Engraving Accuracy in Early Modern England

Meghan C. Doherty is the Director of the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. Her research focuses on the connections between art and science, particularly as seen in the visual culture of the early Royal Society of London.

• Acknowledgements, Introduction, Claiming the Resemblance of Life, The Best in the World in this kind, An accurate impression is in far higher esteem, Each Judgement of his Eye, Examining it according to my usual manner, 1. Innocent Witch-craft of Lights: Developing Visual Judgment through Printed Books, The Magic of Projection, Draw and Engrave their Schemes with Delight and Assurance, A fit subject for our kingdomes knowledge and practice, Conclusion, 2. A New Visible World: Developing a Visual Vocabulary for the Microscopic, The Visual Culture of Early Microscopy, Developing a sincere Hand and a faithful Eye, Making a Plain Representation, Engraving the True Form, 3. Nearly Resembling the Live Birds: Collecting and Collating for the Reformation of Natural History, Resembling the Text: The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus), Resembling the Printed Record: The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Resembling the Living: The Smew (Mergus albellus), Resembling the Dead: The Great Grey Gull, Conclusion, 4. These Rude Collections: Accumulating Observations and Experiments, The present figure of Saturn, With so much care and exactness, Conclusion, Conclusion, Bibliography, Index.

"Doherty convincingly shows how the development of visual standards in the Royal Society, particularly the emphasis on accuracy in image making, fundamentally shaped scientific practices in the seventeenth century. The engraver’s craft wasn’t just an artistic endeavor—it was integral to the very process of scientific discovery."-Richard T. Bellis, The British Journal for the History of Science, issue 1, 2024, issue 1, 2024