2948 Charles Blunt (active 1830s–1840s) – The Planetary System – Hand-Coloured Aquatint from The Beauty of the Heavens (1849)

This vibrant hand-coloured aquatint presents a heliocentric diagram of the solar system, highlighting the orbits of the known planets around the sun. The illustration was originally conceived by Charles Blunt for his educational publication The Beauty of the Heavens, designed to bring astronomical phenomena to a broader audience through home instruction. With clear geometrical arrangement and decorative astrological signs on the border, this print exemplifies the mid-19th century approach to blending scientific explanation with visual clarity. The work was published in London by Whitehead & Ackermann.