Danny Robb
@invertingvision.com
Writing about history of science, exploration, and technology. Interested in photography + robotics in lunar and planetary science, oceanography, cryosphere.
Work in JSTOR Daily, Aeon, Atlas Obscura, The Space Review.
History Blog: invertingvision.com
Work in JSTOR Daily, Aeon, Atlas Obscura, The Space Review.
History Blog: invertingvision.com
Reposted by Danny Robb
My favourite frontispiece is Kepler's from the Tabulae Rudolphinae (Rudolphine Tables) published in Ulm in 1627.
thonyc.wordpress.com/2023/12/27/c...
thonyc.wordpress.com/2023/12/27/c...
Christmas Trilogy 2023 Part 3: A picture worth a thousand words
Johannes Kepler was a very prolific author but there is an aspect to his major books that usually doesn’t receive enough attention. As well as the torrent of words that poured from his pen, his boo…
thonyc.wordpress.com
November 2, 2026 at 6:27 AM
My favourite frontispiece is Kepler's from the Tabulae Rudolphinae (Rudolphine Tables) published in Ulm in 1627.
thonyc.wordpress.com/2023/12/27/c...
thonyc.wordpress.com/2023/12/27/c...
This post is an installment in my Objectivity-inspired rabbit holes. D+G discuss the use of the camera obscura in Osteographia, and include the illustration of the instrument in use, but not any of the illustrations produced using it.
bsky.app/profile/inve...
bsky.app/profile/inve...
In the 17th c., scientific publications were filled with "reports of monsters, strange weather, and other singularities," D+G write. 🧵
Good BHL post covering one example - Gaspar Schott's Physica Curiosa: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2013/05/monsters-scientific-revolution-and
#histsci 🗃️ #SciArt
Good BHL post covering one example - Gaspar Schott's Physica Curiosa: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2013/05/monsters-scientific-revolution-and
#histsci 🗃️ #SciArt
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
This post is an installment in my Objectivity-inspired rabbit holes. D+G discuss the use of the camera obscura in Osteographia, and include the illustration of the instrument in use, but not any of the illustrations produced using it.
bsky.app/profile/inve...
bsky.app/profile/inve...
The full text of Osteographia: collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:...
A great article by Monique Kornell: publicdomainreview.org/essay/accura...
A great article by Monique Kornell: publicdomainreview.org/essay/accura...
Osteographia, or The anatomy of the bones - Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine
collections.nlm.nih.gov
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
The full text of Osteographia: collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:...
A great article by Monique Kornell: publicdomainreview.org/essay/accura...
A great article by Monique Kornell: publicdomainreview.org/essay/accura...
And one of my favorites: "the sceleton of a sparrow; and the scelton of a bat, which though it flies like a bird, has the body of a quadrupede; it hangs by two little hooks, which nature has provided for that purpose."
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
And one of my favorites: "the sceleton of a sparrow; and the scelton of a bat, which though it flies like a bird, has the body of a quadrupede; it hangs by two little hooks, which nature has provided for that purpose."
Much of the Osteographia also deals with animal skeletons. It opens with "the sceleton of a young buck, stopping suddenly and turning."
On the right, "the sceleton of a cat frighted, at the sceleton of a dog."
On the right, "the sceleton of a cat frighted, at the sceleton of a dog."
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Much of the Osteographia also deals with animal skeletons. It opens with "the sceleton of a young buck, stopping suddenly and turning."
On the right, "the sceleton of a cat frighted, at the sceleton of a dog."
On the right, "the sceleton of a cat frighted, at the sceleton of a dog."
Many of the skeletons in Osteographia are put in dramatic poses. Cheselden says he took an extremely active role in overseeing every part of the illustration process, from posing, to drawing, to engraving.
On the right, a pose inspired by "the venus of Medicis", on the right, "the Belvidere Apollo"
On the right, a pose inspired by "the venus of Medicis", on the right, "the Belvidere Apollo"
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Many of the skeletons in Osteographia are put in dramatic poses. Cheselden says he took an extremely active role in overseeing every part of the illustration process, from posing, to drawing, to engraving.
On the right, a pose inspired by "the venus of Medicis", on the right, "the Belvidere Apollo"
On the right, a pose inspired by "the venus of Medicis", on the right, "the Belvidere Apollo"
Cheselden also described the effect of diseases on bones. On the right, the skulls of a woman and man who died of "the venereal disease."
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Cheselden also described the effect of diseases on bones. On the right, the skulls of a woman and man who died of "the venereal disease."
Much of it was a detailed anatomical investigation of the human skeleton, with parts meticulously described and labeled.
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Much of it was a detailed anatomical investigation of the human skeleton, with parts meticulously described and labeled.
These required teamwork between artist and engravers. To get more precise images, Cheselden used a camera obscura, seen on the left.
"I contrived...a convenient camera obscura to draw in...doing in this way in a few minutes more than could be done without in many hours, I might say in many days…”
"I contrived...a convenient camera obscura to draw in...doing in this way in a few minutes more than could be done without in many hours, I might say in many days…”
October 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
These required teamwork between artist and engravers. To get more precise images, Cheselden used a camera obscura, seen on the left.
"I contrived...a convenient camera obscura to draw in...doing in this way in a few minutes more than could be done without in many hours, I might say in many days…”
"I contrived...a convenient camera obscura to draw in...doing in this way in a few minutes more than could be done without in many hours, I might say in many days…”
Reposted by Danny Robb
If you can help us get there for December, we'd appreciate it (you can give as little as $3!) but we know it's tough for everyone, so if you can't donate, you can support us by sharing our magazine with people you know--especially historians working off the tenure track.
Contingent Simpsons Fundraiser | Contingent, Inc. (Powered by Donorbox)
Since our December 2019 Star Wars issue, Contingent has always published a special six-article themed issue to close out the year. Last year, a grant allowed us to grow our December issue for the...
donorbox.org
October 30, 2026 at 3:26 AM
If you can help us get there for December, we'd appreciate it (you can give as little as $3!) but we know it's tough for everyone, so if you can't donate, you can support us by sharing our magazine with people you know--especially historians working off the tenure track.
These disagreements were brought into the Oval Office, in conversations where JFK and Webb tried to hash out the best US strategy in space. More here:
invertingvision.com/2026/10/27/j...
invertingvision.com/2026/10/27/j...
James Webb, Vannevar Bush, and Basic Research in Space
In November 1962, NASA administrator James Webb wrote a letter to President John F. Kennedy after a contentious meeting about the Apollo program. In that meeting, they had litigated the overall goal of the US space program, and arrived at a sort of agreement in principle. They both wanted the United States to achieve “preeminence …
invertingvision.com
October 29, 2026 at 1:30 PM
These disagreements were brought into the Oval Office, in conversations where JFK and Webb tried to hash out the best US strategy in space. More here:
invertingvision.com/2026/10/27/j...
invertingvision.com/2026/10/27/j...
Letters to Webb from Vannevar Bush give us a glimpse into some of the attitudes of some scientists in the early days of the Space Race.
October 29, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Letters to Webb from Vannevar Bush give us a glimpse into some of the attitudes of some scientists in the early days of the Space Race.