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'Indeed it is the thing itself': women and visual culture in the Earth Sciences, 1813–1850

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The Earth Sciences are visual sciences. To reconstruct the prehistoric Earth, capture phenomena, and represent the creatures whose remains they unearthed, geologists relied on images – which were often created by women. There exists little scholarly work on this crucial aspect of 19th-century geology, and even less on women’s contributions. Yet many women were accomplished scientific illustrators, who even experimented with cutting-edge techniques like lithography. This paper addresses the lack of historical recognition of women’s artistic roles. It recovers these women’s labour, arguing that their illustrative work not only required skill and scientific knowledge, but shaped the visual communication of geology.

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