Imagines Constellationum
Johannes Honter (1498-1549)
Celestial charts
Published by Heinrich Petri (1508-1579)
Basel, Switzerland, 1532
Woodcuts
WOP-41b

Johannes Honter was heavily influenced by the celestial charts published in 1515 by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), which were the first printed star maps to include coordinates and scales. The introduction of these devices by Dürer meant that charts could be read more accurately than earlier diagrams, which featured simple, individual illustrations with no reference points.

But, Honter did not simply imitate Dürer's schemes. In an innovative move, Honter reversed the constellation figures so as to describe them as if they were viewed from the earth (what we now describe as a 'geocentric view'), rather than the conventional method which described the constellations as if viewed from outside the earth's sphere. In addition to this new perspective, Honter depicted certain figures as unmistakable Northern European types with heavy beards and bulky clothing. His maps were quite popular and were printed in numerous editions, and may have inspired other cartographers to employ the geocentric format and period clothing.