Andreas Cellarius: Celestial Atlas 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

For Andreas Cellarius, the stars were ever in harmony with the universe. He is best known for the ​Atlas Coelestis seu Harmonia Macrocosmica​, a fascinating celestial tome and a remarkable achievement for the golden age of Dutch cartography. Although born and educated in Germany, Cellarius, a Latin instructor and cosmographer, lived in Holland for most of his life, during which time Amsterdam was a world center for mapmaking. The scenographic celestial chart shown on this puzzle was published in 1660 by Johannes Janssonius of Amsterdam as one of 29 hand-colored double-folio maps included in the ​Harmonia Macrocosmica​. Here, Cellarius positions the viewer deep in outer space, gazing down on constellations of the Northern Hemisphere and the lands and waters below them. This perspective is based on​ scientific theory of the day, and allegorical vignettes in each corner shine a light on then-modern equipment for observing the heavens.