Bode, Johann Elert. Vorstellung der Gestirne auf XXXIV Kupfertafeln nach der Pariser Ausgabe des Flamsteadschen Himmelsatlas. Berlin, Stralsund, 1782.
Johann Bode was one of the most important German astronomers of the late eighteenth-century, publishing almanacs, astronomy textbooks, and two hugely influential star atlases. His first atlas, discussed and displayed here, was a German version of the French edition of Flamsteed’s atlas, first published in 1776 (Out of This World, item 30). Since Bode followed his predecessor very closely, there are the same number of constellation maps (27), each showing the same section of the sky, and in precisely the same order. The constellation outlines are softer, and to some, less impressive, in the Bode version. But one innovation is notable: Bode drew outlines around each constellation, covering the entire celestial sphere, so that every star is in one constellation or another. This was the first star atlas to contain constellation boundaries; the practice would eventually become standard.
In 1805 Bode would publish a second edition of his Vorstellung (Out of This World, item 32). In that revised edition, he greatly expanded the number of stars shown, and added in the southern constellations invented by Lacaille. In this 1782 edition, the Lacaille constellations, such as “Der Chymische Ofen” (Fornax, the furnace) and “Die Bildhaur Werckstadt” (Sculptor), are labeled, and outlined, but are not drawn in.
Bode’s other star atlas, the monumental Uranographia of 1801 (Out of This World, item 36), was an entirely different publication, with much larger plates, and different fields of view. It was much less indebted to Flamsteed, containing many more stars, nebulae, and constellations.