This lavishly illustrated volume is the first systematic general work to do justice to the fruits of recent scholarship in the history of natural history. Public interest in this lively field has been stimulated by environmental concerns and through links with the histories of art, collecting and gardening. Twenty-four essays, written at an accessible level, cover the period from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. The book includes suggestions for further reading, and highlights the relevance of history for current debates on museum practice, ecological diversity, and the environment.
This lavishly illustrated volume is the first systematic general work to do justice to the fruits of recent scholarship in the history of natural hist...
It is often assumed that natural philosophy was the forerunner of early modern natural sciences. But where did these sciences systematic observation and experimentation get their starts? In "Materials and Expertise in Early Modern Europe," the laboratories, workshops, and marketplaces emerge as arenas where hands-on experience united with higher learning. In an age when chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and botany intersected with mining, metallurgy, pharmacy, and gardening, materials were objects that crossed disciplines.
Here, the contributors tell the stories of metals, clay, gunpowder,...
It is often assumed that natural philosophy was the forerunner of early modern natural sciences. But where did these sciences systematic observatio...
