Gardens of Knowledge

John Hill, 1714?-1775. A general natural history: or, New and accurate descriptions of the animals, vegetables, and minerals, of the different parts of the world. .  3 v. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, 1748-1752.   Department of Special Collection, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

John Hill, 1714?-1775. A general natural history: or, New and accurate descriptions of the animals, vegetables, and minerals, of the different parts of the world. . 3 v. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, 1748-1752. Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In my internet wanderings this week I stumbled on an interesting online exhibit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Gardens of Knowledge features a variety of botanical volumes published in the 17th and 18th centuries and includes some nice images.  It doesn’t make any attempt at broad historical analysis, but is a good jumping-off point for discovering interesting botanical works.

If you happen to be in Madison, WI

The UW-Madison Department of Special Collections has created what looks like a fascinating exhibit on the use of color in scientific books between the 15th and 20th centuries.  It’s in conjunction with the 2008 Culture of Print in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine conference taking place in September, but the exhibit will be open all summer.  It focuses on changing color technologies and how the use of color was approached from a scientific perspective, drawing from the library’s extensive science and natural history collection.   For more information visit the Special Collections website.