Engraved allegorical title page, 1745.

GERMANY - MAY 13: Engraving from �Mathematischer Atlas� (Mathematical atlas) by Tobias Mayer (1723-1762) published in Augsburg in 1745. Each plate has descriptive text on either side; some have contemporary hand colouring. Mayer was heavily influenced by Christian von Wolff's �Anfangs-Gründe aller mathematischen Wissenschaften�, through which he had taught himself mathematics. This is apparent in the arrangement and content of Mayer's Atlas. The plates duplicate Wolff's choice of subjects - arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, astronomy, geography, chronology, gnomonics, fortification, artillery, civil architecture, optics and mechanics. The atlas was published by the firm of Johann Andreas Pfeffel, for whom Mayer worked during his brief stay there from 1744 to 1746. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)