Research

The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours

Published in 1859, Michel Eugene Chevreul's (1786-1889) The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours is considered a masterpiece in the science and exploration of color. A chemist who specialized in the study of animal fats and fatty acids, Chevreul is one of the 72 French engineers and scientists whose names are inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.

Multivariate Data Analysis

Data analysis and data modeling are extremely important in the world of ecology, so it is no surprise that the three titles with the most checkouts per year at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Library are all statistics or modeling texts, including Multivariate Data Analysis. Multivariate analysis “refers to all statistical methods that simultaneously analyze multiple measurement on each individual or object under investigation." This book is a particularly powerful tool for researchers without formal training in statistics.

Shrimps, Lobsters, and Crabs

Many of us may think of Old Bay and/or butter when we think of shrimp, lobster, and crabs, but for the scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), these creatures are viewed as part of food webs, as ecological invaders, or as proxies for understanding ecosystem dynamics.

Histoire de la Table

This beautifully illustrated volume gives an historical overview of European dining customs from the Middle Ages through present day. Many pages feature artworks depicting dining scenes paired with photographs of food and drink related objects from the time period to provide a sumptuous picture of “la table” through the ages. The French text gives detailed information on eating habits as well as tablewares including porcelain, glassware, silverware, textiles, and even furniture.

Recueil de Planches, Sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux, et les Arts Méchaniques. Encyclopédie - t.2

The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une Société de Gens de lettres was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 74,000 articles written by more than 130 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a machine de guerre which served to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The impact of the Encyclopédie was enormous.

Recueil de Planches, Sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux, et les Arts Méchaniques. Encyclopédie - t.3

The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une Société de Gens de lettres was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 74,000 articles written by more than 130 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a machine de guerre which served to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The impact of the Encyclopédie was enormous.

Recueil de Planches, Sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux, et les Arts Méchaniques. Encyclopédie - t.4

The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une Société de Gens de lettres was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 74,000 articles written by more than 130 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a machine de guerre which served to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The impact of the Encyclopédie was enormous.

Recueil de Planches, Sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux, et les Arts Méchaniques. Encyclopédie - t.5

The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une Société de Gens de lettres was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 74,000 articles written by more than 130 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a machine de guerre which served to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The impact of the Encyclopédie was enormous.

Recueil de Planches, Sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux, et les Arts Méchaniques. Encyclopédie - t.9

The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une Société de Gens de lettres was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 74,000 articles written by more than 130 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a machine de guerre which served to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The impact of the Encyclopédie was enormous.

Introduction à L'Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale

"Probably the greatest classic on the principles of physiological investigation and the scientific method applied to the life sciences." (Garrison-Morton 1766.501) In this work, Claude Bernard (1813-1878) presented his own personal analysis of the scientific method in a manner which earned him outstanding commendation from the philosophers of science: he was an ardent but by no means uncritical devotee of experiment, while remaining keenly appreciative of the role of hypothesis.

Redirecting Science

This volume is an important study for understanding the complex interconnections between basic science and its sources of economic support in the period between the two world wars. The focus of the study is on the Institute for Theoretical Physics (later renamed the Niels Bohr Institute) at Copenhagen University, and the role of its director, the eminent Danish physicist, Niels Bohr, in the funding and administration of the Institute.

British Mineralogy

James Sowerby's British Mineralogy is the first comprehensive illustrated work on mineralogy. Though more than 200 years old, in many ways it has never been superceded. It was issued in parts over 15 years and ultimately contained 550 plates meticulously drawn from actual specimens, engraved and brilliantly colored by Sowerby himself and members of his naturalist/artist family accompanied by descriptive text. It is by common consensus "the supreme work of British topographical mineralogy, [and] the most ambitious colourplate work on minerals ever published" (Conklin).

A Large Dictionary English and Dutch

The Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History has been building a collection of foreign language dictionaries from the same time periods as the books in our rare collections (16th through 19th centuries) so that researchers can consult contemporary sources when reading and translating the books. Latin, Dutch, German, French, and Spanish have been the top priorities, with Swedish, Portuguese, and Italian as a second-tier. For 18th century Dutch, we recently bought the 4th edition of Sewel's English-Dutch dictionary, first published in 1691.

Epistola de Praecipuis Naturae et Artis Curiosis Speciminibus Musei

The natural history rare book collection includes a growing body of publications describing, cataloging, illustrating, and/or discussing early natural history cabinets and specimen collections. They are important to scientific researchers for identifying collections and individual specimens that are referenced in taxonomic works (and that may have served as the type on which a new species was named). In this short publication, Friedrich Christian Lesser (1692-1754) describes a number of specimens in his natural history cabinet.

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