Oliver Byrne, in the introduction to his The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid of 1847, states that “the Elements of Euclid can be acquired in less than more »
Tag: Smithsonian Libraries
By 1800, most Northern States had, or were about to, pass legislation that made slavery illegal. Following the Revolution, freedom of blacks had been a cause with legal cases brought more »
The patron saint of both printers and brewers is Aurelius Augustine, born in 354 CE in present-day Algeria. He studied and taught philosophy and rhetoric there and in Carthage, Rome more »
Publications detailing how to survive any given situation pop up everywhere. Some are serious and fearful, others practical and common sense, and then there are those tongue-in-cheek and humorous. Wilderness more »
The Smithsonian’s Annual Report of 1963, listing notable acquisitions and donations, included: The division of naval history acquired, from Capt. P. V. H. Weems, the Weems Memorial Library and its more »
Should you happen to spot—say, in a yard sale, thrift store or grandparent’s house—an old copy of that classic of ornithological literature, A Field Guide to the Birds, have a close look. The first printing of the first edition of 1934 is calling for prices well over $10,000 in the antiquarian book trade. One was recently spied by keen-eyed staff in an office at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park. This volume has been transferred to a more suitable habitat, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, for cataloging, preservation, research access, and education. Curator Leslie Overstreet has gathered from branch libraries three others of this title to include in the rare book library’s holdings.
My favorite chronicler of natural and cultural histories in early America is Englishman John Josselyn. He was a curious and good-humored observer of the 17th-century inhabitants of northern New England, more »