Science made visible: Drawings, Prints, Objects by CRASSH, Cambridge

SUPPORTED BY

WITH LOANS FROM

Cover image: Yellow flag iris, 1689 – 1713. Richard Waller FRS Royal Society archives, MS/131/34. Graphite, ink, and watercolour on paper. Back cover image: Common field scabious & marsh marigold, 1689 – 1713. Richard Waller FRS Royal Society archives, MS/131/35 and MS/131/44. Graphite, ink, and watercolour on paper.

Welcome It is a great pleasure to welcome you to this exhibition Science Made Visible: Drawings, Prints, Objects which showcases some of the many treasures found in the collections of the Royal Society. The display marks the culmination of work by researchers in the project Making Visible: The Visual and Graphic Practices of the Early Royal Society, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council of the United Kingdom. This is an interdisciplinary undertaking based at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, at the University of Cambridge. Here, historians of science, art and literature have worked together to understand how visual and graphic resources shaped and facilitated the development of scientific knowledge in the fifty years since the establishment of the Royal Society in 1660. We hope you will be fascinated, as we have been, by the wide range of things that intrigued and enthralled the Fellows of the early Royal Society, and the ways in which they made and used images in every aspect of their scientific endeavour – to observe and measure, communicate and query, record and preserve, and above all, to know. We are grateful for the generous and unstinting support received from staff of the Royal Society Library: Keith Moore, Rupert Baker, Louisiane Ferlier, Katherine Marshall, Rebecca Hart, Annette Mackin, Virginia Mills, Laura Outterside and Jonathan Bushell as well as the Design Manager, Karen Newman. We thank the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, for the loan of objects relating to Isaac Newton; the Pepys Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge, for permission to reproduce two of the drawings once owned by Samuel Pepys; the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, for the loan of Agostino Scilla’s fossils; the Syndics of Cambridge University Library for permission to reproduce an engraving of the chameleon from the French Academy; the British Library for permission to reproduce a drawn portrait of the young Richard Waller; and Roger Gaskell for sharing his research on the woodblocks prepared for the second edition of Newton’s Principia. Sachiko Kusukawa / Felicity Henderson / Alexander Marr Sietske Fransen / Katherine Reinhart / Judith Weik

Introduction Sietske Fransen and Katherine Reinhart Exhibition Curators This exhibition is intended to explain and understand how images were used in the process of conducting early modern science. Simply put, what were the visual practices of the early Royal Society? What kind of pictures were seen by the Fellows? Who made them? Why were they made? And how were they used? To answer these questions, in part, we undertook a systematic survey of all the visual representations that remain in the archives for the first fifty years of the Royal Society, from 1660 until 1710. What we found, along with images in the Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s published works, forms the basis of this exhibition. The result of this survey is not only a spectacular array of images, but also a fascinating insight into how their production was key to conducting science in this period.

The large quantity of pictorial material found in the archives made it easy to set up an entire exhibition, although it was hard to select only sixty images and objects from more than 4,000 candidates. The variety of material on display, gives perspective on the topics that exercised the minds of philosophers in this period, ranging from botany to new machines, and from microscopic to anatomical observations. The methods used to make these pictures differed greatly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; simple pen sketches appear alongside skilled drawings in red chalk, and elaborate colour paintings. In the same way the size of the images ranged from small marginal drawings in letters, to fully realised book illustrations. The artistic abilities and ambitions of the Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fellows varied greatly as they wrestled with the ideas and observations they were trying to express.

Calligraphy and four fishes Unknown artist The Royal Society archives, MS/68. Ink on vellum.

Images and their functions Scientific images were rarely produced for pure pleasure. However, some were made to convey non-scientific messages. The elaborate coat of arms in the Royal Society’s Charter Book, produced by the Garter Principal King of Arms, communicates the importance, and royal status, of the new scientific institution. Similarly, many frontispieces to the Society’s published books told of the Society’s significance, prestige, and power. Most pictures had a role and function in scientific experimenting and reporting. At the beginning of the seventeenth century sight-enhancing instruments (microscopes and telescopes) were newly invented and were being used to investigate new worlds that had never been seen. To share these observations, visual depictions were critical. As instruments were not yet standardized, two observers looking at the same star, or a similar insect, might see very different things through their devices. To be able to compare observations, it was essential to provide as many details as possible in both word and image.

In more traditional fields, such as mathematics, drawings and diagrams were used to solve problems. They formed part of an explanation – visualising the mathematical question as well as the solution. Machines and inventions also operated within known forms. Sometimes these represented actual objects and models, as in the case of the double-bottomed boat, or catamaran, that William Petty (1623 –1687) designed. Other drawings, such as Robert Hooke’s water-sampling machine, envisage devices that were never realised. More extremely, images might depict hypothetical or imaginary machines, which were not meant to be constructed. Such as the drawing that Robert Hooke (1635 – 1703) made of Francis Potter’s idea for a cart with legs. Within the Royal Society, visual representations were part of a structure of preserving and prioritizing scientific experiments, observations, and inventions. From the very start of the Society there was an administrative system in place which was used throughout the first fifty years of its existence, with varying degrees of consistency. The weekly meetings were minuted in the Journal Books, incoming letters were copied into the Letter Books. Experiments performed during the meetings and reports on experiments sent to the Society were copied into the Register Books. Images were as important as text and both were copied together throughout the administrative papers, forming an integral part of the Society’s institutional record. These practices also show that the functionality of the images did not depend upon their quality or their aesthetics, but rather on their role in understanding a problem, or an observation.

Apparatus for fetching water from any depth of the sea Robert Hooke FRS The Royal Society archives, Cl.P/20/35. Ink, ink wash, and red chalk on paper.

Image makers The visual material seen throughout the exhibition and catalogue were made by a diverse set of makers. Royal Society Fellows frequently created images in the process of their work, which they then brought to meetings for discussion and debate with their colleagues. A few of these Fellows notably Robert Hooke and Richard Waller (d. 1715) had some degree of artistic training, but most others did not. In addition, drawings might be sent by Fellows travelling or based abroad, or by the Society’s circle of foreign and domestic correspondents. Natural philosophers such as the astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611 – 1687), the microscopist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723), or mathematician René-François de Sluse (1622 – 1685), sent drawings, and sometimes printed images of their experiments and observations within their letters. The Royal Society itself employed draughtsmen, clerks, and craftsmen to create images for their meetings and publications. One of the draughtsmen most frequently mentioned in the Society’s minutes is Henry Hunt (d. 1713), Operator for the Society, then later Keeper of the Repository and Library, and Housekeeper. Hunt was often requested to make drawings for discussion at the Society’s gatherings as well as engravings for its publications. Other craftsmen, such as William Faithorne (1616 – 1691), Michael Burghers (1647/8 – 1727), Michiel Vandergucht (1660 – 1725), John Savage (fl. 1683 – 1701), and John Sturt (1658 – 1730) were known to make engravings and etchings for the Royal Society’s publications as well as for the Philosophical Transactions. Amongst the artists working for the Royal Society’s correspondents were several women. Susanna (1670 – 1738) and Anna (1671 – after 1697) Lister, daughters of Martin Lister (1639 – 1712), were skilled artists who illustrated their father’s book on shells and molluscs. The Swiss painter Anna Waser (1678 – 1714) worked for the Swiss natural historian Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672 – 1733), for whom she drew several beautiful illustrations, including mountainscapes and frontispieces for his publications on the history and customs of the Swiss Alps.

Despite these names, the vast majority of images found within the Royal Society’s archives were the work of unknown artisans. The Royal Society’s administrative books and records contain numerous pictures copied by unknown clerks and scribes. Many prints are unsigned and therefore the labour of the woodblock cutters, engravers, and etchers who created them remains unattributable. The same can also be said about the artisans who worked for some of the foreign correspondents of the Royal Society. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, for example, writes frequently about the artists who worked for him, but frustratingly, he never mentioned their names. As we hope you will see, images were abundant in the early Royal Society. The Fellows used visual representations as part of their investigations into every topic of their interest; not only in the observational sciences, as one would expect, but also to explore the Society’s diverse interests from cheese-making to calligraphy. Their collaboration with image makers formed an integral part of the scientific practice in the early Royal Society. Thus, everyone involved in this process – from draughtsman to copper plate cutter to Fellow – played an important role in the making of knowledge. Clearly, we can no longer think of these images as only pretty pictures or illustrations of completed and finalized ideas. Instead, we must view them as a vital part of the collaborative, messy, and sometimes contentious process of creating new knowledge. Thus, in this exhibition we hope to show you how, at the inception of the Royal Society, science was made visible.

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Frontispiece from the Royal Society Charter Book Unknown artist The Royal Society archives, DC/3. Body colour and ink on vellum.

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Rat testicle in glass jar Unknown artist, for Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS In this drawing Antoni van Leeuwenhoek describes the method he used to observe the vessels in a ratâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s testicle. The Royal Society archives, EL/L1/52. Ink wash on paper.

Human anatomy Fellows of the Royal Society created images of all the subjects they studied, from ancient antiquities to chemical experiments. Images did more than record information for posterity; they also were used as tools of investigation. In human anatomy, this was particularly true. The Fellows were interested in explaining various functions of the human body, such as reproduction, as well as wanting to explain abnormal phenomena, including unusually shaped bladder stones or anomalous births. They regularly performed dissections as part of their anatomical studies. Some of these were performed within the Royal Society; others were reported in letters, where pictures played a vital role in standing in for the absent specimen.

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Account of the condition of Elizabeth Travers & measuring tapes, 1669 Unknown artist, for William Durston On 18 July 1699, Dr William Durston wrote to William Brouncker FRS describing the case of Elizabeth Travers ‘23 or 24 fair of complexion brown-hair’d, of a healthy constitution,’ whose breasts had become excessively swollen very quickly overnight, and who soon died. Before her death, Durston had a drawing made of her, which he sent to the Royal Society along with an account of his observations. He also included the tapes, which he had used to measure the circumference of her breasts. Royal Society archives, EL/D1/11. Ink on paper; textile.

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Bladder stone of Sir Thomas Adams, 1668 Robert Hooke FRS Sir Thomas Adams, former Mayor of London, died on 24 February 1668. A few days later Thomas Allen FRS reported at a meeting of the Royal Society that a large bladder stone was taken out of the deceased. He also reported that Adams had not experienced discomfort from the stone during his life. A month later at the meeting on 26 March, Allen produced the actual stone. It was weighed and found to be 22⅜ ounces (ca. 630 grams). Robert Hooke was asked to draw it for the records of the Royal Society, which he executed with particular attention to depth. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/14i/22. White and red chalk on blue paper.

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Cojoined twins in Plymouth, 1670 Unknown artist, after a youth from Plymouth On 28 October 1670, Dr William Durston wrote to Timothy Clarke FRS, of a ‘monstrous birth’ that occurred in Plymouth. The drawing Durston sent to the Society was made, as he describes, by ‘a youth of this town.’ Both the narrative of the conjoined twins, and a drawing, were published in the Philosophical Transactions, and copied into the Society’s administrative papers. In this version from the Letter Book Copy, an unknown clerk took care to depict the scene in vibrant coloured paint. Royal Society archives, LBC/4/130. Body colour and graphite on paper.

(ABOVE)

Stones from the heart of the Earl of Balcarres, 1663 Robert Hooke FRS This is a drawing of pieces of stone extracted from the heart of the second Earl of Balcarres, Charles Lindsay (1650 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1662), whose parents were close to Robert Moray FRS. The stones were shown to Moray in August 1663, when he suggested that a drawing and a cast of the stones should be made for the records of the Royal Society. Robert Hooke was asked to do both, and his drawing was shown to the Society on 19 August 1663. This is likely the drawing by Hooke, which was then pasted into the Register Book. The stones were subsequently donated to the Society (in 1666). Royal Society archives, RBO/2i/66. Ink and wash on paper. (ABOVE)

Illustrissimae, sapientissimaeque Regiae Societati Londini, 1672 Dirk Bosboom, after Johannes Swammerdam The Dutch anatomist Johannes Swammerdam presented his observations of the female reproductive system to the Fellows of the Royal Society. With this printed broadsheet, he claimed priority in the discovery of the female ovaries in a dispute with his rival and countryman Reinier de Graaf. Swammerdam asked the Royal Society to arbitrate, which they refused to do. These images, drawn by Swammerdam himself, and engraved by Dirk Bosboom, are unusual for their large size, use of colour, and presentation mounting. Royal Society library. Watercolour and ink on paper mounted on wooden boards.

Richard Waller FRS (d. 1715) Richard Waller was a Fellow and served as Secretary (1687 – 1714) and Vice-President (1709) of the early Royal Society. He also translated many texts on their behalf. In addition to his administrative, translational, and natural philosophical work, he was an avid image maker. The numerous drawings, paintings, and engravings Waller created for the Society are some of the most well-known and beautiful. Waller’s images not only contained a diverse range of subject matter, they also displayed a varied array of artistic skills. For example, between 1689 and 1713, Waller executed a series of beautifully painted flowers and grasses. Though impressive as paintings, these images also include cross sections and microscopic enlargements that were part of his scientific study of

Self-portrait of Richard Waller, 1674 – 1676 Reproduced by kind permission of the British Library, Add. MS 27347. Ink, ink wash, and body colour on paper.

the plants. In addition, in the 1680s Waller created two frontispieces for translations commissioned by the Royal Society of texts written by other European scientific societies – the Accademia del Cimento in Florence and the Académie Royale des Sciences in Paris. His images variously communicated both scientific ideas and more subtle symbolic messages on behalf of the young Society. He was also responsible for the first colour image in the Philosophical Transactions, a chart defining colour tones. The origins of Waller’s artistic training are unknown, though it is likely he learned some of his skills from his mother, the artist and miniaturist Mary Moore (1633 – 1716). Waller was a great friend of Robert Hooke (1635 – 1703) and was responsible for posthumously editing the latter’s work.

Small and middle flea-bane, 1689 – 1713 Richard Waller FRS Royal Society archives, MS/131/38. Graphite, ink, and watercolour on paper.

Natural history The early Royal Society investigated all aspects of the natural world. Fellows compared the anatomy and morphology of different species, sometimes performing dissections to compare internal structures. As with human anatomy, abnormal or irregular structures were of particular interest. In botany, the Fellows studied domestic and foreign plants, often examining them with microscopes. Using a microscope enabled Fellows not only to compare external structures (such as leaf or petal shape) of a plant but also to analyse the internal morphology and vasculature. Plant and animal specimens would, of course, deteriorate over time. Drawings allowed Fellows to preserve their likenesses, which enabled them to compare and analyse a greater number over time.

(BELOW)

Robert Boyle’s chameleon, 1686 Richard Waller FRS Waller, who was both a natural philosopher and an artist, produced this zoological study in watercolour. The branch bears a Latin inscription in gold: “Hanc Chamaeleonsis AEgyptiaci Iconem Delineabat R.Waller ad vivum quem possidebat Not: R.Boyl. Nov: 1686.” [Richard Waller drew the image of the Egyptian Chameleon after the life, which the Honourable Robert Boyle kept, November 1686]. Royal Society archives, MS/ 131/3. Watercolour on paper.

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Hoopoe bird Henry Hunt Royal Society archives, MS/ 131/77. Ink and watercolour on paper.

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Dissection of a parakeet, 1668 Richard Waller FRS These drawings chronical the dissection of a parakeet undertaken by the Royal Society. As recorded in the minutes of the meeting on 5 December 1688, the Fellows queried many features of the parakeet’s anatomy. The minutes go on to describe that Waller was particularly interested in how a single feather could display multiple colours. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/15i/37. Graphite, body colour, and ink wash on paper.

(ABOVE)

Double-headed cat, 1686 Henry Hunt This ‘monstrous’ kitten was drawn by Henry Hunt, who was the Operator and Keeper of the Royal Society Repository. It was shown to the Society at a meeting on 30 June 1686, where it was described as ‘having two faces joining together at the eyes, which was in the middle of a common face’. Royal Society archives, MS/131/80. Graphite, body colour, and ink wash on paper.

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Rapunculus montanus purpureus, 1703 Unknown artist These flowers were collected by the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob Scheuchzer. He depicted flora, fauna, as well as human artifacts from the Alpine region. These observations and drawings would later be published in a book titled [Ouresiphoitis] Helveticus, sive itineris alpini (London 1708). Royal Society archives, MS/48/2. Watercolour and ink on paper.

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Knapweed and blue-bottle, 1689 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1713 Richard Waller FRS This is one of a series of botanical studies of wild flowers and grasses. In these brightly coloured images, Waller depicts not only the plants in their entirety, with leaves and roots, but also several details, with the aid of a microscope. Drawn only with pencil, such details provide further information about the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anatomy and internal structure. Royal Society archives, MS/131/36. Graphite, ink, and watercolour on paper.

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Two dragonflies, 1680 Unknown artist, for Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS This image is one of many sent by the Dutch microscopist from Delft to the Royal Society. The illustration demonstrates the interest shared by Leewenhoek and many Fellows of the Royal Society in the reproduction of different species. In the drawing, the coloured dragonfly is female, and the outlined dragonfly is male. Royal Society archives, EL/L1/62. Ink and body colour on paper.

Instruments and inventions Fellows of the Royal Society invented, modified, and used novel instruments and devices. Some, such as microscopes and telescopes, aided the human eye to see farther, or more closely, than ever before. Others such as airpumps, barometers, and thermometers tested the composition, pressure, and temperature of the air with increased accuracy. Though discussed on paper, there were inventions that were never constructed. Some inventions did not work, some were too costly, and others like Francis Potter’s ‘cart with legs’ were more likely seen as curiosities that were never intended to be built. All of these devices – realised and not – were discussed, debated, and drawn for the Royal Society’s meetings.

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Cart with legs as designed by Francis Potter FRS Robert Hooke FRS Royal Society archives, EL/P1 /40. Ink on paper.

(ABOVE)

Reflecting telescope, 1671 Isaac Newton FRS The telescope consists of two tubes, one sliding inside the other to focus the mirrors. The tubes are made from layers of paper or cardboard and the upper tube is covered with a layer of decorative vellum. There are two eyepiece holes, one of which is blocked with cork. The insides of the tubes have been painted black and a secondary mirror is positioned within. Isaac Newton built his first reflecting telescope in 1668; this is his second model. Royal Society collections, MO/1. Card, vellum, cork, metals, and wood.

(ABOVE)

Newton’s reflecting telescope, 1672 Henry Oldenburg FRS This drawing of Newton’s improvements to the reflecting telescope is a good example of how the Fellows used images. Henry Oldenburg, the first Secretary of the Royal Society, made this drawing and sent it to Isaac Newton in a letter asking him to review and correct it before it was sent on to Christian Huygens FRS, to secure Newton’s priority for the invention and prevent the ‘usurpation of foreigners’. The two small crowns attached on a separate piece of paper are meant to demonstrate the magnifying capability of the telescope. Royal Society archives, EL/N1/37. Ink on paper.

(TOP LEFT)

Telescopic observations of a nubecula, 1668 John Aubrey FRS and John Hoskins FRS John Aubrey reported to the Royal Society’s meeting on 30 April 1668 that he and Hoskins had observed a nubecula between the constellations of Cancer and the head of Hydra, employing a seven-foot telescope on 27 April 1668. They sent this written account with the drawings to the Royal Society on the same day. The Fellows encouraged them to make further observations regarding these types of star fields. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/8i/24. Ink on paper.

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Air pump, 1663 Unknown artist, after Christian Huygens FRS Experiments with air pumps were part of the Royal Society’s programme from the very beginning. In Huygens’s letter accompanying this drawing the Dutchman added that ‘The Figure will easily make you understand it’ [the engine]. Even though there was no physical model of this air pump, Huygens indicates that his elevation, together with his description, will make it possible for the Royal Society Fellows to imagine the experiment. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/4i/23. Ink on paper.

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Diving bell and suit, 1691 Unknown artist This underwater apparatus includes a light source – a candle to burn beneath the sea. It is associated with Edmond Halley’s diving bell. The drawing on the back of rough meeting minutes demonstrates that the Fellows of the Royal Society were constantly thinking of new ways to explore the natural world. Royal Society archives, MS/557/1. Ink on paper.

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(ABOVE RIGHT)

Rain gauge, 1696 Henry Hunt

Air pump, ca. 1709 Francis Hauksbee FRS

With this instrument Henry Hunt collected rainwater for an entire year at Gresham College, London. Every Monday morning he measured the weight of the vessel and level to which the water came in the glass. He used these measurements to quantify and understand rainfall, and the weather more generally.

Air pumps were used by natural philosophers to create partial vacuums. To do so, they pumped air out of the glass bell at the top of the device by using the handle. Apart from proving that a vacuum was possible, the air pump gave rise to many experiments such as studying the effects of rarefied air on combustion, magnetism, and sound.

Royal Society archives, Cl.P/5/1. Ink and wash on paper.

Royal Society collections, I/018. Wood, glass, and metals.

Robert Hooke FRS (1635 – 1703) Robert Hooke is well known as the author of the first fully illustrated book on microscopy (Micrographia, 1665) and as one of the architects who helped to rebuilt London after the Great Fire in 1666. He was also a paid employee of the Royal Society. As Curator of Experiments, he was supposed to prepare two experiments for the Society’s weekly meetings. In the first years of his appointment he would bring in his microscopic observations to the meetings, sometimes with accompanying images.

Before his career with the Royal Society, Hooke had been apprenticed to the London-based painter Peter Lely (1618 – 1680). He would have learned to draw and paint, but also to mix colours and make varnishes. This knowledge and these skills all became useful during his career within the Royal Society. He was often asked to draw things for the records of the Society, or to copy images in large format so that they could be seen and discussed in the meetings. Many of his drawings used advanced drawing techniques, such as ink wash and perspectives.

(ABOVE)

Microscopic views of a fly from Micrographia, 1665 Unknown engraver, for Robert Hooke FRS Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Microscopic structures observed in frozen urine and ice, 1662 Robert Hooke FRS Royal Society archives, Cl.P/20/6. Ink on paper.

Specimens The origin of fossils was a topic of great debate in the seventeenth century. Many thought they emerged from the mineral salts in the earth. Fellows of the Royal Society studied closely the view of the Italian artist and naturalist Agostino Scilla (1629 – 1700) who thought that the fossils resembled living creatures and that these objects should be studied without preconceived ideas. This attitude is exemplified in Scilla’s carefully crafted drawings. When looking closely at his work, you can see how he shows more in one image than can be seen from one side.

allowed researchers to see things they had never seen before. Specimens were prepared to be placed under the microscope, and descriptions and drawings were used to communicate with colleagues around the world.

The Dutch microscopist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek followed Robert Hooke in his enthusiasm for the microscope. This instrument, which was only recently invented in the early seventeenth century,

(ABOVE)

Fossil jawbone with three teeth, Neogene period

Fossil jawbone with three teeth, and fossils of marine creatures, 1660s Agostino Scilla

This ‘white stone’ was sent to Agostino Scilla from Malta. Scilla recognized that the three teeth were fossilized while stuck to the jawbone of cetacean Squalodon melitensis. This combination of teeth and bone provided Scilla with the evidence to argue that fossils did not grow in the ground but that they had been part of animals. Woodwardian Collection, Courtesy of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Reference: CAMSM E-27-42. Fossil.

One of the original drawings of Agostino Scilla’s book La vana speculazione disingannata dal senso (1670). Courtesy of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Reference: SCLA Plate XII. Graphite on paper.

22.

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La vana speculazione disingannata dal senso, plate XII, 1670 Unknown engraver, after Agostino Scilla In his book on fossils (in English ‘Vain speculation undeceived by sense’) Scilla observed fossils from Sicily and Malta and compared them with living animals from the sea. At the time it was not clear what fossils were, and many scholars thought that they simply grew in stones. Scilla’s observations and careful drawings were therefore of great importance for the understanding of the history of the earth. The illustrations in his printed book were copied from Scilla’s own hand drawings. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Fossil of a Serpulid worm tube, Neogene period Serpulid vermicularis is one of many fossilized marine worms that Agostino Scilla found among the rocks in the Port of Messina, in his native Sicily. In the fossils, he recognized the forms as those of the same animals living in his time. This led him to speculate that this fossilization process occurred because the worms were once thrown onto the land. Woodwardian Collection, Courtesy of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Reference: CAMSM E-19-1. Fossil.

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Single-lens microscope, 20th-century replica Commisioned by Sir Hans Kornberg FRS, after Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS Leeuwenhoek made these kinds of microscopes himself. Although they were hard to use, their magnification was superior to that of the compound microscope. The tiny lens is kept in place by two small copper or silver plates, and the pin holds the specimen. Leeuwenhoek prepared the specimens of a cow’s optical nerve for a microscope such as this. Royal Society collections, I/005. Silver and glass.

(TOP RIGHT)

Wrapper with specimens of a cow’s optical nerve, 1674 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS Leeuwenhoek sent this small folded piece of paper containing specimens of a cow’s optical nerve, which he prepared himself. He described in the accompanying letter how he made the specimens, and what he saw once he looked at them through his microscope. The text on the envelope says: ‘Stuckjens vande gesicht senuwe van een koebeest over dwars afgesneden’ [parts of the optical nerve of a cow cut sectionally]. Royal Society archives. Ink on paper.

(ABOVE)

Microscopic observation of a cow’s optical nerve, 1674 Unknown artist, for Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS Leeuwenhoek often employed draughtsmen to record microscopic observations. The artist had to look through his microscope many times to be able to compose this image. Though Leeuwenhoek regularly mentions his collaborations with draughtsmen, he never refers to them by name. Royal Society archives, EL/L1/9. Graphite and ink on paper.

(ABOVE)

Compound microscope from Micrographia, 1665 Unknown engraver, for Robert Hooke FRS In the accompanying text Robert Hooke explained how he made observations using a microscope like the one depicted in this image. He added a good light source, and fixed an object to the pedestal. According to Hooke â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All the other contrivances are obvious enough from the draught, and will need no descriptionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Kapok seeds, 1686 Unknown artist, for Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS Royal Society archives, EL/L2/4. Red chalk on paper.

Making images The Royal Society created, circulated, and used many different types of illustration. Some were drawn with ink, pencil, or chalk on paper. Others were created through relief (woodblocks) or intaglio (etching and engraving) printing processes. Occasionally pigments or watercolours were used. Their creators were varied. Some were made by Fellows of the Royal Society with graphic training; other images were sent in by natural philosophers who corresponded with the Society. However, the vast majority of the visual material used by the Royal Society were the works of unknown artisans or graphic craftsmen. Occasionally the identity of a scribe or draughtsman can be deciphered from the Royal Society’s records, but most of the draughtsmen, engravers, and blockcutters who created these images remain anonymous.

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A catalogue of simple and mixt colours with a specimen of each, 1686 Richard Waller FRS Richard Waller’s pigment chart is the first instance of use of colour in the Philosophical Transactions. This table, showing both ‘simple’ and ‘mixed’ colours, demonstrates the interest Waller and the other Fellows had in paint mixing and other trade processes. Royal Society library. Ink and body colour on paper.

(ABOVE)

Parallel ruler and drawing compass Unknown craftsman

Diagram in Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, 1713 John Lightbody, for Isaac Newton FRS

These drawing implements are thought to have belonged to Isaac Newton. They were standard instruments for drawing geometrical figures in the period. By kind permission of the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. Wood, brass, and steel.

This is the second edition of Newton’s Principia, printed in Cambridge in 1713. The woodblock illustration in its final form can be seen within the text. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Woodblock for Principia, c. 1713 John Lightbody, for Isaac Newton FRS This is a printing block prepared for the second edition of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (1713). Roger Cotes FRS helped with the revision of this edition, which was printed in Cambridge. The woodblocks were cut in London by one ‘Mr Lightbody’. For some unknown reason, this block was not used in the final imprint, which may account for its survival. By kind permission of the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. We are grateful to Roger Gaskell for sharing his lecture on 21 November 2017, at the Bibliographical Society. Wood.

(ABOVE)

Flea from Micrographia, 1665 Unknown engraver, for Robert Hooke FRS Robert Hooke’s Micrographia became famous not only for its descriptive power, but also for the large and detailed images. These engravings show objects invisible to the unassisted human eye such as spores of mould or the compound eye of a fly. By far the best-known plate from the Micrographia is the flea. Though Hooke did not engrave the images himself, he did emphasize the importance of close observation and accurate depiction. As he stated in the preface, ‘a sincere Hand, and a faithful Eye’ were the most important traits for the natural philosopher to possess. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Astronomical ring dial, c. 1670 Unknown maker This is a universal equinoctial ring dial, a form of sundial which can be used at any latitude to determine local time. Portable sundials had been very popular since the sixteenth century and this is a good example of English craftsmanship of the late seventeenth century. It is believed to have belonged to Isaac Newton, and was used at the observatory above the Great Gate of Trinity College, Cambridge. By kind permission of the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. Steel and silver.

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Woodblock for Harmonia mensurarum, 1722 Unknown artisan, for Roger Cotes FRS

Diagram in Harmonia mensurarum, 1722 Unknown artisan, for Roger Cotes FRS

This is a printing block for a diagram illustrating the motion of a pendulum in Roger Cotes’s Harmonia mensurarum (1722). The figure was made by a craftsman cutting away the wood around the lines which had been traced onto the woodblock. Here you can see the lettering (in mirror image) carved out of the wood, but also a square wedge, into which a type font could be inserted. Though time-consuming to make, woodblocks enabled diagrams to be printed within the text, making it easier for the reader to follow the argument.

Roger Cotes (1682 – 1716) was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge and the first Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. He assisted Isaac Newton FRS in preparing the second edition of Principia (1713). Cotes’s own mathematical papers were published posthumously in 1722. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

By kind permission of the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. Wood.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS (1632– 1723) The Dutch cloth merchant Antoni van Leeuwenhoek became famous as a microscopist and long-standing correspondent of the Royal Society. He wrote more than 200 letters to the Society in the fifty years between his introduction to the organisation in 1673 and his death in 1723, making him by far its most productive correspondent during this period. He was elected a Fellow in 1680, even though he never attended a meeting.

by not only making use of their drawing skills but also as an extra pair of eyes confirming what he saw.

Many of Leeuwenhoek’s letters were accompanied by images, either drawn or printed. Leeuwenhoek frequently employed artists to compose images for him. He often described in great detail how he tasked his draughtsmen with looking through his mounted microscopes so that they could draw what he had seen. Regularly, Leeuwenhoek used his draughtsmen as witnesses to his observations,

Although he wrote on various occasions that he could not draw, or that he was not trained to do so, he nevertheless occasionally sent drawings that he made himself. One example is a pen drawing of a dog’s sperm, which he observed under the microscope.

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Portrait of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, 1686 Jan Verkolje

Vessels in dog sperm, 1678 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek FRS

Royal Society collections, IM/003551. Ink on paper.

Royal Society archives, EL/L1/36. Ink on paper.

In addition to having his draughtsmen draw what they saw, Leeuwenhoek would also ask them to guess what they were seeing and drawing. He would then use their guesses as confirmations of his own observations when writing to the Fellows of the Royal Society.

Models Some of the Fellows of the Royal Society, as well as King Charles II (1630 – 1685), were very interested in shipbuilding. It is in this context that William Petty (1623 – 1687) started his development of the ‘Double bottom’d boat’ (an early form of a catamaran). The Society’s historian Thomas Sprat FRS (1635 – 1713) called it ‘the most considerable experiment which has been made in this age of experiments’ (History of the Royal Society, 1667). The Fellows discussed the various possible constructions, and had models built of the boat. Various full sized vessels were sailed between Holyhead (Wales) and Dublin, through the Channel to Portsmouth and Dover, and as far as the Bay of Biscay, where one of the ships came to an unlucky end in October 1665.

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Model of a twin-hulled ship, before 1685 Stephen Worlidge

Double-keel vessel, ca. 1685 William Petty FRS

This model in wood was made by a goldsmith from Portsmouth, and given to the Royal Society by John Houghton in 1685. William Petty’s second version of an actual double-bottom ship, the Invention II, sailed from Dublin to Portsmouth at the end of 1663. The goldsmith might have seen this in the harbour of Portsmouth, which could have inspired this model.

This drawing with ‘The description and Excellency of the DoubleKeel Vessell’, might have been presented to the Royal Society together with the wooden model. The minutes of the Society mention that the model and the description were to be kept together in the Repository of the Society.

Royal Society collections. Wood, iron, and gilding.

Royal Society archives, EL/P1/34a. Ink and graphite on paper.

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Report on the first double-bottomed boat, 1662 William Petty FRS In this letter from William Petty to William Brouncker (then President of the Royal Society), Petty explains the measurements of his first full sized double-bottomed boat, which was named Simon and Jude, after the Saints’ day upon which the ship was launched (28 October 1662). They sailed the vessel from Dublin to Lacy-Hill (a mile away), and ‘in the afternoone all the Gentry and Curious about the Towne Visited her at her Moarings’. Royal Society archives, EL/P1/14. Ink on paper.

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Sir William Petty’s double-bottom boat, ca. 1664 – 5 Henry Hunt These images show the fourth and last version of Petty’s trial with catamarans. This version, the ‘Great Double Bottom’, carried the name Experiment, and was drawn after a now lost model. Reproduced by kind permission of the Pepys Library, Magdalene College Cambridge. Ink, graphite, and body colour on paper.

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A draught of the Simon and Jude, or Invention, 1663 William Petty FRS The Simon and Jude was soon to be renamed Invention. This draught, together with a now-lost model of this ship, and a report from the Dublin Philosophical Society, were discussed by the Fellows of the Royal Society at their meeting on 28 January 1663. Although many objections were raised in the report, such as the danger of ‘the falling in of the water between the 2 heads obliquely’, there was enough interest in pursuing the experiment further. Royal Society archives, RBO/2i/29. Body colour on paper.

Images in the Royal Society and beyond The Royal Society was composed of Fellows from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and from Europe. Although the core of their activities took place in their weekly meetings at Gresham College, the Society was intrinsically international. Corresponding Fellows would send in letters that would be read in the meetings. The working language of the Society was English (and not Latin), but many of the Fellows spoke and read several languages. They would take turns in translating foreign letters into English for discussion at meetings.

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Map of the navigable passage from Bristol to London, 1690 – 1691 BG Cramer, after Thomas Jenner This map is inserted in a copy of an original manuscript Memoires of Naturall Remarques in the county of Wilts, by John Aubrey FRS. The manuscript was transcribed by B.G. Cramer, Clerk to the Royal Society, in 1690 – 1691. The map was originally engraved and printed by Thomas Jenner in 1668. Royal Society archives, MS/92. Ink on paper.

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Observations of Mars, 1666 Robert Hooke FRS Figure of spots on Mars observed by Robert Hooke during February and March 1666. The observation was presented at the meeting of the Society on 28 March 1666 and ‘ordered to be registered’. It is not known who made the drawing in the Register Book. Hooke’s observations in word and image were printed in the Philosophical Transactions. Royal Society archives, RBO/3/32. Ink and wash on paper.

The Royal Society had an impact on British and European science outside the weekly meetings. For example, from 1665 onwards the first Secretary of the Society, the German born Henry Oldenburg (c. 1619 – 1677) published a journal. These Philosophical Transactions were read by early modern scientists all over Europe. The Royal Society also financed the publication of printed books, such as English translations of French and Italian texts, and works by the Italian naturalist Marcello Malpighi (1628 – 1694).

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Some observations of Jupiter and Saturn, 1666 Unknown engraver

Frontispiece of Memoirs for a natural history of animals, 1688 Richard Waller FRS

This engraving combines the images from several articles in one issue of the Philosophical Transactions. It compares observations of Mars made by two Italian correspondents of the Royal Society, Giuseppe Campani and Giovanni Domenico Cassini, with Robert Hooke’s views of the planet, in addition to his observations of Jupiter and Saturn. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

This book on animal anatomy by Claude Perrault et al., was originally published by the French counterpart of the Royal Society, the Académie Royale des Sciences in Paris. The book became famous for its large engravings by Sébastien LeClerc. The Royal Society had the text translated for an English audience. Richard Waller re-engraved the plates, and made a new frontispiece, alluding to the book’s subject with several animal skeletons, as well as crediting the French Academy and the translator. Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Galls in the leaves of oak and poplar trees, before 1679 Marcello Malpighi FRS

Anatomes plantarum pars altera, 1679 Unknown engraver, after Marcello Malpighi FRS

The Italian natural philosopher Marcello Malpighi wrote several major books on the anatomy of plants and animals. He would observe his subjects in the different phases of their development. His observations came with detailed drawings by his own hand.

Malpighi sent his original manuscripts with drawings and written observations to the Royal Society. The Society financed the publication of these books written in Latin and had all the images engraved.

The image above is part of the section about the growth of galls in plants. At the very centre of the upper figure is the worm that grew in the bud of an oak tree.

Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

Royal Society archives, MS/103/2. Red chalk on paper.

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Chameleon from Memoirs for a natural history of animals, 1688 Richard Waller FRS

Chameleon from Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire naturelle des animaux, 1671 Sébastien LeClerc

In addition to designing a new frontispiece, Waller re-engraved the plates for the English translation of Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire naturelle des animaux. Compare with Sébastien LeClerc’s original engraving of the chameleon on the right.

Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library, Rel.aa.67.1. Ink on paper.

Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

History of trades Following the recommendations of the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), the Fellows of the Royal Society set up a programme known as ‘The History of Trades’. By collecting information about crafts and trades, the Fellows were hoping to improve Britain’s industry and productivity. While this programme never came to full fruition, the Society’s archives contain many traces of the information Fellows started to collect. In the first ten years of the Royal Society, several Fellows researched and assembled material about craft processes. For example, there are reports about colour dyes, salt production, parchment and varnishes, as well as the making of felt and cheese, and the hunting of whales for oil. Many of the reports on these trades contained illustrations of production processes.

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Felt-makers at work Robert Hooke FRS The illustration shows five craftsmen working on different stages of felt-making. Although a printed version of this image is not known, the page contains instructions for an engraver, such as ‘NB This Draught must not be inverted’, and ‘This is not to be coppyd in the Plate’. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/20/96. Ink and ink wash on paper.

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Cheese making, ca. 1660s William Jackson

Whaling in Greenland, 1663 Unknown artist

Seven drawings of the different stages of Cheshire cheese making by William Jackson, based in Nantwich, Cheshire. Jackson explained how the understanding of this process is of importance to ‘our housewives’, and advised the Fellows of the Royal Society to seek information from them.

The minutes of the Society’s meeting on 4 November 1663 record that ‘The history of whale-fishing, and of the making of whale-oil, was delivered in by the secretary from Mr Gray of the Greenland company, who had been in those parts, and present at the killings of whales and the making of oil a dozen times’.

Royal Society archives, Cl.P/3i/22. Ink on paper.

Royal Society archives, RBO/2i/75. Ink and ink wash on paper.

Henry Hunt (d. 1713) Henry Hunt worked as an assistant to Robert Hooke before being appointed Operator for the Royal Society in 1676. Later he served as the Society’s Library Keeper. In these roles, one of his main tasks was to make images. At the Society’s request, Hunt was often tasked with drawing or copying specimens, instruments, or experiments so that the illustrations could be circulated in future meetings and preserved in the Society’s Repository for consultation. For example, in 1705 a drawing of a Swiss hussar of over 8 feet tall was brought into the Society. After being instructed to make a copy of it, at the meeting of 5 May that year, the Journal Book records: ‘Mr Hunt produced his copy of the Elector Palatines Hussar, and was desired to place it in the Repository among the other things of that nature.’ In addition to drawings he created for meetings, Hunt knew how to engrave, and he created many plates for the Philosophical Transactions. However, as Hunt was not a Fellow, these engravings are often unattributed. Hunt also learned from Robert Hooke how to paint, mix pigments, polish glass, make instruments, and draw ground plans.

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A giant Swiss hussar, 1705 Henry Hunt Royal Society archives, MS/131/76. Ink and watercolour on paper.

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Two fruits Henry Hunt Royal Society archives, MS/131/95. Watercolour on paper.

Mathematics Of all the visual material in the archives of the early Royal Society, the largest quantity relates to mathematics. Many Fellows were mathematicians, including the Society’s first president William Brouncker (1620 – 1684) and Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727). Visual proofs were one tool in providing solutions to mathematical problems within philosophical correspondence.

Fellows tried to solve geometrical problems that were posed by the Greek and Arabic mathematicians, notably Euclid (3rd century BC) and Alhazen (c. 965 – c. 1040). They also applied mathematics to practical situations such as ballistics, and to the construction of telescopes. John Wallis (1616 – 1703) and Isaac Newton sought to develop algebraic methods, but geometry remained the backbone of investigations of physical space.

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Brouncker’s refutation of Hobbes’s proof of doubling the cube, 1661 Unknown artist

Alhazen’s problem, 1669 Christian Huygens FRS

At the meeting of the Royal Society on 4 September 1661, Sir Paul Neile FRS brought in a paper, endorsed by King Charles II, of Thomas Hobbes’s solution to the ancient problem of doubling the cube. This required the construction of a second cube, twice the volume of the first using straight edge and compass only. This diagram is from Hobbes’s proof. William Brouncker FRS was asked to examine Hobbes’s proof, which he found erroneous, as explained in the text on this page. This problem is now known to be impossible to solve. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/1 /11. Ink on paper.

This is a figure relating to Christian Huygens’s treatment of Alhazen’s problem, enclosed in a letter to Henry Oldenburg FRS dated 26 June 1669. The diagram was stencilled using a method that Huygens claimed he had invented. This process made use of acid to bite all the way through a copper plate. Ink was then placed over the copper plate. Christopher Wren FRS had come up with a similar method earlier in 1662. The problem attributed to Alhazen (the Latinized name of Ibn al-Haytham) is to find a point of reflection on the surface of a spherical mirror in relation to two points, namely the eye and the visible object. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/1 /13. Ink on paper.

41 41.

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On cycloids, 1697 Unknown artisan, for John Wallis FRS

Light and prism, 1672 Ignace-Gaston Pardies

In this Latin treatise printed in the Philosophical Transactions, Wallis discussed his progress on solving the mathematical problems related to the cycloid. This problem was a classical one, and had been discussed extensively throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by prominent mathematicians such as René Descartes, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton.

This figure was sent by Ignace-Gaston Pardies in a letter of 3 April 1672 to Henry Oldenburg, in which he criticized Isaac Newton’s ‘experimentum crucis’ (critical experiment), which proved that white light was composed of differently coloured rays. Pardies’ comments were passed on to Newton, who replied on 13 April 1672. The letter by Pardies and Newton’s reply were read at the meeting of the Royal Society, and were printed in the Philosophical Transactions of June 1672. Interestingly, no diagrams were included in the printed version.

Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

Royal Society archives, EL/P1/75. Ink on paper.

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Path of a projectile, 1685 George Tollet FRS Tollet’s diagram for demonstrating a general rule for the path of a projectile, was in fact first suggested by Edmond Halley FRS. Halley showed figures illustrating his rule of gunnery to William Molyneux FRS when they met in London. Halley’s explanation was then given by Molyneux’s father to George Tollet, a self-taught teacher of mathematics in Dublin, and one of the earliest members of the Dublin Philosophical Society. Royal Society archives, Cl.P/1/20. Ink on paper.

Travels and Antiquities Travelling Fellows and correspondents would frequently send letters to the Society describing the people, places, and architecture they encountered. Fellows were particularly interested in ancient languages, and they regularly copied monument inscriptions and attempted translations. The archives of the Royal Society contain many records, reports, letters, and pictures describing ancient ruins and distant lands. One example of this type of material is

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Etruscan amphora and plate Unknown artist These drawings are part of a large portfolio of Greek, Latin, and Etruscan inscriptions, objects and monuments. The provenance of the portfolio is unknown. Royal Society archives, MS/596. Graphite and ink on paper.

Samuel Baron’s (fl. 1670s – 1690s) series of large drawings depicting the manners and customs of the people of Vietnam, from their style of dress to the elephants used in processions. The many images in Francis Vernon’s (c.1637 – 1677) travel diary depict not only the topography of the mountains and islands of the Mediterranean, but also the ruins from antiquity he saw there including the Acropolis in Athens, and the ancient city of Troy.

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The blessing of the ground, 1684 – 85 Samuel Baron

Ruins of Persepolis, 1694 Cornelis de Bruijn

One of a series of studies showing the customs and manners of the people in the Kingdom of Tonkin [Hanoi], Vietnam. The drawings were intended to accompany the written descriptions by Samuel Baron, an Englishman born of Dutch and Vietnamese parents. Manuscript amendments and inscriptions indicate some pre-publication correction, probably by the printer, who printed the text and images in the early eighteenth century.

This is one of the two drawings of the ruins of Persepolis (or Chilminar in Persian), sent by the Dutch statesman and Fellow of the Royal Society Nicolaes Witsen to Martin Lister FRS in January 1694. Witsen explained that he received the picture from the ‘person who made the drawing at the site’, Cornelis de Bruijn, a Dutch painter and traveller. This panorama was printed in Philosophical Transactions in May 1694.

Royal Society archives, MS/828. Ink and watercolour on paper.

Royal Society archives, LBO/11b/4. Ink, graphite, and ink wash on paper.

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Ruins of Persepolis, 1694 Unknown engraver, after Cornelis de Bruijn Royal Society library. Ink on paper.

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Map of the Dardanelles, 1675 – 76 Francis Vernon FRS This sketch map is from Vernon’s diary, which he kept on his travels to the eastern Mediterranean between 1675 – 1676. The Dardanelles, known in classical antiquity as the Hellespont, is the narrow strait through Turkey that separates Europe and Asia. Included on Vernon’s map are castles on both sides, as well as the city of Troy, which is located near the mouth of the Dardanelles on the Western edge of the strait. He also labels the island of Imbros (modern day Gökçeada) and the town of Abydos the location where, according to Herodotus, two bridges were built across the strait by Xerxes I. The diary was sent to the Royal Society after Vernon’s death. Royal Society archives, MS/73. Ink on paper.

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The Kourotrophos Maffei Unknown artist The Kourotrophos Maffei funerary statue, dating to the first half of the third century. Discovered in 1494, the sculpture currently resides in the Guarnacci Etrurian Museum in Volterra, Italy where it has been since 1757. The figure is of a Kourotrophos, meaning â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;child nurturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and was the name given in antiquity to gods and goddesses who protected children. The Etruscan inscription down the arm of the statue gives the name of Larthia, to whom the statue is dedicated. Royal Society archives, MS/596. Body colour on paper.