Auction’s ‘star’ lot raises universal interest

Two centuries before the Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990, star gazers of the late 1700s employed an orrery to illustrate the movements of the planets and moons in the solar system.

One of the mechanical devices dating from the reign of George III is now going up for sale at David Duggleby Auctioneers in Scarborough later this month.

Director William Duggleby, who has worked for the family firm run by his father David for the last 10 years, said: “It is a very rare item, and provides a little glimpse into how astronomy was performed in the 18th century.

“We are expecting a lot of interest and we have already had inquiries from as far afield as London.”

The portable orrery, which is dated 1794 and has a tellurium attachment to represent the motions of the planets and moons around the sun, is still in its original oak box.

Found during the clearance of a flat at Wold Newton Hall in East Yorkshire, it has been given an estimate of between £3,000 and £5,000.

The baseboard is finely engraved with calendar and zodiac scales and astronomical information, including small images of the planet Saturn and the changing position of its rings as observed from the Earth. It also gives a table of information about the planets for the year 1794.

It does not, however, include Uranus, despite the planet being discovered by William Herschel in 1781.

The tellurium represents the motions of the moon around the Earth, and the Earth, Mercury and Venus around the sun, and consists of geared wheels and brackets, a brass sun, a terrestrial sphere and ivory moon, Mercury and Venus.

The auction will take place 
on Saturday, August 24, when 
a total of 700 lots are due to be sold.

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