Hi, The small bear is Ursa Minor as you suggest. You can see the stars of the constellation on him.
Hinc nascitur ordo is a motto literally translated as “Hence the order [of things] is born.” It sometimes appears as Rerum hinc nascitur ordo in devices. It connotes power of a ruler or god, in the sense of “He gives birth to the order of things” or “the order arises from him.” The forthcoming sundial catalog of the Adler Planetarium will have a couple of Penther-style sundials. Sara Sara J. Schechner Altazimuth Arts 42°36'N 71° 22'W West Newton, MA 02465 http://www.altazimutharts.com/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=http://www.altazimutharts.com/&k=AjZjj3dyY74kKL92lieHqQ%3D%3D%0A&r=Y3uaNkd%2BN%2BBEMo7BAxbEQqOqpMk6uxYnCJsB4uxugzo%3D%0A&m=Ti1oQOLKwbdeBp0MOcYibsxY4Lg058dCGKYBaRLSNUY%3D%0A&s=2f04b2f3647abf5da1ada6decaf1b455ea2d0ead01efe881489e14a7d1adb139> Sara J. Schechner, Ph.D. David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments Lecturer on the History of Science Department of the History of Science, Harvard University Science Center 251c, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: 617-496-9542 | Fax: 617-496-5932 | [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://scholar.harvard.edu/saraschechner http://chsi.harvard.edu/ From: sundial [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dan-George Uza Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 3:03 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Gnomonica fundamentalis Johann Penther Hello, I am trying to make sense of this most interesting page from Johann Penther's book about sundials, Gnomonica fundamentalis, a work which I recently discovered in a local public library. It was published in German in 12 editions between 1733-1768, the edition I browsed being the last. At the top there is a bear with its tail pointing upwards which I think is most probably Ursa Minor, the Small Bear. This constellation's link to sundials is rather obvious due to Polaris. Below it is written HINC NASCITUR ORDO which I translate (perhaps wrongly) to THUS IT BEGINS ANEW. There is also the sun shining over Atlas which appears to be carrying a sundial globe on his shoulders. HORA RVIT means THE HOUR FLOWS. The two animals (solar beasts, lions perhaps?) on each side of the picture are holding up vertical sundials, one meridional the other septentrional, while facing away from the sun's glare. Book title appears written inside a clamshell acting also as a vertical declining sundial. The book cand be read here http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/penther1760<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__digi.ub.uni-2Dheidelberg.de_diglit_penther1760&d=CwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=7ZsgDX5inZSMERqhZEQacOtdADP0iy6-YB7dx6Z_mVo&m=cgLb_AyexzPzSi5TlyCy_pg6Ru-jTBPFtLbafHRUzWQ&s=SOCn6_1CUpJENziqdAipMuIyCb1JpoUUKZSmIGMQfuA&e=> Penther also did a multiple sundial consisting of 12 pieces, see picture below. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/SonnenuhrHAB2015.jpg<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__upload.wikimedia.org_wikipedia_commons_9_97_SonnenuhrHAB2015.jpg&d=CwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=7ZsgDX5inZSMERqhZEQacOtdADP0iy6-YB7dx6Z_mVo&m=cgLb_AyexzPzSi5TlyCy_pg6Ru-jTBPFtLbafHRUzWQ&s=Vc23Xlby4w_iA5RK9Gf9MvBdw0X8o49Q1d1kr-Yw0Zo&e=> Dan-George Uza
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