Robert Broom’s prehistoric sketches: conveying objects through illustration in the early-twentieth century

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the images sketched by the palaeontologist Robert Broom (based in South Africa) in his correspondence to the scientists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in the early-twentieth century. The drawings in Broom’s correspondence demonstrate a number of features around ‘the object habit,’ most notably how the construction and exchange of images were crucial aspects of studying, defining and understanding scientific objects, and built networks and relationships between scientists. The article examines how claims to truth and authority in early-twentieth century scientific discourse could operate around objects, and how private correspondence could simultaneously serve as an avenue to present apparently ‘objective’ data, emphasise key features of analysis, or engage in more speculative theorising.