Libra, c.1825 (card, paper, tissue )

Creator: Sidney Hall Plate 22. A set of thirty-two constellation cards entitled 'Urania's Mirror', with a chart of the heavens for the latitude of London (by Jehoshaphat Aspin), all contained within a box depicting Urania, the personification of Astronomy. They were sold as an attractive but educational item, presumably to be used within a domestic setting and reflecting the rising taste for improving pastimes in the later 18th and early 19th century. The set was often accompanied by a copy of Aspin's 'Familiar Treatise on Astronomy' (1825), written especially for the purpose. The cards are hand coloured and show the stars and traditional imagery for the major constellations. The cards give compass directions, the names of the constellations and the most important stars. They feature eighty constellations and two sub-constellations, some of which are no longer recognised. The artwork and choice of constellations is inspired by Alexander Jamieson’s 'Celestial Atlas' (1822).