Title page of Astronomia instaurata

What it is

This is the title page of Astronomia instaurata, a 1617 edition of Copernicus's famous book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. It was edited by Nicolaus Mulerius, a professor at the Academy of Groningen, and printed by Wilhelmus Jansonius in Amsterdam. The edition was published to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of Copernicus's death.

Why it matters

This title page shows how Copernicus's work continued to be reprinted, studied, and honored decades after his death. Mulerius's edition reflects the ongoing importance of Copernicus's theory to later astronomers and the way his book was kept alive and updated for new readers.

Look closer

• Why might an editor like Mulerius choose to reissue a book written decades earlier?
• What does the printer's emblem and decoration on the title page tell us about printing in this period?
• How might republishing a scientific work change or preserve its original ideas?