History of Science and Technology

The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Bestiary

White's The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts was the first and, for a time, the only English translation of a medieval bestiary. Bestiaries were second only to the Bible in their popularity and wide distribution during the Middle Ages. They were catalogs of animal stories, combining zoological information, myths, and legends. Great attention was given to bizarre, exotic, and monstrous creatures. Much of the content of bestiaries was drawn from much older sources including Aristotle, early English literature, and oral traditions. White provides an excellent appendix that explains how the creatures of the bestiary influenced the development of allegory and symbolism in art and literature.

A Comparative View of the Human and Animal Frame
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.CompAnat

A Comparative View of the Human and Animal Frame by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was published in 1860. This work fits into the second category of materials on the History of Science and Technology Web site, that is, unique or valuable titles in science and technology held by the UW-Madison Libraries. Hawkins' intent was "to give a comparative view of the variation in form of the bony skeleton or framework of those animals most frequently required by the artist, designer, or ornamentist." The animals represented are some of the most familiar and important, such as the lion, the horse, the bear, the gorilla, and others. The textual explanations of variation in animal form did not yet reflect the influence of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory, but the detailed illustrations added much to the understanding of mammalian anatomy.

Correspondence Concerning Iceland: Written to Sir Joseph Banks
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.BanksJ

This collection of correspondence, written mostly to Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), provides insight into the history of science, natural history, Sir Joseph Banks' life, Iceland, and early travel and world exploration. A British explorer and naturalist who, as long-time president of the Royal Society, London, circumnavigated the globe with Lieutenant James Cook on HMS Endeavour, 1768–1771, taking with him a team of naturalists, illustrators, and assistants. He made unprecedented collections of flora and fauna from many parts of the world. Banks also led the first British scientific expedition to Iceland in 1772. The collection also contains letters, notes, and memoranda written by Banks during this expedition. The materials range from 1772 to 1818. The original materials, including hand-written correspondence, are housed in Special Collections at UW Memorial Library. Because the collection contains handwritten material it is, unfortunately, not full-text searchable at this time.

Cyclopaedia, or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences…
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia

Ephraim Chambers' acclaimed eighteenth-century classic, Cyclopaedia, or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences… , in two volumes, appeared in 1728. The Supplement, also in two volumes, followed in 1753. Noteworthy features of this distinguished work, the first edition, include the use of cross-references; the Dedication to the King, George II, and the compiler's "Plan of the Work," within the prefatory section, volume one. The Cyclopaedia is held in the Special Collections Department, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Department of Chemical Engineering Technical Papers
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.ChemEngTech

The Department of Chemical Engineering Technical Papers were written by University of Wisconsin chemical engineers between 1900 and 1935. There are five volumes containing 190 papers. The papers have been made available online because they show the development of the field of electrochemistry, which was the early emphasis of this department. Additionally, they provide a history of the University of Wisconsin's Department of Chemical Engineering itself.

A description of the nature of four-footed beasts : with their figures engraven in brass (1678). Jonstonus, Joannes, 1603-1675.
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Jonstonus

Joannes Jonstonus, 1603-1675 (var. names: John Johnstone, Jan Jonston), was a naturalist, historian, educator and physician, born in Poland to a family of Scottish descent. Well-travelled and well-educated, Jonstonus compiled richly illustrated encyclopedias on botany and zoology that appeared in several editions and several languages. A Description of the Nature of Four-footed Beasts is the 1678 London edition, translated into English, of Jonstonus' earlier Latin "Historiae naturalis de quadripedibus." This volume contains 80 engraved illustrations at the end of the volume. Tabulae X through XII and pages 19-21 may be of special interest to those curious about seventeenth century knowledge of unicorns. The source text for this online facsimile is housed at UW-Madison, Memorial Library Special Collections, at Thordarson T 2036.

Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer, aus dem 16ten und 17ten Jahrhundert...(1788)
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.GeheimeFiguren

Published anonymously in the latter part of the 18th century, Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer or Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians is a critical document explaining the source of Rosicrucian ideas. Dating to the early 17th century, the Rosicrucians are highly contentious. Some scholars view the group as alchemists, others as a group wishing to promote social reform. This addition of Geheime Figuren contains beautiful illustrations of the symbols that were central to the followers of the Rosy Cross.

Luther Burbank: his methods and discoveries and their practical application
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.LutherBurbank

Luther Burbank: His Methods and Discoveries. A 12-volume monographic series documenting Burbank's methods and discoveries and their practical application, prepared from his original field notes covering more than 100,000 experiments made during forty years devoted to plant improvement. Created with the assistance of the Luther Burbank Society and its entire membership, under the editorial direction of John Whitson and Robert John and Henry Smith Williams.

Burbank (1849–1926) was one of North America's foremost American plant breeders. He experimented with thousands of plant varieties and developed many new ones, including new varieties of prunes, plums, raspberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, and nectarines. Besides the Burbank potato, he produced new tomato, corn, squash, pea, and asparagus forms; a spineless cactus useful in cattle feeding; and many new flowers, especially lilies and the famous Shasta daisy.

Mémoires pour servir á l'histoire naturelle des animaux. Perrault, Claude (1613-1688).
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Perrault

Memoir's for a natural history of animals: containing the anatomical descriptions of several creatures dissected by the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris.

Micrographia: or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses : with observations and inquiries thereupon (MDCLXVII [1667]). Hooke, Robert,1635-1703.
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.HookeMicro

British natural philospher Robert Hooke (1635-1703) was a major figure in the history of science, and his most famous work, Micrographia: or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses…, is reproduced here, from the 1667 second issue held at UW-Madison, Memorial Library Special Collections, at Thordarson T 1988. (See further information in a virtual exhibition on the " History of the Printed Scientific Book.") Hooke has been called the first professional research scientist employed specifically to enquire into the phenomena and principles of nature, based on his 1664 salaried appointment at the Royal Society of London. In Micrographia he describes, explains and speculates about his microscopic observations of plant tissue, insects, crystal structures, snowflakes, and more. Thirty-eight detailed engravings (schemata) document Hooke's close-up views.

Nature
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Nature

In the inaugural volume of Nature, in his article "Nature: Aphorisms from Goethe," T. H. Huxley wrote: "When another half-century has passed, curious readers of the back numbers of NATURE will probably look on our best, 'not without a smile;' and, it may be, that long after the theories of the philosophers whose achievements are recorded in these pages, are obsolete, the vision of the poet will remain as a truthful and efficient symbol of the wonder and the mystery of Nature." As Huxley foresaw, this collection of Nature provides insight into the developments and achievements of science at the end of the nineteenth century.

Pioneer Microbiologists of America
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.PioneerMicrobio

Paul F. Clark, professor emeritus of Medical Microbiology, began his career at the University in 1914, retiring thirty-eight years later in 1952. He was the first chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Medical Bacteriology. Pioneer Microbiologists of America was published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1961. Clark's work was an attempt to chronicle and interpret early American microbiology beginning in the nineteenth century and ending around 1916. As a history of American microbiology, this work is even richer because Clark knew many of the people about whom he wrote, including Fred, Baldwin, and McCoy.

Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.RootNodule

Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants by Edwin Broun Fred, Ira Lawrence Baldwin, and Elizabeth McCoy first appeared seventy years ago as part of a series, University of Wisconsin Studies (no. 52, Science no. 5), published by the University of Wisconsin in 1932. This work summarized published research in biological nitrogen fixation from approximately 1576 through 1930. A pioneering effort that brought together years of source material from English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages, Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants was a thorough and critical examination that not only synthesized research findings in light of then-current knowledge, but also suggested areas where new research was needed.

Smithsonian Science Series
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.SmithSnSciSer

The Smithsonian Scientific Series is intended to enlighten and interest the general reader. It does not represent an attempt to summarize all science, or even all branches of science on which the Smithsonian can speak with authority. It will, however, acquaint the reader with the organization, history, and activities of the scientific institution which has grown up with the nation and fostered the nation's scientific activities. It is an introduction to the workings and achievements of the scientific method over a large field, and may open doors to some branches of science.

Wohlmeinende, treue, und sehr nützliche Ermahnungen an die Anfänger in dem tiefsinningen Studio der Hermetischen Philosophie
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Mosch

A work by (the tongue-twisting) Johann Anton Moscherosch von Wißelsheim typifies the strengths of the history of science collections in the Department of Special Collections. The book, entitled Wohlmeinende, treue, und sehr nützliche Ermahnungen an die Anfänger in dem tiefsinningen Studio der Hermetischen Philosophie (Nuremberg: George Bauer, 1765), speaks to issues of early modern science, philosophy, and the occult, and fits with other holdings of Special Collections, notably the Duveen Collection of Alchemy and Chemistry and important holdings (especially pre-1801) for philosophy and theology. This electronic facsimile provides broader access to a fragile and rare work by providing an overview of the structure of the text.