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Poleni as a young man showed brilliance in a wide variety of different subjects and it was clear that he was extraordinarily talented. His parents encouraged him to begin a judicial career, but after being introduced to mathematics and science by his father, it was clear that he had now found the subjects which gave him the most satisfaction. His published works appeared also in these fields.

The book was written "with an attempt to explain the causes of the frequent elevation and depression of large portions of the Earth's surface in remote periods, and to prove that those causes continue in action at the present time." The volume also contains a supplement titled: Conjectures on the physical condition of the surface of the Moon.

Porta's Natural magick was originally published in four "books" (=chapters) and later expanded to 20 chapters. The text is devoted to various experiments, distillation, transmutation of metals, artificial gems, etc. The 17th chapter on optics is the most important⁠—it went through 18 editions in different languages prior 1600.

Sir John Frederick William Herschel (1792-1871) — astronomer, mathematician, and chemist — was one of the most important English scientists of the 19th century. In his Outlines of Astronomy, he provides a complex review of what was known of the physical world in his era. His textbook appeals to both the general and the specialist reader as it discusses a range of phenomena from Earth's basic characteristics to astronomy.

Bound with:
- Pianciani, G.B. Della elettricità eccitata dal contatto. [Rome?: Nella stamperia del Giornale arcadico?, 1828?];
- Pianciani, G.B. Osservazioni sulla teorica della elettricità voltaica. [Rome?: Nella stamperia del Giornale arcadico?, 1829?];
- Pianciani, G.B. Note sulla meteorologia dell' anno 1828. [Rome?: Nella stamperia del Giornale arcadico?, 1829?].

Blainville worked at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, where he clashed with his colleague Georges Cuvier, the great anatomist and paleontologist, over the concept of evolution. Originally issued in parts over a 26-year period, Blainville's study of the comparative anatomy of modern and fossil mammals ultimately formed four volumes of text and four of plates. SIL holds only portions of the work, mainly the parts on marine mammals received as gifts from Smithsonian curators. The plates presented here for preservation treatment are extensively annotated in French.

This small pamphlet in James Smithson's library is by his friend and fellow mineralogist, William Thomson, who gave it to him. Thomson had settled in Italy after university and Smithson visited him there periodically during his travels. Held in the U.S. uniquely by SIL, it presents a brief report on the thermal siliceous encrustations at the Campo Flegrei near Naples and is followed by a catalog of the lavas, crystals, minerals, and other materials that Thomson collected from the spectacular eruption of Vesuvius in June 1794, a selection of which he sent to Smithson.

A German botanist and taxonomist who served as the President of the Akademie der Naturforscher "Leopoldina" (now the German National Academy of Sciences) from 1818 until his death in 1858, Nees von Esenbeck was a prolific researcher who described for science almost 7,000 species of plants. In the present work he set out the first full classification of the large and complex Aster genus. Although much revised by modern research, it still serves as an important reference for Smithsonian botanists studying the group.

This publication on the wild chickpea is one of the books in James Smithson's personal library, now preserved in SIL's Cullman Library. Only one other library in the U.S. (and only 7 worldwide) holds the work. Targioni Tozzetti, a professor of botany at the University of Pisa, was a contemporary of Smithson's and probably met him through their shared interest in mineralogy and mineral collecting during one of Smithson's periodic visits to Italy.

This early handwritten book was put on paper in the era when printing started in the Western world. It comprises selected citations by Ancient authors extracted from philosophical and metaphysical books. Its traditionally presumed editor and compiler is Aristotle.

Thisscarce bibilography of 16th-19th century natural history curiosity cabinets is one of the most complete references availableon the subject ofwunderkammer. TheJoseph F.Cullman 3rd Libraryof Natural History has a comprehensivecollection of not only curiosity cabinetcataloguespublished in thier own time, but also an in depth collection of books that detail the collection and assemblage of such cabinets. This book is an invaluable compliment to the study of early museums and natural history collecting.

An early work on electrophysiology and galvanism. Eusebio Valli studied the contraction of the muscles in a series of electrical stimulation experiments, much like his better known contemporaries, Alessandro Volta and Luigi Galvani. In this book, the Italian Valli chose to present his observations in the English language.