Upcoming in 2013

Crayon on Stone: Science Embraces the Lithograph, 1800-1899
March 28, 2013 - September 14, 2013

Around 1800, Alois Senefelder introduced a new printing technique called lithography. He printed from a polished block of limestone, instead of a copper plate or a wood block, and the resulting lithograph provided a new warmth and expressiveness that was difficult to achieve with an engraved plate or a woodcut. Science took to the new technique very quickly.

By 1830, Elizabeth Gould was making lithographs of birds for her husband John, John Richardson was publishing lithographs of Arctic animals discovered during the search for the Northwest passage, and Beer and Mädler were revealing new features of the moon in their large lithographed lunar map.

One of the greatest applications of lithography to scientific illustration was the portrayal of fossils. A fossil in its stony matrix is very difficult to reproduce with an engraving or a woodcut. But with lithography, one can use a crayon to perfectly duplicate the texture and appearance of stone. It is not surprising that when the first Compsognathus (a small dinosaur) skeleton was discovered in 1859, and the first Archetopteryx skeleton (the "first bird") in 1861, both were announced to the world in publications illustrated by large lithographs. The irony is that both fossils were found in the limestone quarries of Solnhofen, Bavaria, which also is the source of the world's finest lithographic stone. So in the end, we have limestone captured on limestone, a truly divine marriage.

By the middle of the century we find chromolithographs printed in several colors, and by the end of the century, we find 14-stone lithographs illustrating books of birds and butterflies. It was even possible to photograph directly onto a lithograph stone, and the resulting photolithograph has the realism of a photograph, but the durability and reproducibility of a lithograph.

This exhibit will display eighty years of scientific lithography, from the very first ever printed (we have the first American book with lithographs in the Library's collections) to the end of the century. Many of the most stunning scientific illustrations ever printed are lithographs, and we wish to include as many as we can, to create what should be a visually stunning exhibition.

Wheels, Pyramids, and Spinning Tops: The Scientific Approach to Color
October 10, 2013 - March 14, 2014

What is your favorite color? This seemingly straightforward question is anything but simple. If a follower of Aristotle answered the question, they would choose one of five colors or light and dark. A proponent of Isaac Newton might select one of the seven colors of the rainbow. A contemporary web developer might choose from a palette of 256 colors and a fashion designer could select one of the 1,925 colors in a Pantone palette. Philosophers, scientists, manufacturers, and artists have struggled with the attempt to understand, categorize, capture, and standardize colors from ancient times to the present day. In fact, color is devoid of meaning without human perception.

The exhibition explores color from several vantage points. Published theories on color systems are represented by an amazing array of intricate diagrams and dazzling representations of color. Visitors will see Richard Waller's hand-colored, linear exploration of Isaac Newton's theory ("A Catalogue of Simple and Mixt Colours," Philosophical Transactions, 1686); Michel Chevreul's color wheels with their incremental increases of light and dark pigments (Exposé d'un Moyen de Définir et de Nommer les Couleur, 1861); Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's experiential color studies (Zur Farbenlehre, 1810); and Albert Munsell's color tree concept (A Color Notation, 1905) that demonstrated the attributes hue, chroma, and value.

The west alcove will provide a brief look at color science's early history. Once a subject of contemplation for philosophers and priests, color entered the realm of scientific investigation with the publication of Isaac Newtons first article "... Containing his New Theory about Light and Colours" (Philosophical Transactions, 1672). Arcane, early investigations will be illustrated using diagrams on color from Francis Aguilon (Opticorum, 1613) and Athanasius Kircher (Ars Magna Lucis et Umbræ, 1646), and Johan Scheuchzer's colorful representation of Noah's rainbow (Physica Sacra, 1731). Newton's early experiments, his later work (Opticks, 1704), as well as experiments by fellow investigators, will demonstrate the transition from philosophy to science.

In the east exhibition hall visitors will explore specific aspects of the experience of color firsthand. Concepts of color vision and color blindness are presented through the optical works of James Clerk Maxwell (Experiments on Colour, as Perceived by the Eye, 1855), Thomas Young ("On the Theory of Light and Colors," Philosophical Transactions, 1802), and Hermann Helmholtz (Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik, 1867). Visitors will have the opportunity to see Wilhelm Von Bezold's color experiments (Theory of Color, 1876). By spinning tops, experiencing color illusions, experimenting with different states of color vision, and exploring the interaction of colors, visitors will leave the exhibition with new insights on the line between the sensation and the science of color.