Illuminating collection of rare books in new Library exhibition
A new exhibition “Light” dedicated to the International Year of Light, an initiative of the United Nations, opens this week in the University Library.
The exhibition, curated by Dr Gillian Butcher from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, explores themes in the history of the science of light through items from the Library’s Special Collections.
It begins by highlighting some important anniversaries being celebrated in 2015, examining the age of enlightenment, and astronomy before and after the invention of the telescope.
Among the works on display are the first printed Latin translation of Ibn Al-Haytham’s work Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nunc primùm editi (Basle, 1572), a 1613 edition of Galileo’s Letters on Sunspots and a rare book featuring correspondence and poems of Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell.
The exhibition runs until 11 September 2015 in the basement of the David Wilson Library, and may be viewed during the Library's staffed opening hours. Entry to the Library is free but security controlled. Ask for admission to the Special Collections exhibition at reception.