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Books of Nature: An Exhibit of Science & Natural History Books from Special Collections (2014)

March 17 – August 1, 2014

Detail of engraving from Aguilon, Opticorum libri sex (1613). From the Albert Collection, Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Detail of engraving from Aguilon, Opticorum libri sex (1613). From the Albert Collection, Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A large exhibit on history of science, highlighting the rich holdings of Special Collections. From editions of late medieval and Renaissance textbooks of cosmology to those editions of the so-called

Treasure of Euonymus “conteyninge the wonderfull hid secrets of nature,” and from 19th-century nature-printed titles about seaweed to one volume of the magnificent Audubon double elephant folio Birds of America, this exhibit pointed to lessons that can be learned from multiple “books of nature.” Its contents drew upon numerous collections for history of science in Special Collections, and demonstrated the breadth and depth of those holdings.

The exhibit was installed in conjunction with a lively symposium on “Bibliography, Collections, and the History of Science” co-sponsored by the Caxton Club of Chicago, and the Bibliographical Society of America in cooperation with the UW-Madison Libraries.