Transparent Solar System<br><p>One of a set of 12 hand-tinted astronomical prints with an explanatory card. The publisher is identified on each print as J. Reynolds or James Reynolds of the Strand, London. These cards were first issued by Reynolds in 1846, although he and other publishers continued to produce them throughout the second half of the 19th century. They responded to a perceived market for popular science products and were intended for informal learning within the home. They could be bought in sets or singly and, at a price of 1 shilling, were affordable to middle class audiences.
</p><p>A number of the cards have tissue paper backings and holes in the card in order to allow the user to hold them up to the light and see the stars, planets or phases of the Moon displayed as light areas against a darker background. Several of the more detailed images were drawn and engraved by John Emslie, who also collaborated with Reynolds on another set of diagrams, "Illustrations of Natural Philosophy". Reynolds’ educational diagrams received a prize medal at the International Exhibition of 1862.
</p><p>One of a set of 12 hand-tinted astronomical prints with explanatory card, this is a diagram of the solar system "displaying the planets with their orbits, as known at the present day". The central image does not include Neptune, discovered in 1846, although it is included in the text and a table below. The planets are shown with their known satellites, minor planets from the asteroid belt are included, as is the orbit of Halley's Comet.<br></p>
Transparent Solar System
<div class="fn value">
James Reynolds</div>
between 1846 and 1860 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1850-00-00T00:00:00Z/7,P1319,+1846-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,+1860-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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