The Aquarium

The media and knowledge history of the aquarium in the 19th century.

The invention of the aquarium around 1850 made it possible to observe, explore and experience the underwater world in a completely new way. This meant a profound change not only for scientific research, but also for the presentation of maritime worlds to the public. Mareike Vennen traces the early history of the aquarium as a medium – from the first amateur scientific experiments with home aquariums in Great Britain to its distribution in Europe and beyond.
She follows human and non-human actors: hobbyists, scientists, glass plates, pumps, dripping missives, water snails and mud all make an appearance as protagonists. A series of micro-historic case histories shows which media – from field drawings to the first blurred aquarium photographs – were used to capture and pass on knowledge and ideas about life under water. The aquarium thus emerges as part of a history of ecological knowledge; its reconstruction shows how knowledge systems became dynamic in the 19th century, and how the boundaries between fields of knowledge and disciplines shifted.