Second or singular thoughts upon the theory of the universe

Originally published in 1750, Thomas Wright's 'An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe' represents a landmark moment in eighteenth-century cosmology. This 1968 facsimile edition by Dawsons of Pall Mall preserves Wright's pioneering attempt to explain the Milky Way as a flattened disc of stars, a breakthrough observation that predated modern understanding of galactic structure by over a century. Wright, a self-taught English astronomer and instrument maker, sought to reconcile Newtonian physics with a visionary, theological framework that conceptualized the heavens in a more dynamic and expansive way than his contemporaries.

The 1968 Dawsons reprint was released to provide historians of science and researchers access to a foundational text that had become extremely rare in its original form. By carefully reproducing the original plates and detailed diagrams, the publisher allowed a new generation to appreciate Wright’s unique, albeit speculative, aesthetic of the cosmos. While Wright’s work was initially met with mixed reviews due to its mixture of scientific observation and mystical musing, it has since been recognized as a primary influence on later astronomers like Immanuel Kant and William Herschel.