To row Some Light on e Origin of Species and investigate Kelly Houle’s illuminated manuscript project.
" #$$% &'( ()*+,*- in the stalls of London a;ention to books she felt were languishing on November ./, 123. It was a ursday. It sold in obscurity or deserved special treatment. for 13 shillings. One thousand two hundred Her 5rst productions were miniature books, and 56y copies were printed, 377 of them sent o6en with an anamorphic twist. Anamorphic directly to Charles Mudie’s Lending Library artworks incorporate distorted images that for wider distribution (as much as could be can only be seen for what they are from a had, anyway, with so few copies). e book speci5c angle or through the use of mirrors was wri;en by an English naturalist
Sheets of the illuminated edition of e Origin of Species BSFBTMBSHFBTUIFVOEFSUBLJOHJUTFMGãDzDz¤dzǰJODIFT
“I started to think about the book projects Ornamentation is de rigueur in works of this I could do that would merge science and art,” sort, and the quality of the materials will match she says. Darwin centennial events were going the skill required to produce the volume: on at the same time, which suggested Darwin’s Fabriano Artistico paper made in Italy; Winsor Origin of Species . & Newton watercolours and gouache; .\k gold “I had this convergence of thinking about foil, shell gold and interference watercolours (a e Origin of Species and working in the special paint containing small ]ecks of mica to genre of botanical art,” she says. “If you’re make it iridescent). Each sheet will be .. by \7 going to choose a science book to illuminate inches, and the manuscript will be housed in with biological material, botanical art, there a large, decorated handmade clamshell box. seemed to be no other choice. . . . Once “I will design the entire book before I pen a I hit on that idea, it just didn’t let go.” single page, and I will complete the writing on And the idea is an ambitious one. e each page before adding the illuminations,” she volume, by de5nition, will be a manuscript, says. “I look forward to spending the next 5ve to illustrated with Houle’s botanical prints. 17 years creating a beautiful book in celebration of
17 Cards with illuminated illustrations of beetles were part of the appreciation contributors to Houle’s fundraising campaign received. nature and human endeavour.” She estimates the before taxes) from 1_. supporters. Supporters total cost will be between ^377,777 and ^_77,777. received art cards and prints celebrating Darwin’s In addition to the main volume, Houle plans work and her own, and the orders have been to produce 1. full-size reproductions of her keeping her busy through the winter. She’s also work featuring hand-embellished giclée prints. working to have the title page and other elements Subscribers will receive .7 to /7 ready by summer, but ful5lling pages as each chapter completes, or orders from the fundraising cam- 13 instalments delivering the book’s paign has delayed her progress. 1/ chapters, prefatory material and “Freedom of thought is Bearing this in mind, she is glossary. Houle admits, however, best promoted by the re-evaluating the project’s schedule. that she has never undertaken an e 5rst three chapters are tenta- gradual illumination illuminated manuscript before. tively set for completion in .71/, Despite learning calligraphy in of men’s minds, which a few months later than planned, Grade 3 11 Houle (le") expects to work long hours in her studio (right ) producing the illuminated manuscript edition of e Origin of Species over the coming decade. caught in the cross5re. Although the arts may Bible, and that illuminating a manuscript well be called areligious, Houle o6en 5nds would only reinforce that perception.” herself encountering a charge that she’s mak- She herself disagrees, noting that monaster- ing e Origin of Species into a sacred text. ies illuminated manuscripts that were neither “Some people say it’s not a good idea,” scripture nor liturgical works: bestiaries and she said. “ ey see it as making e Origin of herbaria, for example, as well as early works of Species into a Bible, which it isn’t. But there’s science. “ ere’s a history of illuminating secular always that criticism that scientists have their manuscripts that people probably don’t know about,” she says. “But there are illuminated science books and it seems to be the direction, historically, that these books were going.” “When on board H.M.S. ‘Beagle,’ is is the foundation on which she is as naturalist, I was struck with building Peter Mitham is editor of Amphora. 1.