August 31, 2011
Eccentric Oxford scientists are nailed to the mast of the current Museum of History of Science exhibition and a colourful sail this haul makes. Items that would not normally make the cut for inclusion in the elite display cabinets but nonetheless have a florid story to tell are given pride of place this Autumn in the historic Broad Street basement. William Buckland, we read, after being made the Canon of Christ Church, filled his house with offspring and exhibits. The ammonite seal from one of his letters from 200 years ago is open and on display. Canon Buckland asks a colleague for more animal bones to add to his collection. This adds colour to a story I once heard that Canon Buckland buried a panther deep in a Christ Church quadrangle to make the meat tender before dining. The latter story is my own but adds to the many being told here about eccentric Oxford scientists.
Eccentric inventions such as a rotary powered fly catcher and a small wooden piano designed to make decision making easier is shown. One wonders what other marvels lie deep in the vaults of this terrific museum. The first female Biology students of Oxford University came up a hundred years ago and now her microscope has been scooped up from Somerville College and placed on display.
In a nearby cabinet a tiny folded envelope shows the integrity of the curators. The letter is thought to be a few hundred years old and addressed to a member of Trinity College. It was discovered under the floorboards of the museum during the renovation in 1999, yet is displayed perfectly intact and unopened.
Towards the end of the long corridor of curiosities there are a number of early typewriters, showing the development of this crucial invention. One mother explains to her bemused young son that this would have been an early laptop. I begin to feel very old and start retracing my steps. At least the exquisitely detailed Astrolabes near the entrance are before my time. The etchings on the wall of a satirical cartoon by James Gillray echo my moment of humour in this startling and amusing exhibition.
Eccentric inventions such as a rotary powered fly catcher and a small wooden piano designed to make decision making easier is shown. One wonders what other marvels lie deep in the vaults of this terrific museum. The first female Biology students of Oxford University came up a hundred years ago and now her microscope has been scooped up from Somerville College and placed on display.
In a nearby cabinet a tiny folded envelope shows the integrity of the curators. The letter is thought to be a few hundred years old and addressed to a member of Trinity College. It was discovered under the floorboards of the museum during the renovation in 1999, yet is displayed perfectly intact and unopened.
Towards the end of the long corridor of curiosities there are a number of early typewriters, showing the development of this crucial invention. One mother explains to her bemused young son that this would have been an early laptop. I begin to feel very old and start retracing my steps. At least the exquisitely detailed Astrolabes near the entrance are before my time. The etchings on the wall of a satirical cartoon by James Gillray echo my moment of humour in this startling and amusing exhibition.