Physiologie du Cocon et du Fil de Soie
Jacques-Michel-Edouard Duseigneur French
Not on view
Divorced from the context of a study devoted to sericulture, or silk farming, many of the photographs in this book might just as easily illustrate a surrealist work from the 1930s. Alongside more conventional studies of silk threads (some made with the help of a solar microscope) appear neatly arranged branches cradling various stages of cocoons, some of which have been cut open to reveal the pupae within. Ironically, each branch is neatly tied with a bow of silk ribbon.
The author of the book, Duseigneur-Kléber, was a silk merchant from Lyon known for various improvements to the silk industry. He likely made the photographs with the help of the French chemist and photographer, Alphone Louis Poitevin (1819 – 1882)