A Cut Section from the Sun

Asa Smith

A Cut Section from the Sun

From: Smith’s Illustrated Astronomy

New York: Daniel Burgess & Co., 1855

Hand-colored woodcut engravings

Sheet Dimension: 10.5 x 8.5 in.

Frame Dimension: 18.25 x 16.75 in.

Science and art come together in Asa Smith’s astronomical illustrations in order to engage even the most difficult of audidences: students. Smith’s Illustrated Astronomy became the most popular American pictorial astronomy book of the 19th century, demonstrating the important effect visual stimulus plays. Certainly, in
addition to their lavish aesthetic appeal, the astronomical illustrations of Asa Smith comprise one of the most visually effective illustrations of the Universe.