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This chapter examines eighteenth-century records of materially preserved primates from the Netherlands, France, and England, as critical sources for the visual construction of great apes through the medium of natural history prints. While small monkeys had been known in Europe for centuries, the first live great apes and other large primates presented a startling new kind of fauna with an uncannily human-like appearance and behaviour. Early Modern Natural History illustrations from the period illuminate how a visual identity for great apes was constructed as a way to understand their proximity to humanity, as well as to distance humans from apes. Little studied, however, are the material culture sources of taxidermied (known as empaillé) and liquor-preserved specimens that acted as the primary informants for Natural History illustrations. Stuffed and pickled apes were a necessary source of information whose material aesthetics were nevertheless in conflict with the scientific aims of figures such as Petrus Camper (1722–1789), Aernout Vosmaer (1720–1799), Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707–1788), and George Edwards (1694–1773).

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Stuffed, Pickled, and Printed: Preserving Great Apes and the Role of Material Culture in 18th Century Natural History Illustration

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Michelle Moseley-Christian

摘要

This chapter examines eighteenth-century records of materially preserved primates from the Netherlands, France, and England, as critical sources for the visual construction of great apes through the medium of natural history prints. While small monkeys had been known in Europe for centuries, the first live great apes and other large primates presented a startling new kind of fauna with an uncannily human-like appearance and behaviour. Early Modern Natural History illustrations from the period illuminate how a visual identity for great apes was constructed as a way to understand their proximity to humanity, as well as to distance humans from apes. Little studied, however, are the material culture sources of taxidermied (known as empaillé) and liquor-preserved specimens that acted as the primary informants for Natural History illustrations. Stuffed and pickled apes were a necessary source of information whose material aesthetics were nevertheless in conflict with the scientific aims of figures such as Petrus Camper (1722–1789), Aernout Vosmaer (1720–1799), Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707–1788), and George Edwards (1694–1773).