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Strata: William Smith’s Geological Maps
Lavishly illustrated with full-color geological maps, tables of strata, geological cross-sections, photographs, and fossil illustrations from the archives of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Geological Society, the London Natural History Museum, and others, Strata provides the first complete presentation of the revolutionary work of nineteenth-century geologist William Smith, the so-called father of English geology. It illustrates the story of his career, from apprentice to surveyor for hire and fossil collector, from his 1799 geological map of Bath and table of strata to his groundbreaking 1815 geological strata map, and from his imprisonment for debt to his detailed stratigraphical county maps.
This sumptuous volume begins with an introduction by Douglas Palmer that places Smith’s work in the context of earlier, concurrent, and subsequent ideas regarding the structure and natural processes of the earth, geographical mapping, and biostratigraphical theories. The book is then organized into four parts, each beginning with four sheets from Smith’s hand-colored, 1815 strata map, accompanied by related geological cross-sections and county maps, and followed by fossil illustrations by Smith contemporary James Sowerby, all organized by strata. Essays between each section explore the aims of Smith’s work and its application in the fields of mining, agriculture, cartography and hydrology. Strata concludes with reflections on Smith’s later years as an itinerant geologist and surveyor, plagiarism by a rival, receipt of the first Wollaston Medal in recognition of his achievements, and the influence of his geological mapping and biostratigraphical theories on the sciences—all of which culminated in the establishment of the modern geological timescale.
Featuring a foreword by Robert Macfarlane, Strata is a glorious testament to the lasting geological and illustrative genius of William Smith, a collection as colossal and awe-inspiring as the layers of the Earth themselves.
This sumptuous volume begins with an introduction by Douglas Palmer that places Smith’s work in the context of earlier, concurrent, and subsequent ideas regarding the structure and natural processes of the earth, geographical mapping, and biostratigraphical theories. The book is then organized into four parts, each beginning with four sheets from Smith’s hand-colored, 1815 strata map, accompanied by related geological cross-sections and county maps, and followed by fossil illustrations by Smith contemporary James Sowerby, all organized by strata. Essays between each section explore the aims of Smith’s work and its application in the fields of mining, agriculture, cartography and hydrology. Strata concludes with reflections on Smith’s later years as an itinerant geologist and surveyor, plagiarism by a rival, receipt of the first Wollaston Medal in recognition of his achievements, and the influence of his geological mapping and biostratigraphical theories on the sciences—all of which culminated in the establishment of the modern geological timescale.
Featuring a foreword by Robert Macfarlane, Strata is a glorious testament to the lasting geological and illustrative genius of William Smith, a collection as colossal and awe-inspiring as the layers of the Earth themselves.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 23, 2020
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191 people want to read
About the author
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
4 books1 followerThe Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 4, 2021
It is an absolutely beautiful book! Thorough research, engaging writing, imaginative presentation and the highest production standards. An absolute must for every Earth Scientist (amateur or professional). It’s also a rare treat for lovers of maps, history and beautiful books.
Content
My favourite thing about this book is how full a picture it presents of Smith’s work! Not just the maps themselves – which are stunningly reproduced to show all the detail – but the wealth of information about Smith’s life and significance of his work. STRATA is a real team effort with content provided by experts from learned organisations such as the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the History of Geology Group. The volume opens with a foreword from Robert MacFarlane describing the nature of geology and the significance of Smith’s work as a terranaut. This is followed by an Introduction by Douglas Palmer which sets Smith’s mapping in context of geological knowledge at the time. The different sections of Smith’s map are then presented and each section is interwoven with a chapter detailing an aspect of Smith’s life. The chapters are: Apprentice, Mineral Prospector (both by Peter Wrigley), Field Work (by Dave Williams), Cartographer (by Tom Sharpe), Fossil Collector (by Jill Darrell and Diana Clements), Well Sinker (by John Mather) and Mentor (by John Henry).
Presentation
The text is accompanied by a wealth of photographic material. This includes full page photographs of the Smith fossil collection, archive material (diaries, letters), field sketches and portraits. There are also useful tables and charts. All of the text is written in an accessible and engaging style; so it is suitable for non-experts as well as professional geologists.
STRATA’s production values are very high. The volume is large, measuring approximately, 42 cms high and 27 cms wide. At over 250 pages it is quite hefty. The paper stock is excellent quality and the photographs and maps are beautifully reproduced. There is also a card included, which could be used as a bookmark, with the succession of strata on one side and the stratigraphic layers and corresponding colours on the reverse. Fans of pretty endpapers will not be disappointed either!
Content
My favourite thing about this book is how full a picture it presents of Smith’s work! Not just the maps themselves – which are stunningly reproduced to show all the detail – but the wealth of information about Smith’s life and significance of his work. STRATA is a real team effort with content provided by experts from learned organisations such as the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the History of Geology Group. The volume opens with a foreword from Robert MacFarlane describing the nature of geology and the significance of Smith’s work as a terranaut. This is followed by an Introduction by Douglas Palmer which sets Smith’s mapping in context of geological knowledge at the time. The different sections of Smith’s map are then presented and each section is interwoven with a chapter detailing an aspect of Smith’s life. The chapters are: Apprentice, Mineral Prospector (both by Peter Wrigley), Field Work (by Dave Williams), Cartographer (by Tom Sharpe), Fossil Collector (by Jill Darrell and Diana Clements), Well Sinker (by John Mather) and Mentor (by John Henry).
Presentation
The text is accompanied by a wealth of photographic material. This includes full page photographs of the Smith fossil collection, archive material (diaries, letters), field sketches and portraits. There are also useful tables and charts. All of the text is written in an accessible and engaging style; so it is suitable for non-experts as well as professional geologists.
STRATA’s production values are very high. The volume is large, measuring approximately, 42 cms high and 27 cms wide. At over 250 pages it is quite hefty. The paper stock is excellent quality and the photographs and maps are beautifully reproduced. There is also a card included, which could be used as a bookmark, with the succession of strata on one side and the stratigraphic layers and corresponding colours on the reverse. Fans of pretty endpapers will not be disappointed either!
Want to read
February 26, 2021Reviewer Jenny Uglow likes this oversize book a lot:
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021...
It's quite a story. Pioneering Geologist Smith had a pretty hard life, ending up in Debtor's Prison at one low point.
Excerpt:
"The 1815 map was not only innovative and beautiful but also huge, made up of fifteen large sheets and measuring eight and a half by six feet. Subscribers could buy the sheets unbound for five guineas, or in more costly formats: the grandest, at £12, displayed the entire map on canvas, varnished, on spring rollers. One might think it impossible to represent all this in a book without diminishing its crazy grandeur, yet somehow Strata succeeds. It feels as massive as the books of Smith’s day (it is an Imperial quarto format, 10 1/2 by 14 3/8 inches, and 1.1 inches thick). Reading it, I longed for one of the cushions that archivists rest precious books on, with a string of beads to hold down the page.
Yet “reading it” isn’t quite the right phrase. The experience is more like going to an exhibition, stopping to pore over a map, skipping over a diagram, going back to check labels, taking a breath before entering another room. Strata is far more than a coffee-table tome (why don’t we have an English term for these large-format books, to match the French beaux livres?). While it nods to Smith’s Regency period, the design is spacious, airy, and modern. Full-page and double-page spreads of the 1815 map blaze with particularly vibrant color, due to a lucky stroke of history; the copy reproduced in Strata was bound in sections as a book and has lain ever since in the library of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, never exposed to the sun. Other treasures too emerge into the light: Smith’s county maps of 1819–1824, his elegant cross-sections of specific areas, his diagrams of coal seams and canals and drainage systems. Interspersed with these are stunning photographs of the fossils that he found in each stratum, often placed opposite James Sowerby’s superb engravings of the originals."
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021...
It's quite a story. Pioneering Geologist Smith had a pretty hard life, ending up in Debtor's Prison at one low point.
Excerpt:
"The 1815 map was not only innovative and beautiful but also huge, made up of fifteen large sheets and measuring eight and a half by six feet. Subscribers could buy the sheets unbound for five guineas, or in more costly formats: the grandest, at £12, displayed the entire map on canvas, varnished, on spring rollers. One might think it impossible to represent all this in a book without diminishing its crazy grandeur, yet somehow Strata succeeds. It feels as massive as the books of Smith’s day (it is an Imperial quarto format, 10 1/2 by 14 3/8 inches, and 1.1 inches thick). Reading it, I longed for one of the cushions that archivists rest precious books on, with a string of beads to hold down the page.
Yet “reading it” isn’t quite the right phrase. The experience is more like going to an exhibition, stopping to pore over a map, skipping over a diagram, going back to check labels, taking a breath before entering another room. Strata is far more than a coffee-table tome (why don’t we have an English term for these large-format books, to match the French beaux livres?). While it nods to Smith’s Regency period, the design is spacious, airy, and modern. Full-page and double-page spreads of the 1815 map blaze with particularly vibrant color, due to a lucky stroke of history; the copy reproduced in Strata was bound in sections as a book and has lain ever since in the library of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, never exposed to the sun. Other treasures too emerge into the light: Smith’s county maps of 1819–1824, his elegant cross-sections of specific areas, his diagrams of coal seams and canals and drainage systems. Interspersed with these are stunning photographs of the fossils that he found in each stratum, often placed opposite James Sowerby’s superb engravings of the originals."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews