The Celestial Orrery by The Franklin Mint (07/19/2009)

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The Celestial Orrery by The Franklin Mint

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The Celestial Orrery by The Franklin Mint

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Sold Date: 07/19/2009
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Advertising

THE ORREY – The Orrey is approximately 6-inch in height and is fully functional. It comes with instructions and a Certificate of Authenticity. It is new, in original shipping box. This series is an official issue of the National Maritime Historical Society and the Franklin Mint.

HISTORY - Sometime between the years 1705 and 1709, the noted London clockmaker George Graham invented the orrery. His three-dimensional instrument demonstrated the daily motion of the earth around the sun and the moon around the earth. The original was operated by a hand-crank, but soon more elaborate versions were produced which also demonstrated the paths of other planets.

Originally the device was called a "tellurium." It was seen by John Rowley who reproduced the instrument for his patron, Charles Boyle, the fourth Earl of Cork and Orrery. Rowley named the machine after his patron, and, despite protests, the name has remained "orrery" ever since.

The instrument received a relatively large amount of publicity and Newton himself is said to have made one. Scientists saw the orrery as opening an entire new vista for studying weather, seasons, and the solar system.

Basically, the orrery represented on a single plane the sun and the planets. The relative motions were emphasized and not the proportionate size or distance. By turning its crank, the planets moved in ratio to each other. To have built the system scaled to size would have been impossible, for a 3 inch diameter earth would need to orbit around a 26 foot sun.

An expensive instrument—the first was actually made for Queen Anne—the orrery was soon produced in cheaper versions. By the end of the 18th century, however, orreries were practically standard equipment in colleges—revealing the intricate workings of the solar system that could only otherwise be extrapolated from telescopes.

As man's insatiable quest for discovery continued, he found more practical means of mapping his knowledge. With the invention of the orrery, he provided a map of a frontier to which he could not yet "sail."

Seller ID#: Box 8

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