"Mundum Tradidit Disputationi Eorum", Scherer, Heinrich

A large armillary sphere is the central feature of this frontispiece, with Mundum Tradidit Disputationi Eorum on a banner surrounding the sphere, which is from Ecclesiastes 3:11 (He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end). This allegorical frontispiece alludes to how knowledge and concepts changed as a result of new discoveries and the sharing of knowledge across continents. The sphere is being held by God's hand emanating from a radiant pyramid in the sky, which is flanked by two figures representing Geography and Astronomy. At the bottom, set against a background of sailing ships, is a nobleman or cartographer receiving documents from a mariner representing the source of information contained in the atlas. At right, a figure representing Astronomy tears a horoscope in half, alluding to the separation of astronomy and astrology that took place during the Age of Enlightenment. Drawn by Johann Degler and engraved by Matthus Wolffgang.

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Condition: A

Lovely color and minor soiling in blank margins, with a minute tear in left blank margin.