Map of the Heavens by Johann Bode: Vorstellung Der Gestirne (Presentation of the Stars), Plate Xv, the Twins

Two brothers, arm in arm, wandering across a chart of the sky as if they owned it.

This Map of the Heavens, Vorstellung Der Gestirne (Presentation of the Stars), Plate XV, The Twins, is by Johann Bode, from Leipzig, Germany, dated 1782. It is hand colored engraving on paper. Bode's star atlas was one of the most influential of its time, pairing careful star positions with the classical constellation figures. At center, Die Zwillinge embrace, one holding a lyre and the other an arrow. Around them, Orion, the unicorn, the little dog and the crab appear in soft pastels, and a dotted line crosses the sky. It is 10 inches wide and 8 high.

The stars here are mere punctuation.