Celestial Cartography

BibliOdyssey points out the amazingly crafted celestial maps of Alexander Jamieson. A British astronomer, his A Celestial Atlas Comprising a Systematic Display of the Heavens in a Series of Thirty Maps was published in 1822 and features highly detailed images of star clusters:

The subtle hand-coloured engravings in 'A Celestial Atlas' marked a transition from a celestial map style that included elaborate renderings of mythological figures to a less artistic and more scientific approach. The forms of the constellation zodiacs that had begun in ancient Greece were minimised or phased out over time in favour of more accurately detailed illustrations.