The World in a Box: The Pope Orrery

ABSTRACT

Instead of thinking about scientific instruments in terms of their functions, makers, sellers, users, and designs over time, this paper will explore what might be learned from a critical examination of the materials used in an instrument’s fabrication and the different artisans who came together in its production. At center stage is a grand orrery (a complex mechanical model of the Solar System) made in Boston during the American Revolution and signed by Joseph Pope, a clockmaker. The orrery is a “world in a box.” Close study of it as a material object reveals not only the astronomical theories of the day but also a trans-Atlantic network that provided materials, ideas, and workers who helped to create the scientific instrument. From the orrery, we can build a picture of Boston society, politics, labor, and wartime economy. The orrery is a microcosm of intellectual and social relationships of its time.