (1661) v.1 - Dated broadside with a separately-engraved typset surround dedicated to Johann George II (1613 - 1680), Elector of Saxony from 1656 until his death. It also features a note at the bottom referencing the 'Cometae novi', by which Weigel is referring to the Comet of December 1652, on which he regularly lectured. This is the only dated variant, and based on this, we believe it to hold primacy.
• First State (1661) v.2 - Undated broadside with a separately-engraved typset surround dedicated to Emperor Leopold I. An example held by Staatsbibliothek Berlin, attributed to 1661, includes a printed surround with a dedication to Leopold I. It also features a note at the bottom referencing the 'Cometae novi', by which Weigel is referring to the Comet of December 1652. The celestial map is unchanged in both examples, representing thus a first state. The dated example likely holds primacy.
• 2nd State: Features new text added under the sun and moon, above the wings of the eagle, 'Accesserunt Loca Cometarum quotquot ab anno 1652 visi sunt' (With the added positions of every comet observed since 1652).
• 3rd State (1683): Held by the Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin and dated by them to 1683. This example has no surround, but includes dramatic new engraving to the heavens, overlaying the classical images with his entirely new constellation system based on 17th-century secular heraldry. Notably, this is engraved in a hand that is sharply different from the original constellations. The plate's title also changes from Speculum Uranico-Romanum to Speculum Uranico-Europaeum.
  
  This title change is almost certainly an oblique reference to the 1683 siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha. The siege marked the high-water mark of Ottoman expansion into Europe, and their decisive defeat in the massive September 12, 1683 Battle of Vienna marked a sea-change in European history. From that point forward, the Ottomans were slowly driven from Europe. Less tangibly, it marked the beginning of a pan-European mindset - thus the map is not merely a Roman Celestial Mirror, but rather, a European Celestial Mirror - hence the introduction of the new European heraldry-based constellation system in this last edition.

Publication History and Census

This plate was engraved for Weigel, after 1658 but probably closer to 1661, and bears the imprint of 'Johann Dürriq.' There has been a proposed attribution to Johann Dürrig, but this does not fit: he was a publisher in Basel, a city to which Weigel had no connection. A better fit - which Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin agrees with - is German engraver Johann Dürr, active in Augsburg, Weimar, and Leipzig; Weimar and Jena (the city in which most of Weigel's works were published) are quite close. The 1683 Speculum Uranico-Europaeum 3rd state appears in the Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin in a single example; we have seen it only once on the market. The 1661 example of 'Speculum Uranico-Romanum' is cataloged in the sole Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin example with the printed surround; there are no recorded examples of this state without the surround.

Cartographers

Erhard Weigel (Erhardi Weigelij, Erhardus Weigelius; December 16, 1625 - March 20, 1699) was a German mathematician and astronomer notable for his efforts to popularize science and make it accessible to the general populace Professionally, is best known for the concept of Mathesis Universalis (Universal Mathematics) - mathematics was not simply a computational tool, but rather a universal language capable of bringing clarity and certainty to every discipline. He was very active in the observation of the comet that appeared between 1664 and 1665. Weigel was born in Weiden in der Oberpfalz, the son of clothiers, Michael and Anna Weigel. Little is known of his youth, except for its frequent disruption by the religious wars of the period. In 1644, he attended the Gymnasium in Halle, where he studied under the guidance of the astrologer Bartholomäus Schimpfer (???? - 1662). He went on to study at the University of Leipzig, earning his MA in 1650. Two years later, he earned his habilitation, indicating that he could independently teach PhD candidates - the highest accreditation. The polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 - 1716), along with Isaac Newton, the inventor of calculus, was his most famous student. For his entire adult career, he served as a professor of mathematics at Jena University (Thuringia, Germany). The lunar crater Weigel is named after him.   Further Details...

Johann Dürr (1600 - June 16, 1663) was a German etcher, engraver, and illustrator active first in Augsburg, then in Weimar. He was likely born and certainly trained in Augsburg, by the etchers Lucas and Wolfgang Kilian. His later moved to Leipzig where he specialized in portraits of clergy and other notables. He is known to have engraved a few maps and title pages as well.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Reinforced centerfold, marginal mends at top.

References

OCLC 1392082361.