Currently not on view
Tycho and Surroundings,
1874
James Nasmyth, 1808–1890; born Edinburgh, United Kingdom; died London, United Kingdom; active Manchester, United Kingdom
James Carpenter, 1840–1899; active London, United Kingdom
James Carpenter, 1840–1899; active London, United Kingdom
2009-72
In nineteenth-century Britain, the newly established field of astronomy benefited from a growing number of hobbyists who helped gather observational data. As amateur astronomers themselves, Nasmyth and Carpenter formulated ideas about how the moon’s topography formed, and in 1874 they published The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite, one of the first books illustrated by photomechanical prints. Unlike earlier images of the earth’s satellite, Nasmyth and Carpenter’s moonscapes were created with small plaster models that measured about twenty inches in diameter. Despite this fiction, the publication was warmly received by scientists for its high-fidelity images of the lunar models and its accessibility to the public.
More Context
Special Exhibition
<p>Nasmyth and Carpenter deemed careful study of the moon’s surface during its various phases, aided by repeated and revised drawings based on telescopic observations, to be the best method of "rendering correct representations of the objects in view." They translated their drawings into tabletop models, which were photographed under sunlight to "faithfully reproduce" the effects of light and shadow cast on the lunar surface.</p>
Information
Title
Tycho and Surroundings
Dates
1874
Medium
Woodburytype
Dimensions
17.2 × 14 cm (6 3/4 × 5 1/2 in.)
mat: 35.6 x 27.9 cm. (14 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2009-72
Place Made
Europe, England
Inscription
Printed on page, above image center: PLATE XVI.
Printed on page, below image: J. Nasmyth. / (Woodbury) / TYCHO. / AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. / [bar scale in miles] / SCALE.
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