A Lady (1765–1840)

Urania's Mirror; or, a view of the Heavens is the 1824 book that accompanies a set of thirty-two cards of the constellations visible in Great Britain. The early promotional material and the book itself attribute the illustrations to "A Lady," though they were based on Alexander Jamieson's A Celestial Atlas. These particular illustrations were engraved by Sidney Hall, though they were later identified as the work of Reverend Richard Rouse Bloxam. The author of the book forecasts the future of show more astronomy when he writes, "We find ourselves surrounded by thousands and thousands of suns, multiplied without end, and ranged all around us, at immense distances from each other, attended by ten thousand times ten thousand worlds, all in rapid motion, yet calm, regular, and harmonious, invariably keeping the paths prescribed them. Reasoning by analogy, we are authorized in concluding that these worlds are peopled with myriads of intelligent beings, formed for endless progression toward perfection and felicity" (pg. 6). The descriptions of the constellations are written to accompany the cards and include information about the stars themselves and the fable of the constellation. This book from Barnes & Noble reproduces the 1832 first American edition of the book and accompanies a set of the cards in a box set titled "Night Sky: A View of the Heavens." show less