Re-visiting the ridiculed rival of Leeuwenhoek: Louis Joblot (1645-1723)

Abstract

Louis Joblot published one of the first manuals of microscopy in 1718, just a few years before both he and Leeuwenhoek died. It contained Joblot's microscope designs and his extensive observations on microorganisms including experiments on spontaneous generation. Joblot's work and his observations have often been overlooked, misdated, and denigrated. This is due to attention given to a few apparently fanciful drawings of microorganisms, and the identification of his work as appearing in a posthumous 1754 edition. The second edition not only placed Joblot's work as decades after Leeuwenhoek's death, but was also expanded by the publisher to include unattributed material from famous sources. Here an attempt is made to shine a light on Joblot's work and bring it out of Leeuwenhoek's shadow.

Keywords: History of protistology; Paramecium; infusoria; microscopy; scientific illustration; spontaneous generation.