A fine and rare William Harris & Co combined planitarium, tellurium and lunarium,  English,  circa 1825,
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A fine and rare William Harris & Co combined planetarium, tellurium and lunarium, English, circa 1825,
signed W Harris & Co 50 Holborn London, the Benjamin Martin type drum orrery with silvered brass horizontal plate engraved with the makers name and address, month, date and zodiacal scales, the geared movement operated by an ivory mounted crank at the side of a brass drum, raised on brass column above folding cabriole leg base, the planetarium set-up with ivory spheres representing the nine orbiting planets comprising Mercury, Venus, Earth with Moon, Mars, Jupiter with moons, Saturn with rings and moons and Uranus with moons, the tellurium set-up with 2 3/4-inch terrestrial globe with printed HARRIS & Co. No. 50 HOLBORN LONDON 1825 , the lunarium set-up geared mechanism demonstrating the movement of the earth and moon around the sun, below the ivory models is set a disc showing the 29 1/2 day lunar period and calendar scale, the ellipse indicates when the lunar perigee or apogee occurs and is engraved accordingly, in fitted mahogany case with drawer in the base, hinged door with trade label applied printed BY HIS MAJESTY'S ROYAL LETTERS PATENT WILLIAM HARRIS & CO Manufacturers of Optical, Mathematical and Philosophical INSTRUMENTS 50 High Holborn corner of Brownlow Street LONDON 18in (46cm) high, the drum 9in (23cm) diameter
Sold for £97,250 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • For similar Harris orrery but not including the lunarium, see Globes and the Mechanical Universe, Trevor Philip & Son Ltd catalogue, London, 2010, pages 18-21.

Category: Collectibles / Scientific Instruments


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