European collections of scientific instruments, 1550-1750 / edited by Giorgio Strano ... [et al.].

• Superior document: History of science and medicine library, v. 10. Scientific instruments and collections ; v. 1
• TeilnehmendeR: Strano, Giorgio.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: History of science and medicine library ; v. 10.; History of science and medicine library. Scientific instruments and collections ; v. 1.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (262 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Collections of scientific instruments originated as part of Renaissance collections of 'naturalia' and 'artificialia'. Surveying and astronomical instruments were common in such collections, their role being to impress visitors by displaying the power that a ruler acquired through the control of nature. This book offers selected studies of notable European collections of scientific instruments from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. These studies also present the work of important instrument makers of the time, and their relations with patrons and rulers. A final section focuses on the role of modern museums and collectors in saving this scientific heritage from dispersal. The result is a contemporary perspective on the formation of the most important museums of the history of science. Contributors include: Paolo Brenni, Filippo Camerota, Gloria Clifton, Wolfram Dolz, Sven Dupré, Karsten Gaulke, Sven Hauschke, Michael Korey, Mara Miniati, Tatiana M. Moisseeva, Peter Plaßmeyer, Klaus Schillinger, Giorgio Strano, Koenraad Van Cleempoel, and Ewa Wyka. Scientific Instruments and Collections , 1

Table of Contents

Preliminary Materials / G. Strano , S. Johnston , M. Miniati and A.D. Morrison-Low -- The Mathematical Instruments Of Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508–1585) / Sven Hauschke -- Christoph Schissler: The Elector’s Dealer / Peter Plaßmeyer -- Some Lesser-Known Dresden Instrument Makers Of The Seventeenth Century / Klaus Schillinger -- The Waywisers Of Elector Augustus Of Saxony And Their New Use In The Survey Of Saxon Postal Roads / Wolfram Dolz -- Optical Objects In The Dresden Kunstkammer: Lucas Brunn And The Courtly Display Of Knowledge / Sven Dupré and Michael Korey -- “The First European Observatory Of The Sixteenth Century, As Founded By Landgrave Wilhelm IV Of Hesse-Kassel”: A Serious Historiographic Category Or A Misleading Marketing Device? / Karsten Gaulke -- Philip II’s Escorial And Its Collection Of Scientific Instruments / Koenraad Van Cleempoel -- The Medici Collection Of Mathematical Instruments: History And Museography / Filippo Camerota -- Scientific Instruments And The Legacy Of Johannes Broscius, Professor Of The Krakow Academy / Ewa Wyka -- Scientifica Of The Petersburg Kunstkamera As The Instruments For The Introduction Of New European Knowledge In Russia / Tatiana M. Moisseeva -- The Central European Instruments 1500–1800 In The Collections Of The National Maritime Museum And Royal Observatory, Greenwich: A Study In The History Of Collecting / Gloria Clifton -- The Collecting Taste: Italian Case-Studies Between The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries / Mara Miniati -- General Index / G. Strano , S. Johnston , M. Miniati and A.D. Morrison-Low.