Officina Typographica (Latin forprinting office) was aconstellation located east ofSirius andCanis Major, north ofPuppis, and south ofMonoceros.[1] It was drawn up byJohann Bode andJoseph Jérôme de Lalande in 1798, and included in the former'sstar atlasUranographia in 1801, honouring the printing press ofJohannes Gutenberg.[2] Lalande reported wanting to honour French and German discoveries in the same manner thatNicolas-Louis de Lacaille had done for his new constellations.[3] It was calledBuchdrucker-Werkstatt by Bode initially, and laterAtelier Typographique in the 1825 workUrania's Mirror,Atelier de l’Imprimeur by Preyssinger in 1862 andAntlia Typographiae in 1888.[1]
The constellation appeared in later star atlases through the 19th century but was rarely used by the end of the century;Richard Hinckley Allen noted its most recent use had been in 1878 in FatherAngelo Secchi's planisphere, but stated "it is seldom found in the maps of our day.". The stars were later absorbed into northern Puppis, and remained permanently there after the setting of the constellation boundaries in 1928.[1]
