ABSTRACT This article examines the images sketched by the palaeontologist Robert Broom (based in South Africa) in his correspondence to the scientists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in the early-twentieth century. The drawings in Broom’s correspondence demonstrate a number of features around ‘the object habit,’ most notably how the construction and exchange of images were crucial aspects of studying, defining and understanding scientific objects, and built networks and relationships between scientists. The article examines how claims to truth and authority in early-twentieth century scientific discourse could operate around objects, and how private correspondence could simultaneously serve as an avenue to present apparently ‘objective’ data, emphasise key features of analysis, or engage in more speculative theorising.

中文翻译：

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罗伯特·布鲁姆的史前草图：20 世纪初通过插图传达物体

摘要 本文考察了 20 世纪初古生物学家罗伯特·布鲁姆（常驻南非）在与纽约美国自然历史博物馆的科学家的通信中所描绘的图像。Broom 信件中的图纸展示了围绕“物体习惯”的许多特征，最显着的是图像的构建和交换如何成为研究、定义和理解科学对象以及建立科学家之间的网络和关系的关键方面。这篇文章探讨了 20 世纪早期科学话语中对真理和权威的主张如何围绕对象运作，以及私人通信如何同时作为一种途径来呈现明显的“客观”数据，强调分析的关键特征，或参与更多的推测。理论化。