Editor's Picks

Oronce Fines world map, 1531

Oronce Fine's world map. Map of the world's northern and southern hemispheres by the French mathematician and cartographer Oronce Fine (1494-1555). Published in 1531 as A New and Complete Description of the World, this is a double polar cordiform (heart-shaped) projection. It shows an unknown southern continent, Terra Australis, and excludes most of the Americas. The text box names the publisher (Hermannus Venraed), gives Fine's Latin name (Orontius Fineus), and mentions the Ancient Greek geographers (Ptolemy, Eudoxus, and Erastothenes), whose accounts Fine had tried to reconcile with the new discoveries being made

© LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, GEOGRAPHY AND MAP DIVISION/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Plague doctor, 17th century artwork

Plague doctor. 17th century artwork titled Doktor Schnabel von Rom (Beak Doctor from Rome). The text is in Latin. The costume's bronze mask contained aromatic herbs and reduced exposure to bad air, as did gloves and an oiled undergarment and cloak. Bubonic plague (the Black Death) affected Europe from the 1340s to the 1700s, killing millions. This German artwork, by Paul Furst (1608-1666), is based on an earlier work by J. Columbina, and dates from 1656. This version is from Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin (Caricature and Satire in Medicine, 1921) by the German art historian and physician Eugen Hollander (1867-1932)

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Bluebell in Fairyland by Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss

Flyer for the revival of the musical Bluebell in Fairyland on 26th December 1927 at The Scala Theatre, by Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss, with music by Walter Slaughter. First produced as "Blue Bell" on 18th December 1901. Billed as The Most Charming of all Christmas plays. A crossing sweeper and a flower girl are seen on a giant toadstool surrounded by fairies. The same image was used for the programme. Production Designed by the Eminent French Artist, Mons.Georges de Feure Date: 1927

© The Michael Diamond Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library