I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Robert Hooke’s (copper-plate engraving of a) flea.
The other day I was fortunate to be part of a small group at the University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library’s public workshop “Introduction to Scientific Book Illustration,” presented by Alexandra Carter, History of Science and Medicine Librarian.
After an informative talk (one of the most memorable parts of which was the difference between relief print, intaglio, and lithography), participants were able to examine a number of publications the librarian had laid out for us on a large U-shaped table. We were encouraged to (carefully) turn the pages to explore the various techniques used in the books.
And wow… one of the bound volumes was “Micrographia: Or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon” by Robert Hooke (1635-1703), published in London in 1665 (a full scan is available online here). What an unexpected pleasure. I’d seen the book before at a library in London, probably the copy pictured above in the Wellcome Collection. But to handle it, to slowly unfold the illustrated pages… what a pleasure.
The first thing that got to me was the title page, which referred to the book sellers of St. Paul’s churchyard, a year before the 1666 Great Fire of London (in which the cathedral was destroyed).
What of the significance of the book and of the flea? Bodleian Libraries have shared this explanatory video (7 mins), featuring their own copy.
Here’s the best thing. The librarian stressed that, contrary to what you might expect, members of the public unaffiliated with University of Toronto can actually order up a book from the Fisher Library’s collection, including Hooke’s “Micrographia,” and enjoy it at their leisure. Just visit Special Collections Access and register as a Non-University of Toronto User. How marvellous is that.
See the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library website for reading room hours.
“Micrographia” in the Fisher Library’s catalogue is here: https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/permalink/01UTORONTO_INST/k9bh95/alma991106619935306196
Further Reading:
Wikipedia, “Micrographia”
Text of Hooke’s description of the flea, pp. 210-11 (“The strength and beauty of this small creature, had it no other relation at all to man, would deserve a description.”) https://www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk/flea
“Big tick energy: how a tiny flea created a revolution in British art,” Jonathan Jones, The Guardian, April 22, 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/apr/22/big-tick-energy-how-a-humble-flea-kickstarted-british-art