Embedded Files
The first item I examined in the Special Collections was an inconspicuous book titled A Further Discovery of Bees. The first segment of the book details the society and government of bees and the second advertises John Gedde's improvements to the contemporary bee-house. Unbeknownst to a reader today, the latter part of this edition fails to present any innovations at all as the design by William Mew and Christopher Wren had been published two decades prior by Samuel Hartlib (Bryden 1994). Gedde's Royalist stance throughout the tumultuous Interregnum made his patent claim more attractive to the recently restored Stuart monarchy than Hartlib's revolutionary leanings. In collaboration with Rusden's essay Monarchy founded in Nature, and proved, by this History of Bees, Gedde's invention served the interests of Charles II more than those of contemporary beekeepers.
Moses Rusden's A Further Discovery of Bees accompanying John Gedde's patented Bee-House
Moses Rusden's A Further Discovery of Bees accompanying John Gedde's patented Bee-House
Samuel Hartlib had published a similar design by William Mew and Christopher Wren with the notable transparent panel, wood house instead of straw, etc. two decades prior in his The Reformed Commonwealth of Bees (Bryden 1994).
John Gedde's Bee-House Design
John Gedde's Bee-House Design
Moses Rusden's essay Monarchy founded in Nature, and proved, by this History of Bees
Moses Rusden's essay Monarchy founded in Nature, and proved, by this History of Bees
Scholars at the time looked to bees and their successful government as demonstrating that humans too needed a monarch. As seen by the picture below, they could not yet distinguish the bees' sex and thus believed the monarch to be a king instead of a queen.
Rusden quotes Virgil's "Georgics" throughout his work in addition to Aristotle and other revered scholars.
The frontispiece depicts Gedde's patent
In describing the bees' colonies within this work, Rusden asserts the natural state of colonization as well
Following A Further Discovery of Bees, I examined three important works of political philosophy: Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, Patriarcha by Sir Robert Filmer, and Two Treatises of Government by John Locke. The former two supported Rusden's above assertion of all sovereignty resting with the monarch, whereas the latter rejects such an application to human individuals. Notably, Filmer's and Hobbe's work especially contain elaborate frontispiece's and border designs throughout the book. In contrast, Locke's work does not, indicating his belated reverence that we are familiar with today.
Returning to the Royal Society, I then examined two works titled The anatomy of plants : with an idea of a philosophical history of plants, and several other lectures, read before the Royal Society by Nehemiah Grew and Sylva, or, A discourse of forest-trees and the propagation of timber in His Majesties dominions by John Evelyn.
The first contains extremely detailed diagrams of everything from horseradish roots to the development of seeds. It also presents a lecture of particular interest on "mixtures" whereby Grew claims that once humans understand mixtures, they can imitate nature at their will, such as refrigerating rooms.
The title page of Nehemiah Grew's collection. Grew is remembered today as the "Father of Plant Anatomy" for his comparison of plant mechanisms to animal anatomy and bodily systems.
Christopher Wren asserts Nehemiah Grew's reasons for printing this book. Wren was best known as an architect in addition to being a mathematician, astronomer, and anatomist. Grew credits him with contriving the bee-house design that John Gedde later claimed credit for (Bryden 1994).
As Brian Garret notes, Grew's father was "briefly imprisoned while his son gave lectures to the Royal Society and dedicated his books to the King" (2011).
A magnified part of a vine branch cut transversely
Various parts and aspects of beans, seeds, and nuts depicted
Grew illustrated each of these plates in great detail for this time, pioneering a new view of plant anatomy.
The small end of a horse radish root magnified
A magnified holly branch cut transversely
At a closer glance, the reader can see where his ink bled beyond the root's border.
Grew's lecture on the "nature, causes, and power of mixture" reveals the revolutionary thinking of the time. He claims that "if we could procure such a Spirit of Nitre, we might congeal Water in the midst of Summer. We might also refrigerate Rooms herewith Artificially. And might Imitate all frosty Meteors" (233). Mixing potassium nitrate with ice to cool rooms had been described by Giovanni Battista Della Porta in 1558 and demonstrated by Cornelis Drebbel for King James I in 1620 (Shachtman 1999).
Sylva, or, A discourse of forest-trees and the propagation of timber in His Majesties dominions by John Evelyn decries the current depletion in forests at the time and introduces new methods of forestry by which the health of forests can be improved and their numbers expanded. Scholars often point to Evelyn's methods as the most materially successful of those produced by the Royal Society (Bryden 1994).
In his address to the king, Evelyn praises him for propagating and planting trees throughout the country.
In his address to the reader, Evelyn introduces some of the methods he will discuss that will increase their timber and prevent them from destroying woods rather than repairing them.
The language Evelyn employs to describe trees on the page to the left resembles that Nehemiah Grew uses to describe plants. In the latter's introduction, he praises Evelyn's contributions to his own work.
To the left, Evelyn encourages the reader to prune Mulberry trees rather than "poll" them or to cut them back to their trunk and describes the correct method for doing so.
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