Astronomiae instauratae mechanica

Stockholm: A. Lagrelius, 1901. FACSIMILE EDITION. Frontispiece portrait, title in black and red, numerous full-page woodcuts. An unsophisticated copy in the original printed wrappers, uncut and unopened. Facsimile of Brahe’s important work describing his astronomical instruments and his observatory at Hven with a preface in Latin by B. Hasselberg. Brahe took up residence on the island of Hven in the Danish Sound in 1576 at the invitation of King Frederick II. There he constructed a residence and observatory, Uraniborg (heavenly castle), a smaller observatory, Stjerneborg (castle of the stars), a windmill, a papermill and workshops; in 1584 a printing press was also installed. The instruments he built at Hven were among the most advanced of the time, greatly benefitting from large-scale construction which space on Hven allowed. In a letter to Caspar Peucer in 1588 Brahe reported that he was planning to write a detailed report on his instruments, the result of which was this work, first published in a privately-printed edition of 40 for presentation in 1598, and the first trade edition in 1602. Hasselberg (1848-1922) was a Swedish astronomer and physicist.