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Exhibit items related to Europe.

Exhibit Items

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 3  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

The Divine Proportion  Pacioli, Luca (1509)

Consider this geometrical drawing, portrayed with true perspective and a mastery of light and shadow. It comes from a treatise on art and mathematics by Luca Pacioli, yet it was not drawn by Pacioli.

An Astronomical Catechism  Whitwell, Catherine (1818)

This dialogue between a mother and her daughter offers a delightful introduction to the night sky. It contains 23 engraved plates drawn by Whitwell herself, including four hand-colored folding plates.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 4  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

The Firmament of King Sobiesci, or Map of the Heavens  Hevelius, Johann (1690)

The Uranographia of Hevelius, the most detailed and influential celestial atlas of the 17th century, contains 54 beautiful double-page engraved plates of 73 constellations, and 2 oversized folding plates of planispheres.

Secrets of Nature  van Leeuwenhoek, Antonio (1695)

Many textbooks begin their list of early microscopists with Leeuwenhoek, who published most of his discoveries in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. This volume is an anthology of many of those articles. Leeuwenhoek’s microscope had only a single, powerful lens.

The Practice of Perspective  Sirigatti, Lorenzo (1596)

This beautiful work by Sirigatti, published in 1596, brings the tradition of perspective drawing up to Galileo’s time. Sirigatti was a member of the Academy of Drawing (Accademia del Disegno), a school for artists and engineers where Galileo studied as a young man.

Astronomical Poem  Hyginus,  (1485)

Greek writers compiled ancient stories of the constellations, often in poetic form, with memorable instructions for locating bright stars and zodiac constellations. Constellations of the zodiac contain the wandering courses of the planets and the annual path of the Sun.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 5  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Treasury of Optics  al-Haytham, Ibn (1572)

The frontispiece depicts a variety of optical phenomena: Reflection. Refraction. Perspective. The rainbow. Burning mirrors.

Antonio van Leeuwenhoek Microscope replica (2015)

The Boerhaave Museum holds several of Leeuwenhoek’s original microscopes, from which this replica was created.

Atlas of the Starry Heavens  Littrow, Joseph J. von (1839)

Von Littrow, Director of the Vienna Observatory, adopted Bode’s constellation figures and star positions. In von Littrow’s atlas, the constellation figures appear faintly in the background.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 6  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Urania's Mirror with A Familiar Treatise on Astronomy  Aspin, Jehoshaphat (1825)

Constellation figures remained popular in education, as in these constellation cards which make learning the constellations easy. The set includes 32 cards, each focused upon one or a few constellations.

Treatise on Painting  da Vinci, Leonardo  (1651)

Despite a lack of publications, Leonardo’s fame grew as word of his notebooks spread. The first book by Leonardo to be printed was his Treatise on Painting, published a century after his death.

Works… A New Science  Tartaglia, Niccolo (1606)

Niccolò Tartaglia argued for the use of mathematics in physics, engineering and art. Tartaglia’s frontispiece shows Euclid guarding the gate of knowledge. Just inside, Perspectiva stands among the sciences that open the way to Philosophia.

Celestial Atlas, 1729  Flamsteed, John (1729)

A globe maker for the French royal family, J. Fortin, prepared this edition of Flamsteed’s celestial atlas in a much reduced format. Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, who oversaw the building of the Greenwich Observatory. Newton relied upon Flamsteed’s star positions in his Principia.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 7  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Preliminary Discourse for Astronomy  Hevelius, Johann (1690)

In the Prodromus, Hevelius explained the instruments and methods used to produce the star catalog. Hevelius’ Gdansk observatory, “Stellaburg,” was the best in Europe until the later national observatories of France and Britain.

A Description of the Plan of Peking, the Capital of China  Gaubil, Antoine (1748)

The Forbidden City was home to the Chinese Emperor and the political center of Chinese government for hundreds of years. Despite occasional tensions, Jesuits from Schall in the 17th century to Gaubil in the 18th century were granted admission as advisors.

Celestial Globe Gores  Coronelli, Vincenzo (1693; reprint ca. 1800)

Coronelli, a Franciscan theologian and astronomer who worked in both Italy and France, was a founder of modern geography and an influential maker of celestial and terrestrial globes.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 8  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Galileo Telescope replica ( )

The optics, leather and gold tooling of the telescope suggest how scientific instruments were crafted with a combination of engineering expertise and bookbinding arts. Galileo’s telescope included two lenses, an ocular lens near the eye, and an objective lens at the far end of the tube.

Essays of the Members of the Academy of Gelati (1671)

This is the scarce first edition of writings by a leading learned society in Bologna, the Accademia dei Gelati. The volume includes striking woodcuts by the astronomer Geminiano Montanari of white stars against a black background.

On Bees  Stelluti, Francesco (1625)

In this poster-sized work, the first publication of observations made with a microscope, Cesi and Stelluti studied the anatomy of the bee. The text includes classical references to bees as well as new knowledge, integrated in a tabular outline.

Introduction to Astronomy, 1489  Abu Ma'shar,  (1489)

Abu Ma’shar, an astronomer in 9th century Baghdad, was one of the most prolific writers on astrology during the Middle Ages. This work was cited by Albert the Great, Roger Bacon, Pierre d’Ailly, and Pico della Mirandola, among others.

The Great Art of Light and Shadow  Kircher, Athanasius (1646)

A “camera obscura” (“dark room”) consists of a box or container in which light enters via a small hole and projects an image on an opposite wall. The image will be reversed and upside-down, but its proportions will be preserved.

Giuseppe Campani Microscope replica

This is a replica of a microscope that is very much like one of the microscopes Galileo might have created. Indeed, it was once believed to have been made by Galileo, but is now attributed to Campani.

Measuring the Heavens  Bayer, Johann (1661)

In contrast to Piccolomini, who omitted constellation figures in favor of scientific accuracy, Bayer superimposed constellation figures upon the star maps without compromising positional accuracy. These figures were artfully drawn by Alexander Mair.

On Microscopy  Hooke, Robert (1665)

Hooke’s Micrographia is the most remarkable visual treatise of 17th century microscopy. In describing the appearance of cork, Hooke coined the term “cell.” Hooke’s large fold-out plate of the flea is unforgettable.

On the Fixed Stars  Piccolomini, Alessandro (1540)

In contrast to the constellation figures in Hyginus and Abu Ma’shar, Piccolomini created a star atlas, measuring the positions of the stars according to an indicated scale (specific to each plate). He designated stars by Roman letters (a, b, c, etc.) in order of apparent brightness.

Map of the Moon  Hevelius, Johann (1647)

Accurate depiction of the topography of the Moon was accomplished by mid-century in this lunar atlas by Hevelius. It set a new standard for precision that remained unmatched for a century.

The New Micrographia  Griendel, Johann Francisco (1687)

Griendel’s Micrographia nova was the German counterpart to Hooke’s Micrographia (1665). Greindel improved the objective lens. Many of his illustrations are of the same creatures examined by Hooke.

On the New Star in the Foot of the Serpent Handler  Kepler, Johann (1606)

Kepler’s star map shows the constellations of Ophiuchus (the Serpent Handler), Sagittarius and Scorpius. The Milky Way runs diagonally down from the left, and the “ecliptic,” or annual path of the Sun, runs horizontally through Sagittarius and Scorpius.

New Celestial and Terrestrial Observations  Fontana, Francesco (1646)

Inspired by Galileo, Fontana constructed his own telescope, improving the optics. Around 1629 he began a series of detailed sketches of the face of the Moon. A series of 28 copperplate engravings reveal the Moon’s surface as perceived on different dates, as well as a fold-out lunar map.

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1566  Copernicus, Nicolaus (1566)

Copernicus argued that the Sun rather than the Earth lies in the center of the universe. The Earth moves as a planet around the Sun, carrying its Moon along as a satellite. In 1543 little proof was available that the Earth moves; there were many reasons not to accept it.

New Philosophy, about our World beneath the Moon  Gilbert, William (1651)

Gilbert, physician to Queen Elisabeth I, attempted to map the world of the Moon with the unaided eye, even before the telescope of Galileo. In antiquity, Plutarch had surmised the existence of land and ocean regions in the dark and light patches of the lunar surface.

Elements of Geometry, 1570  Euclid,  (1570)

Euclid was the starting point for any further study of optics and perspective. Optics combined geometry, experiment, vision and art. In the presentation of the geometrical solids, this copy retains the original pop-ups.

Theater of Comets  Lubieniecki, Stanislaw (1666-68)

The search for comets, charged with astrological meaning, stimulated careful scrutiny and revision of maps of the stars. Lubieniecki collected an anthology of cometary reports, attempting to describe every known comet observed in Europe up to 1665.

Church of Santa Croce, Florence

After his trial, Galileo remained under house arrest until his death on Jan 8, 1642. His will directed that his remains should be placed beside those of his father Vincenzo in the Church of Santa Croce.

The Moon  Nasmyth, James (1876)

Nasmyth, a Scottish engineer known for his invention of the steam hammer, combined an avid interest in astronomy and photography. Carpenter was an astronomer at the Greenwich Observatory. Together they constructed plaster models of the lunar surface.

Moral Essays  Alberti, Leon Battista (1568)

This anthology of the works of Alberti, a humanist scholar, contains the printed edition of his treatise, “On Painting,” a work he originally dedicated to Brunelleschi.

Starry Messenger  Galileo,  (1610)

Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. When Galileo heard news of telescopes invented in the Netherlands he worked out the underlying geometry and crafted one of his own design. In this work, Galileo published the first observations of the heavens made with the telescope.

Works, Ptolemy  Ptolemy,  (1541)

For this first edition of Ptolemy’s collected works, Johann Honter drew constellation figures after the manner of Albrecht Dürer. The figures appear in contemporary dress rather than in a classical style.

The Optics of the Eye  Chérubin d’ Orléans,  (1671)

In this illustration, Chérubin d’Orléans adopted the lunar map of Hevelius. The putti are observing the Moon with telescopes equipped with the “pantograph,” a perspectival tool devised by d’Orléans.

Perspective  Peckham, John (1556)

The Perspectiva of Peckham (13th century) became the established university textbook on perspective. It was the text Galileo likely used in his early studies of optics. Renaissance artists were well-versed in the classic works on perspective.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 1  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Principles of Geometry  Dürer, Albrecht (1535)

This landmark work by Albrecht Dürer presents several variations on the technique of “Alberti’s window.” Here the artist is creating a drawing of a lute with true perspective by means of a string drawn from the object, through the canvas window, to the vanishing point on the wall.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 2  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

The Curiosities of Perspective  Nicéron, Jean François (1663)

While visiting Florence, Niceron was shown a unique perspective drawing tool devised by the painter Cigoli, one of Galileo’s friends. He viewed examples of anamorphic drawing techniques and Alberti’s perspective boxes. All of these make an appearance in this treatise.

0 Tycho Brahe prints: Portrait (6); Copenhagen (7); Hven (8); Gardens (9); Uraniborg (10); Architectural plan (11)

0 Memoirs toward a Description of a type of Freshwater Polyp  Trembley, Abraham (1744)

0 New Brandenburg Ephemerides of the Celestial Motions  Origanus, David (1609)

0 Illustrated Microscopy, 1746  Adams, George (1746)

0 The Hevelius Sextant

0 Illustrated Microscopy, 1747  Adams, George (1747)

0 An astronomicall description of the late Comet from the 18. of Novemb. 1618 to the 16. of December following. With certaine Morall Prognostics  Bainbridge, John (1619)

0 Essays on the Microscope   Adams, George (1787)

Adams’ work remained in publication for decades helping generations of microscopists and hobbyists explore the unseen world.  

0 A Synopsis of Cometary Astronomy, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London  Halley, Edmond (1705)

0 Culpeper Microscopes (40 cm, 30 cm)

0 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1713  Newton, Isaac (1713)

0 Evenings at the Microscope  Gosse, Philip Henry (1884)

0 A Planisphere containing the Celestial Constellations  Lacaille, Nicolas (1756)

0 Researches on the Fossil Bones of Quadrupeds  Cuvier, Georges (1812)

0 Philosophical Collections  Hooke, Robert (1679)

This anthology includes letters to the Royal Society of London by various contributors, including Robert Hooke (1635-1703) and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Here it is opened to a letter from Leeuwenhoek, faced by four small microscopic vignettes.

0 Observations on living things, with curious microscopic studies  Bonanni, Philippo (1691)

0 Secrets of Nature, Continued  van Leeuwenhoek, Antonio (1697)

0 Natural History of Insects  Swammerdam, Jan (1758)

0 Communications on the Development of the Chicken within the Egg  Malpighi, Marcello (1673)

0 Kepler's Universe  Mitchell, Ron

0 Investigations regarding the Internal Anatomy and Generation of Insects  Redi, Francesco (1668)

0 Tellurian, Trippensee Planetarium Company (1908-1920)

0 Essay on Refractive Lenses  Hartsoeker, Nicolas (1694)

0 Three Jesuit Portraits: Loyola, Bellarmine, Clavius

0 Shorter Works on Animal and Plant Physics  Spallanzani, Lazzaro (1776)

1 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1729  Newton, Isaac (1729)

This is the first English translation of Newton’s masterwork in physics. The Copernican idea that the Earth moves as a planet required a thorough revision of physics. Galileo undertook this task in his Discourse on Two New Sciences, published 80 years after Copernicus.

1 Persius  Stelluti, Francesco (1630)

The title page of this classical study by Stelluti displays the emblem of the Lynx. The crest with three bees is that of the powerful Barberini family.

1 On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1555  Vesalius, Andreas (1555)

This book is without doubt the most handsome anatomical work of the 16th century. Vesalius was fortunate to team up with Jan Stephan van Calcar, a world class artist. Even the human skeletons reveal an aesthetic appreciation of the human body.

1 Letters on Sunspots  Galileo,  (1613)

In a 1611 book published by the Academy of the Lynx, the Jesuit astronomer Christoph Scheiner argued that sunspots are little planets circling the Sun like Venus. Galileo answered Scheiner with this book.

1 Elements of Geometry, 1482  Euclid,  (1482)

Euclid was the starting point for a mathematical approach to physics. This is the 1st printed edition. The beautiful woodcuts are hand-colored in this copy. The text of the first page was printed in both black and red ink. The geometrical diagrams were quite difficult to prepare.

1 The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology  Flammarion, Camille (1888)

Meteorology is a quest of discovery, the challenge of boldly exploring where no one has gone before. That is the appeal and rhetorically durable theme which has made this woodcut so appealing.

1 Astronomical Journal  Brahe, Tycho (1586)

On the Island of Hven, Tycho Brahe built a Renaissance research center called Uraniborg, “City of the Stars.” The first book printed on Tycho’s printing press at Uraniborg displays his motto, “looking up, I look down.” That motto symbolized his aim of coordinating the study of astronomy,...

1 The System of Saturn  Huygens, Christiaan (1659)

In this work, Huygens resolved the enigma of Saturn’s changing telescopic appearance by proposing that a ring surrounds Saturn at an angle, varying in visibility from the Earth.

1 Conversation on Galileo’s Starry Messenger  Kepler, Johann (1611)

“I thank you because you were the first one, and practically the only one, to have complete faith in my assertions.” – Galileo In this public letter, Kepler expressed support for Galileo’s telescopic discoveries.

1 Plant Anatomy  Porta, Giambattista della (1588)

Della Porta’s portrayal of a lynx on the title page of this and other works inspired Cesi with the name for his own Academy. Here, della Porta announced the existence of the Accademia Secretorum Naturae, an academy he founded in Naples cx. 1580 with the aim of discovering the secrets of nature...

1 Book on Calculation  Borgi, Pietro (1517)

Borgi’s book on the abacus was the most important commercial arithmetic manual in Renaissance Italy. Around 1200, Leonardo of Pisa, also known as Fibonnacci, wrote an earlier manual for the abacus which introduced a sign for zero, Hindu-Arabic numerals, and a base-10 place value system.

1 The Marriage of Philology and Mercury  Capella, Martianus (1499)

Capella described the seven liberal arts. The first three are grammar, logic or dialectic, and rhetoric. Then come the mathematical sciences, geometry and arithmetic. Geometrical circles in motion make astronomy. Numbers in motion make music.

1 The Operations of the Geometrical and Military Compass, 1606  Galilei, Galileo (1606)

Featuring Galileo's Handwritting. Galileo dedicated the manual for his engineering compass to young Cosimo II de Medici, whom he had tutored in mathematics the previous summer.

1 The Interrogation of Plants  Colonna, Fabio (1592)

This book by Colonna, a member of the Lynx and a major contributor to the Hernandez natural history of Mexico, is the first book containing copperplate engravings of plants.

1 The Divine Comedy  Dante,  (1757)

Dante’s love for astronomy pervaded this epic poem. Not by accident did he bring each of the three volumes to a close with the word “stelle,” or star.

1 On the Art of Fire  Biringuccio, Vannoccio (1540)

When Galileo needed to purchase plates of brass to make his engineering compass or commissioned glass to make better lenses, metalsmith, assayers and craftsmen in Venice employed operations similar to those described in Birunguccio’s metallurgical manual.

1 Ecstatic Journey through the Heavens  Kircher, Athanasius (1660)

Six chief world systems were debated in Galileo’s world: • Ptolemaic: All planets revolve around the central Earth. Geocentric. • Platonic: Like the Ptolemaic, except switches the positions of Venus and Mercury. Geocentric. • Cappellan or Egyptian: Venus and Mercury revolve around the Sun.

1 Anatomy, 1507  Luzzi, Mondino dei  (1507)

Medieval human dissection manual: Written in 1316 by a professor of medicine at the University of Padua, the Anatomy of Mondino was the most widely-used manual for human dissection in the middle ages.

1 The Divine Plato  Plato,  (1491)

In his dialog entitled The Timaeus, Plato taught that the cosmos is constructed from regular geometrical figures known as the Pythagorean solids. Wherever one finds an emphasis upon mathematical demonstrations in science, one may credit Plato and the Pythagoreans.

1 Dialogue on Ancient and Modern Music  Galilei, Vincenzo (1581)

From childhood, Galileo’s world was shaped by music. His father, Vincenzo Galilei, was a prominent music theorist who contributed to the development of Italian opera. This book, Vincenzo’s major work, was acquired in Fall 2014 with assistance from the Athletics Department.

1 Almagest, ed. Regiomontanus  Ptolemy, Claudius (1496)

Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaios) lived in Alexandria, Egypt, in the second century. Ptolemy’s technical work on astronomy, originally written in Greek, was titled Almagest (“The Greatest”) by its Arabic translators.

1 Works of Hesiod  Hesiod,  (1559)

In Works and Days, the poet Hesiod, a roughly contemporary of Homer, compiled guidelines for conducting life and forecasting the weather according to the stars.

1 The Ancient and Modern Doctrines of the Holy Fathers   Galileo,  (1636)

In response to gathering criticism, Galileo in 1615 wrote a reconciliation of Scripture and Copernicanism which circulated in manuscript as the Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina. This is the first printed edition, which appeared in 1636.

1 Sundial replica (2015)

A sundial consists of a gnomon, which casts the Sun’s shadow, and a dial on which the shadow indicates the time. This simple portable sundial features a gnomon that can be adjusted according to one’s latitude. Sundials have ranged in size from pocket-dials to monumental architecture.

1 The Nuremberg Chronicle  Schedel, Hartmann (1493)

In the most lavishly illustrated book of the 1400’s, solid spheres ceaselessly turn, carrying the planets and filling the universe between the outermost heaven and the central Earth.

1 Illustration and Description of the Incomparably Great Comet (1680)

The great comet of 1680 illumines the sky above Nuremberg. One person among the onlooking crowd observes through a hand-held telescope. This was the first comet to be discovered by a telescope. Gottfried Kirch, a German astronomer, first saw it on November 14, 1680.

1 On the Christian Expedition to China  Ricci, Matteo (1616)

This book recounts the establishment of the Jesuit mission in China in the late 1500s led by Matteo Ricci. When Ricci predicted a solar eclipse in 1592 with greater accuracy than the astronomers of the Chinese court, Emperor Wan-li invited Ricci to Beijing.

1 A New Natural History of the Plants, Animals and Minerals of Mexico  Hernandez, Francisco (1651)

Publication of this work was widely anticipated as a guide to the “fountain of youth.” Hernandez enjoyed the reputation of being the “Pliny of the New World.” The result transformed Old World natural history.

1 Polyhedral Sundial replica

This is a replica of an original polyhedral sundial created by Stefano Buonsignori in Florence in 1587, held in the Museo Galileo in Florence.

2 A Discovery of a New World... in the Moon  Wilkins, John (1684)

In this book, first published in 1638, Wilkins defended the Copernican and Galilean idea that the Earth is a planet by establishing analogies with the Moon.

2 Natural Magic, 1589  Porta, Giambattista della (1589)

In this poster-sized work, the first publication of observations made with a microscope, Cesi and Stelluti studied the anatomy of the bee. The text includes classical references to bees as well as new knowledge, integrated in a tabular outline.

2 Appearances of the Sky  Aratus,  (1547)

Aratus, a Greek scientist and poet of the 3rd century B.C.E., offered practical advice for predicting the weather by learning to recognize the seasonal appearances of constellations.

2 The Rose of Orsini  Scheiner, Christoph (1630)

Scheiner, a Jesuit astronomer, eventually published the definitive work of the 17th century on sunspots, in which he accepted Galileo’s argument that sunspots “move like ships” on the surface of the Sun.

2 On Natural History  Imperato, Ferrante (1599)

Cabinets of curiosity were museums in miniature, combining books, fossils, antiquarian and natural history objects. While in Naples to meet della Porta, Cesi met Ferrante Imperato.

2 The Celestial Worlds Discover'd, or, Conjectures concerning the Inhabitants, Plants and Productions of the Worlds in the Planets  Huygens, Christiaan (1698)

In this translation of Huygens’ Kosmotheoros, Huygens took up questions of the habitability of other planets and the existence of extraterrestrial life. These topics were also considered by Kepler, Wilkins and other popular writers.

2 On the Comets of the years 1607 & 1618  Kepler, Johann (1619)

In this minor work, Kepler offered an analysis of comets that agreed with Grassi’s.

2 The Philosopher of China  Confucius,  (1687)

Confucius lived in the early 5th century BCE, roughly contemporary with the Pythagoreans and Presocratic natural philosophers. Confucius taught: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself,” an early version of the Golden Rule.

2 Galileo Compass replica

Galileo’s engineering compass employed scales of his own innovative design, useful for an astonishing variety of calculations in the field.

2 The Advantages of Country Living  de’ Crescenzi, Pietro  (1471)

This is the earliest published work on agriculture, a manual for managing a feudal estate. It is an ancestor to the early printed herbals, and explains what plants one must cultivate to be able to make the common remedies.

2 Euclid's Elements of Geometry, 1594  Al-Tusi, Nasir ad-Din (1594)

This Arabic text of Euclid came from the circle of the Persian astronomer al-Tusi (13th century). Al-Tusi worked in Baghdad and in the observatory of Maragha, in modern northwestern Iran. Printing Arabic with moveable type was a technological challenge.

2 On the Two Worlds, namely the Major and the Minor  Fludd, Robert (1617-1621)

For Robert Fludd, the universe is a monochord, its physical structure unintelligible without an understanding of music. In another section of the book, Fludd depicts the universe as a Temple of Music.

2 Discourse on Floating Bodies  Galileo,  (1612)

To provide entertainment at a dinner held by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Galileo debated the Aristotelian physicist Lodovico delle Columbe on the topic of floating bodies. Galileo employed Archimedes’ mathematical analysis.

2 Workes, Chaucer  Chaucer,  (1598)

Chaucer’s astronomical knowledge, like Dante’s, was anything but casual; in addition to his stories, this volume also contains his detailed technical manual for use of the astrolabe.

2 Astronomical Calendar, 1476  Regiomontanus,  (1476)

In this book, Regiomontanus predicted the positions of the Sun and Moon for 40 years. He designed a sundial to work independently of one’s latitude, and a volvelle, or circular dial, to locate the position and phase of the Moon according to date and time.

2 On the Nature of Metals  Agricola, Georg (1556)

Agricola described early modern mining and metallurgy practices throughout the German speaking areas of Europe. The remarkable illustrations make this work a paramount example of how abundant visual representations in the Printing Revolution transformed science and technology.

2 Anatomy, 1541  Luzzi, Mondino dei  (1541)

Art and anatomy converging in an illustrated manual: These human figures are more than utilitarian: walking against a real background, posed as if revealing to our eyes the unseen beauty and wonder of human anatomy; they also reflect an increasingly artistic approach to the human body.

2 Star Viewer  Schickard, William (1698)

Schickard, a friend of Kepler’s, designed this planisphere or “astroscopium” to calculate the positions of the stars for any day and hour of the year. Schickard also devised a calculating machine to produce astronomical tables according to Kepler’s laws.

2 Principles of Astronomy  Naibod, Valentin (1580)

This Copernican cosmic section, the first published in Italy, appears in a sympathetic account, known to Tycho and to Kepler, which may have influenced Galileo. Naibod was a professor of mathematics at Padua who likely studied with Erasmus Reinhold in Wittenberg.

2 Cosmography, 1545  Apian, Peter (1545)

In this introduction to astronomy and geography, the Moon lies embedded within a solid sphere carrying it around the Earth once a month. The solid sphere explains why the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth.

2 Harmony of the Universe  Kepler, Johann (1619)

In this work, Kepler integrated theoretical astronomy and music, showing that the motions of the planets employ the same numerical ratios as the most harmonious musical scales.

2 The Ancient and Modern Doctrine of Holy Fathers  Galileo,  (1661)

This volume contains the first English translations of any of Galileo’s works, including Galileo’s Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World, the book for which he was put on trial.

2 Almagest, ed. Reinhold  Ptolemy, Claudius (1549)

Erasmus Reinhold, a professor at Wittenberg who was sympathetic to Copernicus, published the first Greek edition of Ptolemy’s Almagest.

2 Works in Greek, vol. 1  Aristotle,  (1495-1498)

In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.

2 Theater of the World  Gallucci, Giovanni Paolo (1588)

Gallucci, a Venetian scholar, was interested in astronomical instruments, both physical and on paper. The “Theater of the World” features a parade of rotating wheels, or “volvelles,” descendants of the astrolabe.

2 A Treatise of the System of the World  Newton, Isaac (1728)

Newton’s mathematical physics established an understanding of the dynamics of the solar system.

2 On Comets  Hevelius, Johann (1668)

The frontispiece shows three views of the paths of comets: the Aristotelian theory that they consist of vapors beneath the Moon (left); Kepler’s theory that comets move in straight lines (right); and Hevelius’ view that they originate in the outer regions and descend in a parabolic trajectory...

2 The Angry Orlando  Ariosto, Ludovico (1672)

Ariosto’s famous epic poem is a lively, rambling, serial escapade from one humorous, ironic, sometimes ribald tall-tale to another. One example is the story of Duke Astolfo, Orlando’s cousin, who flew to the Moon in a chariot pulled by winged horses.

2 On Animals  Aristotle,  (1476)

This is the first publication of Aristotle’s biological works. While Plato emphasized astronomy as the ennobling science, Aristotle insisted that biology, including the study of even the lowliest organisms, is beautiful to one who understands natural causes.

3 Chronicle of Mathematics  Baldi, Bernardino

Bernardino Baldi was an Italian mathematician whose work gives insight into the milieu of Galileo. This is one of two autograph manuscripts by Baldi held by the Collections.

3 On the Dissection of the Parts of the Human Body  Estienne, Charles (1545)

Clip art with woodblocks: Estienne obtained a number of woodblocks from an obscure artist. To show anatomical detail, he cut little rectangles out of the art woodblocks and substituted his own diagrammatic drawings.

3 Observations in Bologna of the rotation of Mars around its axis  Cassini, Giovanni Domenico (1666)

These 3 broadsides, issued approximately 2 weeks apart, contain the first detailed illustrations of Mars.

3 The Recoverie of Jerusalem  Tasso, Torquato (1624)

This poem became one of the most widely read works of European literature in the 17th century. Tasso created serious characters with human flaws, psychological depth, and even melancholy, setting them in the inspirational but ambiguous era of the Crusades.

3 Observations of Comets from B.C. 611 to A.D. 1640  Williams, John (1871)

A Chinese celestial atlas and chronological tables, reproduced in Williams’ own hand, appear in this record of 372 comet sightings from 611 B.C.E. to 1640 C.E.

3 Non-European Plants  Clusius, Carolus (1605)

Charles L’Ecluse, or Clusius, created the Hortus Academicus garden at the University of Leiden where he was a professor. His works reported the latest discoveries in natural history from Alpine regions in Europe and from Spanish territories around the world.

3 Natural Magick, 1658  Porta, Giambattista della (1658)

In Natural Magick, della Porta described an optical tube he designed to make far things appear as though they were near. The field of optics was often associated with magical tricks and illusions, and for that reason sometimes held suspect among non-mathematicians.

3 Discourse on the Comets  Galileo ,  (1619)

In this book, Galileo opened a “Controversy over the Comets” by attacking Grassi. Published under the name of his student, Mario Guiducci, it was actually written almost entirely by Galileo himself.

3 The Natural History of Plants, 1549  Theophrastus,  (1549)

What Aristotle did for animals, his student Theophrastus did for plants, making the study of plants an essential topic for ancient natural philosophers. Theophrastus sought not merely to describe the appearances of plants, but like his mentor Aristotle, to ascertain their causes.

3 Considerations on Galileo's Discourse on Floating Bodies  Pannochieschi, Arturo (1612)

Pannochieschi, head of the University of Pisa, defended Columbe, widening the debate over floating bodies and exemplifying the Aristotelian physicists’ reaction to Galileo’s use of Archimedean methods. In response, Galileo published a 2d ed.

3 School of the Stars  Capra, Baldessar (1606)

Galileo kept the design of his engineering compass carefully guarded, yet a dispute over intellectual property rights ensued. In 1607, Baldassar Capra published under his own name a Latin translation of Galileo's Compasso, including instructions for making the instrument.

3 Commentary on the Sphere of Sacrobosco  Clavius, Christoph (1570)

Clavius taught mathematical astronomy in the Rome College (Collegio Romano), the leading Jesuit university in Rome. Aristotle did not emphasize mathematics, but Clavius’ lifelong work established mathematics and astronomy as essential areas of study for Jesuit schools.

3 Euclide  Tartaglia, Niccolo (1543)

Tartaglia, a teacher of a teacher of Galileo, produced the first vernacular translation of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry.

3 Second Folio  Shakespeare,  (1632)

Planetary and stellar influences affect one’s physical temperament, so one must take steps not to catch the melancholic “influenza” of Saturn: “There’s some ill planet reigns: I must be patient till the heavens look With an aspect more favorable” (A Winter's Tale).

3 Demonstration of the Halo  Reinhold, Erasmus (c. 1550)

This manuscript contains two transcriptions of a university lecture by Erasmus Reinhold. The diagrams are nearly identical to Aristotle’s discussion of halos in the Meteorology. Reinhold was a well-known Wittenberg astronomer, sympathetic to Copernicus.

3 Universal Music-Making  Kircher, Athanasius (1650)

This 17th-century treatise on music shows a mechanical, water-driven organ. Water enters on the right side of the diagram, turning a gear mechanism that animates a cylinder roll and keyboard. Musical notation cut into the cylinder roll determines the keys depressed for any given time.

3 On Pneumatics  Porta, Giambattista della (1606)

Della Porta explored various ideas for steam powered machines following the example of Hero of Alexandria. In antiquity, Hero fashioned marvelous automata using steam, air pressure, and hydraulics.

3 On Mathematics  Schott, Gaspar (1668)

In this mathematics textbook, Schott explained the rod-based calculating machine designed by his fellow Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher. The philosopher Leibniz also created a calculating machine, described in 1666, which he offered to the emperor of China.

3 The New Astronomy  Kepler, Johann (1609)

This is Kepler’s famous pretzel diagram, where he focused attention on the planet rather than the rotating solid sphere which carried the planet. In an Earth-centered system, the planet must follow some kind of similar pretzel path as it is carried along within a thick solid sphere.

3 Astronomical Calendar, 1518  Stoeffler, Johann (1518)

A “calendarium” contains predictions of the positions of the Sun and Moon for several decades into the future. Regiomontanus calculated their positions for 40 years beginning in 1476; Stoeffler for 62 years from 1518-1579 inclusive.

3 Letter to Madame Christina of Lorraine   Galileo,  (1967)

Galileo’s Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina provides a modern example of the book arts. The outer case opens to show a smaller case, the size of a miniature version published a century ago. The 1967 edition fits entirely within the circumference of a nickel.

3 Representing the Heavens  Coronelli, Vincenzo (1693)

The tiny size of a volume by Coronelli belies its historical importance: in this Epitome, Coronelli explained how to use celestial and terrestrial globes, and his techniques for constructing them.

3 Historical Narration of the Origin and Progress of the Mission to China  Schall, Adam (1665)

This book is Schall’s account of the Jesuit mission in China after Ricci. Working closely with Chinese collaborators, Schall oversaw the publication of more than 30 scientific works in Chinese which drew upon Galileo, Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler and John Napier.

3 Heights of Theology  Aquinas, Thomas (1496)

Wormholes appear on the cover of this otherwise well-preserved medieval masterwork of theology. Aquinas represents the medieval synthesis of science and religion. He endorsed the principle of accommodation.

3 On the Dream of Scipio  Macrobius,  (1521)

This work by Macrobius (5th century) illustrates the wealth of ancient and early medieval literary sources relevant to cosmology. Macrobius here comments upon a classic story of Cicero which described a vision given to the Roman general Scipio.

3 Four Books  Ptolemy, Claudius (1610)

The most popular ancient work on astrology was Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos, as it was known in Greek, or Quadripartitum in Latin. Astrology provided the context in which astronomy was pursued.

3 Medical Remedies  Hildegard of Bingen,  (1533)

Free medical care from the medieval Abbess who composed music, rebuked rulers, saw visions and wrote many books: In the Middle Ages, convents were places where anyone might seek free health care.

3 Works in Greek, vol. 2  Aristotle,  (1495-1498)

In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.

3 Flowers, or, On the Cultivation of Flower Gardens, 1638  Ferrari, Giovanni Battista (1638)

The Latin edition of this work mentioned the Lincean explorer, or microscope. This Italian translation of Ferrari’s work on flower gardens, published after Galileo’s trial in 1633, expunged any mention of the Academy of the Lynx.

3 An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe  Wright, Thomas (1750)

Wright proposed a model of the Milky Way as a flat wheel, and envisioned the nebulae as distant worlds upon worlds, far removed from the Milky Way itself.“That this in all Probability may be the real Case, is in some Degree made evident by the many cloudy Spots, just perceivable by us, as far...

3 The Climactic Year  Hevelius, Johann (1685)

In astrology, a “climactic year” marks a turning point, a moment of greatest risk. The preface explains that 1679 was Hevelius’ climactic year, for in that year his observatory burned. Fire destroyed manuscripts, books and instruments, including his sextant. He was 67 years old.

4 Response to the Opposition of Lodovico delle Colombe  Galileo,  (1615)

Some of Galileo’s most avid opponents were Aristotelian physicists who, lacking training in mathematics, were unable to refute Galileo’s arguments.

4 General History of China, vol. 2  du Halde, J.B.  (1741)

The secret of silk farming spread from China to Korea and India about the beginning of the Common Era. Its international trade led to the establishment of the Silk Road, which extended over 4,000 miles and connected the major ancient and medieval civilizations from China to Asia Minor.

4 Natural History  Nieremberg, Juan Eusebio (1635)

Nieremberg saw an unpublished manuscript of Hernandez. Many of his descriptions of plants and animals relied upon Hernandez and other sources from Mexico and Peru. In classification, Nieremberg retained Hernandez’ use of native Nahuatl names.

4 On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1543  Vesalius, Andreas (1543)

Best known work of early modern anatomy: Vesalius was fortunate to team up with Jan Stephan van Calcar, a world class artist. Even the human skeletons reveal an aesthetic appreciation of the human body.

4 Meteorology, 1506  D’Ailly, Pierre (1506)

This commentary on Aristotle’s meteorology contains numerous contemporary annotations and drawings (not yet studied). D’Ailly was a theologian, mathematician, astronomer, and cosmographer who helped the medieval church heal the schism of three rival popes.

4 Pliny, “Natural History”  Pliny the Elder,  (1601)

Pliny’s Natural History defined the scope and breadth of the field of natural history. Natural history meant the description (or “historia”) of nature, as opposed to explaining its causes (or “natural philosophy”). Pliny died in 79 CE while investigating the eruption of Mt.

4 Studies on Glaciers  Agassiz, Louis (1840)

In 1840, Agassiz introduced a radical element of contingency into geohistory, contrary to then widespread assumptions of uninterrupted gradual cooling.

4 On Secret Writing  Porta, Giambattista della (1563)

Members of the Academy of the Lynx preferred to communicate with each other in code. Della Porta was the most accomplished cryptographer of the Renaissance. This work includes a set of movable cipher disks to code and decode messages.

4 Euclid's Elements of Geometry, 1589, vol. 1  Clavius, Christoph (1589)

Not all versions of Euclid’s Elements were created equal. Clavius prepared this edition for his students at the Rome College (Collegio Romano). If these editions of Euclid were used in different courses, which course would you take?

4 Flowers, or, On the Cultivation of Flower Gardens, 1664  Ferrari, Giovanni Battista (1664)

This work, first published in the year of Galileo’s trial (1633), contains the first use of microscopic illustration in a botanical work. Ferrari described many exotic plants, including limes, lemons and pomegranates, and citron, which he prescribed as medicinal plants against scurvy.

4 A Description of the Marvelous Rule of Logarithms  Napier, John (1614)

In this book, Napier presented logarithmic methods of calculation in more than 50 pages of explanation, followed by 90 pages of numerical tables. “Logarithm” derives from “logos” (proportion) and “arithmos” (number).

4 Catalog of Southern Stars  Halley, Edmond (1679)

Edmond Halley, later of cometary fame, sailed to the South Pacific island of St. Helena. Over a period of 2 years, Halley recorded the positions of 341 southern stars in this table of the right ascensions and distances of the principal southern stars.

4 An Abstract of the Learned Treatise... the Introduction upon Mars  Kepler, Johann (1661)

In the New Astronomy (Astronomia nova 1609), Kepler demonstrated with respect to Mars what we now call his first two laws of planetary motion. In the preface to that work, translated here, Kepler answered objections to Copernicus based upon Scripture.

4 The Astronomical Balance  Grassi, Oratio (1619)

In this book, Grassi responded to the criticism of Guiducci/Galileo. Comets seemed to provide a test of the Copernican and Tychonic systems: if the Earth were moving, then with three comets, one might have hoped to see at least one of them retrograding.

4 Works in Greek, vol 3 pt. A  Aristotle,  (1495-1498)

In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.

4 Geneva Bible  ,  (1560)

The Geneva Bible was the first lay study Bible, written in the vernacular, portable, affordable, and designed with cross-references and explanatory notes for self-study. It was the Bible of Shakespeare, of the Puritans, of settlers in the colonies of New England, and of Scotland.

4 Various and Ingenious Machines  Ramelli, Agostino (1588)

The ancient philosopher Hero described mechanics as the science of five simple machines: the lever, pulley, wheel, wedge and screw. These simple machines are combined in the complex inventions of Ramelli.

4 Garden of Health  ,  (1491)

Medieval remedies and natural knowledge: An explosion of 16th-century herbals dramatically extended the “materia medica” tradition deriving from ancient writers, assimilating a vast increase in the number of known plants.

4 Innovative Sundials  Baldi, Bernardino (ca. 1592)

This manuscript, a never-published treatise on sundials written in the author’s own hand, was lost in the 18th century and believed destroyed in a shipwreck. Baldi studied with one of Galileo’s teachers, Guidobaldo del Monte.

4 Monuments of China  Kircher, Athanasius (1667)

Back in Rome, Kircher collected all the information he could gather from Jesuits in China, publishing this massive encyclopedia on China, Tibet, India, Korea and Japan. It contains two notable early maps, numerous portraits, and an introduction to Sanskrit and Chinese characters.

4 Considerations on Tasso  Galileo,  (1793)

Galileo employed his scientific acumen to engage in the literary debates of the day. Here he considered the merits of Tasso and Ariosto, comparing both with Dante. Using his new physics of tensile strength, Galileo refuted Ariosto’s indiscriminate descriptions of giants.

4 Harmonics  Ptolemy, Claudius (1682)

Ptolemy’s influential music theory was related to his astronomy. Through sight, we apprehend beauty through astronomy. Through hearing, we apprehend beauty through harmony.

4 Optics of Lenses  Kepler, Johann (1611)

Kepler wrote an earlier work on optics (1604) as a supplement to the medieval treatise of Witelo. In this sequel, he clarified the optics of refractive lenses and greatly advanced understanding of how the telescope actually works. The annotations in this copy are unstudied.

4 Treatise on the Genuine Use of the Globes  Metius, Adriaan (1624)

Although Galileo rushed to print his telescopic observations, he did not invent the telescope. Jacob Metius was one of several Dutchmen with a claim to the invention of the telescope. This book by Jacob’s brother mentions Jacob’s telescopic observations of the satellites of Jupiter.

4 Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters   Messier, Charles (1774)

This is the first edition of Messier's catalog of cloudy spots or "nebulae," numbered from M1 to M45. In 1781, Messier published a final catalog of 103 nebulae, which are now called "Messier objects." The Great Orion Nebula is M42.

5 The Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes  Topsell, Edward (1658)

Topsell’s natural history includes both familiar and exotic creatures, drawn from sources both new and old. Topsell describes the horse, reindeer and chameleon. He portrays the magnificent appearance of the rhinoceros in the artistic tradition of Dürer.

5 Letters from Galileo to Prince Federigo Cesi  Galileo,  (1629?)

In these letters, Galileo thanked Cesi for his support of the Academy. Galileo quickly became the most illustrious member of the Lynx. Until Cesi’s death in 1630, he provided Galileo and other Lynx members with intellectual, financial and moral support.

5 Memoir and Correspondence  Herschel, Caroline (1876)

The 19th century saw an unprecedented expansion of known objects in the universe. William and Caroline Herschel conducted a comprehensive search of northern skies with telescopes powerful enough to resolve many nebulae into star clusters.

5 Revolutions of the Sea  Adhémar, Joseph Alphonse (1842)

Accepting Agassiz’ theory of the Ice Age, Adhémar proposed that an astronomical cycle – the precession of the equinoxes – affects the melting of polar ice caps and thereby may lead to a catastrophic rise in sea level around the globe.

5 A Probing of the Astronomical Balance  Stelluti, Giovanni Battista (1622)

In the Scandaglio, Galileo’s friends tried to refute Grassi’s Astronomical Balance. This obscure and mysterious work appeared under the name of the brother of the better-known Francesco Stelluti, one of the founders of the Academy of the Lynx and friend of Galileo and Prince Cesi.

5 Natural Questions  Seneca,  (1522)

Seneca’s Natural Questions covered a similar scope of subject matter as Aristotle’s Meteorology. Seneca differed from Aristotle by insisting that even sublunar phenomena follow the same natural laws and have the same intelligibility as the rest of the universe.

5 Universal Geography  Ptolemy, Claudius (1545)

Although best known for his astronomy, Ptolemy (2nd century) brought the same mathematical methods to bear on various topics, including optics, geography, and astrology. This is the first printed edition of his geography, which established mathematical methods in cartography.

5 Representations of Plants  Munting, Abraham (1702)

Munting’s natural history drew upon two editions of Hernandez, both the Lynx edition published in Rome in 1651 and an earlier printing in Mexico City (1615), known as the Quatro Libros.

5 Euclid's Elements of Geometry, 1589, vol. 2  Clavius, Christoph (1589)

Not all versions of Euclid’s Elements were created equal. Clavius prepared this edition for his students at the Rome College (Collegio Romano). If these editions of Euclid were used in different courses, which course would you take?

5 Celestial Atlas,1776  Flamsteed, John (1776)

A globe maker for the French royal family, J. Fortin, prepared this edition of Flamsteed’s celestial atlas in a much reduced format. Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, who oversaw the building of the Greenwich Observatory. Newton relied upon Flamsteed’s star positions in his Principia.

5 Description and Use of an Instrument, Called the Double Scale of Proportion  Partridge, Seth (1692)

After a century of calculating instrument innovation, Partridge created the slide-rule. Edmund Gunter designed a logarithmic scale in 1620. William Oughtred placed two logarithmic scales side-by-side to perform multiplication and division in 1630.

5 China, Illustrated with Many Monuments  Kircher, Athanasius (1670)

In one of Kircher’s images is of Matteo Ricci is pictured on the left, along with Xu Guangki (??? 1562-1633) on the right.

5 On Fortifications  Lorini, Buonaiuto (1597)

Drawing upon Archimedes, Lorini asserted that all machines of the fortress could be reduced to the balance and thus to the lever. From his home in Padua, Galileo taught a private course on fortifications from about 1592 to 1609.

5 Defense of Galileo  Campanella, Tommaso (1622)

Campanella, a Dominican theologian, wrote this defense of the compatibility of Scripture and Copernicanism from his cell in Naples, where he was serving a life sentence for opposition to Spanish rule of southern Italy.

5 The Operations of the Geometrical and Military Compass, 1635  Galilei, Galileo (1635)

After Capra, the design of Galileo’s compass became widely known. Later editions included illustrations of Galileo’s instrument.

5 The Natural History of Plants, 1542  Fuchs, Leonhart (1542)

Fuchs extracted the best knowledge available from Galen, Dioscorides and Pliny. Fuchs gave each plant a German name as well as the traditional Latin. He described nearly 100 northern European plants unknown to previous physicians.

5 Nocturnal Dial replica (2006)

Nocturnal dials tell time by the stars. This instrument replicates an original nocturnal dial created by Girolano della Volpaia in Florence in 1569, held in the Museo Galileo in Florence.

5 Collected Works  Paracelsus,  (1603)

Nieremberg saw an unpublished manuscript of Hernandez. Many of his descriptions of plants and animals relied upon Hernandez and other sources from Mexico and Peru. In classification, Nieremberg retained Hernandez’ use of native Nahuatl names.

5 Works in Greek, vol 3 pt. B  Aristotle,  (1495-1498)

In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.

5 Correspondence  Vesalius, Andreas (1546)

ABC’s of the life of medical students: The decorative initials used in this edition of Vesalius’ correspondence are identical to 22 different initials originally printed in De fabrica (1543). Such “historiated initials” tell stories.

5 On the Snowflake, or the Six-Angled Crystal  Kepler, Johann (1611)

Kepler’s contributions reached far beyond the realm of astronomy, to meteorology, mathematics, geology, mineralogy and crystallography. Kepler published this 24-page pamphlet, a study of the snowflake, as a New Year’s greeting for a friend.

5 King James Bible  ,  (1611)

Numerous Scripture passages seemed to affirm the stability of the Earth and the mobility of the Sun, including Psalm 104:5.

5 On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1543  Copernicus, Nicolaus (1543)

Copernicus argued that the Sun rather than the Earth lies in the center of the universe. The Earth moves as a planet around the Sun. In 1543 little proof was available that the Earth moves; there were many reasons not to accept it.

5 Phosphorescent Rock, or, On the Light of the Bolognese Stone  Liceti, Fortunio (1640)

Galileo studied the “Stone of Bologna” or “solar sponge,” produced by alchemists from calcining spar (barium sulfide), which glows in the dark. Galileo inferred from its cool luminescence that light is not the same as heat, but a distinct entity, contra Aristotle.

6 The Milky Way… drawn at the Earl of Rosse's Observatory at Birr Castle  Boeddicker, Otto (1892)

Artful lithographs of the Milkyway from a leading English observatory.

6 The Book of Meteorology  Paracelsus,  (1566)

Paracelsus in this book attacked Aristotelian philosophy, arguing that an experimental understanding of chemical processes would hold the key to advances in meteorology.

6 Atlas of the Stars  Bode, Johann (1782)

Bode created a new constellation, Herschels Teleskop, near Auriga, to honor William Herschel’s discovery of Uranus in 1781. This Bode-Fortin-Flamsteed atlas is a 1782 German edition of Fortin’s 1776 reprinting of Flamsteed’s 1729 atlas.

6 The Assayer, early state  Galileo ,   (1623)

The crest of the Barberini family, showing three busy bees, appears at the top of the frontispiece. Galileo’s supporter, Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, had become Pope Urban VIII. The election of Barberini seemed to assure Galileo of support at the highest level in the Church.

6 New Theater of Machines  Zonca, Vittorio (1621)

This “theater of machines” parades 40 different machines for any kind of purpose, whether a lock on a river, a book press or engraving press, or a device to prevent smoke from filling a room.Unlike the writings of Lorini and Galileo, which included theoretical investigations on the principles of...

6 Galileo Thermoscope replica, Bizzell Memorial Library

Galileo’s thermoscope, ancestor to the thermometer: Galileo pioneered scientific investigations with the thermoscope along with his two Paduan friends, Giovanni Sagredo and Santorio Santorio.

6 Letter on the Pythagorean and Copernican Opinion on the Motion of the Earth and Stability of the Sun  Foscarini, Paolo (1635)

The Carmelite theologian Foscarini defended Copernicanism as compatible with Scripture in this open letter, originally printed in Naples in 1615. Foscarini employed arguments similar to Galileo’s own Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, penned in the same year.

6 Complex Armillary Sphere replica

An armillary sphere is a spherical astrolabe, showing the great circles in their unflattened orientation: The great circle of the ecliptic (the path of the Sun) is marked off in degrees of celestial longitude and in the 12 signs of the Zodiac.

6 Instruments for the Restoration of Astronomy  Brahe, Tycho (1602)

For two decades, Tycho and his assistants at Uraniborg produced thousands of astronomical observations of unprecedented quality. Tycho’s large-scale observing instruments, together with sophisticated new error correction techniques, increased observational precision by a factor of twenty.

6 The Natural History of Plants, 1551  Fuchs, Leonhart (1551)

Herbals were illustrated, colored, and issued both in large folios and small, economical, hand-sized, field-guide formats like this one.

6 Dissection of the Head of a Shark  Steno, Niels (1667)

In an appendix to an anatomical work, written for Ferdinand Medici II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Steno recounted his dissection of the head of a shark that recently had washed ashore.

6 Natural History of Serpents and Dragons  Aldrovandi, Ulysses (1640)

Aldrovandi’s study of serpents describes those from northern Italy with great accuracy. Yet other serpents were reported in literature and by recent travelers.

6 Essays on Natural Experiences, 1666  Accademia del Cimento,  (1666)

The Academy of the Lynx (Accademia dei Lincei) dissolved after the death of its founder, Prince Federigo Cesi. In its place, Grand Duke Ferdinand II established the Academy of Experiment in Florence, which carried further the research program of Galileo.

6 History of that Great and Renowned Monarchy of China  Semedo, Alvaro (1655)

Semedo, a Jesuit who lived in China for more than 20 years, was the first European scholar to see and translate the Nestorian monument in Xian.

6 The Rudolphine Tables  Kepler, Johann (1627)

From his new astronomy, using Tycho’s observations, Kepler calculated these tables of the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets. Kepler adopted John Napier’s recently invented computational method of logarithms, published in 1614.

6 On Anatomy  Colombo, Matteo Realdo (1559)

Between Vesalius and Harvey at Padua: Colombo, a student of Vesalius at Padua, elucidated the pulmonary circulation and described the mitral valve of the heart. William Harvey frequently cited Colombo in his De motu cordis, (On the Circulation of the Blood, 1628).

6 Problems and Exercises in Aristotle’s Mechanics  Baldi, Bernardino (1621)

Aristotle’s Mechanics contained an analysis of the principles of motion and simple machines. While no longer accepted as an authentic work by Aristotle, its influence among Renaissance scientist-engineers was profound, as illustrated in this commentary by Baldi.

6 Ophthalmology  Bartisch, Georg (1583)

First book devoted to diseases of the eyes: In addition to professors in universities who published in Latin, health-care practitioners outside the universities, such as barber-surgeons and apothecaries, printed medical texts in the vernacular.

6 Works in Greek, vol. 4  Aristotle,  (1495-1498)

In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.

6 On the Divine Faculty of Stars  Offusius, Johann Franciscus (1570)

This work on astrology was written by the leader of a Paris circle of astronomers. That group extensively annotated the OU copy of Copernicus within a decade after it was printed.

6 Cosmography, 1574  Munster, Sebastian (1574)

Munster’s Cosmography was one of the most popular books of the 16th century. In addition to the map of the world, it includes separate maps for America, Africa, Asia and Europe. First published in 1540, at least 24 editions were published in the following century.

6 A Voyage to the Islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica, vol. 1  Sloane, Hans (1707-1725)

After studying with the chemist Robert Boyle and the naturalist John Ray, Sloane embarked on a voyage to Jamaica. In these two volumes, Sloane described about 800 species of plants he collected. Sloane included 48 extracts from Hernandez.

6 Human Anatomy  Porta, Giambattista della (1637)

Della Porta applied the “doctrine of signatures” to humans and animals, exploring how the shape of someone’s head, ears, nose or some other external feature might reveal that person’s true, inner nature by how closely it resembles a particular animal.

6 On the Errors of the Trinity  Servetus, Michael (ca. 1700)

Servetus, an anatomist, astrologer, physician and polymath was an early proponent of the pulmonary circulation of the blood. In 1553, Servetus was burned at the stake in Geneva.

7 Wonder Chambers of Nature  Vincent, Levinus (1706-1715)

Levinus Vincent, a wealthy Dutch merchant with ties to the East Indies, created a spectacular natural history museum in Haarlem. Visiting dignitaries admired his museum, including Peter the Great and King Charles III of Spain.

7 A Voyage to the Islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica, vol. 2  Sloane, Hans (1707-1725)

After studying with the chemist Robert Boyle and the naturalist John Ray, Sloane embarked on a voyage to Jamaica. In these two volumes, Sloane described about 800 species of plants he collected. Sloane included 48 extracts from Hernandez.

7 Sacred Mystery of the Structure of the Cosmos  Kepler, Johann (1596)

By far the best known 16th-century defender of Copernicus was Johann Kepler. In this work he demonstrated that vast empty regions lying between the planetary spheres, which were required by Copernicus, were not wasted space.

7 The Pearl of Knowledge  Reisch, Gregor (1599)

Why physicians studied astronomy: Zodiac Man diagrams like this one reveal the hidden correspondences between the organs of the body (the microcosm) and the influences of the stars and planets that affect them (the microcosm).

7 The Dutch Embassy to the Grand Tartar Chamum Sungteium, Modern Emperor of China  Nieuhof, Johann (1668)

This travel narrative and encyclopedia presented the most up-to-date information about China based on Jesuit sources and the knowledge of commercial traders.

7 The Reformed Heaven  Bruno, Giordano (1750)

This work contains a survey of the constellations and a cosmological dialogue, Lo Spaccio de la Bestia Trionfante (The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast, 1584). Bruno, a Dominican astrologer and philosopher, affirmed that the universe is infinite, having no center.

7 Astrolabe replica (2015)

The astrolabe, one of the fundamental instruments for observational astronomy, consists of three major parts: the mater, the underlying disk; the climate, a removable disk adjusted for latitude; and the rete, a ring marked with star positions.

7 New Science  Tartaglia, Niccolo (1558)

Tartaglia’s compass (also known as a “sector”) incorporated the functions of a quadrant and a caliper measuring device. His “new science” investigated the ballistics of cannonballs, laying a foundation for Galileo’s studies of projectile motion and free fall.

7 On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon  Samos, Aristarchus of (1572)

Aristarchus, the Copernicus of antiquity, proposed in the 3rd century B.C.E. that the Sun lies at the center of the universe and that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun.

7 Astronomical Letters  Brahe, Tycho (1596)

In this work, Tycho explained two problems posed for Copernicus by the absence of stellar parallax: 1. Due to the annual movement of the Earth around the Sun, one would expect to see stars appear to shift in position. This parallax evaded detection, even at Uraniborg. 2.

7 The Assayer, later state  Galileo ,   (1623)

Although Galileo eloquently championed mathematical methods in science, the main target of his wit and sarcasm in The Assayer was Grassi, a fellow astronomer, whose mathematical methods proved that comets move above the Moon.

7 The Courtier  Castiglione, Baldassarre (1724)

To move up in the world, Galileo and other members of his generation sought positions at court. To help them know what to expect, Castiglione wrote the standard manual for court etiquette, how to please your supervisor. Coach Galileo would say, pay attention to Castiglione.

7 The Herball, 1597  Gerard, John (1597)

Gerard, an estate manager for Queen Elizabeth’s chief executive, was in contact with naturalists around the world who sent him both plants and soil to grow them in. The first illustration of the “Virginia potato” appears in this volume.

7 Anatomical Illustrations  Eustachi, Bartolomeo (1716)

Lost plates for treatises on teeth, hearing and the kidneys, rediscovered: In the 1560’s, Eustachi, a professor of medicine in the Collegia della Sapienza in Rome, wrote several treatises devoted to particular organs of the body, including a pioneering work on the teeth.

7 Treatise on Fossil Mineral Wood  Stelluti, Francesco (1637)

The Academy of the Lynx emblem appears prominently on this title page. Although Stelluti once believed that fossils resembling wood originated from buried tree trunks, Cesi persuaded him otherwise.

7 Poems, vol. 1  Lord Tennyson, Alfred (1843)

“Many a night I saw the Pleiades rising thro’ the mellow shade, glitter like a swarm of fire-flies Tangled in a silver braid.” “Locksley Hall,” 5th couplet.

7 Notes  Lovelace, Ada (1843)

These notes comprise one of the most important papers in the history of computing. Lovelace explained how Babbage’s “analytical engine,” if constructed, would amount to a programmable computer rather than merely a calculator.

7 Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World  Galileo,  (1632)

Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. This is Galileo’s witty and entertaining dialogue in defense of Copernicus. In the frontispiece, Aristotle and Ptolemy hold an Earth-centered armillary sphere (left). Copernicus holds a Sun-centered model of the universe (right).

7 Essays on Natural Experiences, 1667  Accademia del Cimento,  (1667)

The Academy transformed the thermoscope into the thermometer by adding a graduated scale (which had been done by Galileo and his friends) and by sealing the tube to make it independent of air pressure.

7 Memoirs... made in a late Journey through the Empire of China  Comte, Louis le (1698)

Le Comte, a French Jesuit sent in 1687 by Louis XIV to work in the Kangxi court, depicted the Beijing observatory at the end of Schall’s life.

7 Essay on the Mineral Geography of the Paris Basin  Cuvier, Georges (1810)

Brongniart and Cuvier showed how fossils were the key to unravelling the order of the strata in the Paris basin. Their fieldwork discoveries and anatomical reconstructions of fossils of large quadrupeds demonstrated the existence of former, pre-human worlds.

7 Forecasts  Paracelsus,  (1536)

Woodcuts adorn the top of each page in this “astro-meteorology,” a fusion of meteorology, astronomy, chemistry and medicine containing forecasts for the next 24 years.

7 Works in Greek, vol. 5  Aristotle,  (1495-1498)

In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.

7 Letters  Kepler, Johann (1672 & 1673)

Kepler’s major correspondence is gathered here in two rare volumes bound together. Bernegger, one of Kepler’s closest friends, also published Latin translations of Galileo’s Compass, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, and Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World.

7 Works, Archimedes  Archimedes,  (1543)

Archimedes (d. 212 B.C.) developed the law of the lever with his Treatise on the Balance. He contributed to arithmetic by devising methods for expressing extremely large numbers. He deduced many new geometrical theorems on spheres, cylinders, circles and spirals.

8 Progress and the Hunter’s Lamp of Logical Methods  Bruno, Giordano (1587)

In this work, Bruno advocated a technique for discovery through pure thought, influenced by the methodology of Raymond Lull. This volume also contains the first printing of Bruno’s Examination of Forms (1588).

8 Admonition to Astronomers  Kepler, Johann (1630)

The Rudolpine Tables were not a best seller. Three years later, Kepler and his son-in-law Jacob Bartsch published this little extract to stir up interest in the Rudolphine Tables and boost sales. It contains predictions of the transits of Mercury and Venus across the disk of the Sun in 1631.

8 On the Transformations of the Atmosphere  Porta, Giambattista della (1610)

Della Porta dedicated several books to Cesi. Cesi underwrote publication of this book on meteorology, which includes wide-ranging discussions of water, earthquakes and meteorites. The title page displays Cesi’s coat of arms.

8 The Caterpillar Garden  Merian, Maria Sybilla (1717)

Merian, an artist and naturalist, studied the relationships between flowers and insects; she also bred her own insects for this purpose. She was particularly interested in metamorphosis.

8 A Geometrical Reconstruction of On Conic Sections by Aristaeus  Viviani, Vincenzo (1701)

In this work, Viviani reconstructed an ancient study of conic sections by Aristaeus the Elder (4th century B.C.E.). Viviani became Galileo’s student and assistant in 1639.

8 The Botanic Garden  Darwin, Erasmus (1790)

Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, propounded an evolutionary theory in this widely popular didactic poem on plants. In Part 2, “Loves of the Plants,” he inserted a footnote about manzanilla (also known as chamomile).

8 Beijing: History and Description  Favier, Pierre-Marie-Alphonse (1897)

Photographs of the Beijing observatory show what remained of the astronomical instruments in 1897.

8 On Conic Sections  Apollonius,  (1710)

Apollonius (3rd century B.C.E.) examined the properties of conic sections; namely, the: • circle (cuts a cone horizontally, perpendicularly to the axis of the cone) • ellipse (cuts a cone to make a closed curve) • parabola (cuts a cone parallel to a side of the cone) • hyperbola (cuts a cone in...

8 On the Sphere, 1511  Proclus,  (1511)

This work was attributed to Proclus (5th century), one of the most important Neoplatonic philosophers of late antiquity. It became one of the most popular introductions to astronomy during the Italian Renaissance, appearing in more than 70 16th-century editions.

8 Complete Works  Brahe, Tycho (1648)

In De mundi aetherei (1588), Tycho reported that the comet of 1577 displayed no detectable parallax and thus moved, contrary to Aristotle, in the regions of the heavens beyond the Moon, passing through multiple celestial spheres. The ancient solid spheres melted.

8 On Meteorology  Descartes, René (1637)

This essay on meteorology contains Descartes’ explanation of the optics of the rainbow and his law of refraction. Descartes’ ambitious aim was to produce a new body of writings that would completely displace the Aristotelian corpus.

8 Poems, vol. 2  Lord Tennyson, Alfred (1843)

“Many a night I saw the Pleiades rising thro’ the mellow shade, glitter like a swarm of fire-flies Tangled in a silver braid.” “Locksley Hall,” 5th couplet.

8 Treatise on the Sphere  Grassi, Oratio (1623)

In the same year that Galileo published The Assayer, Grassi delivered these lectures to Jesuit students in the Rome College (Collegio Romano).

8 100 Tales  Boccaccio, Giovanni (1925)

Eyewitness to Black Plague: In the opening section, the Florentine writer Boccaccio (1313-1375) recounted his observations of the plague. According to Boccaccio, most people died within about three days of the appearance of tumors.

8 Commentary on the Canon of Ibn Sina (Avicenna)  Santorio, Santorio (1646)

Galileo’s physics, applied to medicine: Santorio Santorio (also known as Sanctorio or Sanctorius) practiced medicine in Padua, in the Venetian Republic.

8 Treatise on the Measuring Stick  Orsini, Latino (1583)

This book is Orsini’s manual for using a measuring stick instrument which he designed and called a “radio latino.” With its changing angles, multiple sight lines, and various scales, it was useful for making astronomical measurements, surveying uneven topography, measuring a cannon’s bore or...

8 Essays on Natural Experiences, 1701  Accademia del Cimento,  (1701)

The Academy crafted a hygrometer to measure humidity in the air. They improved the barometer, and conducted many experiments with air pressure. The Academy also experimented with light and phosphorescence, radiant heat, the velocity of sound and many other topics.

8 On the Use and Fabrication of the Astrolabe  Danti, Egnazio (1578)

Danti was a cosmographer in the court of Cosimo I de Medici. Visitors to Florence today may view his stunning maps of the world in the Hall of Maps of the Palazzo Vecchio, as well as armillary spheres and a quadrant he mounted on the facade of the church of Santa Maria Novella.

9 The Shield-Bearer for Tycho Brahe  Kepler, Johann (1625)

In his second and last contribution to the “Controversy over the Comets,” Kepler stepped in as a “shield-bearer” to defend Tycho from Galileo’s attacks.

9 The Generous Muse of the Heavens  Cunitz, Maria (1650)

Prior to Newton, fewer than half a dozen astronomers accepted Kepler’s three laws. Galileo was typical in ignoring everything Kepler did. Yet this beautiful book is an exception: it clearly demonstrated that Kepler’s laws were more accurate than anything that had come before.

9 Commentary on the Book of Job  Zuniga, Diego de (1591)

Scientific results were often reported in theological works, as in this first defense of Copernicanism in Spain. In his commentary on Job 9:6 (misnumbered 9:5), Zuniga summarized evidence for Copernicanism from the precession of the equinoxes.

9 The Spectacle according to the Eye: Practical Optics  Manzini, Carlo Antonio (1660)

Galileo designed this lens grinding machine in 1639, when he was 75 years old. Galileo began grinding his own lenses as early as 1609.

9 On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1617  Copernicus, Nicolaus (1617)

In De revolutionibus, Copernicus placed the Sun in the center of the universe and set the Earth in annual motion around the Sun. This is the 3d edition, printed in 1617, the year after the Inquisition stimulated fresh interest in the work by placing it on the Index of Prohibited Books.

9 Works, Byron  Byron, Lord (1815-1824)

“The night hath been to me a more familiar face than that of man, and in her starry shade of dim and solitary loveliness, I learned the language of another world.” (Manfred, Act 3, Scene 4)

9 Galileo Thermoscope replica, Bird Health Sciences Library

Galileo’s thermoscope, developed in the context of pneumatic engineering, was an ancestor to the thermometer. Galileo pioneered scientific investigations with the thermoscope along with his two Paduan friends, Giovanni Sagredo and Santorio Santorio.

9 Introduction to the Astrolabe  Lansbergen, Philip van (1635)

Astronomers use astrolabes for dozens of astronomical operations including telling time by the Sun or stars and determining the positions of planets.

9 Treatise on Painting  da Vinci, Leonardo (1716)

Despite a lack of publications, Leonardo’s fame grew as word of his notebooks spread. The first work by Leonardo to be printed was his Treatise on Painting, published a century after his death. That 1651 Italian edition is on display at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Spring 2016.

9 The World of Jupiter  Mayr, Simon (1614)

With a telescope, Mayr observed the four satellites of Jupiter, accurately determining their periods of revolution. He named them Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto, names which are still used today. In this work Mayr also considered Tycho’s objection to Copernicus based upon star sizes.

9 The Burning Mirror  Cavalieri, Bonaventura (1632)

Archimedes died defending the ancient city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, from the Carthaginian navy. Reports attributed the defense of the city to his ingenuity, including giant mirrors capable of setting attacking ships in the harbor on fire.

9 Treatise on the Equilibrium of Fluids  Pascal, Blaise (1663)

To clarify the ability of the barometer to measure the pressure of the atmosphere, Pascal left a barometer at a low elevation in the town of Clermont, in Auvergne, while taking another with him as he climbed the Puy-de-Dôme.

9 The Kingdom of China, before now called Cathay and Mangin  Cantelli, Giacomo (1682)

This map, based on Cantelli’s own reports as well as the surveys of Martini, influenced the larger Coronelli map also on display. Cantelli depicts relief and features like the Great Wall pictorially. Peking is clearly indicated. Korea is a peninsula, per Martini.

9 Commentary on Al-Qabisi  Al-Qabisi,  (1512)

This medieval introduction to astrology was frequently translated from Arabic into Latin. Al-Qabisi lived in the 10th century in Syria.

9 The Anatomy of Melancholy  Burton, Robert (1628)

The “influenza” of Saturn brings melancholy: On one occasion, Galileo was called as an expert medical witness in a trial to testify about the physical effects of melancholy.

10 The Western and Eastern Parts of China divided into their Provinces  Coronelli, Vincenzo (1696)

European techniques of map-making, coupled with Chinese skill and knowledge, led to this two-sheet map by Coronelli. It clearly indicates the Great Wall, Beijing (Xuntien), Korea, and Taiwan. The westernmost part of Japan is also visible.

10 A Comparison of the Weights for The Astronomical Balance and the Small Scale   Grassi, Oratio (1627)

The Jesuit astronomers who had celebrated Galileo’s telescopic discoveries during his visit to Rome in 1611 now felt estranged by the biting satire of the The Assayer. The controversy concluded with this final reply. Both comets and cosmic systems remained enigmas.

10 A Prognostication Everlasting of Right Good Effect  Digges, Leonard (1605)

This sun-centered cosmic section representes the first published defense of Copernicus in England, printed in a work of meteorology.

10 Commentary on Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics  Philoponus,  (1504)

In the 6th century, the Greek physicist and theologian Philoponus constructed an anti-Aristotelian theory of motion. For Philoponus, an “impressed incorporeal motive force” explains the motion of a top, a projectile, and falling bodies.

10 On the Motion of Animals, 1680 - 81  Borelli, Giovanni (1680-81)

The physics of bones and muscles: Borelli, a practicing mathematician and engineer as well as a physician, analyzed the musculoskeletal system in terms of the mechanics of the lever and other simple machines. Borelli studied under Galileo’s student Castelli, along with Torricelli.

10 Theater of Plantes  Parkinson, John (1640)

An explosion of plant knowledge: Herbals provided much more than biology or natural history information; they offered guidance for health, nutrition and common remedies. Two of the most important early English herbals are John Gerard’s Herball, and this work by Gerard’s student, John Parkinson...

10 Curious Technology  Schott, Gaspar (1664)

Schott was among the first to report the “Miracle of Magdeburg,” the sensational story of Otto von Guericke’s public demonstration of the reality of the vacuum. Von Guericke bolted two large hemispheres together, then evacuated the air inside them with his air pump.

10 The Elements of Euclid  ,  (1847)

Color-coded, graphical proofs occur in this masterpiece of visual presentation and design. Text is dramatically reduced in favor of a strategy of visual thinking.

10 Celebrated Questions on the Book of Genesis  Marsenne, Marin (1623)

Commentaries on Genesis often served as scientific treatises or encyclopedias. Mersenne, a French theologian, astronomer, music theorist and scientific correspondent, addressed a wide range of issues in cosmology in this commentary.

10 Poetical Works  Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1876-1877)

“Heaven’s utmost deep Gives up her stars, and like a flock of sheep They pass before his eye, are number’d, and roll on.” “Prometheus Unbound,” Act IV (lines 418-420)

10 Sphere of the Universe  Biancani, Giuseppe (1620)

After Clavius, Jesuits tended to adopt Tycho’s system. Biancani’s Sphaera replaced Clavius as the standard introduction to astronomy in many Jesuit colleges. Biancani favored Tycho’s system, which preserved the mathematical elegance of Copernicus and accommodated the absence of stellar parallax...

10 On the Quadrant  Lansbergen, Philip van (1635)

Astronomers use quadrants and sextants to measure angular distances in the night sky, such as the angular divergence between a planet and the nearest bright star. One may also measure the height of the North Star above the horizon, which is equal to one’s latitude on the Earth.

11 Paradise Lost  Milton, John (1674)

Milton’s poem, an epic story of the world, recounts the creation and fall, the life of Christ, and the final consummation. Yet in the midst of these history-changing events, Milton found room to mention Galileo’s telescopic discoveries.

11 Subterranean World  Kircher, Athanasius (1665)

This is one of two richly-embellished global sections which depict Kircher’s vision of interlaced systems of air, fire, and water around and within the Earth.

11 New Experiments  von Guericke, Otto (1672)

In this work, von Guericke explained the design of his air pump and recounted additional experiments conducted with it. He employed the barometer to forecast the weather, and invented an electrostatic generator.

11 Astronomical Foundation  Ursus, Nicolaus Reimarus (1588)

The cosmological system of Ursus is similar to that of Tycho Brahe. Both place the Earth in the center, and set the other planets revolving around the Sun. For Ursus, in contrast to Tycho, the Earth rotates around its axis once a day, allowing the sphere of stars to stand still.

11 Anatomical Observations  Steno, Nicolaus (1662)

Stensen’s duct, by a founder of geology: Steno, a physician who worked for Ferdinand II de Medici in Florence, is known to generations of geologists as the founder of stratigraphy and an early advocate of the organic origin of fossils.

11 General History of China, vol. 1  du Halde, J.B. (1741)

Du Halde lived in China for nearly 30 years. This work recounts the story of Candida Xu, who collaborated with the Jesuit astronomers as had her grandfather, Xu Guangki. For a foldout map of China, du Halde drew upon the Kangxi atlases of 1717 and 1721.

11 Mathematical Works  Stevin, Simon (1634)

Stevin’s work represents that of a scientist-engineer in the Low Countries, whose major works appeared in Dutch. Like the scientist-engineers of Italy, Stevin maintained water systems and improved fortifications. He investigated the mechanics of motion, falling bodies and hydraulics.

11 Sextant replica

An astronomer might use a sextant or quadrant to measure the distance between a planet and a notable bright star, or the altitude of a star above the horizon.

11 Critical Commentary on the Official Austrian Pharmacopoeia  von Raszynya, Huszty (1785)

Rebellion against the limitations of 18th century HMOs: The frontispiece to this work protests the limited medicines available from the official apothecary. The Pharmacopoeia Austriaco-provincialis (Vienna, 1774) mandated the medicines and remedies to be made available.

12 The Anatomical Exercises of Dr. William Harvey  Harvey, William (1653)

Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of the blood, first time in English: Concluding a series of brilliant teachers and students at the medical school of Padua that included Vesalius, Colombo, and Acquapendente (a friend of Galileo’s), Harvey marshaled a combination of quantitative,...

12 New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air  Boyle, Robert (1660)

Boyle, who heard of von Guericke’s experiments via Schott, retained Robert Hooke to construct a similar air pump for him. Boyle’s experiments supported his “corpuscular” view of matter, that air is comprised of particles in motion.

12 Theory of the Earth, vol. 1  Burnet, Thomas (1684)

Thomas Burnet, a royal chaplain, classical scholar, and Cambridge Platonist, published Telluris theoria sacra in 1681. The famous frontispiece first appeared in this English edition. A circle of seven globes represents the Earth completing its journey through time.

12 Cosmography, 1585  Barozzi, Francesco (1585)

The illustrations in this cosmography show its indebtedness to the Sacrobosco tradition. Barozzi, a humanist scholar who lectured at the University of Padua, provided an updated introduction to observational astronomy, intended as a replacement for Sacrobosco and Peurbach.

12 General History of China, vol. 3  du Halde, J.B.  (1741)

Du Halde lived in China for nearly 30 years. This work recounts the story of Candida Xu, who collaborated with the Jesuit astronomers as had her grandfather, Xu Guangki. For a foldout map of China, du Halde drew upon the Kangxi atlases of 1717 and 1721.

12 Description and Use of Both the Globes, the Armillary Sphere, and Orrery  Martin, Benjamin (ca. 1760)

This book explains how to use the terrestrial and celestial globes, an armillary sphere (which shows the movements of the sky), and an orrery (which models the motions of the planets). Martin operated an instrument shop in London.

12 On the Center of Gravity of Solids, 1661  Valerio, Luca (1661)

Analyzing the center of gravity of an object was a traditional problem addressed using the methods of Archimedes. Galileo referred to Valerio as “the Archimedes of our age” and recommended him for membership in the Academy of the Lynx.

12 On the Tornado  Boscovich, Ruder (1749)

Boscovic, a Jesuit mathematical physicist from the region of modern-day Croatia, published this account of a tornado that passed through Rome in June of 1749. Benjamin Franklin’s reading of this book prompted his own tornado investigations, including storm chasing.

13 The Natural History of Human Teeth  Hunter, John (1803)

The foundational work for modern dentistry, including tooth transplants: Hunter established a new system of nomenclature for teeth and studied the development of teeth from birth.

13 On the Magnet  Gilbert, William (1600)

Gilbert, a physician to Queen Elisabeth I, wrote the first experimental treatise devoted to magnetism. Gilbert discerned analogies between the Earth and magnets, and reasoned that the Earth itself is a magnet.

13 Theory of the Earth, vol. 2  Burnet, Thomas (1684)

Thomas Burnet, a royal chaplain, classical scholar, and Cambridge Platonist, published Telluris theoria sacra in 1681. The famous frontispiece first appeared in this English edition. A circle of seven globes represents the Earth completing its journey through time.

13 General History of China, vol. 4  du Halde, J.B.  (1741)

Du Halde lived in China for nearly 30 years. This work recounts the story of Candida Xu, who collaborated with the Jesuit astronomers as had her grandfather, Xu Guangki. For a foldout map of China, du Halde drew upon the Kangxi atlases of 1717 and 1721.

13 On Perspective  Monte, Guidobaldo del (1600)

Kepler, Galileo and Guidobaldo were the leading optical theorists of their generation. Galileo studied with Guidobaldo while he was composing this treatise.

13 Opticks  Newton, Isaac (1704)

Newton’s contemporaries may have first heard of him through articles in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. There he reported his experiments with prisms on the nature of light and color in the atmosphere.

13 Delamarche Orrery

An orrery, also called a planetarium, shows the choreography of planets as they dance with coordinated precision around the Sun. From antiquity, geocentric (Earth-centered) models of the moving planets were constructed, such as the Antikythera device and large mechanical clocks.

13 On the Body, 1662  Descartes, René (1662)

The body in mechanical philosophy: Descartes applied the mechanical philosophy to every field of natural knowledge, including cosmology, meteorology, the Earth, astronomy and, in this book, the human body.

14 The Cow Pox  Jenner, Edward (1798)

The quest to eliminate smallpox through vaccination: Jenner, a student of John Hunter, knowing that milkmaids who contracted cowpox became immune to smallpox, surmised that pus from cowpox blisters could be used to vaccinate anyone against smallpox.

14 Meteorological Essays  Dalton, John (1793)

Dalton defined the law of partial pressures in the course of his meteorological research. Three years later, his New System of Chemical Philosophy (Manchester, 1808) presented his atomic theory and provided a way to calculate the relative weights of elements and compounds.

14 Biblical Sciences  Scheuchzer, Johann Jakob (1728)

Biblical accounts of the creation week, deluge, and future conflagration provided early modern naturalists with an idiom for exploring changes in the Earth over time. Scheuchzer was a leading Swiss naturalist and an advocate for the organic origin of fossils.

14 Principles of Philosophy  Déscartes, René (1644)

In Descartes’ cosmology, each star lies at the center of a “vortex,” or gigantic pool of circulating fluid. Stars and vortices are mortal, passing into and out of existence.

14 On the Equations of the Relative Movement of Systems of Bodies  Coriolis, Gaspard-Gustave de  (1835)

Coriolis explicitly analyzed rotating systems such as a waterwheel, but his conclusions apply to the atmosphere and the rotation of the Earth. Galileo’s principle of the relativity of motion depends upon an analogy between the Earth sailing through space and a ship at sea.

14 On Mechanics  Monte, Guidobaldo del (1577)

Hero described five simple machines: the lever, pulley, wheel, wedge and screw. In this theoretical investigation of the foundations of mechanics, Guidobaldo demonstrated that all five machines could be deduced from the principle of the lever.

14 The Three Spheres  Beati, Gabriele (1662)

Which of Kircher’s six world systems are compatible with Beati’s cosmic section? Despite Galileo’s rhetorical attempt to cast cosmological debate as a choice between two chief world systems, Beati’s cosmic section is neither Ptolemaic nor Copernican.

14 On the Body, 1677  Descartes, René (1677)

The illustration of the heart in this French edition shows a different artistic style than the Latin edition.

15 Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds  Fontenelle,  (1728)

In this dramatic and entertaining dialogue, Fontenelle explained Cartesian philosophy and cosmology and argued for the existence of life on other worlds. He justified a popular writing style by encouraging women and men to engage in pleasant evening conversation together on scientific topics.

15 Galileo, Mechanics  Marsenne, Marin (1634)

As a young scientist-engineer, Galileo wrote two manuscripts on motion. The first, Delle macchine, written ca. 1592; reflected the tradition of Aristotle’s Mechanics. It was never printed. The second, revised study, Le mechaniche, written ca.

15 Astronomy Explained upon Sir Isaac Newton's Principles  Ferguson, James (1809)

Ferguson’s books, orreries, clocks and mechanical devices were studied with interest by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and William Herschel, among others.

15 The Origin of Continents and Oceans  Wegener, Alfred (1924)

This page reflects Wegener’s interest in temperature fluctuations and patterns of glaciation. The theory of continental drift developed from Wegener’s researches in Greenland as a meteorologist with an interest in polar climate.

15 Living Anatomy  von Hellwig, Christoph (1720)

Four leaves of colored, interactive anatomical flaps appear throughout this popular anatomical textbook, which recapitulates the combination of art, engineering and anatomy in Galileo’s world.

15 Illustrations of the Bible  Hoet, Gerard (1728)

Conventions of biblical illustration interacted with scientific investigation, each influencing and shaping the other. According to contemporary interpretations of the six days of creation, mountains formed on the 3rd day when the dry land was separated from the sea.

15 The Use of Celestial and Terrestrial Globes, and Spheres, according to the different Systems of the World  Bion, Nicolas (1710)

Even today, while we adopt the Copernican system, we still teach observational astronomy and navigation by the stars using the traditional geocentric instruments: nocturnal dials, celestial globes, and armillary spheres.

16 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1687  Newton, Isaac (1687)

The Copernican idea that the Earth moves as a planet required a thorough revision of physics. Galileo undertook this task in his Discourse on Two New Sciences, published 80 years after Copernicus.

16 The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended  Newton, Isaac (1728)

Newton believed that Solomon’s Temple encoded his inverse square law for universal gravitation. To Newton, his grandest achievement was merely a rediscovery of the treasures of ancient wisdom.

16 Mathematical Discourses  Galileo ,   (1730)

This is the first separate English edition of Galileo’s Discourse on Two New Sciences, his masterwork in mathematical physics. The “two new sciences” are tensile strength and motion.

16 Army Sanitary Administration and its Reform under the late Lord Herbert  Nightingale, Florence (1862)

Organization of nursing as a profession: Florence Nightingale championed social reform and the organization of nursing as a profession.

17 Newtonianism for Women  Algarotti, Francesco (1737)

Algarotti’s popular introduction to Newtonian science went through many editions and aided in the dissemination of Newtonian ideas on the European continent. It was dedicated to Fontenelle. Like Fontenelle’s Plurality of Worlds, it was written as an entertaining dialogue.

17 Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel  Newton, Isaac (1733)

For Newton, science and the Bible were not opposed, provided that one understood each one correctly.

18 An Account of a New Discovered Motion of the Fix’d Stars  Bradley, James (1729)

Direct observational proof of the motion of the Earth remained difficult to find, even as late as the generation of Isaac Newton.

19 On the Proper Motion of Fixed Stars  Bessel, Wilhelm

Scientific theories may be accepted on the basis of a weighing of many complex factors rather than a single determinative observation or crucial experiment. From antiquity, Copernicanism had been rejected due to a failure to observe stellar parallax.

20 Physical Demonstration of the Rotational Movement of the Earth  Foucault, Léon (1851)

The Foucault pendulum swings in a constant plane or direction, and thus reveals the rotation of the Earth turning underneath.

21 Physical Demonstration of the Rotational Movement of the Earth  Foucault, Léon (1851)

The Foucault pendulum swings in a constant plane or direction, and thus reveals the rotation of the Earth turning underneath.

22 The Centenary of General Relativity, misc. items  Einstein, Albert (1915-2015)

The 2015-2016 year is the centenary of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Einstein attributed the formulation of the principle of the relativity of motion to Galileo.