The Light of Science

In our latest mini-catalogue we present a selection of weird and wonderful prints of scientific interest. The catalogue includes caricatures satirising some of the monumental scientific breakthroughs of the 19th century alongside portraits of significant academic figures and other curiosities.

Please click here to download a copy of the catalogue.





Duria Antiquior
Georg Scharf after Henry Thomas de la Beche
Lithograph
c.1830
Image 228 x 319 mm, Sheet 301 x 377 mm

Duria Antiquior, or a more ancient Dorsetshire, is the first print to illustrate prehistoric life, drawn by Georg Scharf after the water colour by the geologist and paleontologist Henry Thomas De la Beche. There is no publication line but it is thought to date to 1830 or soon thereafter.

A great supporter of the work and importance of Mary Anning, of Lyme Regis, De la Beche drew a sketch, in 1830, entitled Duria Antiquior - A More Ancient Dorset, which showed Mary Anning's finds: (three types of Ichthyosaur, a Plesiosaur and Dimorphodon). It even appears to show the production of coprolites, from a terrified plesiosaur. De la Beche assisted Anning, who was having financial difficulties, by having a lithographic print made from his watercolour, and donating the proceeds from the sale of the prints to her. This became the first such scene from deep time to be widely circulated.

CW 128

Refrences: Campbell, Michael J. John Martin, 1789-1854 Creation of Light Prints and Drawing from the Campbell Collection. Valencia Madrid and Bibao, 2006.

Rudwick, Martin. Scenes from Deep Time (1992) pp. 42-47

The first and most important derivative of the Ralph Agas Oxford city plan of 1578

Printed by E.Butler and dedicated to Henry Duke of Beaufort, this elaborate and highly detailed plan was the first and most important derivative of a plan of the city by Ralph Agas in 1578 and known only from a unique example in the Bodleian Library. It is surrounded by seventeen views of the Oxford colleges taken from drawings made by John Bereblock in 1566 for the occasion f the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Oxford, and apparently much admired by the sovereign. These views were the earliest of their kind and the originals having been lost, a copy of them was presented to the Bodleian in 1630.





Whittlesey, Robert
Oxonia Antiqua Instaurata Sive Urbis & Academiae Oxoniensis Topographica...
Copper engraved
1728
660 x 955 mm on two sheets

Team GBs most sucessful Olympics

Celebrating 116 years of the Olympic Games

This week Sanders pays homage to the history of the modern Olympic Games with a informative window display celebrating not only the sports which we all still know to be included in the Games such as Boxing, Rowing & Horse Riding, but also those which no longer have a place in the Olympics.

It may be surprising that in the last century sports such as Cricket, Golf, Polo and even an Art Competition all featured in the Olympic Games.

If you are in Oxford then why not pop down to 104 High Street to brush up on your Olympic history, alternatively you can view our collection of Sporting Prints online.