Figuier Collection

Socrates, caricature
Socrates. Caricature of the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates (c.470-399 BC). Socrates is credited with introducing a new and critical attitude in philosophy and science

Socrates, Ancient Greek philosopher
Socrates (c.470-399 BC), Ancient Greek philosopher, credited with introducing a new and critical attitude in philosophy and science

Tsar Nicholas I inaugurating the semaphore telegraph line between Moscow and Warsaw in 1833 (engraving)
541879 Tsar Nicholas I inaugurating the semaphore telegraph line between Moscow and Warsaw in 1833 (engraving); (add.info.: Tsar Ncholas I (1796-1855)

Claude Chappe's (1763-1805) aerial telegraph (semaphore) system in use in Algeria. c1870. Engraving
541882 Claude Chappe's (1763-1805) aerial telegraph (semaphore) system in use in Algeria. c1870. Engraving; (add.info.: From Louis Figuier Les Merveilles de la Science)

Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) in Finland, 1736. 1874 (engraving from Vies des Savants Illustres du)
540692 Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) in Finland, 1736. 1874 (engraving from Vies des Savants Illustres du XVIIIe Siecle, Louis Figuier, Paris); (add.info.: In 1736 Maupertuis)

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1894), French chemist, demonstrating his discovery of oxygen, 1776
539933 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1894), French chemist, demonstrating his discovery of oxygen, 1776. 1874 (engraving from Louis Figuier Vies des Savant Illustres du XVIIIe Siecle)

Galileo observing the swaying of the chandelier in Pisa Cathedral, c.1584 (engraving)
540685 Galileo observing the swaying of the chandelier in Pisa Cathedral, c.1584 (engraving); (add.info.: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Italian astronomer

Artist's impression of Claude Chappe demonstrating his optical telegraph system in 1793, c.1870. Engraving
540001 Artist's impression of Claude Chappe demonstrating his optical telegraph system in 1793, c.1870. Engraving; (add.info)

Guillaume Francois Rouelle (1703-1770) French chemist. 1874 (engraving, Paris)
541186 Guillaume Francois Rouelle (1703-1770) French chemist. 1874 (engraving, Paris); (add.info.: Lavoisier's teacher: Professor (demonstrateur) at Jardin du Roi, Paris

Rene-Antoine Ferchault de Reamur (1683-1757) French physicist. 1874 (wood engraving)
541180 Rene-Antoine Ferchault de Reamur (1683-1757) French physicist. 1874 (wood engraving, from Vies des Savants Illustres by Louis Figuier)

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) demonstrating his telescope, Venice, 1609, 19th century (engraving)
540675 Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) demonstrating his telescope, Venice, 1609, 19th century (engraving); (add.info.: In this artist's reconstruction Galileo, Italian astronomer)

Galileo Galilei facing the Inquisition, 1870 (engraving)
541121 Galileo Galilei facing the Inquisition, 1870 (engraving); (add.info.: Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist)

Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), 1891. Creator: Figuier, Louis (1819-1894)
Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), 1891. Private Collection

Galileo facing the Inquisition, Rome, 1633 (1870). Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist

Figuier colossal dans la baie Anna-Maria, a Nouka-Hiva, Oceanie (engraving)
3645526 Figuier colossal dans la baie Anna-Maria, a Nouka-Hiva, Oceanie (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Figuier colossal dans la baie Anna-Maria)

Fig, engraved by Johann Jakob Haid (1704-67) plate 73 from a botanical book, pub
STC101456 Fig, engraved by Johann Jakob Haid (1704-67) plate 73 from a botanical book, pub. by Augustus Vind (coloured engraving) by German School

The Fig Tree, plate 125 from A Curious Herbal
STC176416 The Fig Tree, plate 125 from A Curious Herbal, published 1782 (colour engraving) by Blackwell, Elizabeth (1707-1758); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; Scottish, out of copyright

Prickly pear (Cactus Nopal) and Cochineal Beetle (chromolitho)
735415 Prickly pear (Cactus Nopal) and Cochineal Beetle (chromolitho) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Prickly pear (Cactus Nopal) and Cochineal Beetle

HIPPARCHUS / FIGUIER
HIPPARCHUS/ASTRONOMER Greek astronomer who flourished 146 - 127 BC Date: -

NEOLITHIC FEAST / FIGUIER
A neolithic (Stone Age) feast Date: circa 3000 BC

Louis Figuier, French scientist and writer, from Les Merveilles de la Science, pub. 1870
3588306 Louis Figuier, French scientist and writer, from Les Merveilles de la Science, pub.1870 by French School, (19th century); (add.info.: Louis Figuier, 1819- 1894. French scientist and writer)

Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, demonstrating his electric pile (battery), c1800 (c1870). Voltas (1745-1827) voltaic pile, an early form of battery, was the first source of current electricity

Sectional view of a telegraph tower for Claude Chappes semaphore, 1792, (c1870). Chappes (1763-1805) system was in use in France and French colonies until about 1850

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, French chemist, demonstrating his discovery of oxygen, 1776 (1874). On the table in the right background of the picture is his calorimeter

Nicholas Lemery, French chemist, 1870. Lemery (1645-1715) was a pharmacist and lecturer in Paris. He wrote a textbook on chemistry and a treatise on the element antimony

Nicolas Lemery, French pharmacist and chemist, 1874
Nicolas Lemery (1645-1715), 1874. Lemery (1645-1715) gave popular demonstrations in his lecture room. In 1675 he published his Cours de chymie which ran to 13 editions in his lifetime

Paris Observatory in the time of Louis XIV, 17th century (1870). In 1669 Louis engaged the Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625-1712) to construct and direct the observatory

Jean Baptiste von Helmont, Belgian physician and chemist, 1870. Helmont (1579-1644) recognised that there are more gases than just air, and claimed to have coined the word gas

Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist, 1874. Spallanzani (1729-1799) worked on bacteria, disproving spontaneous generation, on digestion, where he was first to use the term gastric juice

Guillaume Francois Rouelle, 18th century French chemist, 1874. Antoine Lavoisiers teacher and Professor (demonstrateur) at the Jardin du Roi, Paris

Rene-Antoine Ferchault de Reamur, 18th century French physicist, 1874. Ferchault de Reamur (1683-1757) is shown constructing a thermometer using spirit instead of mercury

Hippocrates of Cos, Ancient Greek physician, 1866. Known as the father of medicine Hippocrates (c460-c359 BC) laid the foundations of a scientific basis for medicine

Theophrastus, Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, 1866. Theophrastus (c372-c287 BC) was a pupil of Plato and of Aristotle who he succeeded as President of the Lyceum in 323 BC

William Harvey, English physician, in Windsor Park, 17th century (1870). Harvey (1578-1657) explaining to Charles I the results of his investigations into reproduction

Sectional view of lead chambers for large-scale production of sulphuric acid, 1870. Also known as Oil of Vitriol or H2S04, sulphuric acid was one of the most important of industrial chemicals

Sectional view of Gay-Lussacs lead chambers and absorption towers, 1870. These were for the large-scale production of sulphuric acid also (Oil of Vitriol or H2SO4)

Antoine-Laurent Jussieu, French botanist, 1880. Born in Lyon, Jussieu (1748-1836), the nephew of the botanist Bernard de Jussieu, studied medicine, graduating in 1770

Bernard de Jussieu, 18th century French botanist, 1880. A member of the family of distinguished botanists, de Jussieu (1699-1777) was director of the gardens at the Trianon, Versailles

Paul Jablochkoff, Russian telegraph engineer, 1883. In 1867 Jablochkoff (1847-1914) invented the Jablochkoff candle, a carbon arc lamp. From Les Nouvelles Conquetes de la Science by Louis Figuier

Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist, 1870. Fizeau (1819-1896) measured the velocity of light on the Earths surface (1849). He used Dopplers principle to determine the velocity of stars in line of

Joseph Black visiting James Watt in his Glasgow workshop, c1760 (c1879). Artists impression of Joseph Black (1729-1799), Scottish chemist, visiting James Watt (1736-1819)

Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, French astronomer and mathematician, in Finland, 1736, (1874). In 1736 Maupertuis (1698-1759)

Galileo observing the swaying of the chandelier in Pisa Cathedral, c1584 (1870). Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist

Harvey demonstrating circulation of the blood to the College of Physicians, c1628 (1870). William Harvey (1578-1657), English physician, published his famous De motu cordis

French physicist Denis Papins, steamboat being wrecked, 1707 (1870)
French physicist Denis Papin s, steamboat being wrecked, 1707 (1870). The boatmen on the river Weser saw the boat powered by Papins (1647-1712)

Galileo demonstrating his telescope, Venice, 1609 (1870). In this artists reconstruction Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist

Denis Papin, French physicist, 1870. In 1675, Papin (1647-1712) went to London where he worked with Robert Boyle and invented the forerunner to the pressure cooker, the steam digester

Elisha Gray, American inventor, presenting the caveat for his telephone, 1876, (c1890). Gray (1835-1901) arrived at the US Patent Office at 4pm on 14 February 1876

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping

"Figuier: A Journey Through Time and Knowledge" Step into the world of Figuier, where history, science, and art intertwine to create a captivating narrative. From Socrates' profound wisdom to Galileo's battle against the Inquisition, this iconic tree has witnessed it all. In ancient Greece, Socrates pondered life's deepest questions under the shade of a figuier. His caricatured image reminds us of his enduring legacy as an influential philosopher who shaped Western thought. Traveling across continents, we find ourselves in Nouka-Hiva's Anna-Maria Bay, where a colossal figuier stands proudly. The intricate engraving captures its magnificence and highlights its significance in Oceania's cultural tapestry. Johann Jakob Haid meticulously etches the beauty of the fig fruit in plate 73 from his botanical book. This delicate portrayal showcases nature's wonders with scientific precision and artistic flair. As we delve deeper into Figuier's story, we encounter "A Curious Herbal, " featuring Plate 125 depicting The Fig Tree. Its detailed illustration offers insights into medicinal properties attributed to this remarkable plant throughout history. Nature surprises us yet again with the prickly pear cactus and its symbiotic relationship with the Cochineal Beetle showcased through vibrant chromolithography. This collaboration reveals nature's ingenuity at work. Hipparchus takes center stage alongside Figuier as their names entwine on an ancient artifact. This celestial connection hints at humanity's fascination with both astronomy and botany since time immemorial. The Neolithic Feast depicted by Figuier transports us back thousands of years when our ancestors celebrated abundance around a communal fire beneath towering figuiers—a testament to their importance in early human civilization. Louis Figuier himself emerges from Les Merveilles de la Science—an embodiment of curiosity-driven exploration that characterized his era. As a French scientist and writer, he contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and inspired generations.