The genius behind this weird and wonderful little book, John M. Carrera, believes that “new ideas arise from the recombination of old ideas.” Fifteen years ago he stumbled on a Webster’s International Dictionary from 1898 that included an eighty-page section of illustrations of everything from animals to machines to ships to clothing to musical instruments. This gave him an idea: Track down the original 19th century engravings (housed at Yale University) and put them together in a new book.
Taken individually, these engravings are fascinating. The entry for “fish” is seventeen pages long and includes some 160 different images of various species of fish. The detail is wonderful. The blindfish has no eyes; the flying fish has its wings spread, ready for flight; true to its name, the stickleback looks like a fish carrying a pin cushion.
But the real gift of this book, and the reason why it’s such an intriguing artistic experiment, is the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated images. The entries are arranged alphabetically, not by category, and some interesting groupings result. Page 222 showcases a macaw, a magnet, a mackerel, a maioid crab and a stalk of maize. Page 314 contains images of a scaup duck, a schooner, a screech owl, male and female screws, and six varieties of scissors (pocket, manicure, nail, buttonhole, embroidery, and lampwick).
There is no text, other than the name that accompanies each image. Some of the entries are peculiar and leave you with more questions than answers. Maybe you have a better vocabulary than I do. A half-full beaker suspended between two pieces of iron is called a clepsydra. Wikipedia says this is a water clock, used in ancient Greece. A theodolite is used in surveying to measure horizontal and vertical angles. Fandango is a Spanish dance (not just a site where you can order your movie tickets).
In conclusion, I’m in nerd heaven.
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I must have this.
It is delightful! Someone should definitely by you a copy, post-haste.