From water, air, and fire to tennessine and oganesson, celebrated science writer Philip Ball leads us through the full sweep of the field of chemistry in this exquisitely illustrated history of the elements. The Elements is a stunning visual journey through the discovery of the chemical building blocks of our universe. By piecing together the history of the periodic table, Ball explores not only how we have come to understand what everything is made of, but also how chemistry developed into a modern science. Ball groups the elements into chronological eras of discovery, covering seven millennia from the first known to the last named. As he moves from prehistory and classical antiquity to the age of atomic bombs and particle accelerators, Ball highlights images and stories from around the world and sheds needed light on those who struggled for their ideas to gain inclusion. By also featuring some elements that aren’t true elements but were long thought to be—from the foundational prote hyle and heavenly aetherof the ancient Greeks to more recent false elements like phlogiston and caloric—The Elements boldly tells the full history of the central science of chemistry.

This book explores the life and work of the 18th-century English artist, explorer, naturalist, and author Mark Catesby (1683-1749). During Catesby's lifetime, science was poised to shift from a world of amateur virtuosi to one of professional experts. He worked against a backdrop of global travel that incorporated collecting and direct observation of nature. Catesby spent two prolonged periods in the New World--in Virginia (1712-19) and South Carolina and the Bahamas (1722-26)--which he documented in Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, the first large-format, color-plate book on the natural history of North America. Interweaving elements of art history, history of science, natural history illustration, painting materials, book history, paper studies, garden history, and colonial history, this volume brings together a wealth of unpublished images as well as previously unpublished letters by Catesby, with contemporary accounts of his collecting and encounters in the wild, and details of the materials and techniques of packing and transporting plants and animals across the Atlantic.

Explores the development of natural history since the Renaissance and contextualizes current discussions of biodiversity.

This beautiful book combines the author's extensive ecological knowledge with art, and her passion for drawing with ink. It is packed with clear instruction and inspirational illustrations, and will be treasured by artists, illustrators, scientists and ecologists alike. Practical advice is given on using a range of materials and equipment for illustrating in pen and ink, as well as the collection and preservation of subject matter and reference material. Detailed instruction is given on how to create essential mark-making techniques that will enhance your illustrations through accurate depiction of shape, form, texture and pattern, and in the principles and elements of design. Subject-themed chapters include plants, strandline and marine specimens, fossils, invertebrates, and mammals. There are step-by-step exercises suitable for all skill levels, and case studies describing working practice as a professional illustrator.