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Brian J Ford, How Robert Hooke Observed the Flea in 1665, Microscopy Today, Volume 33, Issue 2, March 2025, Pages 31–33, https://doi.org/10.1093/mictod/qaaf010
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Extract
Introduction
On January 21, 1665, in London, Samuel Pepys had been reading his newly purchased copy of Micrographia, replete with stunning engravings of the world under the microscope [1]. Pepys opened his diary and wrote that this was “the most ingenious book that I ever read in my life.” He drew specific attention to the fold-out engraving of the flea, measuring some 20 inches (50 cm) long and commented, “The flea is so pretty a thing to look on through a microscope, that it makes me sorry I did not see it sooner” [2] (Figure 1).
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It is an extraordinary illustration; many of those who purchased Micrographia cut out the page and had it framed to hang on the wall. The published illustration is exquisitely detailed and had been engraved from drawings made by Robert Hooke at the Royal Society. Hooke’s compound microscope, manufactured by Christopher Cock in London, is featured prominently on the first page of this book — yet I discovered that his microscope could reveal none of the fine details in the engraving. Robert Hooke could not have seen what he portrayed [3].
