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Tag: Aeronautics

Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Allan Poe: Science in Fiction

Doug Dunlop
October 30, 2015
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Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe
Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe. Courtesy of The Museum of Edgar Allan Poe Richmond, Virginia.

As a preeminent American literary figure, Edgar Allan Poe is widely known for his tales of horror and the macabre. Less well known about Poe is his place in literary history as inventor of detective fiction, his contributions to the emergence of science fiction, and as editor of a textbook on conchology (The conchologist’s first book). It is through his work as science fiction writer that Poe found his way into Fantastic Worlds: Science and Fiction 1780-1910, a Smithsonian Libraries’ exhibition, now on display at the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian Libraries gallery space located in One West.

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Rare Books and Journals on Aviation Now Digitized

Chris Cottrill
January 2, 2013
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Rare Books and Journals on Aviation Now Digitized
Fantastic Plan Presented by Citizen Monge, of England, in 1798
1798 plan for an airship, featured in 1910 issue of Aircraft

In the early 20th century, few things excited the public more than the development of mechanized flying machines.  Whether aircraft or dirigible, these machines were documented in the specialized and popular literature of the day.  The Smithsonian Libraries is committed to digitizing its special collection of rare books and journals on the invention and growth of aviation. Many of the tiles we’ve scanned and digitized to date are accessible through the Internet Archive.

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