Science Art: Braunfische oder Balenen (Plate 98), Johann Saur (after Lakas Schan), Fischbuch, das ist, aussführliche Beschreibung und lebendige…, 1598

A medieval hunt for the “brownfish, or baleen.” Centuries before we got our light and energy by burning petroleum, we got it from whales.

This illustration comes from a series of books considered “the basis of modern zoology,” despite having mermaids and the Beast of Revelation among the squid and whale-hunters.