A late 19th century American Tellurian

A rare example of this tellurian (also spelt 'Tellurion' and 'tellurium'), a type of orrery designed to demonstrate the movement of the Earth around the Sun, how the seasons result from the tilt of the earth, and the movement of both the moon and Venus. Alexander Laing patented his planetarium in 1896; in 1907 employee Frank Trippensee bought the firm, replacing the cords with metail chain.