Today, if you want to know about the flora and fauna around us, all you have to do is search online. Once you have acquired enough knowledge, you can decide whether to go out into the world and observe objects of interest in their natural environment (or a controlled simulation thereof). In the Victorian era, the situation was a little different. Ideally, you would have grown up in a home that had everything you needed, or at least had access to facilities. Naturalist’s Librarya series of more than 40 volumes covering everything from birds and bees to quadrupeds and marsupials. Printed in relatively small format and priced at six shillings each, they made the intellectual fruits of the naturalist’s enterprise more accessible than ever to the public.
Although these books contained many informative texts, including memoirs by various famous naturalists of the day, their immediate appeal lay in the stunning illustrations, in which colored examples of each species burst out of their black-and-white habitats. These over 1,300 color plates were some of the finest to be found in publications of similar size from the mid-19th century, and presented an attractive project for designers. Nicolas RougeHis work has previously been featured in Open Culture.
Already restored and created a digital version of Euclid elementPierre-Joseph Redouté’s Les Roses and Les LiliasseElizabeth Twining’s Illustration of the natural order of plantsDaniel Berkeley Updike’s Type of printingBooks such as complete reproduction of naturalist’s library — As always, Blog post about the painstaking restoration and digital recreation process.
This time, Rouge has added a section on the use of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has actually played the following roles: Naturalist’s Library First of all, get his attention. AI tools not only helped us find the necessary information sources and fill in visual gaps, but also helped us brainstorm concepts for the print cover. Rouge’s restoration is mainly A website that anyone can view freelyyou can also purchase your own handsome large format physical copy. Naturalist’s Library Plate $295.11.
What is wallet-friendly is series poster He is made of the same illustrations, each of which represents at a glance creatures of different categories, large and small. original naturalist’s library It inspired generations to devote themselves to understanding the natural world. These new versions, whether printed or not, onlineor what’s on the wall, will undoubtedly encourage the enthusiasm of many budding naturalists in generations to come. Please visit. reproduction of naturalist’s library here.
Related content:
A lavishly illustrated catalog of all known hummingbird species from the 19th century has been restored and made available online.
Check out Elizabeth Twining’s interactive online version. Illustration of the natural order of plants (1868)
Ernst Haeckel’s sublime drawings of flora and fauna: beautiful scientific drawings that influenced the European Art Nouveau movement (1889)
Biodiversity Heritage Library brings 300,000 stunning nature illustrations online
Explore our new archive of 2,200 historic wildlife illustrations (1916-1965): Courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society
Explore the beautifully illustrated interactive online version of the 200-year-old book British and exotic mineralogy
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
