Lower Epidermis of Leaf Showing the Stomata and Chlorophyll Cells [Fig. 1]-
Microscopic Investigation of the Tea Leaf
Illustrated by T. Taylor
Printed by Sackett & Wilhelms Lith Co., New York
First Report of the Secretary of Agriculture- 1889
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1889
Gould Library Government Documents
The books on display here, all from the collections of Gould Library, reveal the beauty and order of hidden worlds. In these volumes, microscopic images are deployed for a variety of reasons: Sometimes their purpose is purely practical (to certify the purity of a sample of tea, or to facilitate the identification of diseased blood). In other cases, as in Felice Frankel’s close-up view of Velcro, their job is as much to inspire curiosity and wonder as it is to illustrate a scientific phenomena.
Yeast Flower
Yeast Flower
Felice Frankel
Sguardi Sulla Scienza: Visions of Science
Milan: Edizioni Olivares, 2005
Gould Library Collections
“Her work moves far beyond the concept of pure photographic reproduction to narrate science with the eye of imagination: a unique path that goes beyond the photo to reveal ‘life from inside.’”
Frankel merges art and science to yield images that are abstract yet poignant, revelatory and yet mysterious. A white spherical shape at first resembles a floating jellyfish but proves to be fermenting yeast. Various colorful examples of such splendor and surprise fill the pages of this book.
1. p. 7