Finished! Looks like this project is out of data at the moment!
We have finished the data collection. We are now further processing the data so it can be analysed and visualised. We thank each and everyone of you for all the time and effort you put into our project! We’ll keep you updated on our research results, here, on our blog and on Twitter.
FAQ
How can I get in touch with you?
There are several ways of contacting us. You can leave a message in our Talk forum, leave a comment on our blog or follow us and our project on Twitter.
What is the objective of Worlds of Wonder?
We hope to better understand the nineteenth-century community of microscopists in Europe and America by analysing the publications that connected them. We can search these publications for terms but it is a lot more difficult for us to classify illustrations and identify those who contributed (and sometimes signed) them. Illustrators, engravers and printers were often important members of the microscopy community but their names cannot be retrieved by entering search terms. This is where we need your help. Moreover, we are particularly interested in how illustrations changed when they were reproduced to address a different readership. Please let us know if you see an illustration reappear.
What can the data be used for and who will be interested in using them?
The data you collect can tell us a lot about the members of the nineteenth-century microscopy community, their research objectives and their preferred methods of drawing and printing what they saw under the microscope. Since microscopes were used in many disciplines, the data you collect will allow historians of science, technology and medicine to get a better idea of how the rise of microscopy affected scientific, technological and medical practices.
Where do the digitised microscopy publications come from?
The publications you see are hosted by the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). They have been contributed to the BHL by numerous holding institutions. Click the info icon beneath a page to see the holding institution.
Where can I learn more about nineteenth-century microscopy and print history?
For a glossary of print terms, see Stijnman's "Terms in Print Addresses" or this glossary of the Philadelphia Print Shop. Geoffrey Belknap's (2018) "Illustrating natural history: images, periodicals, and the making of nineteenth-century scientific communities" draws on the data collected by the Science Gossip project and contains information about the Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club.