The ‘invisible hands’ depicting early electricity: the careers of james mynde and john ingram at the royal society and the académie royale des sciences

Abstract While the historiography of eighteenth-century electricity has consolidated over the past fifty years, scholarly attention remains focused on natural philosophers, largely overlooking the hidden artisans behind early scientific imagery in this field. This paper addresses this gap by reconstructing the institutional trajectories of two British illustrators and engravers: James Mynde (1702–1770) and John Ingram (1721–ca 1776). Drawing upon extensive archival research at the Royal Society and the Académie Royale des Sciences, this study recovers their professional routines and institutional ties between the 1740s and 1760s, amid a rapid expansion in studies on electricity. As the primary engravers for the Philosophical Transactions and the Histoire et Mémoires, respectively, Mynde and Ingram produced virtually all electrical imagery published by these societies during this early stage of studies in electricity. This historical analysis reveals that producing these images involved diverse factors far removed from conceptual debates regarding what electricity was. Ultimately, it demonstrates how Mynde's and Ingram's work actively built a distinct iconography that underscored the empirical and captivating nature of electricity, highlighting the impact of these ‘invisible hands’ on the circulation of scientific knowledge.