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1840 Lopez Armillary Sphere or Orrery of the Solar System
UniversoCopernico-lopez-1840
Title
1840 (undated) 7 x 5.5 in (17.78 x 13.97 cm)
Description
Ceres, Pallas, and Juno were the first three asteroids discovered in the asteroid belt. Ceres is large enough that that it is classified as a dwarf planet, while the other two are classified as asteroids. Ceres was the first of the three to be discovered and takes up 1/3 of the entire mass of the asteroid belt.
This orrery is extremely rare. Although undated, most publications by López's Establecimiento Geografico de Lopez date to the 1830s or 1840s. We are aware of only one other example.
Cartographer
Pedro Martín de López (fl. c. 1825 – 1847) was a Spanish map publisher active in Madrid during the first part of the 19th century. Pedro Martín de López was the heir to the mapmaking empire established by Tomás López in the late 19th century. When Tomás López died in 1802, his maps fell into the hands of his sons, particularly Juan López (1765-1825), who with an education in geography from the best universities in Paris, was well trained to inherit and expand the family business. On Juan's death, in 1825, the business was taken over by his step-nephew Pedro Martín de López, who published under the imprint Establecimiento Geografico de Lopez. The firm remained active until about 1857, after which we have identified no further republications.