Genre:

Illustration, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Illustrators:

C H B *

Subjects:

Societies, Scientific Practitioners, Controversy, Light, Electricity, Chemistry, Instruments, Heat, Military Technology, Darwinism, Evolution, Human Development, Geology, Comparative Anatomy, Aeronautics

    A satirical cartoon of the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Nottingham, dominated by the figures of the association's president, William R Grove and the aged David Brewster. In his hand, Grove holds a lighted taper which causes a bright illumination in the centre of the picture and from which all the other characters stand back in awe. Beneath Grove are Leyden jars and other electrical apparatus, while Brewster is surrounded by symbols of his research, including a prism (which he holds in his hand), a stereoscope, and chemical retorts. In the lower left-hand corner, John Tyndall is seen exclaiming 'All hot' and unveiling an apparatus for studying the absorption of radiation. Small spheres and broken ships (all with legs) are seen running away from the centre. In the lower right-hand corner a figure, probably Frederick A Abel, grapples with some fabric marked 'Gun-Cotton', Thomas H Huxley is entangled with a few monkeys, and two telescopes are shown having a sword fight with a human figure. Receding from the top of Grove's illumination are the grim reaper, Roderick I Murchison, Andrew C Ramsay, and an astonished Richard Owen, clutching a skeleton. Floating above this activity is a small balloon whose face is possibly that of James Glaisher.