Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.11541

    'Saturn'

    Date
    1845
    Creator
    Kenny Meadows (1790, British) , Illustrator
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Material
    Technique
    Dimensions
    height (print): 90mm
    width (print): 148mm
    Subject
    Content object
    space
       > Solar system
          > planet
             > Saturn
    Description
    Mythological interpretation of the planet Saturn, showing the crowned Roman god reclining against the ringed planet, his headed tilted as sleeping and with one hand holding a staff. Six major moons are visible in the distance, the god’s head framed by the brightest, possibly intended as Titan. The word “Saturn” is inscribed on the left-hand side backed by a mass of clouds.

    Vignette above a calendar of anniversaries, festivals and other events for the month of February 1846; part of a proof sheet for the annual The Illustrated London News Almanack (1846). Titled ‘SATURN’, the illustration is not signed but the published annual contains an entry on the last page crediting the work to Meadows. Other engravings in the twelve-month series (of which this is a part) are initialled by the artist.

    James Glaisher (1809-1903), astronomer and meteorologist, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1849. He acted as scientific editor of The Illustrated London News Almanack and collected these proof sheets as part of his editorial duties.
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