Perfect Mechanics: Instrument Makers at the Royal Society of London in the

(Docent Press) This book looks at Georgian “big science” and the starring roles played by London instrument makers in the major scientific expeditions of the time. These instrument makers, honored by the Royal Society through fellowship and the awarding of the Copley Medal, were increasingly marginalized by the gentlemanly FRS after 1800. The tensions between commerce and science, mechanical and craft production, and social classes brought an abrupt halt to this dynamic and inventive period. Sorrenson manages the University of Auckland Foundation in New Zealand and its endowment fund.