Map of the Heavens by Johann Bode: Vorstellung Der Gestirne (Presentation of the Stars), Ursa Major or Big Dipper, Framed

The great bear strides across the sky with a tail no real bear has ever had.

This map of the heavens, framed, is Vorstelling Der Gestirne (Presentation of the Stars), Ursa Major or Big Dipper, by Johann Bode, published by Lange, from Leipzig, Germany, and dated 1782. It is a hand colored engraving on paper. The seven bright stars of the Big Dipper sit along the bear's back and tail, which is generally why it is drawn with a tail so improbably long. The bear is shaded in soft brown and labeled Der Grosse Bar, with the dragon and the small lion nearby. It is matted in cream and framed in gold. It is 22 inches wide and 21 high.

Biology was never the point.