Orreries, Clocks, and London Society

Dr. Tony Buick is a chemist by profession and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In the area of amateur astronomy, he has contributed to Sky at Night, MENSA, the Society for Popular Astronomy and various other magazines and journals. Upon his retirement, Dr. Buick returned to his lifelong interest in astronomy, prompting the research that forms the foundation of this book. He has a wide range of interests, from the infinite— through a telescope—to the infinitesimal—through a microscope—and has in addition to his astronomy work published articles on tardigrades, robust microscopic animals that can even survive in space.

“This book offers a reasonable overview of the history of the orrery and English scientific culture of its time, with many handsome pictures and diagrams. It clearly meets the author’s objective of crafting an essential introduction for students and science educators. Professional historians, scientists and museum curators could draw inspirations from this introductory book, especially its attempt to put orreries into a bigger picture of astronomical models and instruments from ancient to modern times.” (Hsiang-fu huang, Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 52 (3), August, 2021)

• Chapter 1. Setting the Scene.- Chapter 2. Honest George, Chronometers and the Mystery of the Disappearing Proto-Orreries.- Chapter 3. Orrery: the Man and the Model.- Chapter 4. A Closer Look at Gear Calculations, Time Corrections, Escapements and Orbital Resonance.- Chapter 5. The Clockmaker’s London.- Chapter 6. Modern and Orrery Times Compared.- Chapter 7. The Planetarium: A Journey into Space.- Chapter 8. Postface.- Appendix 1: A Select Timeline.- Appendix 2: Glossary.- Appendix 3: Bibliograph.- Index