ABSTRACT
Let us start by briefl y recapitulating the print’s likely chronology, certain clues concerning which came to light in the previous chapters. As we saw at the outset, the image was initially conceived in connection with John Beale’s plans for ‘Lord Bacon’s Elogyes &c’ in 1665 and it had already reached a fairly fi nished state – whether as a drawing or as an actual etched plate – by the time Beale learned in April 1667 that Sprat’s book was at long last forthcoming, instead suggesting that the print might be transferred to that. The frontispiece is itself dated 1667, and such clues as the exact match between its depiction of a telescope and that sent by Oldenburg to Hevelius in February 1667 strongly suggest that it was actually executed in the early months of that year. It is possibly also signifi cant, as we saw in chapter 4 , that Merrett’s Pinax is included, since he had presented the society with a copy in January 1667 and this is a book that might otherwise not have seemed worth including. 1 In fact, there are no clues that defi nitively suggest an earlier (or a later) date.
