Atlas céleste de Flamstéed, seconde édition, Paris, F. G. Deschamps, 1776.

Octavo volume containing the French edition of John Flamsteed’s Atlas Coelestis, here in the second edition prepared by Nicolas Fortin, instrument maker to the King and the Royal Family. With engraved celestial charts including hemispheric star maps and constellation plates such as La Grande Ourse. Contemporary text in French, including the preliminary discourse describing the projection system and the methodology of the atlas.

John Flamsteed (1646–1719) was the first Astronomer Royal of England and among the most influential astronomers of his era. His Atlas Coelestis, first issued posthumously in 1729 in London, was the most accurate and comprehensive star atlas of the 18th century, charting over 3,000 stars with unprecedented precision. The Paris editions by Nicolas Fortin, beginning in 1776, offered a reduced and more practical format approved by the Académie Royale des Sciences, extending the reach of Flamsteed’s work to a wider public. Fortin’s adaptation became one of the most widely consulted star atlases of the Enlightenment, bridging the world of professional astronomy and educated amateurs.

The present copy shows a later plain rebinding, probably 19th or early 20th century, in paper-covered boards with a cloth or leather spine and small spine label. The utilitarian binding suggests preservation for reference use rather than original decorative presentation.

A significant and desirable French edition of Flamsteed’s foundational star atlas, reflecting both the scientific rigor of its English author and the Enlightenment impulse to disseminate knowledge through clear and accessible editions.

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