Barry Wilkinson: Mark Twain, Halley's Comet and a Graphometer

Artist: Barry Wilkinson
1923 -
Nationality: British
Artwork Year: 1985
Image Size: 14 by 12 inches
Overall Size: 18 by 14.5 inches
Medium: Water Color on Hot Press Illustration Board

"Once in a lifetime" is a well-used phrase, often in connection with the appearance of Halley's Comet. The comet returns to the solar system approximately every seventy-six years, when it can be seen worldwide for almost four months. In the past, people thought the comet a sign of pestilence, plague and even the end of the world. On its last visit in 1910, the comet was thought by many to harbor certain doom, as the earth passed through the comet's tail. Halley's Comet will not appear again until 2062, and so it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime event for most people. However there is one famous person who could have seen it twice. Mark Twain, the American writer was born in 1835, a year when the comet appeared, and died in 1910 -- the year of the comet's most recent appearance. Thus his life spanned the exact time of one journey of Halley's Comet. Edmond Halley, the discoverer of the comet, only saw it once in 1682, but accurately predicted its next return in 1759. Since then it has returned on cue only three more times. Although unknown to Halley, historical records have shown that the comet had been previously sighted twenty-four times, the earliest being in 164 B.C. by the Chinese. The work of art depicts Mark Twain, whose relationship to Halley's Comet was bracketed with the comet's arrivals in 1835 and 1910. Also shown is Halley's Comet entering the solar system -- along with the graphometer, a seventeenth century astronomical instrument.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the Great Britain 31p Maybe Twice in a Lifetime stamp issued February 18, 1986.

Artwork Copyright © 1985 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB10069

US$ Price: $950.00

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