Linnaean interiors before 1882

William H. Tipton created this photograph of Linnaean interiors to be viewed as a stereoscopic image. The bookshelves, filled with rows upon rows of bound volumes, stand here as potent symbols of accumulated knowledge and cultural memory. The image recalls the ancient Library of Alexandria, a beacon of wisdom in the classical world. We see echoes of this motif in medieval illuminated manuscripts, where books were rendered as sacred objects. In the Renaissance, the motif of books arranged in libraries came to signify the rediscovery of classical learning, and signaled a renewed commitment to intellectual pursuits. Yet here, in this photograph of Linnaean interiors, the books convey something more: a sense of the weight of tradition, the burden of knowledge passed down through generations. These Linnaean interiors evoke a deep psychological need to return to the sanctuary of the archive.