Illustrations for m. Lomonosov's monograph "testing the cause of the northern lights", which he began in the last years of his life, in 1763-1764 (it remained in drafts and plans, and was planned for three volumes). The manuscript ends with a mention of the "figures" of the northern lights that he had sketched and their "descriptions". Lomonosov had in mind the sketches of the northern lights that he had made with his own hand, along with his explanations. The subsequent history of lomonosov's drawings is as follows. In may 1764, he presented them to the academy. The journal of the chancellery of the academy of sciences dated may 24, 1764, recorded the following on this occasion: "state councilor lomonosov, in the presence of the meeting, proposed drawings of the images of the northern lights, observed by him in st. Petersburg in different years, and demanded that they be engraved on copper. “they ordered:. . To cut out” (bilyarsky, p. 640). The execution of lomonosov’s order was entrusted to the engraver i. Shtenglin, who, according to the testimony of academician ya. Ya. Shtelin from december 10, 1764, “of the first five plates of representations of special northern photographs ordered from him based on the observations of mr. State councilor and professor lomonosov, he made to his, mr. State councilor and professor lomonosov’s, satisfaction” (bilyarsky, p. 687). Lomonosov’s death interrupted his work on the work “testing the cause of the northern lights”. Eleven copper plates with engravings of the northern lights observed by lomonosov were, however, made. On january 9, 1766, the possibility of their publication was discussed at a meeting of the conference. The chancellery of the academy of sciences requested the opinion of the academicians on what to do with these copper plates, cut at the expense of the academy, and whether any of the academicians would like to undertake the compilation of their description, with which lomonosov’s observations of these rare phenomena could be published, if the academicians consider them worthy of publication. Having examined the plates, the academicians expressed the opinion that the submission to print and publication of lomonosov’s observations, in the form of images accurately described by him, would bring great benefit and great glory to the academy, especially since lomonosov collected only rare phenomena of the northern lights, which were not so easily or not at all observed by other scientists in europe. Since, however, without the most careful description these tables, apparently, will be completely impossible to use, then lomonosov’s widow or count orlov, the owner of lomonosov’s manuscripts, should be asked to provide the academy with lomonosov’s russian description; “the academicians will be able to take care of translating the description into latin and printing it” (protocols of the conference, vol. Ii, p. 556). The academicians refused the chancellery’s proposal to compile a description of lomonosov’s drawings, citing the impossibility of doing so. A report by archivist ungebauer has been preserved in the files of the chancellery of the academy of sciences, stating that he had asked lomonosov’s widow, e. Lomonosova, whether she had descriptions of his drawings of the northern lights made by lomonosov; however, e. Lomonosova could only indicate that all of her late husband’s papers were kept by g. G. Orlov (see bilyarsky, p. 747). It is unknown whether orlov was asked about this, but the printing of lomonosov’s drawings was not carried out at that time. Copper plates with engraved images of the northern lights were found by b. N. Menshutkin and published partially in 1911, and in full only in 1934 in the academic edition of lomonosov's works (akad. Ed. , vol. Vi, pp. 238-239). These eleven 18th-century copper plates with images of the northern lights, engraved by order and under the direct supervision of lomonosov, are kept in leningrad, in the m. V. Lomonosov museum. In this volume, prints from these plates are published as an appendix to the work in question. Source: http://lomonosov. Niv. Ru/lomonosov/nauka/po-fizike-i-himii-1753-1765/science-28. Htm. Date: 18th century.
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