Metallurgy and Alchemy

The other day at work I came across the word "metallurgy" and I started to day dream about alchemy and what old lithograph images might be found on the subject.  BibliOdyssey has a beautiful collection of images on their blog under Alchemy Laboratories.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Color Change Mineral

1842 Hand painted lithograph with applied mica powder depicting the mineral Alexandrite Chrysoberyl and the color change it has in daylight (left) and incandescent (right).  From the publication Schriften der Russisch-Kaiserligen Geselschaft für die gesammte Mineralogie zu St. Petersburg.

I am searching for more information on the 1842 publication and geologist Asbjørn Halvorsen.

19th Century Documents

Hand painted lithographs are so beautiful and I adore them.  The depiction and documentation of nature in an artistic and scientific manner is fascinating.  These originals from 1826 are part of Louis Isidore Duperrey’s 3^rd volume of work “Voyage autour du monde:  Sur la corvette la Coquille”.  

Every detail, hair and dimple was carefully rendered showing each leg, antennae and armature.  Iridescent paints were used to reproduce the metallic shells of beetles and vivid colors for butterfly wings.  The colored depictions are accompanied often with line illustrations showing the segmentation of the insects. 

More information on the voyage and additional lithograph images...