Today, the popular saying “last but not least” seemed to apply well as we went on a variety of field trips across both the campus and town. In fact, in my opinion, it seemed that we had indeed saved the best for last. After visiting an art gallery and plasma-research lab, both of which were very interesting in their own right, we made a final stop at UCLA’s library for rare/specialized texts.
The initial appearance of the room containing these rare texts was particularly intriguing in itself in that its walls were completely lined with old tomes of aged, leather-bound books. However, more interesting than the appearnce of such old and rare books were the books themselves. True to their basic nature and purpose, the books covered a wide range of subjects; however, scientifically based books seemed particularly prominent.
The collection contains ancient writings, such as this, by the philosopher Copernicus
The collection contained a large variety of these scientific books, including ones on the theories of the ancient philosopher Copernicus and the more modern evolutionist charles Darwin.
Darwin's Origin of Species, a first edition of which is owned by UCLA
In fact, many of the older books were a bit like medical journals, giving advice on illnesses and basic medicinal recipes. It was interesting to see historical societies’ take on medical issues.
One of the most interesting aspects of these old texts, however, was their transformation from being, at some point, simply scientific manuals to being considered precious pieces of art. Often written in intricate text and beautifully illustrated,
Urine charts were often found in medieval medical texts
the artistic aspects of these tomes are appreciated by many modern day librarians, historians, and basic book-lovers alike. Like red wine and cheese, these books have simply gotten better with age and have become something more than just technical manuscripts to the modern world. Put simply, with age comes beauty.
Links:
1) Medieval medical texts- http://www.mostly-medieval.com/explore/medtexts.htm
2) Darwin’s Origing of Species- http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-origin-of-species/
3) Copernicus’ theories- http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Copernicus.htm
4) Preservation of antique books- http://www.antiqueweb.com/articles/antiquebookspreservation.html
5) History of writing- http://www.historian.net/hxwrite.htm