All images © Nicholas Rougeux

Throughout the early 19th century, naturalist, illustrator, and mineralogist James Sowerby published 718 color renderings of minerals, which he accompanied with their characteristics, classifications, and other names. A Chicago-based designer recently reproduced those centuries-old illustrations in an expansive interactive arrangement. Nicholas Rougeux (previously) color-coded Sowerby’s depictions—a tedious process that required the designer to restore each mineral to its original hue and took four months to complete—from two compendia, British Mineralogy and Exotic Mineralogy, which were published between 1802 and 1817. The result is a magnifiable exhibit that captures the incredible diversity and detail of Sowerby’s geological studies.

Check out the eye-catching display on Rougeux’s site, and for those who want a physical copy categorizing the diverse materials, the designer is selling posters, too. Keep up with his contemporary approaches to historical scholarship on Twitter, Behance, and Instagram. (via Kottke)

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