The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 17.0575  Tuesday, 20 June 2006

[1] 	From: 	William Hamlin <
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	Date: 	Monday, 19 Jun 2006 10:43:16 -0700
	Subj: 	RE: SHK 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question

[2] 	From: 	Peter Farey <
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	Date: 	Tuesday, 20 Jun 2006 05:30:42 +0100
	Subj: 	Re: SHK 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question

[3] 	From: 	John Briggs <
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	Date: 	Tuesday, 20 Jun 2006 12:36:22 +0100
	Subj: 	Re: SHK 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: 		William Hamlin <
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Date: 		Monday, 19 Jun 2006 10:43:16 -0700
Subject: 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question
Comment: 	RE: SHK 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question

Tom,

It might be an astrolabe.  Some of the images of astrolabes on Google 
look quite similar, right down to the ring from which the instrument can 
be hung on a wall.

Will Hamlin

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From: 		Peter Farey <
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Date: 		Tuesday, 20 Jun 2006 05:30:42 +0100
Subject: 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question
Comment: 	Re: SHK 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question

The object in the top right hand corner of the Doctor Faustus B-text 
titlepage appears to be a planespheric astrolabe. It enabled one to 
calculate the longitude and latitude of the Sun and other major stars.

Peter Farey

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http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey/index.htm

[3]-------------------------------------------------------------
From: 		John Briggs <
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Date: 		Tuesday, 20 Jun 2006 12:36:22 +0100
Subject: 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question
Comment: 	Re: SHK 17.0569 Faustus Titlepage Question

Tom Bishop wrote:

 >I'm preparing a lecture on Doctor Faustus. Could someone please tell
 >me what the object in the top right hand corner of the B-text
 >titlepage is? The one next to the books.

It's an astrolabe - you can clearly see the alidade.  It's probably the 
cruder so-called Mariner's Astrolabe, which was just a sighting device 
to measure the angle of elevation of a star, etc.  The object below the 
shelf is a cross-staff, used for surveying, and also to measure the 
angular distance between stars, etc. The object at the top left is an 
armillary sphere.  They show that Faustus was an astronomer/astrologer - 
not that there was any distinction: at that date Kepler was casting 
horoscopes.

John Briggs

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