Early use of the microscope was plagued by several issues, especially the artisanal and imprecise nature of lens grinding. There was no scientific means of producing and evaluating lenses until Ernst Abbe (1840-1906) developed them in the 1870s. Thus, lens … Read more →
The other day, while looking for books on microscopes, I came across an old volume called Persio / tradotto in verso sciolto e dichiarato da Francesco Stelluti (Rakow bib. 95536). Imagine my surprise when I saw on the title page … Read more →
In 1956, an enormous slab of a concrete-like substance was discovered by an excavation crew preparing to build a museum in Beth She’arim, Israel. Seven years later, in 1963, The Corning Museum of Glass and the University of Missouri sent … Read more →
What better way to honor National Poetry Month than to focus on the collection of glass-related poetry at the Rakow Research Library? The Library has a modest group of poems about glass or glassmaking collected from various sources over the … Read more →