17-03-2019, 05:04 AM
Kircher was prolific and I tried to figure out, for several years, from reading his correspondence, his biographies, etc., etc., just how much of his work was really his.
I get the feeling he used a lot of resources "around" him (people (maybe Jesuit brother assistants?), existing references, etc.). He also kept up a lively correspondence with other scholars, some of whom passed him ideas and additional resources. Many of the books in his library apparently were gifts or bequests.
So... while it's something that's really difficult to determine, I suspect he was more of an overseer than a hands-on guy. He probably provided guidelines, notations, chunks of text, and then left it to the engravers, the editors, the publishers to do the rest.
I'm not certain of any of this, it's just the impression I got after a couple of years of looking into it (and this is still ongoing because there's WAY more information now on Kircher, and much more of his correspondence online now than there was then).
As for the engravings, I'm almost certain they derive at least in part from previous writings and illustrations, which is why I hunted so diligently for predecessors. Many of them have the look and feel of more professional versions of some of the concepts illustrated in the VMS.
I get the feeling he used a lot of resources "around" him (people (maybe Jesuit brother assistants?), existing references, etc.). He also kept up a lively correspondence with other scholars, some of whom passed him ideas and additional resources. Many of the books in his library apparently were gifts or bequests.
So... while it's something that's really difficult to determine, I suspect he was more of an overseer than a hands-on guy. He probably provided guidelines, notations, chunks of text, and then left it to the engravers, the editors, the publishers to do the rest.
I'm not certain of any of this, it's just the impression I got after a couple of years of looking into it (and this is still ongoing because there's WAY more information now on Kircher, and much more of his correspondence online now than there was then).
As for the engravings, I'm almost certain they derive at least in part from previous writings and illustrations, which is why I hunted so diligently for predecessors. Many of them have the look and feel of more professional versions of some of the concepts illustrated in the VMS.