Micrographie des poudres officinales c. 1896

Curator: This is a quite delicate work. A real time capsule from around 1896: “Micrographie des Poudres Officinales” (Micrography of Medicinal Powders). Editor: There’s a definite aura of age and scholarship about it, almost melancholic with that pale, faded paper. It brings to mind a secluded apothecary, don't you think? Curator: I agree. Its authors are listed as A. Herlant and L. Herlant & G. Billen. It seems A. Herlant taught at the Université de Bruxelles. Editor: Structurally, it's quite clever; this sort of 'mise en abyme'. We have the title page promising photo-micrographic plates, essentially revealing a world normally hidden. Curator: Right! Forty of them, no less! Think about that promise, revealed in a printed book. Photography was relatively new, and here it is merged with microscopic viewing, so you are seeing another dimension on paper. Editor: Consider the formal composition, too. The text is arranged with careful symmetry. Even the small publisher’s device down at the bottom contributes to the balance. There's a conscious harmony here, an order reflected even in the arrangement of text. Curator: Order is a strong word, isn’t it? Perhaps I see a flicker of romance here. Look at the book's spine – evidence of use, someone actually consulting these micrographs! Imagining their dedicated focus with it sends me spiraling back to the Belle Époque. Editor: Very interesting. My perception focuses on the paper, the clear intention and careful execution. How time and use affect it; these yellow stains tell so much, don't you agree? Curator: Absolutely! "Micrographie des Poudres Officinales", where art meets the microscopic, with time its unexpected third collaborator. Editor: Agreed! A convergence where we witness not only images of the minute but also the material evidence of time.