Title Page
The title page of A Compendious System of Astronomy, as pictured contains the title, author and publisher of the astronomy textbook. The title page explicitly states Bryan’s purpose in creating the work, as she wanted to write a textbook for those with no scientific or mathematical background. Bryan mentions the subjects that appear in the book and noted the Vocabulary of Terms as an important feature of the textbook. Religion plays an important role within the textbook and the title page includes a quote from the poet John Milton; mentioning God and the divine. Also noted at the bottom of the page are the two publishing companies of the book and the registration at Stationer’s Hall as well as the year of publication, 1797.
The book was published for the author by Leigh and Sotheby and G. Kearsley, who published multiple academic and popular works. The Sotheby family were well known and respected book collectors and proprietors who first entered the bookselling business as early as 1744. Sotheby’s later became one of the largest auction houses in the world, and as of 2017 was worth nearly three billion dollars. The publication of the book took place in an era of flourishing book trade, and came about after patronage had been thrown to the wayside and copyright laws came into the mainstream.