The pages of this nearly unknown atlas, as well as the essay "Die Welt, eine Augenweide: Transparente Landschafts- und Sternbilder von Franz Niklaus König" (in German) are available in the exhibit catalog (pgs. 35-40) as well as on through the Internet server of the City and University Library of Bern:
http://www.stub.unibe.ch/maps/koenig/koenig.html (essay, in German)
http://www.stub.unibe.ch/maps/koenig/celestial.html (pictures,
with English text)
As fas as I am aware, there were no comparable products at that time.
The Bernese professor of mathematics Trechsel wrote in the foreword to the atlas:
"König's idea - to have a small celestial atlas for lovers of the knowledge of the stars, which is broken up into several sections, where the fixed stars, from the first to the fifth magnitude, would show up transparently on a black background - is inspired, ingenious, and for the most part, a new concept. It will also receive approval and encouragement from experts and learned men in this field."
The purpose of the celestial atlas is well described in the foreword by Prof. Trechsel, who adds that it can also be used for (home) teaching of the young. The sheets may be viewed in reflected or in transmitted light. It is probable that the atlas was also viewed in a peep show box. I assume that König copied from the stellar atlas of Fortin (1776).
König compiled different types of his work. Examples may be found in the City and University Library of Bern, in the Museum of Art in Bern, as well as at the ETH Library in Zurich. The Swiss National Library (Schweizerische Landesbibliothek) owns a copy called called "Astrognosie..." containing an additional dedication page.
I would gladly hear about other copies of this atlas, and how King's celestial atlas is regarded from the point of view of historians of astronomy.
Thomas Klöti
Item, published in: Electronic Newsletter for the history of Astronomy 19, 1997.