Meteoric Shower of Nov. 13, 1833 (1889)
by Adolf Vollmy (Swiss)
The sky is on fire. Thousands of streaks of light pour downward from a single point above the horizon, so dense they overlap, so bright they illuminate the figures watching from below — some kneeling, some fleeing, some simply standing with their faces turned upward in awe or terror.
On the night of November 12–13, 1833, the Leonid meteor shower produced one of the most spectacular celestial events in recorded history. Estimates suggest that up to 100,000 meteors per hour fell across North America — so many that witnesses described the sky as raining fire, the stars falling like snowflakes. Many people who saw it believed the world was ending. Churches filled before dawn. The event was reported across the continent and became one of the most widely documented astronomical phenomena of the 19th century.
It also launched the scientific study of meteor showers. Astronomers who investigated the 1833 storm were the first to establish that meteors originate from specific points in the sky — what we now call radiant points — and that they recur on predictable schedules tied to cometary debris.
Adolf Vollmy's engraving was published in 1889 in a religious almanac, where it illustrated a passage about signs in the heavens. The image captures both the scientific reality and the human experience of that night: the sky transformed into something impossible, and the small figures below trying to make sense of it.
Rectangle Canvas Wrap
Gallery-quality canvas with fade-resistant inks and a 1.25" deep pine frame sourced from renewable forests. Arrives wrapped and ready to hang.
- Materials: cotton and polyester composite canvas, pine wood frame
- Inner frame: radiata pine from renewable forests
- Leveling bumpers included for wall protection
- Ready to hang — mounting hardware pre-attached
Care: Dust gently with a clean, damp cloth as needed.