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James Bowdoin

Politician, successful merchant, and keen amateur scientist in his own right, James Bowdoin II moved in the upper echelons of New England society. By making Bowdoin part of his masterpiece, Pope created a strong association with a powerful contemporary whose eventual influence was to be of considerable benefit.

Shortly after completion, when the orrery was nearly lost to a fire that destroyed Pope's home in Boston, it was then Governor Bowdoin who dispatched a group of men to save the instrument. Bowdoin also brought the orrery to the attention of the newly formed American Academy of Arts & Sciences, resulting in Pope being invited join the organization. In addition, members came to believe that such a finely-crafted, uniquely American expression of Enlightenment knowledge should be purchased for use by Harvard College.

Pope requested a price of £450 for the orrery. In order to pay him, the Commonwealth's General Court (legislature) authorized a special public lottery to raise the funds. Three thousand tickets were sold at £2 each throughout December of 1788 and the first two months of 1789. Through this civic-minded largess, Pope was paid for over a decade of painstaking work, and Harvard received a dazzling addition to the educational materials filling its Philosophy Chamber.


CHSI Inv. Number 0005
Date: 1776-1787
Joseph Pope
Boston, United States


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