“The Transit of Venus” J.G. Brown, 1883

With the recent hubbub over the upcoming transit of venus we noticed copies of this image kicking around the ‘net in varying qualities, and thought to ourselves, “we can do better.”  A quick search of the UBC ASRS yielded Harper’s Weekly; A Journal of Civilization (1857-1916), and sure enough, this image of children staring at the sun originally published on Saturday April 28th, 1883.  It turned out wonderfully at 600dpi on our Epson flatbed.

The second (cropped) image shows the intricate detail of the original engraving.  The full volume contains many more beautiful illustrations and is well worth checking out at the Irving K. Barber Center Library branch.