Driftnet Fishing

'Horae Planetarum'

This interesting object is displayed in two images at MDZ and is otherwise known as 'Planetenuhr' or 'Horizontalsonnenuhr'. The latter term translates to -horizontal sundial-. Produced in 1569 by Isaac Kiening, this puzzling (to me) item appears to be a ?stamped parchment or leather sheet mounted in a wooden frame - the second image (an inscription on the ?back) gives more of an indication of the construction material. I'm fairly confused as to how this zodiac clock is meant to be read.




'Selenharia or, The Government of the World in the Moon: A Comical History. Written By that Famous Wit and Cavaleer of France, Monsieur Cyrano Bergerac: And Done into English By Tho. St Serf, Gent.' [1659]

The Early Modern blog at Yale's Beinecke Library posted an entry recently about their current exhibition, 'Starry Messenger: Observing the Heavens in the Age of Galileo'. They include a link to their wonderful collection of related digital images.

'De natura rerum liber. Naturales quaestiones libri VII'
from Bede Venerabilis (w) - by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. (1490)

'Epistula ad Philocratem' by Aristeas
(Latin translation of Mattia Palmieri) (1480)

These two illuminated manuscript pages belong to the Hungarian Manuscript Collection hosted for UNESCO by the Bavarian State Library.




I'm a great fan of the Art Nouveau/Art Deco abstraction designs of EA Séguy [previously]; in this case from the 1931 series of pochoir prints, 'Prismes: 40 Planches de Dessins et Coloris Nouveaux', available from NYPL. (I saved a bunch in this set)




'Höllensturz der Drei Engel' (~Hell's overthrow of three angels or Three angels' descent into hell) by Dierick Bouts, 1415; a digitised microfilm image from the Image Index of Art and Architecture by way of the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg portal.




(Rock art drawing of) "Mormyrid fish, eels and turtles, these represent the "underwater" experience of the Shamans in the altered state of consciousness."






Drawings from the Rock Art Research Institute at the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) and hosted by Aluka: "an international, collaborative initiative building a digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa."










One of the books at the World Digital Library [previously] that caught my attention was this 10th century work called the 'Annals of Creations' (contributed by the Library of Congress)*

"In this bilingual text, the Dongba text is in color and the Chinese text is in black. The Dongba glyphs are ancient characters that were used to record the dialect of the western Naxi nationality centered around the Li River in Yunnan. They were developed in approximately the seventh century. The Annals of Creation reflect the understanding of the Naxi people concerning the natural world and the origins of humankind, and depict the Naxi people's ceaseless migrations over the course of their history and the struggle of their ancestors against nature."

'Vue d'un superbe treillage et des jets d'eau
dans le jardin du Roy de Dannemarck'

Printed at chez Basset (Paris) sometime in the 1700s. This baroque garden illustration is one of a series by Basset available from the Colecções Digitalizadas at the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (which appears to have been redesigned and upgraded - for the better - since my last visit).





Frontispiece from: 'Wunderliche und Warhafftige Gesichte Philanders von Sittewald' by HM Moscherosch, 1677 (HAB) The only translatable word I really understood from the catalogue was 'satire'. I don't recall there being any further illustrations.








Codex Falkensteinensis or the Falkensteiner Codex [click 'Startseite'] was produced between 1166 and 1199 and is a unique secular manuscript from the High Middle Ages belonging to a group of works known as Traditionsbücher. Essentially it seems to be a detailed feudal record of the holdings, output and nepotistic orders covering the lands and members of the noble Falkenstein-Neuburg family of Southern Bavaria. {see: one (trans.), two (trans.), three}
[via Archivalia]

The Three of Books

The Three of Ink Pots

The above five images were produced by the Swiss woodcut artist, Jost Amman. They are from three of his most significant works: on trades ('Das Ständebuch'), on playing cards ('Charta Lusoria') and a collection of suggested Coat of Arms designs (that proved to be quite influential - the designs were more in the way of templates than the blazons above suggest).

I've had these images for the best part of three years and have finally concluded that I'm not going to get a dedicated Jost Amman entry together. Partly it relates to having spent a lot of time extracting the trades images from La base Estampes de la Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, only to find (a piece of stupidity that manifests more often than I'd care to reveal) that Wikimedia has the complete collection (slightly lesser quality to my mind), and partly because Mr H had already covered some of the ground in his entry, 'The Suit of Books'. I'm afraid I've misplaced many of the links I had stored up but the BSB Opac results are a good place to start looking for (more of) his digitised works (also).

Blue Sky Press:'In a Balcony' (1902)

Seasons of Wood Engraving © Paul Ritscher.

The above two images are posted with the permission of Paul Ritscher (typesticker on Flickr), a letterpress printer, bookbinder, wood engraver and educator. He has a great collection of prints, miniature books, posters and printing equipment among his sets.



Follow along at home...

The World Around Us

Known as 'Bertuch's Bilderbuch für Kinder', this rather enlightened 12-volume natural history / science / enthnographic encyclopedia for children was published in instalments between 1790 and 1830. In passing, I noted* that a complete edition was sold last year for over €20,000.

Three [ELEVEN], {as at June 2013} of the volumes are [now] available from the University of Heidelberg (after selecting a volume, click anything below 'Inhalt' and then 'Vorschau' for thumbnail pages). The majority of images above were selected from Volume Two, as I recall.

Inspired by the groundbreaking 17th century pictorial text for children, 'Orbis Sensualium Pictus' by Jan Comenius, 'Bertuch's Bilderbuch für Kinder' contains well over a thousand hand-coloured engraved plates, some apparently produced by William Blake.

• The Wikipedia article on the publisher, Friederich Bertuch, has a few more plates from the series.
• The last image above comes from the National Library of Australia. They have selectively digitised the local flora, fauna and indigenous people illustrations from Volume One. (click on 'selected plates and pages').
• See also: Medusa (detail) posted in February and Greenwich Hospital from Flickr user mando maniac.
• Update: Looks like the whole series is available at Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (the server seemed fairly slow when I tested it)

Images from the History of Medicine

Operating Theatre

Interior view of amphitheater with a table for dissection situated beneath a can[d]elabrum; two men are standing to the right in consultation; flanking the amphitheater are two statues, on the right is Aesculapius with caduceus, left is Hermes(?)^¶. {undated, artist not named; ?probably late 17th/early 18th cent.}
¶More likely Apollo (see comments).

Signs of Character

Drawn and Published by R. Degranza Pease M.D. 1843
Phrenology poster which shows a profile with labeled sections in an elaborate border.

Apotheke, Lo Speziale

Interior view showing the production of pharmaceuticals.
Color reproduction of an engraving by Franciscus Baretta after a work by Petrus Mainoto (18th cent.)

Differentes Agitations de Convulsionaires
Artist: Bernard Picart (Picard), 1736.

Interior scene: a religious service (exorcism?) is in progress; a large group of people are reading and praying; some (perhaps bewitched) exhibit states of hysteria; one man is bludgeoning another; religious iconography hangs over an alter in background.

E Per Natura E Per Amor Sorelle

Titlepage vignette from 'La Costituzione Corrente Brevemente Considerata' by Pietro Orteschi, 1762.
Laying on the ground is a caduceus on top of which is a T-square, a barometer, and a thermometer; perched on top of everything is a rooster.

Early 18th century library

IN: 'Bibliographiae Anatomicae Specimen' by James Douglas, 1734.
Interior view of a library through a garlanded opening; a man has received assistance in retrieving a book, he stands holding the open book before him; another man is standing next to a ladder that is leaning against the shelves.

Early medical library

IN: 'Oeconomus Prudens et Legalis' by Franciscus Philippus Florinus, 1722.
Interior view of early 18th century medical library showing the arrangement of text by author, also indicated are those authors considered important. A large table with several open books on it fills the foreground; a man is returning a book to a shelf.

The Human Body and the Library as Sources of Knowledge

Fronispiece in 'Tabulae Anatomicae' by Johann Adam Kulmus (early 18th cent.)
Interior view of a library with allegorical figures; a body rests on a dissections table in center; a skeleton stands in an alcove to the right; surgical instruments are arranged on a pedestal in the foreground; bookshelves fill the background.

Muti Doctores Optimi

{title page vignette} IN: 'Lexicon Physico-Chymico-medi cum Reale' by GH Behr, 1738.
A man is reading a large book propped up on a table; bookshelves fill the background, and a few pieces of scientific equipment are strategically placed.

The General Practioner by Leon Brown, 1950s

Surrealistic representation of a physician with a caduceus body, a telephone receiver over his shoulder, and standing on a time piece with human hands at the hours holding representations of procedures performed by general practioners.

The Anatomist by Leonard Baskin (20th cent.)

Half-length figure of a man holding a model of a skeleton; partial anatomical chart to the right.

The Physician as an Angel

Allegorical figure of the physician as an Angel standing among books and tools of the medical professions. Interior scene: two views of patients in bed consulting with physicians; splint being replaced on broken leg; woman with small pot at fireplace. [by Hendrik Goltzius, about 1600]

The Physician as the Devil

Allegorical figure of the physician as the devil standing among books and tools of the medical professions. Interior view, two scenes: the patients have recovered fully and the physician has come to collect his fee. [by Hendrik Goltzius, about 1600]

Death, riding Pegasus, is Leading Troops into Battle

IN: 'Nouveau Recueil d'Osteologie et de Myologie' by Jacques Gamelin (late 18th cent.)
Title page vignette of battlefield scene: a skeleton, carrying scythe and riding winged horse through a throng of dead or dying bodies, motions to other skeletons on horseback (at right) to follow.

The Reward Of Cruelty

Design'd by William Hogarth; Engrav'd by T. Cook. (The Four Stages of Cruelty; 4)
A cadaver is being dissected in an anatomical theatre. 1751 [in colour]

Behold the villain's dire disgrace!
Not death itself can end.
He finds no peaceful Burial-Place,
His breathless cor[p]se, no friend.

Torn from the Root that wicked Tongue,
Which daily swore and curst;
These Eyeballs from their Sockets wrung
That glow'd with lawless Lust!

His Heart exposed to prying Eyes,
To Pity has no Claim:
But, dreadful from his Bones shall rise,
His monument of shame.

The Images from the History of Medicine database of nearly 70,000 book illustrations, photographs, prints and posters at the National Library of Medicine has been revamped to include enhanced searching and viewing capabilities.

They now include What, Where and Who directories and, for instance, the above images were selected from Books in Art, Emblems and Insignias and Phrenology categories (among others). The server seems a touch slow but not too bad.
[Announcement; via] Virtually all the captions are quoted from the source site