Out of This World: The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas

The Linda Hall Library celebrated the opening of the Out of this World exhibition with a lecture on Thursday, May 17, by internationally known British bookseller Roger Gaskell. Mr. Gaskell discussed aspects of the history of star atlases and various controversies over the naming of constellations and how the skies should be mapped.

The exhibition is featured in the Main Exhibit Hall of the Library and will run through November 30th. It features forty-three star atlases and maps (including 15 recent acquisitions) from the library's rare book collection, covering the period from 1482 to 1851. They capture the sweeping grandeur of the heavens and are among the most beautiful scientific books ever made. They were works of science, first and foremost, but these atlases nevertheless have a universal appeal. The blending of star maps with constellation figures in a grand and monumental format is hard for anyone to resist.