London provided a vibrant market for the public creation and consumption of science. Benjamin Martin was one of its most dynamic and entrepreneurial figures.
.Martin had been a touring provincial lecturer before settling in London as an author and instrument maker. His well-stocked Fleet Street shop was home not only to the latest apparatus but was also a venue for his regular public lectures.
.Martin promoted and capitalised on the transits of 1761 and 1769. Visitors could buy a range of transit merchandise: books, prints, and instruments, as well as tickets not only for his transit lectures but also for a special event to view the actual transit itself.
The Transit Method