The earliest known notice of the mathematical instrument maker Michael Butterfield (ca. 1635-1724) comes from articles published in the early periodicals Journal des Sçavans and Philosophical Transactions. A levelling instrument with telescopic sights, the production of a microscopic lens and a compact hodometer gear, all made at the Faubourg Saint-Germain in Paris are presented. Later Butterfield becomes one of the most successful makers of his time in Paris, manufacturing on behalf of Cassini a silver planisphere to be offered to Louis XIV (1678-79), and many more commissions by members of the Académie des Sciences. The upcoming maker's ambition to advertise instruments of excellence and to establish priority for novelties during the late 1670s seems to match the journalists' wish to provide their readers with the latest significant inventions. What can we learn from the way the instrument maker and the authors of the notices handled the succinctness typical of these journal articles? In these densely technical texts the role played by the included engravings is crucial: their place (or their absence) needs to be examined. Thereby the particular focus will be on the specialized knowledge they presuppose both from the draftsman and the audience.