Alchemy at Trinity: Newton and the Library

Guest blog post by Dr Anke Timmermann, former Munby Fellow (2013-14) and author of an annotated catalogue of alchemical texts and illustrations in Cambridge. Anke is a historian of science, bibliographer, writer, and antiquarian bookseller. It is a fact perhaps not as well-known as it ought to be that Trinity College is inextricably connected with …

Trinity Lends to the Royal Society

A new exhibition - Science Made Visible: Drawings, Prints, Objects - is open, free of charge at the Royal Society 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG until December 2018. The exhibition looks at how visual representations were used in the conduct of early modern science. It includes sketches, drawings and prints of subjects as diverse as …

Discovering Newton

Earlier this week we welcomed members of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers to the Library. Their visit was part of a symposium to mark the 350th anniversary of Newton’s argument that the Earth’s gravity influenced the moon, counter-balancing its centrifugal force. Among the items on display were personal effects which belonged to Newton …

Trinity Admissions

At the start of term all freshers (students who have just started their first year at university) sign the Admission Book. This is a requirement set down in the college ordinances (regulations). At the same time students complete matriculation forms for the University. This is the formal process of enrolment. No admission books of any …

Navigating Newton’s Novels: Exhibiting the Value of Personal Libraries

A blog post by Graduate Trainee, Emma Carter. Personal libraries of famous people and scholars have long been revered for their wealth of insight into the lives of their collectors. We can analyse the content of a library by subject area in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses, track the signatures and dedications inscribed …