Category: history of science

• Basil Valentine – No Relation

  Posted on Feb 14th

  Among the strengths of the Duveen Alchemy and Chemistry Collection are numerous works attributed to one Basil Valentine (Basilius Valentinus), nearly as mysterious […]

• Lunar Eclipses as Viewed from Special Collections

  Posted on Sep 27th

  Tonight’s lunar eclipse, which coincides with what is known as a harvest moon, prompts us to offer several examples of depictions of lunar eclipses […]

• Volta and Inflammable Airs

  Posted on Feb 18th

  Today’s Google doodle honoring the 270th birthday of Alessandro Volta prompted us to explore works by Volta in two of our outstanding […]

• Snow Supplement

  Posted on Dec 23rd

  Since we in Madison are not destined to have much if any snow this week, enjoying instead temperatures in the upper 30s […]

• Secrets Reveal’d

  Posted on Dec 11th

  We are delighted to announce that a digital version of our copy of the intriguingly titled Secrets reveal’d — with copious annotations by […]

• Pi Day in Special Collections

  Posted on Mar 14th

  In honor of Pi Day (March 14 = 3/14) we offer two excerpts from 18th-century mathematics books in our holdings. The first, […]

• A change in the weather

  Posted on Dec 27th

  Winter weather in Madison — of which we’ve had plenty recently — usually brings a dramatic drop in humidity. And apropos of […]

• Last Week for Exhibit “On the Sunny Side”

  Posted on Oct 1st

  This will be the last week for our exhibit “On the Sunny Side,” showcasing books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, and other materials from […]

• Orreries, from our Current Exhibit, “On the Sunny Side”

  Posted on Sep 4th

  In our current exhibit entitled “On the Sunny Side,” we’re pleased to be able to display a “Copernican model orrery” kindly lent […]

• “Jesuits and Visual Culture”: Center for Early Modern Studies Conference in Special Collections

  Posted on May 4th

  On May 7, 2013, Special Collections will host a full-day session of a conference entitled ” ‘Spiritual Optiks‘: Jesuits and Visual Culture.” This conference, […]

• Regiomontanus in the Nuremberg Chronicle

  Posted on May 4th

  In a recent colloquium held in Special Collections, Prof. Michael Shank of the Department of History of Science, pointed out the portrait […]

• “Parts and Wholes” Exhibit Ends on Friday, March 29

  Posted on Mar 21st

  The Special Collections exhibit “Parts and Wholes” ends next Friday, March 29. We hope you will take the opportunity during spring break […]