Netherlands

Exhibit items related to Netherlands.

Exhibit Items

	Antonio van Leeuwenhoek Microscope replica (2015) The Boerhaave Museum holds several of Leeuwenhoek’s original microscopes, from which this replica was created.
	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.
	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.
0	Evenings at the Microscope Gosse, Philip Henry (1884)
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.
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.
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	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	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.
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	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.
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	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.
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.
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.
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	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	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.
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	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.
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.
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.