Sketch of Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh, from album of drawings with illustrations for Hutton

This remarkable long, panoramic drawing depicts a site of particular importance to Hutton. His townhouse overlooked Salisbury Crags and it was there that he found proof for his theory that heat plays an essential role in rock formation. Here and elsewhere, Clerk included figures who act as a reminder of the importance of actual encounters with places and things to anyone wishing to proclaim the ‘accuracy’ or ‘truth’ of their observations.