Micrographia: the Seventeenth-Century Work of Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke, Micrographia. London, 1665. Rare and Distinctive Collections, CU Boulder Libraries.
Robert Hooke, born in 1635, was considered a polymath, one with knowledge of many subjects, who remained focused on the philosophy of nature and physics. Hooke’s work married art, science, and nature, using experimental procedures to formulate a philosophical natural history. From early modern England, the work of Hooke, titled “Micrographia” (Hooke 1665) is the outcropping of his multidisciplinary marriage of art and the natural world by expressing “physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses, with observations and inquiries” (Hooke, in Pugliese 2004).
While Hooke, with his knowledge for almost everything, did not make the first microscope that was designed in the 1590’s by Zacharias Janssen (Ed. A.Chodos 2004), he refined the light microscope with the help of others, especially that of Christopher Cock who was a London instrument maker (Davidson 2015), as we see in the image above from Hooke’s work in “Micrographia” (Hooke 1665). With this early compound or light microscope, visualizing unique features of small living organisms such as the flea and gnat were possible. Hooke’s drawings popularized early microscope use for the identification of living organisms that were responsible for the spread of the plague.
Robert Hooke, born in 1635, was considered a polymath, one with knowledge of many subjects, who remained focused on the philosophy of nature and physics. Hooke’s work married art, science, and nature, using experimental procedures to formulate a philosophical natural history. From early modern England, the work of Hooke, titled “Micrographia” (Hooke 1665) is the outcropping of his multidisciplinary marriage of art and the natural world by expressing “physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses, with observations and inquiries” (Hooke, in Pugliese 2004).
While Hooke, with his knowledge for almost everything, did not make the first microscope that was designed in the 1590’s by Zacharias Janssen (Ed. A.Chodos 2004), he refined the light microscope with the help of others, especially that of Christopher Cock who was a London instrument maker (Davidson 2015), as we see in the image above from Hooke’s work in “Micrographia” (Hooke 1665). With this early compound or light microscope, visualizing unique features of small living organisms such as the flea and gnat were possible. Hooke’s drawings popularized early microscope use for the identification of living organisms that were responsible for the spread of the plague.
Because of the primitive technology and Hooke’s artistic value, it is impressive to obtain an image affording him an accurate detailed drawing of the flea for others to appreciate and study. To point out how incredible Hooke’s contribution was, the Royal Society 2010 Summer Exhibit included an image of a flea contributed by Dr. Brad Amos using a modern microscope, the Mesolens, side by side to Hooke’s 1665 plate, where both images appear identical (Ferlier 2020), as seen here:
Hooke’s work, both in invention and expression, helped advance science knowledge by aiding scientists and physicians in slowing the spread of disease and illness through identification and diagnostics that led to eventual treatment and promoting positive patient outcomes.
- Anonymous, Spring '23