John Herschel; Exterior view of the Amphitheatre; Nimes; September 21; 1826; pencilon paper; camera lucida drawing; 9 7/8x 15 3/16 in. (25.1x 38.6 cm); Sir John Herschel was one of the most accomplished men of science in nineteenth-century Britain. He was especially famous as an astronomer; but also worked in math; chemistry; and botany. As a meticulous draftsman; he created drawings of botanical specimens; landscapes; and the built environment; often aided by the use of an optical device known as a camera lucida. This drawing depicts the ancient Roman amphitheater in Nimes; France. Built in the first or second century CE; it is one of the best preserved Roman ruins in France and was in Herschel's day a frequent destination for artists and travelers on the Grand Tour. Herschel visited Nimes in 1826. He drew the exterior view of the amphitheater and annotated it with a mathematical inscription in the lower left--an indication that he was using the camera lucida to make perspectival calculations.