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Shapes in Books: Triangles, Squares, Circles (2015-2016)

The four, the three, the two, the one. From Heinrich Khunrath, Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae (Hamburg, 1595). Duveen Collection, Special Collections, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The four, the three, the two, the one. From Heinrich Khunrath, Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae (Hamburg, 1595). Duveen Collection, Special Collections, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

December 3, 2015 – May 6, 2016

In recent reflections on printed books and their history, the so-called geometry of the page has come in for considerable discussion. This exhibit took a slightly different approach to matters geometrical — showcasing rare books on geometry, to be sure, but also other instances of geometrical shapes (in particular, triangles, squares, and circles) as rendered in type, ornament, illustrations, and metaphors.

A checklist identifying the books and manuscripts in the exhibit is available.

The Pythagorean theorem as illustrated in Oliver Byrne's celebrated edition of Euclid's elements of geometry (London: William Pickering, 1847). From the Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Pythagorean theorem as illustrated in Oliver Byrne’s celebrated edition of Euclid’s elements of geometry (London: William Pickering, 1847). From the Department of Special Collections.