Introduction

People throughout history have looked to the sky for many reasons: to chart the heavens, to navigate the seas, to establish their place in the universe, even to divine answers and predict the future. For equally compelling but less practical reasons, people have also looked towards the heavens in awe, delighting in its spectacular beauty. The works in this exhibition are a remarkable combination of observation and imagination. Ranging from glorious to quirky, traditional to innovative, these celestial charts and astronomical illustrations capture the passion artists and artisans from the 15th through the 19th century had for astronomy. These works are significant historical artifacts that also enchant us with their elegant lines and delicate beauty while providing the contemporary viewer with insight into the development of both an art and a science over the centuries. They help us to explore the majesty of the heavens as it must have seemed centuries ago and to appreciate the wonder of new discoveries and the excitement of generations past.

Since its founding in 1930 as the first planetarium in the Americas, Chicago's Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum has assembled a superb collection of works on paper, rare books, instruments, and other objects related to astronomy. Upon founding the museum, Max Adler acquired the Mensing Collection of about 500 artifacts from Amsterdam in 1930 to establish the Museum's History of Astronomy Collection. Under curatorial care and guidance since that date, most notably during the past 35 years by Roderick and Marjorie Webster, the collection has been conserved, expanded, and used by an international community of scholars. This exhibition includes some of the most spectacular of the works on paper in the collection, which have rarely been seen in public. Celestial charts, plates from atlases and other rare books, astrological calendars, and portraits of historical figures are included in this exhibition to give an indication not only of the superb range of works in the collection, but most importantly as an exploration of the rich history of astronomy.