Intellectuals, Illustrators, and Insects: Three Stories from Continental European Entomology, 1764-1812

By using three different examples from Denmark, France and Germany, this presentation highlights the diversity of image production in the formation process of scientific entomology in Europe. It will explain methodological debates around making knowledge claims as well as the social contexts of late 18th century entomology. In 1764, the Regensburg parson Jacob Christian Schaeffer had trained a considerable number of illustrators to assist him in producing his entomological textbooks. Concerning the training of his helpers, he used a term usually restricted to the training of dogs: “abgerichtet”. Hence, social superiority claims played an important part in the development of the discipline. The authors of entomological handbooks were largely university-trained scholars who employed illustrators from a range of social backgrounds. This is especially apparent in the lavishly illustrated “Papillons d'Europe, peints d'après nature“ which was published in Paris in eight volumes from 1779 to 1792. The wealthy bureaucrat and collector Gigot D’Orcy employed almost 20 engravers and illustrators from France and Germany. This work exemplifies the collaborative nature of entomological book production. It also highlights the importance of women, as one of the contributors was the Frankfurt illustrator Maria Eleonora Hochecker. The professionalization of entomology, especially in its applied aspects however meant that formal training was restricted to men. At the beginning of the 19th century applied entomology was mainly connected to the establishment of scientific forestry. An example from the forestry school at Kiel, then belonging to Denmark and the use of images there will round off this presentation.