The Material Cultures of Enlightenment Arts and Sciences (Palgrave Studies in the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Cultures of Print)

In this book the eighteenth century Enlightenment receives an important reassessment, using an astonishing range of materials and objects drawn from Europe and beyond, including artefacts from India and China, West Africa and Polynesia. A series of authoritative essays written by experts in the field explores the full range of material culture in the long eighteenth century, raising crucial questions about notions of property and invention, homely and commercial lives. The book also includes a series of well-illustrated exhibits, a startling and provocative assemblage of objects from the Enlightenment world, each accompanied by expert commentaries. The collection of essays and exhibits is the result of collaborative debate by scholars from Europe and north America, who have together worked on the cross-disciplinary importance of material history in making sense of how past society was fundamentally transformed through the world of goods. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction....Pages 1-11 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Handling Objects in Natural History Collections....Pages 15-33 Curious Work....Pages 35-37 The Lives of Mrs Delany’s Paper Plants....Pages 39-41 A Pathological Pot....Pages 43-45 The Seeds of Disaster: Relics of La Pérouse....Pages 47-69 Front Matter....Pages 71-71 A Bird in the Hand, or, Manufacturing Credibility in the Instruments of Enlightenment Science....Pages 73-90 Mapping New Spaces....Pages 91-94 By Hand or By Engine....Pages 95-97 The Nautical Almanac: Instrument of Controversy....Pages 99-101 The Navy’s New Clothes....Pages 103-106 Unwrapping Gods: Illuminating Encounters with Gods, Comets and Missionaries....Pages 107-109 Front Matter....Pages 111-129 Persons and Things....Pages 131-131 The Fabric of Domestic Life: Rethinking the Humble Painted Cloth....Pages 133-143 The Willdey Telescope: Instrument for Fashion, Learning and Amusement....Pages 145-147 Cataloguing Curiosities: Whitby’s Barkcloth Book....Pages 149-151 Art and Things: Fragonard’s Colour Box....Pages 153-155 Keep Within Compass....Pages 157-159 Perfected Thing: A Lay Figure by Paul Huot....Pages 161-163 Front Matter....Pages 165-167 A Home Away from Home: Sophie Magdalene’s Clockwork Chinoiserie....Pages 169-169 The Chinese Tallow Tree: From Asset in Asia to Curse in Carolina....Pages 171-189 Global Connections: Punch, Porcelain and Maritime Material Culture....Pages 191-193 A Damaged and Discarded Thing....Pages 195-197 Sarah Sophia Banks, Adam Afzelius and a Coin from Sierra Leone....Pages 199-201 A Pacific Macrocosm: ‘Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique’....Pages 203-205 ‘Columen Vitae’: Pharmaceutical Packaging, 1750–1850....Pages 207-209 Tropical Lifestyles, Luxury, and the Health of Britain’s Global Power, 1793–1825....Pages 211-213 Front Matter....Pages 215-232 Extra-illustrations: The Order of the Book and the Fantasia of the Library....Pages 233-233 Paperslips....Pages 235-254 Advertising and Print Culture in the Eighteenth Century....Pages 255-257 Kitty Fisher: The Commodification of Celebrity....Pages 259-261 An Admirable Typology....Pages 263-265 Connoisseurship and the Communication of Anatomical Knowledge: The Case of William Cheselden’s Osteographia (1733)....Pages 267-269 Back Matter....Pages 271-289 ....Pages 291-322 "Acknowledgements"--"Contents"--"Contributors" -- "List of Figures" -- "Chapter 1: Introduction" -- "Part I: Natural Curiosities" -- "Chapter 2: Handling Objects in Natural History Collections" -- "Claude-Joseph Geoffroy" -- "Jean-Etienne Guettard" -- "Chapter 3: Curious Work" -- "Chapter 4: The Lives of Mrs Delanyâ#x80;#x99;s Paper Plants" -- "Chapter 5: A Pathological Pot" -- "Chapter 6: The Seeds of Disaster: Relics of La Pérouse" -- "The English La Pérouse" -- "Searching for La Pérouse: Circling the Void" -- "The Restoration of La Pérouse" -- "The Seeds of Disaster: Banksia" -- "Conclusion" -- "Part II: Tools and Travels" -- "Chapter 7: A Bird in the Hand, or, Manufacturing Credibility in the Instruments of Enlightenment Science" -- "Instruments and Their Makers" -- "Precision, Accuracy and the Artistâ#x80;#x99;s Hand" -- "Truth Seeking: Considerations Eternal and Contingent" -- "Conclusion" -- "Chapter 8: Mapping New Spaces" -- "Chapter 9: By Hand or By Engine" -- "Chapter 10: The Ship as Object: The Launch of the Queen Charlotte" -- "Chapter 11: The Nautical Almanac: Instrument of Controversy" -- "Chapter 12: The Navyâ#x80;#x99;s New Clothes" -- "Chapter 13: Unwrapping Gods: Illuminating Encounters with Gods, Comets and Missionaries" -- "Mission Museum, London" -- "Visual Metamorphosis: Darkness to Light" -- "Propping Up the Sky" -- "â#x80;#x98;Taheite was stricken by that cometâ#x80;#x99;" -- "Conclusion" -- "Part III: Artificial Curiosities" -- "Chapter 14: Persons and Things" -- "Chapter 15: The Fabric of Domestic Life: Rethinking the Humble Painted Cloth" -- "Chapter 16: The Willdey Telescope: Instrument for Fashion, Learning and Amusement" -- "Chapter 17: Cataloguing Curiosities: Whitbyâ#x80;#x99;s Barkcloth Book" -- "Chapter 18: Art and Things: Fragonardâ#x80;#x99;s Colour Box" -- "Chapter 19: Keep Within Compass." In This Work The Eighteenth Century Enlightenment Receives An Important Reassessment, Using An Astonishing Range Of Materials And Objects Drawn From Europe And Beyond, Including Artefacts From India And China, West Africa And Polynesia. A Series Of Authoritative Essays Written By Experts In The Field Explores The Full Range Of Material Culture In The Long Eighteenth Century, Raising Crucial Questions About Notions Of Property And Invention, Homely And Commercial Lives. The Book Also Includes A Series Of Well-illustrated Exhibits, A Startling And Provocative Assemblage Of Objects From The Enlightenment World, Each Accompanied By Expert Commentaries. Adriana Craciun, Simon Schaffer, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.