Urania’s Mirror, 1824 — Antique Historical Print

The Story in the Margin

Urania's Mirror is a set of 32 astronomical star-chart cards first published in London in 1824 by Samuel Leigh, each card pierced with small holes sized to match a star's brightness so that holding it up to a candle or window would recreate the constellation's actual appearance in the night sky. The cards were long credited simply to "a lady," though research in 1994 identified their true author as the Reverend Richard Rouse Bloxam, a Rugby School assistant master, while the elegant engravings themselves were the work of astronomical illustrator Sidney Hall. Sold alongside a companion instructional booklet, Urania's Mirror became one of the most popular tools for teaching amateur astronomy in early 19th-century Britain.

Materials & origin

• Material: 200 gsm gallery-grade, acid-free fine-art paper (FSC-certified).
• Print: Archival giclée, 12-colour printing, smooth matte finish for glare-free display.
• Artwork: Restored from a public-domain original; colour and detail digitally cleaned for large-format print.
• Origin: Made on demand and shipped from the print hub nearest you, cutting transit and waste.
• Framing: Sold unframed; ships rolled in a protective tube.