Irish Armorial Provenance · Victorian Astronomy · Decorative Cloth
The Heavens and the Earth — Victorian Astronomy with Simon Little of Cullentra Irish Armorial Bookplate
Thomas Milner, M.A., F.R.G.S. · revised by Edwin Dunkin, F.R.A.S. · London: Religious Tract Society · undated new edition
Catalogue details
Description
A Victorian popular handbook of astronomy, with the original terracotta-coloured decorated publisher’s binding, frontispiece depicting the Great Equatorial at Greenwich Observatory and, especially, the engraved armorial bookplate of Simon Little, Cullentra, County Wexford, Ireland. The Irish provenance is a defining characteristic of this particular copy.
- Dimensions
- Measurements gladly provided on request
- Author
- Thomas Milner, M.A., F.R.G.S.
- Revised and enlarged by
- Edwin Dunkin, F.R.A.S., Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- Publisher
- Religious Tract Society, London
- Edition and dating
- Undated “New Edition”; provisionally late nineteenth century (often assigned c.1870s), not independently dated
- Binding
- Original terracotta-coloured cloth, with gilt title and black-stamped ornament
- Illustration
- Engraved frontispiece of the Great Equatorial Observatory, Greenwich
- Completeness
- Not physically collated
- Condition
- Please consult the photographs for condition. Additional photographs are available on request.
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Historical context & sources
An Irish private library
The front pastedown carries the armorial ex libris “Simon Little, Cullentra”, connecting the volume to a named Irish owner and residence. Historical references also record a Simon Little of Cullentra, County Wexford, a solicitor who died in 1893. The apparent identity is plausible but should be described as a probable association rather than conclusively proven from the bookplate alone.
What the book explains
Milner’s illustrated introduction explains the solar system and astronomical observation for general readers, with discussions of planets, transits of Venus, eclipses, observatories and scientific instruments. The pictured text recounts the seventeenth-century work of Jeremiah Horrocks, William Crabtree and William Gascoigne surrounding the transit of Venus in 1639.
Cover design
The ornamented publisher’s binding shows a handsome Victorian pattern of symmetrical floral and geometric devices. No designer’s signature is visible in the provided material, and the artist responsible for this binding cannot presently be identified.
