Antique Celestial Chart of the Sagittarius by Fortin (1776)

Description: Antique map titled 'Le Sagittaire'. Beautiful celestial chart of the Sagittarius, one of the constellations of the zodiac. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur pulling-back a bow. It lies between Scorpius and Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus and Microscopium to the east. This map originates from 'Atlas celeste de Flamsteed, approuve par l’Academie royale des sciences, et publie sous le privilege de cette compagnie' published in Paris, 1776.

Artists and Engravers: Jean Fortin (French 1750-1831) was a maker of scientific instruments respected for his creation of the barometer. Fortin got hold of the old Flamsteed celestial charts, made smaller more commercially sized plates for printing and over the years updated them as need dictated. Fortin was responsible for these quarto sized charts that show the brightest naked eye stars with constellation figures.