1655 BLAEU, W. - Tweevoudigh onderwiis van de Hemelsche en Aerdsche Globen; Het een Na de meyning van Ptolemeus met een vasten Aerdkloot...

Tweevoudigh onderwiis van de Hemelsche en Aerdsche Globen; Het een Na de meyning van Ptolemeus met een vasten Aerdkloot; Het ander Na de Natuerlijcke stelling van N. Copernicus met een loopenden Aerdkloot:

Willem Blaeu's guide to the making of globes, first published in 1620, here reprinted by his son, Joan.
The master globe-maker authored the "Institution Astronomique"; so that his customers might get the most out of his celestial and terrestrial globes. Blaeu gives a detailed explanation of the various parts of a globe, followed by a series of nearly 150 exercises. By positioning the terrestrial globe as Blaeu directs, it is simple to determine the time in different parts of the world. There are exercises for both the celestial globe and the terrestrial globe.

The book consists of two parts;
volume I : Astronomical principles of celestial and terrestrial globes based on the inadequate hypothesis of Ptolemy.
Volume II : Astronomical principles of globes based on the true hypothesis of Copernicus.

Blaeu wrote this book intending to propagate the Copernican hypothesis and was one of the first Copernicans in the Dutch Republic.

This work gave accounts of the opposing Ptolemaic and Copernican systems of the planets, as Blaeu thought the Ptolemaic system was still a valuable introduction to the topic. Blaeu had worked on the island of Hven with Tycho Brahe and was a firm adherent to the Copernican system. 

It should be remembered that Galileo was condemned for his Copernican stance just the previous year, but Blaeu, publishing his works in the Protestant Netherlands, was not subject to the prohibitions of the Roman Catholic authorities.

His knowledge as an astronomer in combination with his skills as a printer and possibilities as a publisher, enabled him to actively steer the presentation and dissemination of Copernicus’s ideas.

The book became very popular and was translated in French, German, English, among in Japanese by Motoki Ryoei in 1774  based on a 1666 edition brought to Nagasaki by the V.O.C.

Provenance: Dr.Otto Orren Fisher (bookplate) was a 1909 Miami alumnus who went on to the John Hopkins University School of Medicine before settling in Detroit. He was an industrial surgeon for the Hudson Motor Company and established one of the first modern industrial first aid units there. In 1941, he won the Alumni Association’s prestigious Bishop Medal for his contributions to society.

Dr. Fisher was also a nationally renowned collector of rare books and manuscripts who began with the goal of owning just one rare item in his lifetime. Upon his death in 1961, his collection of over 80,000 rare volumes spanned across 25 different categories, including signatures of all U.S. Presidents up until then, and covered three floors of his home.

J H Verheyen (19th century signature to front free end-paper).

Reference: Houzeau/Lancaster 9714. Bierens de Haan, 334. Van der Krogt, Globes, p.627.