Historical Science Illustrations

Vintage engravings depicting chemical laboratories and historical scientific experiments from the 16th to 18th century, highlighting early scientific practices.

Reconstruction of a Roman war engine for firing a salvo of arrows, sometimes referred to as a Scorpion. From 'Poliorceticon sive de machinis tormentis telis' by Justus Lipsius (Joost Lips) (Antwerp, 1605). Engraving.

Chemical laboratory of Michel Kusel in 1663, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

J.A. Nollet "Recherches... phenomenes electriques", 1749

Making of coins. Facsimile of an engraving by Jost Amman in 1659. Sciences & Lettres au Moyen Age et a l'epoque de la Renaissance. Paris, 1877.

Splicing furnace, historical account from Georgius Agricola, De re metallica libri XII, Mining and metallurgy, metallurgy, published 1556

Figures in a laboratory, Jan Luyken, 1683 print Amsterdam paper etching laboratory

Printing workshop of Bodocus Badius Ascensius from the title page of a book published in 1530. Note the female compositor. Woodcut.

DESCARTES, Ren_ (1596-1650). French rationalist philosopher, mathematician and scientist. Dioptrica', treatise on optics written in 1637. Illustration from 5th chapter. SPAIN. CATALONIA. Barcelona. Biblioteca de Catalunya (National Library of Catalonia).

Natuurkundige les.A company, consisting of eight gentlemen and two ladies, is around a table in a laboratory. There are (measures) instruments for physics research in the cabinets and on the ground.

Reconstruction of a Roman war engine for firing a salvo of arrows, sometimes referred to as a Scorpion. From 'Poliorceticon sive de machinis tormentis telis' by Justus Lipsius (Joost Lips) (Antwerp, 1605). Engraving.

A company, consisting of eight gentlemen and two ladies, sits around a table in a laboratory. In the cabinets and on the floor are (measuring) instruments for physical research. Physics Lesson, print maker: Christian Friedrich Fritzsch, (mentioned on object), Amsterdam, 1759, paper, etching, h 135 mm × w 88 mm

An initial letter depicting Ptolemy observing the sky and making measurements using a quadrant. Ptolemy (100-168) a Greek writer, mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet. Dated 16th Century

Expansion of air by heat: illustration of demonstration by the Greek engineer Philo of Byzantium (c280-c220BC) also c alled Philo Mechanicus. Sphere contains water and air. Sun's heat causes air to expand and water is forced through tube into flask. Engraving from ''Utriusque cosmi ... historia'' by Robert Fludd, Oppenheim 1617-19.

10 September 1881, an war engine for firing a salvo of arrows, sometimes referred to as a Scorpion, From Poliorceticon sive de machinis tormentis telis by Justus Lipsius (Antwerp, 1605), Engraving

Hercules and the Dragon - a mechanical model by HERO OF ALEXANDRIA.

Assaying copper and lead: prepared and weighed ore (1) and assay oven (2). From 1683 English edition of Lazarus Ercker 'Beschreibung allerfurnemisten mineralischen Ertzt- und Berckwercksarten' originally published in Prague in 1574. Copperplate engraving

A foetus and placenta with umbilical cord. Engraving, 1686, the second, third, fifth and sixth figures after G. de Lairesse, 1685.

Various Stoves A-Z, Jan Luyken, 1683 print Print at the top right numbered: p. 34. Amsterdam paper etching cooker. laboratory (+ tools, instruments; laboratory equipment ~ scientific research)

The interior of a busy pharmacy. Line engraving by C. Le Roy.

Engraving depicting the Aristotelian concept of the path of projectile. Since he believed no body could undertake more than one motion at a time, the path had to consist of two separate motions in a straight line. Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. Dated 16th Century

Rectangular tasting furnace, historical representation from Georgius Agricola, De re metallica libri XII, Mining and metallurgy, metallurgy, published 1556

Treatment of a root to obtain Asafoetida, Jan Luyken, 1712 print print maker: Amsterdampublisher: Lemgo paper etching / letterpress printing medicine, medical science. plants ~ agriculture

'Distillation: In centre is an athanor (digesting furnace) to its right an alembic feeds distillate into receiver. From ''Magia naturalis', Nuremberg, 1715, by Johannis Baptista della Porta. First edition 1558.'

alchemy alchemist laboratory woodcut ""De remediis utriusque fortunae"" by Francesco Petrarca (1344/1366) printed by the so-called Petrarca-master Augsburg 1532 and later private collection,

alchemy destillation of mercury woodcut to ""De la Pirotechnica"" by Vannoccio Biringuccio Venice 1540,

Figures in a laboratory, laboratory, Jan Luyken, Amsterdam, 1683, paper, etching, h 133 mm × w 82 mm

Vol. IV, XIV, Planche 3, Leçons de physique expérimentale...

Sins, good deeds and their results: the results of the claims of the sinners. Etching.

Jean-Antoine Nollet stands beside some of the apparatus with which he researches how electricity can be generated and transferred

Engraving depicting two alchemists distilling an Elixir, during the Elizabethan Period. Dated 16th Century

Recovery of gold from amalgum. 7) chamois leather bag for separating amalgum from excess mercury. 6) Operator with wooden pestel and mortar for purifying mercury with salt. 4,5) Earthenware and iron retorts for distilling mercury from amalgum. From 1683 English edition of Lazarus Ercker 'Beschreibung allerfurnemisten mineralischen Ertzt- und Berckwercksarten' originally published in Prague in 1574. Copperplate engraving.

Fig. XVII. Pateomylos, 1662., 1662., Coloniæ Agrippinæ. Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. Subjects include mechanical engineering, machinery, mills and mill-work, flour and meal industry, gearing. Engravings

JOHANNES HEVEL Known as HEVELIUS German-Polish astronomer, and his wife observe the stars

Plate of the neck, trachea etc. From Julius Casserius (1561-1616) De Vocis Auditusque Organis Historia Anatomia, Ferrara 1600-1. William Harvey studied under Casserius at Padua.

Teaching Pharmacy, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Athanor or 'Slow Harry', a self-feeding furnace maintaining a constant temperature, 1683. Artist: Unknown

Drawing showing Tower mill operating a rag-and-chain pump to raise water for fountains in ornamental gardens. The mill is being turned to face into the wind. From a German edition of Agostino Ramelli; Le diverse et artificiose machine, published in 1620.

Chemistry: a multi-tiered furnace for distillation. Woodcut after M. Augusti.

Methods of surveying (right) and time keeping (left). On the left are various different kinds of sundials and a clock with a single arm. On the right a survey is being made of the height of the tower, using quadrants and, on the far right, a cross staff. From Sebastian Munster 'Rudimenta Mathematica', Basle, 1551. Woodcut.

Engraving depicting the process of currying hides

A Lesson in Astronomy after a miniature in the 13th century breviary of St. Louis From Science and Literature in The Middle Ages by Paul Lacroix published London 1878

'De la Terre a la Lune' ('From the Earth to the Moon'). The comfortably appointed interior of the moon-projectile. Date: 1865

Woodcut engraving depicting a violent lightning storm.

Illustration for 'The Labor of Mars' by Allain Manesson Mallet. Floor plan of part of a fortress, fortress or reinforcement in which a hole has been hit. Byond this a firefight. In the top left the number 46 (= the number of the page in the book to which the illustration is placed).

Smelting copper. From a 1683 English edition of Lazarus Ercker 'Beschreibung allerfurnemisten mineralischen Ertzt- und Berckwercksarten' originally published in Prague in 1574. Copperplate engraving.

Processing of sulphur. Etching by Bénard after L.J. Goussier.

'Utriusque cosmi historia', 1517-19. Artist: Robert Fludd

Fig. XCVI. Antlergon, quadruplex. Additional, Antlia quadruplex., 1662., Coloniæ Agrippinæ. Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. Mechanical engineering, Machinery, Mills and mill-work, Water pumps. Engravings

A torture chamber where one victim is tied up and suspended from a pulley while being interrogated by two scribes, while another victim is suspended from the ceiling and lowered onto a spike with his rectum. Etching by L.M. after V.V.

Soap factory. Mixing process. 18th century. Encyclopedie by Diderot et d'Alembert. Engraving.

A surgeon operating on a man's head. Engraving by H. Bary, 1658, after F. Verwilt.

Fig. CXV. Haustrum simplex, per sphæras. Additional, Cochlea simplex, per sphæras suni insertas., 1662., Coloniæ Agrippinæ. Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. Subjects include mechanical engineering, machinery, mills and mill-work, mules, pipes (conduits), water pumps, and engravings

History of Medicine. Saturation of the intestine. Woodcut in Dies ist das Buch Der Chirurgia (This is the Book of Surgery), 15th century.

EXERCISES OF ANATOMY - 17th CENTURY. Author: WILLIAM HARVEY (1578-1657). Location: MEDICAL FACULTY. MADRID. SPAIN.

Arab astronomers measuring angles between objects in space or on land Date: 1513

A scholar in a surgeon's workroom with a jar of spirits containing Saint Michael defeating a dragon with a barbued tonge; representing the scholar's knowledge of chemistry enabling surgeons to heal, by setting the beneficent force of alkalis against the noxious force of acids. Etching by P.P. Bouche, ca. 1686.

The Sun seen from Earth. Date: 1702

Frontispiece of late edition of Johannnes Baptista della Porta (1543 - 1615) 'Magia Naturalis' (Nuremberg 1715). Picture includes a number of essential alchemical features such as the philosopher's egg, the hermetic vase and the Sun (gold). Engraving.

Fig. CX. Hydrotechnema quadruplex, per antlias depressas aquam agerens., 1662, Coloniæ Agrippinæ, Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. The engraving illustrates mechanical engineering concepts related to machinery, mills, mill-work, waterwheels, aqueducts, and water pumps

Science: a complex machine for determining the specific gravity of various substances, an observer in early eighteenth-century dress looks on. Engraving.

Symbols of the synthesis of the Great Work. 4 sides=4 elements. 3 serpents=tria prima (sulphur, salt, mercury). 2 circles=masculine and feminine properties. Large circle attached to tube=Hermetic Vase. From 'Tripus Aureus' Michael Maier (Frankfurt 1678).

Zwartornament in de vorm van een gezaagde balk; Zwartornamenten.Two men saw a beam with black ornament in half lengthwise. The shelf is based on a stone, beam, tree root and a tub. At the top right a beetle. Leaded numbered 2. The print is part of an album.

German astronomer and cosmographer. Engraving from the 16th century, by Jost Amman. Sciences & Lettres au Moyen Age et à l'époque de la Renaissance. Paris, 1877. Author: Jost Amman (1539-1591). Swiss-German artist.

Laboratory of chemistry in antiquity, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Stephen Hales's (1677-1761) pneumatic trough for collecting gases. From his 'Vegetable Satiks', 1727.

A woodcut engraving depicting a man increasing the power of a candle by passing the light through a water-filled glass globe which acted as a condenser. Dated 17th century

astronomy measuring instruments ""Arabian scholars with sun dial measuring device and sextant colour woodcut Germany 16th century private collection,

Various stages of cotton processing in the 18th century. Date: Circa 1760

Apiculture (bee keeping) from the 1775 edition of 'Oeconomie générale de la campagne, ou Nouvelle maison rustique', Paris, 1700. By Louis Liger (16581717), French agronomist and prolific writer on flora and fauna. This was a guide to horticulture for country dwellers

Laboratoire dans le Jardin Royale des Plantes n.d. Sébastien Leclerc I French. Laboratoire dans le Jardin Royale des Plantes 386397

Illustration showing Making candle tapers. France; 1748

The Chemist, 1508, The Chemist or Alchemist is using bellows to heat up the fire under under a crucible. Behind him an alembic standing on a furnace is being used for distillation. Distillate condenses in rounded hood of alembic and runs down through beak into collecting vessel. From 'Margarita philosophica' ('The Pearl of Philosophy') by Gregor Reisch. (Basle, 1508). This book was an early encyclopaedia of knowledge for students.

MUTUS LIBER ('The Silent Book') Adding and Distilling the Ingredients 6 of 15 Date: 1702

Men and women with telescopes, gyroscopes, a balloon, battle ships, and other forms of technology; representing the benefits of philosophy and science. Engraving by E. Voysard after C.L. Desrais.

Astronomy: an astrologer sits in a landscape with his hand on a globe. Line engraving, 1707 ?.

Historical illustration from the 19th Century, a mathematician and astronomer at work, after an engraving from the 16th Century

Processing of mercury. Etching by Bénard after L.J. Goussier.

A physician examining a urine specimen and referring to a book. Engraving by J. Balzer after D. Teniers, the younger.

Diagram illustrating how the breaking point of a beam depends upon the material and thickness (AB), and the leverage exerted by the weight E) at varying distances (in this case at DC) along the beam. Dated 17th Century

Pharmaceutical preparation in the seventeenth century, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Historic drawing, model of the vote in the British Parliament after the book The Commonwealth of Oceana, 1656, by James Harrington, 1611-1677, an English philosopher

N. Venette "Generation de l'homme", 1696; figure

Some of the Principal Inhabitants of the Moon, as They Were Perfectly Discovered by a Telescope... Engraver Samuel Ireland British After William Hogarth British Publisher Molteno and Co. British May 1, 1788

The mechanism of strikes, a vicious circle, illustration by Bertall from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 1262, Volume XLIX, May 4, 1867.

A cartoon commenting on the advantages of gas over oil lights. Illustrated by Richard Dighton (1795-1880). Dated 19th century

Miscellanea anatomica hominis... frontispiece, featuring a skeleton.

Gemma Rainer Frisius, real name Jemme Reinersz (9 December 1508-25 May 1555), was a physician, astronomer, mathematician, cartographer and instrument maker, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a historical original

Processing of alum. Etching, 1769.

COMPLETE ANATOMY OF MAN-SHEET VIII. Author: MARTINEZ MARTIN (1684-1734). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

Woodcut engraving depicting the comet of 384 AD, as seen in Basel, Switzerland. Dated 16th century

Engraving depicting the constellation of Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Dated 18th century

Astrologer, Jan Luyken, 1694 print Amsterdam paper etching astrologer at work

Insects, plants and fruits around a sweet pea, print maker: Jacob Hoefnagel, Joris Hoefnagel, Christoph Weigel possibly, 1592 and/or 1693 - 1726

History of Photography. Camera obscure. Magia Naturalis Sive de Miraculis Rerum Naturalium (1558) by Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615). Engraving. Edition of 1659. Library of Catalonia. Barcelona. Spain. Colored.

medicine pharmacy public preparation of Theriac by a local physician and a chemist woodcut coloured from ""Buch des Lebens"" (Book of Life) by Marsilio Ficino (1433 - 1499) German edition Strasbourg Germany 1531,

Compounding a BALSAM - a healing compound made with herbs and spices, applied to the afflicted portion of the body Date: early 17th century

A woodcut engraving depicting a Clepsydra and an hour-glass. The clepsydra is of glass and filled from above, and the water is allowed to escape from the base. The hours are shown by the level of the water (the second hour is here indicated). Dated 16th century

J. S. Elsholtz, Clysmatica nova.

Field irrigation machinery for rice cultivation in Asia. Handcolored copperplate engraving of a botanical illustration from G. T. Wilhelm's "Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte" (Encyclopedia of Natural History), Augsburg, 1811. Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelm (1758-1811) was a clergyman and naturalist in Augsburg, Bavaria.

Plate showing stages of creation of glass. Engraving from Denis Diderot, Jean Baptiste Le Rond d'Alembert, L'Encyclopedie, 1751-1757. Entitled Verrerie en bois (Forest Glass Making).

Engraving showing relics of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition of 1845, which were found by Francis Leopold McClintock in 1859. The items shown are (left to right): bag of shot, clay pipe, Star from a Marine's shako, mitten, tin can and snow goggles. In 1845 the British Admiralty sent two polar exploration ships, HMS 'Erebus' and HMS 'Terror', to look for the Northwest passage round the northern coast of Canada. The expedition, commanded by Sir John Franklin, disappeared from v

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