Cellarius Ptolemaic Celestial Map 1708 — Antique Map Print

The story of this map

Andreas Cellarius was a schoolmaster in Hoorn, in the Dutch Republic, when he produced the Harmonia Macrocosmica, the most beautiful atlas of the heavens ever printed. Its plates first appeared in 1660, and the Library of Congress copy is the 1708 edition re-issued in Amsterdam by Gerard Valck and Pieter Schenk from the same copperplates, with fresh hand colouring. This is the opening plate, the Ptolemaic universe.

It shows the old picture of the cosmos: the Earth at the centre, the sun, moon and planets circling it on nested rings, the whole thing wrapped in a wide band of the zodiac with its signs painted in. Around the edges are the baroque flourishes that make Cellarius so loved, putti, drapery, astronomers with their instruments, all in warm ochres, blues and rose. By 1660 most astronomers had moved on from Ptolemy, which is part of the appeal; the plate is a portrait of an idea at the moment it was becoming history.

It is a superb print for anyone who loves astronomy, science or simply colour. It works in a study, a stairwell, a child’s room with a telescope in the corner, and the near-square shape sits well over a mantelpiece.

Part of our Antique World Maps collection, it is made to be hung beside its companion, the northern sky star map from the same atlas. Each print is made to order on archival matte paper and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Cellarius Ptolemaic Celestial Map, 1708: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone and hand colour, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print of a restored high-resolution scan of the 1708 map held by the Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division. We never sell originals.

Is this from the 1660 first edition?

The plates were first engraved for the 1660 Harmonia Macrocosmica. The Library's atlas is the 1708 re-issue by Valck and Schenk, printed from the same copperplates and coloured by hand.

How big is the map on the sheet?

It is a double-page atlas plate from a volume about 52 cm tall, so the image is roughly square-to-portrait. We offer it in portrait and square sizes, including 20x20 and 24x24.

Does it come framed?

Yes. Choose archival matte paper, stretched canvas, or a ready-to-hang frame in black, white or natural oak.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Cellarius Northern Sky Star Map, 1708

Andreas Cellarius · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Dunn Terraqueous Globe World Map, 1787

Samuel Dunn / Robert Sayer · Boston Public Library, Leventhal Map Center

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
18×12 in	46×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
20×16 in	51×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
20×20 in	51×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×24 in	61×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×20 in	76×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×24 in	76×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×24 in	81×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
36×24 in	91×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
40×30 in	102×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
48×32 in	122×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Cellarius Ptolemaic Celestial Map, 1708

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print