Prints of etchings of persons prominent in optics
 Catalogue Number: 1752 Prints of etchings of persons prominent in optics Category: Painting or other art work Sub-Category: Drawing or etching Year Of Publication/Manufacture: Early 19th C Time Period: 19th C Place Of Publication/Manufacture: Glasgow Publisher/Manufacturer: William MacKenzie Description Of Item: Five prints of etchings three of which are of eminent persons in the fields of optics, viz Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin and John Dollond. The other two are Joshua Reynolds and Samuel Ferguson,both artists. All are 190 x 275 mm approx, with the etched image smaller leaving large white margins on which the subjects are identified. Four are identified as printed by William MacKenzie. The engravers are J Posslewhite, (Reynolds, Dollond). I Thomson (Franklin) and E Scrivren (Newton) and the original images from which the etching have been made are identified. Historical Significance: The persons depicted are: Isaac Newton (1643-1727) famous for his contributions to optics and many fundamental laws of physics; Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) (pictured) founding father of the USA and a scienticist known for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity and his invention of the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass 'armonica'; John Dollond (1706-1761) who founded a business to make optical instruments that became the still extant optometry firm of Dollond and Atchison, who invented achromatic lenses and was optician to the King; Josua Reynolds (1723-1792) renowned British painter; and Samuel Ferguson (1810-1886) poet and artist. How Acquired: Donated by Michael Atiken, honorary archivist Condition: Fair. Some mottling and some edges are ragged Location: Archive office. Pamphlet and ephemera filing cabinet. Drawer 4 |