Study, Measure, Experiment: Stories of Scientific Instruments at Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College holds one of the largest academic collections of historic scientific instruments in North America. They range from the elegance of the finest European makers, incorporating the most advanced technology of their day, to homemade devices produced by faculty and students. This book examines about 120 items from this remarkable collection to offer insights into the interaction of instruments with the teaching of science and the conduct of scientific research at a leading educational institution.
Although the instruments are beautifully photographed and presented, the authors do not treat them as isolated objects: rather, they stress the historical and social circumstances of the instruments' manufacture and use. The instruments are grouped loosely by function, emphasizing their roles in scientific enterprise, and they are often presented with supporting documentation, such as bills of sale, that shed light on how they were produced and employed. The photographs frequently focus on the details of their design and construction, giving a dynamic rather than a static sense of the objects.
The descriptions of the instruments explore their appearance, function and use, and concluding analytical chapters place them in greater context.

DAVID PANTALONY is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Dibner Institute, MIT; he spent two years as a visiting curator of Dartmouth's King Collection. RICHARD L. KREMER is professor of history at Dartmouth, specializing in the history of science; he regularly teaches a course on the material culture of science that draws on materials from this collection. FRANCIS J. MANASEK is a dealer in antique books and maps and a former professor at the Dartmouth Medical School; when he retired, he earned a Master's degree in the history of science from Oxford.

Richard L. Kremer teaches a course on the material culture of science in which students prepare exhibitions of instruments from the King Collection at Dartmouth.