{"id":1928,"date":"2013-10-14T11:53:28","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T15:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/preserving\/?p=1928"},"modified":"2013-10-14T11:53:28","modified_gmt":"2013-10-14T15:53:28","slug":"louis-joblot-the-other-father-of-microscopy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/2013\/10\/14\/louis-joblot-the-other-father-of-microscopy\/","title":{"rendered":"Louis Joblot – the other father of microscopy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Louis Joblot (1645-1723) is often neglected in the history of microscopy. A contemporary of Leeuwenhoek, who is recognized as the first to observe and record microbes, Joblot, in his own right, was an equally innovative inventor and theorist. A professor of mathematics at the \u00c9cole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Joblot explored and lectured on perspective, optics, and geometry, leading to his personal pursuit of microscopy during the period of 1680-1716. His landmark work from 1718 presented his own developments and modifications of the microscope, observations of protozoa, and his opposition to the theory of spontaneous generation. Joblot’s new microscope permitted precise focusing by eliminating stray light and enabling the mounting of a diverse array of specimens. The microbes became clearer and more visible. He would refer to the microbes he observed in terms such as “fishes” or “caterpillars”, or even provide mirthful names such as “slipper”, “gobbler”, or “bagpipes”.“<\/em><\/p>\n

Public reaction to these microbes:<\/p>\n

“In Paris, towards the end of the month of<\/em>
\nJune of the same year, and all the rest of the<\/em>
\nsummer, it was difficult to find vinegar in<\/em>
\nwhich there were no eels. Thus many people<\/em>
\nwho had seen them with our Microscopes<\/em>
\nstopped eating salad. I told them that the eels<\/em>
\nwere about a hundred thousand times smaller<\/em>
\nthan they appeared with these instruments;<\/em>
\nthat the heat of the stomach killed them in an<\/em>
\ninstant<\/em>…”—<\/strong>(translated from the French)<\/em><\/p>\n

Joblot’s florid description of the creatures visible under the microscope:<\/p>\n

“…in an instant a dozen fishes differing<\/em>
\nfrom each other and so strange to see and<\/em>
\nobserve that I do not think that the entertainment<\/em>
\nof Comedy, of the Opera with all its magnificence,<\/em>
\nof rope dancers, acrobats or the animal<\/em>
\nfights that we can see in this superb City,<\/em>
\ncould be preferred to it.” —<\/strong><\/em><\/strong>(translated from the French)<\/em><\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jablot’s compound microscope design<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

observations of the common fly<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

cross-section of a hazel branch<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

dancing microbes<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
Description:<\/dt>\n
Joblot, Louis. Observations d’histoire naturelle, faites avec le microscope :sur un grand nombre d’insectes, & sur les animalcules qui se trouvent dans les liqueurs pr\u00e9par\u00e9es, & dans celles qui ne le sont pas, &c. avec la description & les usages des diff\u00e9rens microscopes, &c. Paris : Briasson, 1754-1755.\u00a0<\/dd>\n
Persistent Link:<\/dt>\n
http:\/\/nrs.harvard.edu\/urn-3:FHCL:10937244<\/strong><\/a><\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n
Repository:<\/dt>\n
Widener Library<\/dd>\n
Institution:<\/dt>\n
Harvard University<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Louis Joblot (1645-1723) is often neglected in the history of microscopy. A contemporary of Leeuwenhoek, who is recognized as the first to observe and record microbes, Joblot, in his own right, was an equally innovative inventor and theorist. A professor of mathematics at the \u00c9cole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Joblot explored and lectured on perspective, optics, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1928"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3657,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1928\/revisions\/3657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}