Meghan C. Doherty

This project investigates how the visual effects of intaglio printing mediated the knowledge produced by the Royal Society of London, 1660-1700. It argues that printed images were the precondition and product of looking at nature. It includes close studies of artist’s manuals that show how drawing and engraving were entwined with the production of knowledge and features case studies that look at the critical role engraving played in presenting knowledge to a wide audience. Each case study examines a different type of mediation: the lens of the microscope; the reading and collecting practices of natural historians; and the editorial practices of a journal. This project adds to our understanding of the development of science in early modern England.