Jehoshaphat Aspin. 
A Familiar Treatise on Astronomy . . . .
London, 1825.
Color plates.
Prints and Photographs Division (90 a-h)

The Library of Congress

An unidentified lady, referred to by hernom-de-plume, Jehoshaphat Aspin, designed these whimsical astronomy cards. Most of the names of the zodiacal constellations date from the early Babylonian period, possibly from the Sumerians. The zodiac itself is a mathematical concept, which does not appear to be in use prior to 400 B.C. It provides a frame of reference in which the positions of the sun, moon, and planets could be expressed by their angular distance from the beginning of the sign in which they were located.