
How seventeenth-century sisters broke the mould on scientific illustration - myinnerbanjo
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06944-7
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JoeAltmaier
My 1880's local history book I found in the used-book store is an example of
the women-blindness that plagues history. It catalogues the accomplishment of
men of the previous 50 years. When women are mentioned, their first names are
rarely given and their accomplishments are restricted to home crafts.

I noticed three remarkable men in the biographies section during my perusal.
One became the town's mercantile giant; another dominated publishing and later
the coal market for the entire state; the third became Governor and later a
federal Secretary.

What did these men have in common? They all started out as simple men - a
clerk, a printer, a country lawyer. Then they all married a Clark sister -
daughters in a founding farming and stock trading family in the area, educated
and cultured. From then on, their husbands' progress was stratospheric,
success after success.

I imagine these three sisters, having tea on Sunday, comparing notes and
planning their husband's lives. Changing the history of the state and nation.

What do we know about them? Not even their first names. They are all listed as
Mrs somebody.

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notmynormalusr
Did they break the mould or were they just really good at their jobs?
Excellent illustrations to be sure in any case.

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moftz
I guess the part to take away from this is that at the time women were not
employed in creating illustrations due to the labor involved in cutting the
copper plates. Although the article doesn't really offer any other examples of
women coming after them, how they opened the field of scientific illustrating
to more women.

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gotocake
Fun fact, their father Martin Lister invented the histogram.

