Exhibiting Univ’s scientific revolution

The Univ Library team was delighted to present our exhibition, From Alchemy to Anatomy, at this year’s St Cuthbert’s Dinner festivities. The exhibition laid out thirteen of the most historically significant and visually stunning items from our History of Science collection of early printed books. This collection was repatriated to the College last March after an absence of more than 60 years, during which time it was on long-term loan to Oxford’s History of Science Museum. We were glad to show off these books for the first time in a generation and thrilled that all who visited were as excited by the treasures as we are.

The day before the dinner, we exhibited these wonderful books exclusively for University College members. More than 140 visitors engaged with the exhibition over the two showings. Here we take a look under the microscope at some of the highlights for those unable to make it in person.

Robert Boyle, Of a degradation of gold made by an anti-elixir: a strange chymical narrative

Alchemy in Reverse
The alchemical element of our exhibition comes from Robert Boyle’s Degradation of Gold. Boyle, a chemist and natural philosopher, rented a house next door to Univ (currently the site of the Shelley Memorial) and, in 1655, donated £10 towards the erection of the hammer beam roof in our Hall. This book dates from 1678, a time when Boyle was known to be dabbling in controversial subjects such as alchemy. While alchemists were mostly interested in turning base metals such as lead into noble metals like gold, in this text Boyle outlines an experiment in which gold was transformed into a base metal.

John Floyer – History of Cold Bathing

Wild swimming in the 18th century
One of the most popular items on display was this early espousal for a current craze. The health benefit of cold-water swimming is a hot topic at present, but in this early 18th century treatise author John Floyer claims that the benefits were known to the Romans, Greeks and ancient Egyptians, and that this knowledge had been lost to the Brits over time. The volume covers not only what we call wild swimming, but also cold baths, infant baptism, and drinking spring or river water. These can, apparently, cure everything from rheumatism and seizures to hysteria and over-eating.

Lecture notes of William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell

A Univ Icon’s Lecture Notes
This unassuming notebook filled with spidery handwriting is an exciting piece of Univ history. These are lecture notes on chemistry, minerology and geology, written by William Scott (later 1st Baron Stowell), possibly jotted while he was an undergraduate at Corpus Christi in the 1760s. Scott was a tutor and Fellow in Law at Univ, although he’s perhaps best known in our community as one of the pair of marble statues that reside in the upper floor of the Old Library. He’s the chap on the right. This wee notebook has a varied provenance history. After his death in 1836, Scott’s daughter presented the notes to William Buckland, the preeminent geologist who named the Megalosaurus fossil and identified it as the first non-avian dinosaur genus. After this, it fell into the possession of Joseph Frank Payne, a historian of medicine. Annotations indicate there may have been more private owners before the manuscript found its way into Univ’s collections.

Johann Remmelin – Catoptrum microcosmicum

Anatomy revealed
The jewel in the crown of our History of Science collection is this extraordinary pop-up anatomy book from 1619, by Johann Remmelin. Made up of several magnificently detailed illustrations, visitors to the exhibition marvelled at the book’s meticulously assembled moving parts. The engraved anatomical illustrations have been printed, cut, and pasted to allow the reader to peel away the layers revealing human anatomy in three dimensions, as if seen by a medic undertaking a dissection. At times there was a queue to see the pop-up parts in action, with some guests walking more than one lap of the exhibition to ensure they could see our anatomical Adam in all his glory. The Library team certainly enjoyed revealing the many layers of intricately crafted illustration.

Johann Remmelin – Catoptrum microcosmicum (detail)

This book benefitted from extensive conservation work last year. Paper conservators mended and reinforced the hinges of the moving flaps, which are prone to damage during usage. This work will allow us to exhibit and demonstrate the Remmelin for years to come. Since its return to College, the Library team has been undertaking a condition survey of this collection, to strategise and manage future conservation work for these fascinating books.

Thanks to all who made this such a special exhibition. If you would like more information about Univ’s History of Science collection, please contact the Library.

Elizabeth Fleetwood, Assistant Librarian

Featured books

Robert Boyle, Of a degradation of gold made by an anti-elixir: a strange chymical narrative (London, 1678). R.15.22(1).
John Floyer and Edward Baynard, [Psychrolousia]: or, the history of cold-bathing, both ancient and modern (London, 1722). R.15.16.
Lecture notes of William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell (Oxford, [c.1760s]). University College MS 1.
Johann Remmelin, Catoptrum microcosmicum ([Augsburg], 1619). D.105.43

Published: 18 September 2024

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