Diagram of Meteorology (1879) Map

Twelfth and final plate from Astronomie populaire ou description des corps célestes avec atlas en tableaux transparents composé de 12 planches coloriées à l’usage des gens du monde. This carefully revised fifth edition, published in 1879 by the Franco-Belgian publisher Kiessling, is taken from a portfolio published in London in 1846 by James Reynolds: Astronomical Diagrams [Diagrammes astronomiques]. The scene is captivating for its composition, the delicacy of its line work, and the subtlety of its colors. In addition to the impressive central maelstrom, it depicts, among other things, a waterspout, a will-o’-the-wisp, cloud formations, shooting stars, and aerolites—all classified as meteors (from the Greek metéōra, “celestial phenomena or bodies”).

1 , ills colour, 18 x 33 cm, poster, French/English