Pedagogy through print: James Sowerby, John Mawe and the problem of colour in early nineteenth-century natural history illustration

British Journal for the History of Science

Volumn 31, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 275-304

  Dolan, Brian ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0242381444     PISSN: 00070874     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0007087498003306     Document Type: Review

References (168)

1. G. Eliot, The Spanish Gypsy: A Poem, London, 1868, Bk I, 97.
2. P. Colquhoun, A Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in every Quarter of the Globe, London, 1815, pp. vi and 67.
3. For more current discussions of the national economy and technologies used to exploit natural resources, see C. A. Bayly, Imperial Meridian: The British Empire and the World 1780-1830, London, 1989; E. A. Wrigley, Continuity, Chance, and Change: The Character of the Industrial Revolution in England, Cambridge, 1988; for a more particular discussion of the activities of mineralogical prospecting, see H. Torrens, 'Some thoughts on the complex and forgotten history of mineral exploration', OUGS Journal (1996), 17, 1-12.
4. For more current discussions of the national economy and technologies used to exploit natural resources, see C. A. Bayly, Imperial Meridian: The British Empire and the World 1780-1830, London, 1989; E. A. Wngley, Continuity, Chance, and Change: The Character of the Industrial Revolution in England, Cambridge, 1988; for a more particular discussion of the activities of mineralogical prospecting, see H. Torrens, 'Some thoughts on the complex and forgotten history of mineral exploration', OUGS Journal (1996), 17, 1-12.
5. For more current discussions of the national economy and technologies used to exploit natural resources, see C. A. Bayly, Imperial Meridian: The British Empire and the World 1780-1830, London, 1989; E. A. Wngley, Continuity, Chance, and Change: The Character of the Industrial Revolution in England, Cambridge, 1988; for a more particular discussion of the activities of mineralogical prospecting, see H. Torrens, 'Some thoughts on the complex and forgotten history of mineral exploration', OUGS Journal (1996), 17, 1-12.
6. J. Mawe, Travels in the Interior of Brazil, particularly in the Gold and Diamond Districts of that Country, London, 1812, 2; H. Torrens, 'Under royal patronage: the early work of John Mawe (1766-1829) in geology and the background of his travels in Brazil in 1807-1810', in O conhecimento geológico na América Latina: Questões de história e teoria (ed. M. Lopes and S. de M. Figueirôa), Campinas, 1990, 103-13.
7. J. Mawe, Travels in the Interior of Brazil, particularly in the Gold and Diamond Districts of that Country, London, 1812, 2; H. Torrens, 'Under royal patronage: the early work of John Mawe (1766-1829) in geology and the background of his travels in Brazil in 1807-1810', in O conhecimento geológico na América Latina: Questões de história e teoria (ed. M. Lopes and S. de M. Figueirôa), Campinas, 1990, 103-13.
8. J. Mawe, A Descriptive Catalogue of Minerals, Intended for the Use of Students, 2nd edn, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1816, p. vi; this book was published in octavo and sold for six shillings.
9. W. Smith, 'A history of the first hundred years of the mineral collection in the British Museum with particular reference to the work of Charles König', Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Historical Series (1969), 3, 235-59, 241-2. The Museum was awarded a grant for £13,727 in 1809 to purchase Charles Greville's mineral collection.
10. Letter printed in E. D. Clarke, A Syllabus of Lectures in Mineralogy, Cambridge, 1807, preface.
11. J. Sowerby, Exotic Mineralogy; or, Coloured Figures of Foreign Minerals, as a Supplement to British Mineralogy, 2 vols., London, 1811, 1817, i, p. iii.
12. J. Mawe, A Treatise on Diamonds and Precious Stones, including their History - Natural and Commercial. To which is Added, some Account of the Best Methods of Cutting and Polishing them, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1813, 68; this fifteen shilling book was produced with wide margins in octavo.
13. D. Jeffries, A Treatise on Diamonds and Pearls, in which their Importance is Considered and Plain Rules are Exhibited for Ascertaining the Value of Both: And a Method of Manufacturing Diamonds, London, 1750.
14. For discussion of standardized packages in the context of twentieth-century science, see J. Fujimura, 'Crafting science: standardized packages, boundary objects, and "translation"', in Science as Practice and Culture (ed. A. Pickering), Chicago, 1992, 168-211.
15. Mawe, op. cit. (9), 65-6, 68.
16. D. Livingstone, The Geographical Tradition: Episodes in the History of a Contested Enterprise, Oxford, 1993; F. Driver and G. Rose (eds.), Nature and Science: Essays in the History of Geographical Knowledge, Historical Geography Research Series, 28, no place given, 1992.
17. D. Livingstone, The Geographical Tradition: Episodes in the History of a Contested Enterprise, Oxford, 1993; F. Driver and G. Rose (eds.), Nature and Science: Essays in the History of Geographical Knowledge, Historical Geography Research Series, 28, no place given, 1992.
18. D. Miller and P. Reill (eds.), Visions of Empire: Voyages, Botany, and Representations of Nature, Cambridge, 1996.
19. B. Stafford, Voyage into Substance: Art, Science, and the Illustrated Travel Account, 1760-1840, Cambridge, MA, 1984; and Artful Science: Enlightenment Entertainment and the Eclipse of Visual Education, Cambridge, MA, 1994; A. Blum, Picturing Nature: American Nineteenth-Century Zoological Illustration, Princeton, 1993; M. Kemp, The Science of Art: Optical Theories in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat, New Haven, 1990.
20. B. Stafford, Voyage into Substance: Art, Science, and the Illustrated Travel Account, 1760-1840, Cambridge, MA, 1984; and Artful Science: Enlightenment Entertainment and the Eclipse of Visual Education, Cambridge, MA, 1994; A. Blum, Picturing Nature: American Nineteenth-Century Zoological Illustration, Princeton, 1993; M. Kemp, The Science of Art: Optical Theories in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat, New Haven, 1990.
21. B. Stafford, Voyage into Substance: Art, Science, and the Illustrated Travel Account, 1760-1840, Cambridge, MA, 1984; and Artful Science: Enlightenment Entertainment and the Eclipse of Visual Education, Cambridge, MA, 1994; A. Blum, Picturing Nature: American Nineteenth-Century Zoological Illustration, Princeton, 1993; M. Kemp, The Science of Art: Optical Theories in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat, New Haven, 1990.
22. B. Stafford, Voyage into Substance: Art, Science, and the Illustrated Travel Account, 1760-1840, Cambridge, MA, 1984; and Artful Science: Enlightenment Entertainment and the Eclipse of Visual Education, Cambridge, MA, 1994; A. Blum, Picturing Nature: American Nineteenth-Century Zoological Illustration, Princeton, 1993; M. Kemp, The Science of Art: Optical Theories in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat, New Haven, 1990.
23. Recent exceptions where links between the natural sciences and forms of visual representation are explored include N. Jardine, J. Secord and E. Spary (eds.), Cultures of Natural History, Cambridge, 1996; L. Daston and P. Galison, 'The image of objectivity', Representations (1992), 40, 81-128; K. Cook, 'From false starts to firm beginnings: early colour printing of Geological maps', Imago mundi: The International Journal for the History of Cartography (1995), 47, 155-72; see also the classic article by M. Rudwick, 'A visual language for geology, 1760-1840', History of Science (1976), 14, 149-95.
24. Recent exceptions where links between the natural sciences and forms of visual representation are explored include N. Jardine, J. Secord and E. Spary (eds.), Cultures of Natural History, Cambridge, 1996; L. Daston and P. Galison, 'The image of objectivity', Representations (1992), 40, 81-128; K. Cook, 'From false starts to firm beginnings: early colour printing of Geological maps', Imago mundi: The International Journal for the History of Cartography (1995), 47, 155-72; see also the classic article by M. Rudwick, 'A visual language for geology, 1760-1840', History of Science (1976), 14, 149-95.
25. Recent exceptions where links between the natural sciences and forms of visual representation are explored include N. Jardine, J. Secord and E. Spary (eds.), Cultures of Natural History, Cambridge, 1996; L. Daston and P. Galison, 'The image of objectivity', Representations (1992), 40, 81-128; K. Cook, 'From false starts to firm beginnings: early colour printing of Geological maps', Imago mundi: The International Journal for the History of Cartography (1995), 47, 155-72; see also the classic article by M. Rudwick, 'A visual language for geology, 1760-1840', History of Science (1976), 14, 149-95.
26. Recent exceptions where links between the natural sciences and forms of visual representation are explored include N. Jardine, J. Secord and E. Spary (eds.), Cultures of Natural History, Cambridge, 1996; L. Daston and P. Galison, 'The image of objectivity', Representations (1992), 40, 81-128; K. Cook, 'From false starts to firm beginnings: early colour printing of Geological maps', Imago mundi: The International Journal for the History of Cartography (1995), 47, 155-72; see also the classic article by M. Rudwick, 'A visual language for geology, 1760-1840', History of Science (1976), 14, 149-95.
27. London natural history networks and the market-place is discussed in B. Dolan, 'The language of experiment in chemical textbooks: some examples from Georgian Britain', in Communicating Chemistry: Textbooks and their Audiences 1789-1939 (ed. A. Lundgren and B. Bensaude-Vincent), New York, forthcoming; for a recent development on the theme of the 'Banksian learned empire', see D. Miller, 'Joseph Banks, empire, and "centres of calculation" in late Hanoverian London', in Miller and Reill, op. cit. (14), 21-37.
28. London natural history networks and the market-place is discussed in B. Dolan, 'The language of experiment in chemical textbooks: some examples from Georgian Britain', in Communicating Chemistry: Textbooks and their Audiences 1789-1939 (ed. A. Lundgren and B. Bensaude-Vincent), New York, forthcoming; for a recent development on the theme of the 'Banksian learned empire', see D. Miller, 'Joseph Banks, empire, and "centres of calculation" in late Hanoverian London', in Miller and Reill, op. cit. (14), 21-37.
29. E. D. Clarke to W. Otter, 25 April 1816, Jesus College, Cambridge, Clarke Letters, letter 96.
30. J. N. Hays, 'The London lecturing empire, 1800-50', in Metropolis and Province, Science in British Culture, 1780-1850 (ed. I. Inkster and J. Morrell), Philadelphia, 1983, 91-119.
31. Mawe, op. cit. (5), p. v.
32. J. Mawe, Familiar Lessons on Mineralogy and Geology, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1819, p. v; the book was published in the small duodecimal format and sold for seven shillings.
33. Mawe, op. cit. (21), p. v.
34. Mawe, op. cit. (21), p. vii.
35. See M. Lynch and S. Woolgar (eds.), Representation in Scientific Practice, London, 1988, for discussions of problems encountered with 'field instructions'.
36. J. Mawe, Catalogue of Minerals, Describing their General Characters, for the Use of Learners, Intended to Accompany Small Collections, London, 1815, p. v.
37. A. Aikin, A Manual of Mineralogy, London, 1814.
38. P. Weindling, 'The British Mineralogical Society: a case study in science and social improvement', in Inkster and Morrell, op. cit. (19), 127; H. Torrens, 'Arthur Aikin's mineralogical survey of Shropshire 1796-1816 and the contemporary audience for geological publications', BJHS (1983), 16, 111-53.
39. P. Weindling, 'The British Mineralogical Society: a case study in science and social improvement', in Inkster and Morrell, op. cit. (19), 127; H. Torrens, 'Arthur Aikin's mineralogical survey of Shropshire 1796-1816 and the contemporary audience for geological publications', BJHS (1983), 16, 111-53.
40. From the private collection of Professor Sydney Ross (hereafter Ross Collection): Aikin to Clarke, 18 October 1814. I would like to thank Professor Ross for letting me consult for scholarly purposes this collection of Edward Daniel Clarke correspondence while it was in his possession.
41. Aikin to Clarke, 3 November 1814, Ross Collection.
42. Mawe, op. cit. (5), p. ix. See also Aikin, op. cit. (26), p. viii, and Clarke's comments below.
43. Mawe, op. cit. (5), p. ix. See also Aikin, op. cit. (26), p. viii, and Clarke's comments below.
44. J. Sowerby, English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. To which will be Added Occasional Remarks, 36 vols., London, 1790-1814; and British Mineralogy; or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain, 5 vols., London, 1804-17; both were published by Sowerby; the entire price for the former work was £50, the latter £17. For details of the preparation of individual parts for English Botany, see F. N. A. Gary, 'Notes on the drawings for "English Botany"', Journal of Botany: British and Foreign (1903, 1904), 41, 42, appendices, 1-120; 121-272; for dates of issue for parts of British Mineralogy and other works by Sowerby, see Catalogue of the Library British Museum (Natural History), 8 vols., London, 1903-40, and supplements. For James Sowerby (1757-1822) and his family see the special issue of Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6. Also R. Cleevely, 'The Sowerbys and their publications in the light of the manuscript material in the British Museum (Natural History)', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1976), 7, 343-68.
45. J. Sowerby, English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. To which will be Added Occasional Remarks, 36 vols., London, 1790-1814; and British Mineralogy; or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain, 5 vols., London, 1804-17; both were published by Sowerby; the entire price for the former work was £50, the latter £17. For details of the preparation of individual parts for English Botany, see F. N. A. Gary, 'Notes on the drawings for "English Botany"', Journal of Botany: British and Foreign (1903, 1904), 41, 42, appendices, 1-120; 121-272; for dates of issue for parts of British Mineralogy and other works by Sowerby, see Catalogue of the Library British Museum (Natural History), 8 vols., London, 1903-40, and supplements. For James Sowerby (1757-1822) and his family see the special issue of Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6. Also R. Cleevely, 'The Sowerbys and their publications in the light of the manuscript material in the British Museum (Natural History)', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1976), 7, 343-68.
46. J. Sowerby, English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. To which will be Added Occasional Remarks, 36 vols., London, 1790-1814; and British Mineralogy; or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain, 5 vols., London, 1804-17; both were published by Sowerby; the entire price for the former work was £50, the latter £17. For details of the preparation of individual parts for English Botany, see F. N. A. Gary, 'Notes on the drawings for "English Botany"', Journal of Botany: British and Foreign (1903, 1904), 41, 42, appendices, 1-120; 121-272; for dates of issue for parts of British Mineralogy and other works by Sowerby, see Catalogue of the Library British Museum (Natural History), 8 vols., London, 1903-40, and supplements. For James Sowerby (1757-1822) and his family see the special issue of Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6. Also R. Cleevely, 'The Sowerbys and their publications in the light of the manuscript material in the British Museum (Natural History)', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1976), 7, 343-68.
47. J. Sowerby, English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. To which will be Added Occasional Remarks, 36 vols., London, 1790-1814; and British Mineralogy; or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain, 5 vols., London, 1804-17; both were published by Sowerby; the entire price for the former work was £50, the latter £17. For details of the preparation of individual parts for English Botany, see F. N. A. Gary, 'Notes on the drawings for "English Botany"', Journal of Botany: British and Foreign (1903, 1904), 41, 42, appendices, 1-120; 121-272; for dates of issue for parts of British Mineralogy and other works by Sowerby, see Catalogue of the Library British Museum (Natural History), 8 vols., London, 1903-40, and supplements. For James Sowerby (1757-1822) and his family see the special issue of Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6. Also R. Cleevely, 'The Sowerbys and their publications in the light of the manuscript material in the British Museum (Natural History)', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1976), 7, 343-68.
48. J. Sowerby, English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. To which will be Added Occasional Remarks, 36 vols., London, 1790-1814; and British Mineralogy; or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain, 5 vols., London, 1804-17; both were published by Sowerby; the entire price for the former work was £50, the latter £17. For details of the preparation of individual parts for English Botany, see F. N. A. Gary, 'Notes on the drawings for "English Botany"', Journal of Botany: British and Foreign (1903, 1904), 41, 42, appendices, 1-120; 121-272; for dates of issue for parts of British Mineralogy and other works by Sowerby, see Catalogue of the Library British Museum (Natural History), 8 vols., London, 1903-40, and supplements. For James Sowerby (1757-1822) and his family see the special issue of Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6. Also R. Cleevely, 'The Sowerbys and their publications in the light of the manuscript material in the British Museum (Natural History)', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1976), 7, 343-68.
49. J. Sowerby, English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. To which will be Added Occasional Remarks, 36 vols., London, 1790-1814; and British Mineralogy; or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain, 5 vols., London, 1804-17; both were published by Sowerby; the entire price for the former work was £50, the latter £17. For details of the preparation of individual parts for English Botany, see F. N. A. Gary, 'Notes on the drawings for "English Botany"', Journal of Botany: British and Foreign (1903, 1904), 41, 42, appendices, 1-120; 121-272; for dates of issue for parts of British Mineralogy and other works by Sowerby, see Catalogue of the Library British Museum (Natural History), 8 vols., London, 1903-40, and supplements. For James Sowerby (1757-1822) and his family see the special issue of Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6. Also R. Cleevely, 'The Sowerbys and their publications in the light of the manuscript material in the British Museum (Natural History)', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1976), 7, 343-68.
50. G. Averley, 'The "social chemists": English chemical societies in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century', Ambix (1986), 33, 99-128, on 108-110, 113.
51. I. Inkster, 'Science and society in the metropolis: a preliminary examination of the social and institutional context of the Askesian Society of London, 1796-1807', Annals of Science (1977), 34, 1-32, on 13.
52. Blum, op. cit. (15), 337-8.
53. D. Simpkins, 'Biographical sketch of James Sowerby, written by his son, James de Carle Sowerby, 1825', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6, 402-15.
54. D. J. Mabberley, Jupiter botanicus: Robert Brown of the British Museum, London, 1985, 135.
55. Banks to Smith, December 1817, quoted in J. Gascoigne, Joseph Banks and the English Enlightenment: Useful Knowledge and Polite Culture, Cambridge, 1994, 107.
56. For a similar audience of a contemporary artist, see S. Jervis, 'Rudolph Ackermann', in London - World City, 1800-1840 (ed. C. Fox), New Haven, 1992, 97-109; the sizes and prices of his publications, included here with the citations, give further indications of the nature of the market for these books.
57. Sowerby, British Mineralogy, op. cit. (31), i, p. v.
58. Sowerby, British Mineralogy, op. cit. (31), i, pp. v and vii.
59. Sowerby, British Mineralogy, op. cit. (31), v, p. iii.
60. Aikin, op. cit. (26), p. viii.
61. Sowerby, British Mineralogy, op. cit. (31), v, p. iv.
62. All quotations from Clarke in University of Bristol Library, Eyles Collection, letter 1, Clarke to Sowerby, 19 November 1804. I thank Frank James for this reference.
63. Sowerby, British Mineralogy, op. cit. (31), ii, 7.
64. Sowerby, British Mineralogy, op. cit. (31), ii, p. iv.
65. Sowerby, op. cit. (8), i, p. iii.
66. Mawe, op. cit. (5), p. vi.
67. The gold standard was suspended in 1797 and not resumed until 1819. See B. Hilton, Corn, Cash, Commerce: The Economic Policies of the Tory Governments 1815-1830, Oxford, 1977, 37-9 (for Continental System), 48 and 56.
68. For a historical treatment of the philosophical problems of colour representation, see B. Maund, Colours: Their Nature and Representation, Cambridge, 1995.
69. 1. Newton, Opticks, 1704; reprint 4th edn (1730), New York, 1952.
70. A. Shapiro, 'The evolving structure of Newton's theory of white light and colour', Isis (1980), 71, 211-35, on 234-5.
71. A. Shapiro, 'Artists' colors and Newton's colors', Isis (1994), 85, 600-30, on 620; see also G. Roque, 'Les couleurs complémentaires: un nouveau paradigme', Revue d'histoire des sciences (1994), 47, 405-33.
72. A. Shapiro, 'Artists' colors and Newton's colors', Isis (1994), 85, 600-30, on 620; see also G. Roque, 'Les couleurs complémentaires: un nouveau paradigme', Revue d'histoire des sciences (1994), 47, 405-33.
73. J. Gage, Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction, London, 1993, 169.
74. O. Lilien, Jacob Christoph Le Blon 1667-1741: Inventor of Three- and Four Colour Printing, Germany, 1985, 83.
75. Lilien, op. cit. (55), 30.
76. W. Gilpin, An Essay upon Prints, London, 1768, 62-3.
77. A. Rees, The Cyclopaedia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature, 39 vols., London, 1819, xxiii, 'Mezzo-tinto'.
78. J. C. Le Blon, Coloritto: Or the Harmony of Colouring Reduced to Mechanical Practice and Infallible Rules, together with some Coloured Figures in Order to Render the said Precepts and Rules Intelligible not only to Painters but even to all Lovers of Painting, London, 1725.
79. A. Griffiths, Prints and Printmaking: An Introduction to the History and Techniques, London, 1980, 119.
80. C. Mortimer, 'An account of Mr. James Christopher Le Blon's principles of printing, in imitation of painting, and of weaving tapestry, in the same manner as brocades', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (1731), 419, 100-7, especially 101-2; E. Bancroft, Experimental Researches concerning the Philosophy of Permanent Colours; and the best Means of Producing them, by Dyeing, Calico Printing, &c., 2 vols., London, 1813.
81. C. Mortimer, 'An account of Mr. James Christopher Le Blon's principles of printing, in imitation of painting, and of weaving tapestry, in the same manner as brocades', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (1731), 419, 100-7, especially 101-2; E. Bancroft, Experimental Researches concerning the Philosophy of Permanent Colours; and the best Means of Producing them, by Dyeing, Calico Printing, &c., 2 vols., London, 1813.
82. W. Sandby, Thomas and Paul Sandby: Royal Academicians; Some Account of their Lives and Works, London, 1892, 135-6.
83. R. V. Tooley, English Books with Coloured Plates 1790-1860: A Bibliographical Account of the most Important Books Illustrated by English Artists in Colour Aquatint and Colour Lithography, Folkstone, Kent, 1978, p. vii.
84. Rudwick, op. cit. (16), 155-6; see also I. Mcleod, Sailing on Horseback: William Daniell and Richard Ayton in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries, 1988; for lithography, see A. Senefelder, A Complete Course in Lithography, London, 1819; C. Hullmandel, The Art of Drawing on Stone, London, 1824.
85. Rudwick, op. cit. (16), 155-6; see also I. Mcleod, Sailing on Horseback: William Daniell and Richard Ayton in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries, 1988; for lithography, see A. Senefelder, A Complete Course in Lithography, London, 1819; C. Hullmandel, The Art of Drawing on Stone, London, 1824.
86. Rudwick, op. cit. (16), 155-6; see also I. Mcleod, Sailing on Horseback: William Daniell and Richard Ayton in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries, 1988; for lithography, see A. Senefelder, A Complete Course in Lithography, London, 1819; C. Hullmandel, The Art of Drawing on Stone, London, 1824.
87. Rudwick, op. cit. (16), 155-6; see also I. Mcleod, Sailing on Horseback: William Daniell and Richard Ayton in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries, 1988; for lithography, see A. Senefelder, A Complete Course in Lithography, London, 1819; C. Hullmandel, The Art of Drawing on Stone, London, 1824.
88. Rees, op. cit. (58), xxiii, 'Mezzo-tinto'. See also B. Stafford, 'Presuming images and consuming words: the visualization of knowledge from the Enlightenment to post-modernism', in Consumption and the World of Goods (ed. J. Brewer and R. Porter), London, 1993, 462-77, on 470; for uses of lithography in the late eighteenth century for the production of anatomical illustration, see K. B. Roberts and J. D. W. Tomlinson, The Fabric of the Body: European Traditions of Anatomical Illustration, Oxford, 1992, 534-9.
89. Rees, op. cit. (58), xxiii, 'Mezzo-tinto'. See also B. Stafford, 'Presuming images and consuming words: the visualization of knowledge from the Enlightenment to post-modernism', in Consumption and the World of Goods (ed. J. Brewer and R. Porter), London, 1993, 462-77, on 470; for uses of lithography in the late eighteenth century for the production of anatomical illustration, see K. B. Roberts and J. D. W. Tomlinson, The Fabric of the Body: European Traditions of Anatomical Illustration, Oxford, 1992, 534-9.
90. Rees, op. cit. (58), xxiii, 'Mezzo-tinto'. See also B. Stafford, 'Presuming images and consuming words: the visualization of knowledge from the Enlightenment to post-modernism', in Consumption and the World of Goods (ed. J. Brewer and R. Porter), London, 1993, 462-77, on 470; for uses of lithography in the late eighteenth century for the production of anatomical illustration, see K. B. Roberts and J. D. W. Tomlinson, The Fabric of the Body: European Traditions of Anatomical Illustration, Oxford, 1992, 534-9.
91. C. Linnaeus, Critica botanica, Leyden, 1737, translated and reprinted as The 'Critica botanica' of Linnaeus (tr. A. Hort and M. Green), London, 1938, 138-42, on 139.
92. C. Linnaeus, Critica botanica, Leyden, 1737, translated and reprinted as The 'Critica botanica' of Linnaeus (tr. A. Hort and M. Green), London, 1938, 138-42, on 139.
93. M. Hambly, Drawing Instruments: 1580-1980, London, 1988, 90-4.
94. Averley, op. cit. (32), 116. R. Delvale, Conversations on Mineralogy, 2 vols., London, 1822; see also Wilson Lowry's entry in the DNB.
95. Averley, op. cit. (32), 116. R. Delvale, Conversations on Mineralogy, 2 vols., London, 1822; see also Wilson Lowry's entry in the DNB.
96. Averley, op. cit. (32), 116. R. Delvale, Conversations on Mineralogy, 2 vols., London, 1822; see also Wilson Lowry's entry in the DNB.
97. A. Dyson, Pictures to Print: The Nineteenth-Century Engraving Trade, London, 1984, 126-7.
98. J. Ittmann, 'The triumph of color: technical innovations in printmaking', in Regency to Empire: French Printmaking 1715-1814 (ed. D. Becker), Minneapolis, 1984, 21-4, on 23.
99. B. Gascoigne, 'From Priceless Perfection to Cheap Charm: Stages in the Development of Colour Printing', Cambridge University: Sandars Lectures, 1994, 9-12. I thank Jon Topham for this reference.
100. See Richard Campbell's notes on the 'Catalogue to the Exhibition', in Becker, op. cit. (70), 333-6.
101. C. Fox, 'The engravers' battle for professional recognition in early nineteenth century London', London Journal (1976), 2, 3-31.
102. Dyson, op. cit. (69), 95.
103. Records from a contemporary business show that hand-colourers would make about 4d an hour; see M. Mitzman, George Baxter and the Baxter Prints, London, 1978, 6.
104. Dyson, op. cit. (69), 155-6. It is interesting to note that two hundred years after Joseph Banks had the copper-plates prepared for printing his Florilegium, Edward Egerton-Williams and his team finally coloured the plates using the à la poupée method m order to print colour illustrations. For a general account of this, see B. Adams, The Flowering of the Pacific: Being an Account of Joseph Banks' Travels in the South Seas and the Story of his Florilegium, London, 1986; Adams, however, wrongly states that Banks had the copper-plates specially prepared for colour printing; Banks intended to print the plates in standard black ink. See, ibid., 159-60. I thank Neil Chambers and Chris Humphries at the British Museum (Natural History) for showing me the plates and having discussions about this process.
105. Dyson, op. cit. (69), 155-6. It is interesting to note that two hundred years after Joseph Banks had the copper-plates prepared for printing his Florilegium, Edward Egerton-Williams and his team finally coloured the plates using the à la poupée method m order to print colour illustrations. For a general account of this, see B. Adams, The Flowering of the Pacific: Being an Account of Joseph Banks' Travels in the South Seas and the Story of his Florilegium, London, 1986; Adams, however, wrongly states that Banks had the copper-plates specially prepared for colour printing; Banks intended to print the plates in standard black ink. See, ibid., 159-60. I thank Neil Chambers and Chris Humphries at the British Museum (Natural History) for showing me the plates and having discussions about this process.
106. Dyson, op. cit. (69), 155-6. It is interesting to note that two hundred years after Joseph Banks had the copper-plates prepared for printing his Florilegium, Edward Egerton-Williams and his team finally coloured the plates using the à la poupée method m order to print colour illustrations. For a general account of this, see B. Adams, The Flowering of the Pacific: Being an Account of Joseph Banks' Travels in the South Seas and the Story of his Florilegium, London, 1986; Adams, however, wrongly states that Banks had the copper-plates specially prepared for colour printing; Banks intended to print the plates in standard black ink. See, ibid., 159-60. I thank Neil Chambers and Chris Humphries at the British Museum (Natural History) for showing me the plates and having discussions about this process.
107. Tooley, op. cit. (63), p. vii. See G. Herries-Davies, Sheets of many Colours; the Mapping of Ireland's Rocks, 1750-1890, Dublin, 1983.
108. Tooley, op. cit. (63), p. vii. See G. Herries-Davies, Sheets of many Colours; the Mapping of Ireland's Rocks, 1750-1890, Dublin, 1983.
109. A. G. Werner, On the External Characters of Minerals (tr. A. Carozzi), Urbana, 1962. For the distinctions Werner made between 'identification' and 'classification' of minerals, see R. Laudan, From Mineralogy to Geology: The Foundations of a Science, 1650-1830, Chicago, 1987, 80-3.
110. A. G. Werner, On the External Characters of Minerals (tr. A. Carozzi), Urbana, 1962. For the distinctions Werner made between 'identification' and 'classification' of minerals, see R. Laudan, From Mineralogy to Geology: The Foundations of a Science, 1650-1830, Chicago, 1987, 80-3.
111. R. Jameson, A Treatise on the External, Chemical, and Physical Characters of Minerals, 2nd edn, Edinburgh, 1816, 85.
112. R. Jameson, A Treatise on the External Characters of Minerals, Edinburgh, 1805, 2.
113. Jameson, op. cit. (80), 2.
114. P. Syme, Werner's Nomenclature of Colours, with Additions, Arranged so as to Render it Highly Useful to the Arts and Sciences, particularly Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Morbid Anatomy, Edinburgh, 1814, quotations are from 2nd edn, Edinburgh, 1821, 6.
115. Syme, op. cit. (82), 6.
116. Syme, op. cit. (82), 8.
117. Syme, op. cit. (82), 25.
118. Syme, op. cit. (82), 9.
119. Syme, op. cit. (82), 12-13.
120. For bibliographies and discussions of these works, see G. Bridson, Printmaking and Picture Printing: A Bibliographical Guide to Artistic and Industrial Techniques in Britain, 1750-1900, Oxford, 1984; M. Twyman, Printing 1770-1970: An Illustrated History of its Development and Uses in England, London, 1970; G. Wakeman, The Production of Nineteenth Century Colour Illustration, Loughborough, 1976.
121. For bibliographies and discussions of these works, see G. Bridson, Printmaking and Picture Printing: A Bibliographical Guide to Artistic and Industrial Techniques in Britain, 1750-1900, Oxford, 1984; M. Twyman, Printing 1770-1970: An Illustrated History of its Development and Uses in England, London, 1970; G. Wakeman, The Production of Nineteenth Century Colour Illustration, Loughborough, 1976.
122. For bibliographies and discussions of these works, see G. Bridson, Printmaking and Picture Printing: A Bibliographical Guide to Artistic and Industrial Techniques in Britain, 1750-1900, Oxford, 1984; M. Twyman, Printing 1770-1970: An Illustrated History of its Development and Uses in England, London, 1970; G. Wakeman, The Production of Nineteenth Century Colour Illustration, Loughborough, 1976.
123. R. J. Thornton, New Illustration of the Sexual System of Campus von Linnaeus ... and the Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature, Being Picturesque, Botanical, Coloured Plates, of Select Plants, 1st edn, London, 1807; 2nd edn, quarto, London, 1812; C. Klonk, Science and the Perception of Nature: British Landscape Art in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, New Haven, 1996, ch. 2; see also R. M. Burch, Colour Printing and Colour Printers, Edinburgh, 1983, 105-6.
124. R. J. Thornton, New Illustration of the Sexual System of Campus von Linnaeus ... and the Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature, Being Picturesque, Botanical, Coloured Plates, of Select Plants, 1st edn, London, 1807; 2nd edn, quarto, London, 1812; C. Klonk, Science and the Perception of Nature: British Landscape Art in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, New Haven, 1996, ch. 2; see also R. M. Burch, Colour Printing and Colour Printers, Edinburgh, 1983, 105-6.
125. R. J. Thornton, New Illustration of the Sexual System of Campus von Linnaeus ... and the Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature, Being Picturesque, Botanical, Coloured Plates, of Select Plants, 1st edn, London, 1807; 2nd edn, quarto, London, 1812; C. Klonk, Science and the Perception of Nature: British Landscape Art in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, New Haven, 1996, ch. 2; see also R. M. Burch, Colour Printing and Colour Printers, Edinburgh, 1983, 105-6.
126. J. Sowerby, A New Elucidation of Colours, Original Prismatic, and Material, London, published by the author, 1809. This stylish book, produced in quarto and sold for fifteen shillings, acted also as a 'Proposal for an exhibition of Primitive and Prismatic Colours'; see description in R. J. Cleevely, 'A provisional bibliography of natural history works by the Sowerby family', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6, 482-559, on 490. The quotation comes from a printed lecture advertisement, in Sowerby Collection, British Museum (Natural History) (hereafter BM(NH)), MS B65, 'A New Elucidation of Colours'.
127. J. Sowerby, A New Elucidation of Colours, Original Prismatic, and Material, London, published by the author, 1809. This stylish book, produced in quarto and sold for fifteen shillings, acted also as a 'Proposal for an exhibition of Primitive and Prismatic Colours'; see description in R. J. Cleevely, 'A provisional bibliography of natural history works by the Sowerby family', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6, 482-559, on 490. The quotation comes from a printed lecture advertisement, in Sowerby Collection, British Museum (Natural History) (hereafter BM(NH)), MS B65, 'A New Elucidation of Colours'.
128. T. Young, 'The Bakerian Lecture. On the theory of light and colours', Philosophical Transactions (1802), 92, 12-48, on 18, 20-1. See also P. Sherman, Colour Vision in the Nineteenth Century, Bristol, 1981, 5-10.
129. T. Young, 'The Bakerian Lecture. On the theory of light and colours', Philosophical Transactions (1802), 92, 12-48, on 18, 20-1. See also P. Sherman, Colour Vision in the Nineteenth Century, Bristol, 1981, 5-10.
130. T. Young, 'The Bakerian Lecture. On the mechanism of the eye', Philosophical Transactions (1801), 91, 23-88, on 50-1 for the measures of ocular focus on the rays of the prismatic spectrum.
131. W. H. Wollaston, 'A method of examining refractive and dispersive powers, by prismatic reflection', Philosophical Transactions (1802), 92, 365-80, on 378.
132. Wollaston, op. cit. (93), 378.
133. T. Young, 'An account of some cases of the production of colours, not hitherto described', Philosophical Transactions (1802), 92, 387-97, on 395. However, after modifying his theory of the principal colours that were received and mixed by the eye, he still differed from Wollaston by maintaining that there were three, not four, principal colours: red, green and violet.
134. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 5.
135. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 8.
136. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 9.
137. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 10.
138. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 13.
139. The technique of observing a prismatic spectrum which demonstrated that green was a mixture of two other primary colours that depended on black and white contrasts, rather than green appearing as a constituent of white light itself, was used in the 1830s by Goethe, where he 'respecified' Newton's prism experiments; see D. Bjelic and M. Lynch, 'The work of a [scientific] demonstration: respecifying Newton's and Goethe's theories of prismatic color', in Text in Context: Contributions to Ethnomethodology (ed. G. Watson and R. Seiler), London, 1992, 52-78; M. Jackson,' A spectrum of belief: Goethe's "Republic" versus Newtonian "Despotism"', Social Studies of Science (1994), 24, 673-701; D. Bjelic and M. Lynch, 'Goethe's "Protestant Reformation" as a textual demonstration: comment on Jackson', ibid., 703-24.
140. The technique of observing a prismatic spectrum which demonstrated that green was a mixture of two other primary colours that depended on black and white contrasts, rather than green appearing as a constituent of white light itself, was used in the 1830s by Goethe, where he 'respecified' Newton's prism experiments; see D. Bjelic and M. Lynch, 'The work of a [scientific] demonstration: respecifying Newton's and Goethe's theories of prismatic color', in Text in Context: Contributions to Ethnomethodology (ed. G. Watson and R. Seiler), London, 1992, 52-78; M. Jackson,' A spectrum of belief: Goethe's "Republic" versus Newtonian "Despotism"', Social Studies of Science (1994), 24, 673-701; D. Bjelic and M. Lynch, 'Goethe's "Protestant Reformation" as a textual demonstration: comment on Jackson', ibid., 703-24.
141. The technique of observing a prismatic spectrum which demonstrated that green was a mixture of two other primary colours that depended on black and white contrasts, rather than green appearing as a constituent of white light itself, was used in the 1830s by Goethe, where he 'respecified' Newton's prism experiments; see D. Bjelic and M. Lynch, 'The work of a [scientific] demonstration: respecifying Newton's and Goethe's theories of prismatic color', in Text in Context: Contributions to Ethnomethodology (ed. G. Watson and R. Seiler), London, 1992, 52-78; M. Jackson,' A spectrum of belief: Goethe's "Republic" versus Newtonian "Despotism"', Social Studies of Science (1994), 24, 673-701; D. Bjelic and M. Lynch, 'Goethe's "Protestant Reformation" as a textual demonstration: comment on Jackson', ibid., 703-24.
142. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 14.
143. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 24 for both quotations.
144. See Bjelic and Lynch, 'The work', op. cit. (101), for thorough directions on performing this act.
145. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 26.
146. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 27.
147. Sowerby, English Botany, op. cit. (31), xxviii (1809), plate 2002.
148. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 27-8.
149. Undated draft manuscript advertisement, BM(NH), MSS B65.
150. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 41.
151. Aikin, op. cit. (26), 30.
152. Sowerby, op. cit. (90), 30.
153. Mawe, op. cit. (9).
154. Mawe, op. cit. (9), p. v.
155. A. Secord, 'Corresponding interests: artisans and gentlemen in nineteenth-century natural history', BJHS (1994), 27, 383-408.
156. Mawe, op. cit. (9), p. vii.
157. Mawe to Clarke, 17 September 1813, Ross Collection.
158. Mawe, op. cit. (9), p. vi.
159. Mawe, op. cit. (9), p. vi.
160. Manuscript advertisement, BM(NH), MSS B16.
161. See for example Clarke to Sowerby, 4 May 1821, University of Bristol, Eyles Collection, also Sowerby to Clarke, 21 April 1820, Ross Collection.
162. Mawe to Sowerby, 26 May [1814?], BM(NH), MSS Box 13, vol. 38, f. 70 a.
163. Mawe to Sowerby, 15 December 1814, BM(NH), MSS Box 13, vol. 38, f. 70.
164. Cost estimated from 'Sowerby family bills and receipts', BM(NH), MSS A103.
165. The Sowerby archives at the BM(NH) contain comprehensive records of Sowerby's family finances throughout the nineteenth century; this averaged figure for the period is cited in J. B. MacDonald, 'The Sowerby Collection in the British Museum (Natural History): a brief description of its holdings and a history of its acquisition', Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (1974), 6, 380-401, on 385.
166. Mawe to Sowerby, BM(NH), MSS A38, f. 80r.
167. Mawe, op. cit. (21), p. vi.
168. On notions of 'confirmation' in experimental practices, see T. Kuhn, 'The function of measurement in modern physical science', Isis (1961), 52, 161-93.