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History of Science

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Detail of a hand colored, engraved print of Grenada shows a scene of naval warfare, as seen by smoke engulfing one ship.

Prise de l'isle de la Grenade...

Roger fils

1782

Detail from a printed book shows text in Spanish including "Ensayo" at the top of the page.

Semanario del Nuevo Reyno de Granada

Francisco Jose de Caldas

1808

Detail of a printed book shows full-page illustrations of plants. Text in Latin also visible.

Aromatum, et simplicium aliquot medicamentorum apud Indos

Garcia de Orta

1567

Detail of a printed book shows text in French that indicate foods such as "Pain Frais" and "Biscuit" with corresponding amounts in ounces.

Composition de la ration des gens de mer

French Admiralty

1785

Detail of a hand colored manuscript map shows villages labeled in Spanish such as "Pueblo de S. Pablo" and "Pueblo de Huitziltzinco." Churches, trees, and bodies of water are also included in the map.

El presente mapa demuestra la cituacion, plano, y repartimiento, que en la actualidad tienen los arroyos, que bajan de Sierra Nevada…

Felipe de Zúñiga y Ontiveros

1770

Detail of a printed book shows a full-page map and text at the of the page reading "America."

Historia Mundi: or Mercator’s Atlas...

Gerhard Mercator

1635

Detail of a printed text shows an astronomical circular diagram and text in English.

An account of the observation of Venus upon the sun...

Benjamin West

1769

Printed text shows a large, coiled snake with some Latin text visible.

Historia naturæ

Joannes Eusebius Nieremberg

1635

Frontispiece from Museum Wormianum. Seu, Historia rerum rariorum, 1655.

Natural History Collecting in Late Colonial New Spain: Highlights from the JCB Collection

Wednesday, September 29 at 1:00pm

Image of an artificial flower clock, with two hands emerging from clouds on either side holding a numbered circle, and a thorn stemming from the flower's circle pointing at the time.

Fellow's Talk

Earthquakes and Timekeeping Practices in New England, 1600-1800

Wednesday, August 25 at 1:00pm

Fellow's Talk

Studying Absence: Archival Fragments and Interdisciplinary Methods in the History of Medicine in the Atlantic Slave Trade

Wednesday, June 16 at 1:00pm

Air America

April - June, 2016

A map showing the Americas and a constellation over them

Constellations: Reimagining Celestial Histories in the Early Americas

November 2020 - August 2021

map of the world with continents upside down

Exhibition opening

Constellations exhibition launch and guided tour with Historian of Science Simon Schaffer

Friday, October 30 at 3:00pm

illustration of sixteenth-century technological developments

Drugs from the Colonies: The New American Medicine Chest

Fall - Winter 2011

Voyage to the Islands: Hans Sloane, Slavery, and Scientific Travel in the Caribbean

Spring - Summer 2012