1713 / 1763 William Whiston Chart of the Solar System and Comets

First Modern Chart of the Solar System.

This rare broadsheet engraving is a c.1763 Bowles edition of William Whiston's influential 1713 chart of the Solar System, including the orbits of known comets. It is the first modern chart of the Solar System, incorporating the observations of Newton, Halley, and Flamsteed.

A Closer Look

Whiston's chart was initially produced to support his private lectures on modern astronomical theories, which he undertook in London beginning in around 1712. This text-heavy chart is nevertheless an elegant composition of the solar system; the planetary orbits are depicted as circular (in the text, Whiston correctly asserts that these orbits are in fact elliptical, so the circular orbits are an aesthetic choice). The circular planetary orbits have the effect of emphasizing the sharp parabolae of the depicted orbits of comets as they plummet in towards the Sun, before being flung again out of the Solar System.

The discovered planets - the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, The Earth, Saturn and Jupiter -  are depicted top and center of the broadside in order of magnitude, with the lattermost giants appropriately dwarfing the inner planets.

It is a synthesis of the discoveries of Halley and Newton; in particular, Halley's catalog of comets is referenced along each relevant orbital track. Engraved text panels provide details of the planets and their orbital information. The five circular panels transcribe relevant passages from Newton's Opticks. Thus, the sheet represents a primer in the most groundbreaking astronomic discoveries of the latter 17th and early 18th centuries.

Publication History and Census

This plate was engraved by John Senex for publication as a broadsheet in 1713; at some point after 1720 the plate went to the Bowles family, who included it in their own works. The present example bears the imprint of Thomas and John Bowles and Robert Sayer, who included the sheet in their 1763 Universal Geographer.  We see no confirmed, separate examples of this edition in institutional collections; the Bibliothèque Nationale de France has recorded a later, Carrington Bowles example with a spurious 1720 date. We se an accurately cataloged example in the National Library of Wales. All editions are rare on the market.

Cartographers

William Whiston (December 9, 1667 - August 22, 1752) was an English theologian, mathematician, and writer, notable as a vocal proponent of Isaac Newton and his theories (the two had become friends). He earned his degrees as a Mathematician at Clare College in Cambridge; he would rise to become the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge in 1702(succeeding Newton in the position). In 1710, his religious views earned him censure and expulsion as a heretic; he himself believed that his reputation as such had prevented his becoming a fellow of the Royal Society, despite his having been a lecturer to that group. Whiston offered classes in London thereafter, at coffee houses such as Button's, and in private meetings. His chart of the Solar System was initially produced to support those lectures. His activities extended to the efforts to not only to pass the Longitude Act, but also to various attempts to win the prize himself, inviting ridicule.   Further Details...

John Senex (1678 - 1740) was an English engraver and map maker active in London during the first half of the 18th century. Senex was born to upper middle class parents in Shropshire, England. As a young man, he was apprenticed to Robert Clavell, a London bookseller and member of the Stationers' Company, under whom he mastered the arts of engraving and printmaking. Around 1702 Senex completed his apprenticeship and established himself as a printer and bookseller in the Strand. A year later Senex partnered with Jeremiah Seller and Charles Price, the successors to the important mapmaker John Seller, and relocated to Cornhill. This was likely Senex's first introduction to mapmaking though he seems to have taken to it with abandon. In the subsequent years Senex established himself as one of the most prominent cartographers in London, publishing a number of beautiful and important maps that today rank among the finest examples from the Golden Age of British Cartography. In addition to a large corpus of flat maps, Senex also produced a number of important and highly desirable globes. Eventually Senex dissolved his partnership with Seller and Price and relocated to Fleet Street, where he maintained offices until his death in 1740. Senex was succeeded by his widow, Mary Senex, who continued to publish and update his works until about 1755, when the remaining globe and map plates were sold to James Ferguson.   Further Details...

The Bowles Family (fl. c. 1714 - 1832) were publishers and map sellers active in London from c. 1714 to c. 1832. The firm, under Thomas Bowles (fl. 1714 - 1763), John Bowles (1701 - 1779), Carrington Bowles (1724 - 1793), and as Bowles and Carver (fl. 1794 - 1832), produced a massive corpus of work that included numerous atlases, pocket maps, and wall maps. The Bowles publishing tradition was kept alive for four generations, starting with Thomas Bowles, a print engraver active in the late 17th century. His son, Thomas Bowles II, produced the firm's first maps at St. Paul's Churchyard, London. Thomas's brother, John Bowles (a.k.a. 'Old John Bowles' or 'Black Horse Bowles'), was also an active publisher established at no. 13 Cornhill. He is credited as one of the first publishers of William Hogarth's works. There, John's son, Carrington Bowles, was introduced to the trade. Carrington took over the Cornhill bookshop and eventually merged it with his uncle's shop in St. Paul's Churchyard. On Carrington's 1793 death, the business was passed to his son Henry Carrington Bowles (1763 - 1830), who partnered with his father's former apprentice Samuel Carver (1756 - 1841), renaming the firm 'Bowles and Carver'. Under this imprint, the firm continued to publish maps and atlases until 1832. Henry Carrington Bowles died in 1830, but Samuel Carver, himself in advanced years and poor health, kept it going for another 2 years before closing the business.   Further Details...

Robert Sayer (1725 - January 29, 1794) was an important English map publisher and engraver active from the mid to late 18th century. Sayer was born in Sunderland, England, in 1725. He may have clerked as a young man with the Bank of England, but this is unclear. His brother, James Sayer, married Mary Overton, daughter-in-law of John Overton and widow of Philip Overton. Sayer initially worked under Mary Overton, but by December of 1748 was managing the Overton enterprise and gradually took it over, transitioning the plates to his own name. When Thomas Jefferys went bankrupt in 1766, Sayer offered financial assistance to help him stay in business and, in this way, acquired rights to many of the important Jefferys map plates as well as his unpublished research. From about 1774, he began publishing with his apprentice, John Bennett (fl. 1770 - 1784), as Sayer and Bennett, but the partnership was not formalized until 1777. Bennett retired in 1784 following a mental collapse and the imprint reverted to Robert Sayer. From 1790, Sayer added Robert Laurie and James Whittle to his enterprise, renaming the firm Robert Sayer and Company. Ultimately, Laurie and Whittle partnered to take over his firm. Sayer retired to Bath, where, after a long illness, he died. During most of his career, Sayer was based at 53 Fleet Street, London. His work is particularly significant for its publication of many British maps relating to the American Revolutionary War. Unlike many map makers of his generation, Sayer was a good businessman and left a personal fortune and great estate to his son, James Sayer, who never worked in the publishing business.   Further Details...

Source

Bowles, T. and J., Universal Geographer, (London: Bowles and Sayer) 1763.    

Condition

Very good. Some wear at juncture of folds. Closed tear extending 1 inch into printed area in bottom right corner professionally repaired on verso. Closed margin tears professionally repaired on verso.

References

OCLC 1119852683