The Pleiades (1899) — Mystical Star Cluster Historic Fine Art Print. Painstakingly restored and printed from the original 19th-century glass negative, this Fine Art Print reveals the night sky as seen through one of the earliest long-exposure reflectors in history. This is more than a photograph. It’s a moment in cosmic history — captured in a single, fragile glass plate on a December night in 1899. What you see here is M45 — the Pleiades — a shimmering knot of starlight 444 light-years from Earth. Each glowing star is etched in silver, surrounded by faint, ghost-like wisps of interstellar dust. This image, taken with the Crossley Reflector at Lick Observatory, was the result of a four-hour exposure guided entirely by hand.

The result? A luminous, near-spiritual rendering of the heavens. Still, silent, and untouched by modern light pollution — this is the night sky as our ancestors knew it.

Why This Print is Special:

Historically Rare: One of the first deep-sky photographs of the Pleiades ever taken.

Scientific Milestone: Captured with the Crossley Reflector—proof that reflecting telescopes could revolutionize astronomy.

Striking Visual Detail: Four-hour exposure reveals a luminous star field with haunting clarity and elegance.

Ethereal Detail: The stars radiate like celestial fires, their glow captured in uncanny clarity.

True Vintage: Made from the original 1899 glass plate negative, not a reproduction or modern rendering.

This piece is for those who love space, mystery, and timeless craft. Hang the universe on your wall. Let it glow silently.

Scientific Art: A milestone in astrophotography, created using one of the first large reflecting telescopes.

This isn’t just a photograph—it’s a 125-year-old visual time capsule from an era when science met starlight through glass, silver, and patience. Own a piece of cosmic history.

Summary:

In an era before digital sensors or even film, astronomers at Lick Observatory captured this remarkable image of the Pleiades — a bright cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus — using one of the most advanced instruments of its time: the Crossley Reflector.

Perched atop Mount Hamilton, California, Lick Observatory was the world’s first permanently staffed mountaintop observatory. On December 28, 1899, the Crossley telescope — recently rebuilt for scientific use — was trained on the Pleiades. Over four hours, a glass plate recorded starlight reflected from a 36-inch mirror. Astronomers manually guided the telescope to track the stars with absolute precision.

The result is one of the earliest high-quality deep-sky photographs ever made — and one of the first to prove that reflecting telescopes could rival traditional refractors. The bluish haze seen in modern versions of this image is caused by interstellar dust — invisible in 1899 but now known to reflect starlight.

Timeline:

1870s – Edward Crossley builds the original 36-inch reflector in England.

1888 – Lick Observatory is completed and becomes a hub for astrophotography.

1895 – Crossley telescope is donated and refurbished under astronomer James Keeler.

1899 – This image of the Pleiades is captured — requiring 4 hours of manual tracking.

Today – Lick Observatory continues research, while this photograph remains a rare artifact of astronomical history.