The September issue of the British Journal for the History of Science is now available.

I’m especially pleased to announce that this is a special issue, focusing on The Issue of Duplicates, the product of the labours of guest editors Ina Heumann, Anne Greenwood MacKinney and Rainer Buschmann.

As they explain:

“This special issue represents an intellectual investigation into the history of duplicate objects and duplicate practices across collection-based disciplines during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The contributions examine the political, economic and epistemic factors that have shaped how people and collection institutions have deemed objects to be the same or different, both in the natural as well as the social sciences. With an interdisciplinary perspective, the authors featured in this issue approach a broad range of duplicates, from zoological and botanical specimens, ethnographic artefacts, to photographs representing those artefacts. Moreover, they explore the constellation of practices associated with the collection, storage, examination, valuation, politicization, dispersal and distribution of duplicate objects. By centring duplicate histories and scrutinizing the complex ontological status of these objects, the case studies bring to light not only the history of empires, political decrees, and institutional agendas, but also the history of the small-scale, but no less consequential labor in the field and in the collection. The studies also make visible the colonial infrastructures and logistical networks connecting actors and collected objects across sites like Amani, Berlin, the Trobriand Islands, London, Haida Gwaii and Washington, D.C. The issue of duplicates is richly illustrated and will appeal broadly to historians and collection professionals in the natural and social sciences.”

Readers will note that – for reasons of space – there are no book reviews in this issue. December will see their return, and will contain the last review section produced by the current team of Samuel Robinson, Amy Chambers and their colleagues. I am extremely grateful to them for all they’ve done during the pandemic to keep the book reviews coming!

As ever, you can find the link to our list of books available to review here – please let us know if you’d be interested in acquiring a copy of any of these books in return for a short review!

Best wishes

Amanda Rees

BJHS Editor