Category: School of Chemistry

The Universal Herbal

diuadm/ / Art Collections, Book Collections, Edinburgh Medical School, School of Biological Sciences, School of Chemistry, School of Geosciences

Fascinating book of the month requested for digitisation in the DIU goes to Thomas Greens “The Universal Herbal; or, botanical, medical, and agricultural dictionary. Containing an account of all the known plants in the world, arranged according to the Linnean system. With the best methods of propagation, and the most recent agricultural improvements.”  The book is lyrically illustrated with basic but pragmatic hand colouring befitting it’s dictionary status. However it is a visually delicious looking two volume set with some unusual and intriguing entries as can be seen below. Broad-leaved Bastard Parsley is certainly a new one to me.

Malcolm Brown, Deputy Photographer

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Meteorites and Fossilised Rain Drops

diuadm/ / Exhibitions, Museum Collections, School of Chemistry, School of Geosciences, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, School of Informatics

This week the Digital Imaging Unit have been photographing the Gibeon nickel iron meteorite EUCM.110.759.  This fell in prehistoric times in Namibia, named after the nearest town.  Made into tools by the Nama people. Analysed and confirmed as a meteorite in 1836. The wonderful pattern is called a Widmanstätten pattern. We have also been photographing the Imilac stony iron pallasite meteorite EUCM.0647.2008 found in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile in 1822. The meteorites along with some amazing fossilized rain drops and various crystals will all feature in an exhibition opening in the Main Library exhibition space on December the 5th called Collect.ed.

Malcolm Brown

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Gems from the ECA Rare Books Collection

diuadm/ / Art Collections, Book Collections, Edinburgh College of Art, Exhibitions, Library, School of Biological Sciences, School of Chemistry, School of Geosciences, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

The CRC Assistant Rare Books Librarian has been busy cataloguing books from the Edinburgh College of Art Collection again, and has sent a few our way to photograph for upcoming talks and publications.

An amazingly diverse collection from 15th C. Sermons to etchings of Italian landscapes to 19th C. Japanese artistic review magazines and on to detailed plates of British Ferns, each book contains its own wonders.

Susan Pettigrew

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RECA.MS.26 Calico Samples Album, pp.200v-201r
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RECA.F.157 Le Japon Artistique, vol.3, no.17, pl.ABD
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RECA.FF.210 British Ferns, Moore, Thomas, pl.XVI
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RECA.MS.8 China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Macao: Photographs Taken on Lord Elgin’s Diplomatic Mission and Military Campaign in China 1857 – 1861, p.52