Margaret Bryan miniature,Herschel Museum

This small conversation piece was an interesting acquisition for the Herschel Museum as it shows a woman and two girls with a telescope and other astronomical instruments. The scene is highly unusual as there were few female astronomers known in the 18th century and Caroline Herschel was certainly the most celebrated of them. Research discovered that the miniature may well have been a trial piece for the frontispiece of a book of lectures by Mrs Bryan published in 1795 and a second edition of this book has been added to the Museum's collection.