Ingenious

Made in 1851, this model is an electrotype copy of a plaster replica of the Moon's surface centred on the crater Eratosthenes. Framed in a wooden case it was made by the amateur astronomer, Henry Blunt. The model is based on observations of the Moon made with his reflecting telescope from his home at Shrewsbury. The main crater in the electrotype corresponds to a lunar feature 28 miles across (45 km). It was donated to the Science Museum by the Commissioners of the Great Exhibition and was probably displayed at the 1851 world exposition. The model is described in the exhibition catalogue, but other examples of lunar models by Blunt are known to exist.