1747 Basire / Cellarius Map of Sicily

Isaac Basire (September 20, 1704 - August 24 1768) was a London engraver, first in a family line of prolific and well-respected engravers. His most well-known work is the frontispiece to an edition of Bailey's 1755 dictionary but he was primarily a map engraver. He was born in London to on J. Basire, a Huguenot emigre from Rouen. His son James (1730-1802), grandson James (1769-1822), and great-grandson James (1796-1869) all continued the family trade. Assigning specific works to particular members of the family is not a straightforward task, as all four Basires were engravers, one often as apprentice to his father. Thus the work of the four frequently overlapped. More by this mapmaker...

Christoph Cellarius (1638 - 1707) or, more commonly, Christopher Keller was a German scholar, historian and textbook publisher working in the later part of the 17th century. Cellarius is known to have been born in Schmalkalden and to have held academic positions in both Weimar and Halle. C. Cellarius's most important contribution was his 1683 publication of A Universal History Divided into an Ancient, Medieval, and New Period. It was in this work that the concept of history as divisible into three distinct periods (Ancient History, Mediaeval History, and Modern History) was introduced. Likely Cellarius never understood the impact that his structured system of historical nomenclature would have on the way future historians would interpret the past. Christopher Cellarius should not be confused with the more widely known cosmographer Andreas Cellarius Learn More...