 Title page ofMicrographia | |
| Author | Robert Hooke |
|---|---|
| Original title | Micrographia: or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Microscopy |
| Publisher | The Royal Society |
Publication date | January 1665 |
| Publication place | Great Britain |
Micrographia: or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon is a historically significant book byRobert Hooke about his observations through various lenses. It was the first book to include illustrations of insects and plants as seen through microscopes.
Published in January 1665, the first major publication of theRoyal Society, it became the first scientific best-seller, inspiring a wide public interest in the new science ofmicroscopy.[1] The book originated the biological termcell.
Hooke most famously describes afly's eye and a plantcell (where he coined that term because plant cells, which are walled, reminded him of thecells of a monastery[2]). Known for its spectacularcopperplate of the miniature world, particularly its fold-out plates ofinsects, the text itself reinforces the tremendous power of the newmicroscope. The plates of insects fold out to be larger than the largefolio itself, the engraving of thelouse in particular folding out to four times the size of the book. Although the book is best known for demonstrating the power of the microscope,Micrographia also describes distantplanetary bodies, thewave theory of light, the organic origin offossils, and other philosophical and scientific interests of its author.
Hooke also selected several objects of human origin; among these objects were the jagged edge of a honed razor and the point of a needle, seeming blunt under the microscope. His goal may well have been to contrast the flawed products of mankind with the perfection of nature (and hence, in the spirit of the times, of biblical creation).[3]
Published under the aegis of theRoyal Society, the popularity of the book helped further the society's image and mission of being England's leading scientific organization.Micrographia's illustrations of the miniature world captured the public's imagination in a radically new way;Samuel Pepys called it "the most ingenious book that ever I read in my life".[4]
In 2007,Janice Neri, a professor of art history and visual culture, studied Hooke's artistic influences and processes with the help of some newly rediscovered notes and drawings that appear to show some of his work leading up toMicrographia.[5] She observes, "Hooke's use of the term "schema" to identify his plates indicates that he approached his images in adiagrammatic manner and implies the study or visualdissection of the objects portrayed." Identifying Hooke's schema as 'organization tools,' she emphasizes:[6]
Hooke built up his images from numerous observations made from multiple vantage points, under varying lighting conditions, and with lenses of differing powers. Similarly his specimens required a great deal of manipulation and preparation in order to make them visible through the microscope.
Additionally: "Hooke often enclosed the objects he presented within a round frame, thus offering viewers an evocation of the experience of looking through the lens of a microscope."[6]
Micrographia public domain audiobook atLibriVox| Fields, disciplines | |
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