Astronomical Ring Illustration
Collection Pointe-à-Callière, donated by Simon Langlois, 2024.03.58
During the Renaissance, navigators and scholars used the universal equinoctial ring to tell time by letting sunlight pass through a tiny hole in the copper. Light became a clock.
This 1752 print, by Pierre Bourgoin, is taken from Le spectacle de la nature by Abbé Pluche—a French priest and science writer whose work was quite popular. His aim was to explain natural phenomena and scientific instruments in accessible language, to arouse the curiosity of young readers and young minds.
This illustration embodies knowledge in its most generous form — and your donation helps the Museum make it accessible to all.
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Campagne annuelle 2026 de Pointe-à-Callière 