JF Ptak Science Books LLC Post 505
This is a short entry in the “Things out of Place”
department. The image is lovely enough,
and the depiction of the Moon is excellent, especially given the time of publication,
which was 1683. The Moon though, of course,
is enormously out of proportion with the setting—I’m not sure why it needed a
setting at all, but it has one, and it is odd.
The work is that of the prolific Manesson Mallet, who published this
engraving as one of 677 in his massive Description de l’Univers, which appeared
in five volumes. I’m also not sure of
how Mallet came to such greatness and capacity, as he started out his life
(1630-1706) as a simple foot soldier under Louis XV, rising and rising in
promotion and ability over the years until he became the chief inspector of
forts. He also wrote military books,
including the three volume Les Travaux de Mars ou l'Art de la Guerre
(1684), which he was somehow able to accomplish in the year after publishing
his magnum opus.
I really couldn't figure out where to put his image, categorically speaking that is--it sort of fits into the small Extra Earth series, simply because the extra earths are big and way out of proportion. But this is not "extra", and not the earth, but it is out of proportion and belongs in the sky; and, taken out of context, the image is very unusual, in a naive surreal kind of way...
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