A Compendious System of Astronomy

An analysis of Margaret Bryan's A Compendious System of Astronomy with included pictures of her original diagrams and marginalia added post publication.  The book was accessed from the Tisch Library Special Collections.  The diagrams and simplistic language function as a tool to give her readers a well rounded lesson in astronomy. Each chapter is broken into a different lesson and includes some of the history behind the science.  Christianity is mentioned often and her lessons are sometimes interrupted by prayers or biblical quotes.  Bryan includes practice lessons and an index of terms to accomodate her readers. The book was published in 1797 and was the first volume of two in her series of astronomy textbooks.