Natural history collection at Rennes high school

Maritime navigation was aided greatly by the invention of the octant, predecessor of the sextant, in 1731. Up until then, it had been extremely difficult to calculate longitude which was an essential measurement when calculating the exact position of a ship and directing its route. With the octant, sailors could measure the height of the stars and determine an angular value in relation to the reference meridian.

The astronomical telescope, developed by Galileo in the 16th century and continuously improved on to this day, is a device made up of a system of glass lenses to enlarge the apparent size of faraway objects.

On the one depicted, a small telescope directly parallel to the large one, known as "finder", provides a larger field of vision for spotting a celestial object before observing it through the large telescope.

Diversity in zoological collections is vital in comparing the anatomy of species. According to school textbooks from the 19th century, the dolphin is a sea-dwelling cetacean, shaped like a fish, which enables it to survive there.

The draco lizard is a saurian reptile from the forests of Southeast Asia. It has wings with a membrane connected to the body, which means it can glide over short distances. It is kept in a jar of formaldehyde (a now-banned fluid once used to preserve specimens and zoological samples).

Collecting and keeping insects, especially butterflies, was very fashionable in the 19th century. Amateurs, specialists and researchers would build up entomological collections. For natural history lessons, teachers would use specimens of hunted butterflies that had been mounted with pins and then spread in a frame. The positioning had to be both aesthetic and educational.

In 1866, the collection of zoological, botanical and geological charts of Achille Comte saw huge success. The collection was published as large wall charts, accompanied by books to explain the captions. This one on "common" poisonous plants was the 24th botanical chart, and was printed on a black background and carefully colored.

During the 19th century, the cockchafer was considered the enemy of farming; feared as a root-eating larvae, and as an adult for eating leaves. To aid studies, Doctor Auzoux developed anatomical and deconstructable (clastic) models.

This one of a cockchafer is not life size (it is 12 times larger than an actual cockchafer) and can spread its wings.

The largest fruit in the world comes from the Seychelles. It weighs 10–25 kg and, because of its shape, is known colloquially as the 'coco-fesse'—or 'buttocks nut'. Its fibers are used to make ropes, and its shell is used to make containers. The fruit was first cited by Pierre Sonnerat in his Voyage to New Guinea (Voyage à la Nouvelle Guinée), written 1771-1772.

Many objects from the colonies made their way around Europe, especially in schools. Taxidermied animals from other climates broadened the collections in schools and museums. This provided a safe way to show "feared" species to the public. Considered "dangerous" in the 19th century, crocodilians supplied new and exceptional leathers for the production of luxury leather goods.

In the second half of the 19th century, school programs would identify zoological species by using the principles of classification. According to the system, the seal belonged to the branch of vertebrates, of the class mammal, of the order of pinnipeds. In addition to these categories, the seal was also identified among the mammals "useful to man" because of its fur and fat.