[Celestial map]. FER (Nicolas de). Planisphere Celeste Septe - Lot 16

[Celestial map]. FER (Nicolas de). Planisphere Celeste Septentrional par Monsr. de la Hire... mis a jour par N. de Fer. Paris, chez N. de Fer, 1705. 1 copper-engraved map, (48 x 48 cm.), hand-colored, enhanced with gold (skillful restoration at head). Beautifully colored copy with gold-embellished stars of this map of the northern celestial hemisphere, engraved by Van Loon after Philippe de la Hire and published by Nicolas de Fer. An astronomer at the Paris Observatory, La Hire played an active role in the Académie des Sciences' observation, geodesy and cartography programs. In 1682 and 1702, he published astronomical tables containing his observations and calculations of the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets, rivaling those of Halley. His two celestial planispheres, representing the northern and southern hemispheres, were published as separate sheets (initially, then included in numerous 18th-century French atlases). In this fine updated edition by Nicolas de Fer, most of the figures are based on Bayer's Uranometria (1603). Some have undergone only minimal modifications.