Smithsonian Libraries

Top Ten Countdown

R.E. Rodda Candy Company, Rodda Easter Candy , ca. 1925, chocolate bunny (above), chocolate chicken (below)

Taking a page from O Say Can You See, the National Museum of American History blog, the Libraries has also taken a look back at its blog entries since February 2009, when we started posting daily.

Libraries staff have created some very interesting posts—as interesting and varied as its collections. We are all having fun sharing our collections and activities and are happy to report that our traffic has increased—so you must be enjoying it, too!

Here are the top ten posts for 2009:

1. Sunday, April 12—Chocolate Rabbits and...Elephants!—Apparently the delicious combination of chocolate, rabbits, and elephants proved hard to resist in our most popular post—Alexia MacClain's wonderful Easter-themed entry, from the trade literature collection at the National Museum of American History Library.

2. Tuesday, April 14—National Library Workers Day—It's heartening to discover that one of our most popular posts this year focused on the staff of the Libraries. Whoo hoo for us!

3. Tuesday, September 15—Apollo XI and beyond!—The National Air & Space Museum librarian Bill Baxter and Liz O'Brien put together this little bit of air and space history post about a gift of lunar module flight manuals.

4. Monday, April 13—Thomas Jefferson's Birthday—Some of the most fun posts to put together are ones that highlight hidden gems from Libraries' collections on a single topic. In this case, books about Thomas Jefferson from all over the Libraries help to create a portrait of the third president of the United States.

5. Thursday, October 15—October is National Stamp Collecting Month!—this post by National Postal Museum Library staff Cassie Mancer, Paul McCutcheon & Mary Ann Wilson highlights stamp collecting and links to wonderful images on the Libraries flickr site.

6. Wednesday, September 16—Scholars and the Everywhere Library—Dan Cohen's popular lecture generates multiple page views as people continue to tune in to his webcast, which was part of the Libraries' ongoing lecture series.

7. Tuesday, November 10—New and Notable Pop-ups & Movables: Yellow Square—this post by Elizabeth Broman from the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum Library in New York highlights our other blog, Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn as well as our upcoming pop-up exhibition of the same name which will open in May 2010 at the National Museum of American History.

8. Wednesday, September 30—A Second Look Uncovers a First Edition: a Manuscript Page from Darwin's Origin of Species—Kirsten van der Veen's interesting post gives a glimpse into research and scholarly inquiry at the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology.

9. Thursday, November 12—Sylph—A Fairy Inhabiting the Air; Airy, Graceful—Webster—National Museum of American History Library intern Mary Jinglewski contributed this post highlighting an 1892 bicycle trade literature catalog.

10. Wednesday, October 7—Closing for Renovation: Freer-Sackler Library—This informative post is generating a lot of traffic as patrons keep up with what's happening at our Freer/Sackler Library.

Thanks so much to everyone who reads this blog. Please continue to join us, follow us, subscribe, and leave a comment on anything of interest, and we promise to continue to focus on the Libraries and its wonderful collections!—Elizabeth Periale

Darwin’s On the origin of species was Published Today, in 1859

“The most important single book in science”—Bern Dibner, Heralds of Science 

One hundred fifty years ago, in November 1859, Charles Darwin’s On the origin of species was published. The 1,250 copies of that first edition sold out in a single day. Oddly, the exact date is not entirely clear: Darwin’s diary says the book went on sale on November 24, but the publisher’s records say that it was November 22. (A second edition of 3,000 copies came out just a month and a half later on January 7, 1860.) Whatever its birth date, the book took both the scientific and popular worlds by storm. The theory of evolution was not new even in Darwin’s time, but he identified the natural forces acting on species of plants and animals (for example, geographical isolation and sexual selection) that resulted, over enormous spans of geological time, in new species.

The idea was immensely controversial, considered by many to challenge Biblical teachings about the creation of the world and even the existence of God. Though rejected to this day by Christian literalists, the scientific evidence for natural selection is irrefutable and indeed growing through modern genetic and other biological studies. On the origin of species has been published in more than 250 editions in English and translated into at least 29 other languages—from Armenian to Chinese, Greek, Hindi, and Turkish. the Libraries holds over 30 different editions of the book, including the first two London editions, which will take turns on display in our exhibition Darwin’s Legacy, in the National Museum of Natural History until Sept.12, 2010. Additional photos of the exhibit case can be viewed on the Libraries flickr page.—Leslie Overstreet, photos by Liz O'Brien

A Second Look Uncovers a First Edition: a Manuscript Page from Darwin's Origin of Species

Within the span of about a month, the Dibner Library received two separate inquiries about our lone manuscript page from the draft of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. His popularity is unsurprising, especially during this anniversary year: 2009 is the year Darwin would have been 200, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his Origin of Species, events which are being actively commemorated here.

One inquiry was from a gentleman named Milton D. Forsyth, Jr., who has been tracking down all extant leaves of the first draft of the Origin within his reach; the other from David Kohn, Director and General Editor of the American Museum of Natural History’s Darwin Manuscripts Project (currently called the Darwin Digital Library of Evolution, a project linked to the Biodiversity Heritage Library). Both were seeking pages of the original draft, so I was disappointed to see the note on the back by Darwin’s daughter Henrietta Litchfield, describing the page as containing “the passage… from Chapter VII, p 264 of 5th edn, 1869…”

Mr. Forsyth’s inquiry came first, so I sent him copies of the draft and the disappointing note and asked him to be sure to alert me to any interesting discoveries, should he have any… and he did just that. Henrietta Litchfield’s note did allow some room for interpretation, and happily Mr. Forsyth did not take it as fact, and looked into the matter further. His knowledge of the existing draft pages and the editorial changes that occurred with later editions led him to determine that our leaf is indeed one of only 45 extant sheets from the original Origin manuscript, a fact happily confirmed by Dr. Kohn after reading Forsyth’s analysis. The true origin of our Origin page was apparently buried for a long time, since, as Mr. Forsyth notes, according to a published record of the sale, the manuscript page which sold at auction at Sotheby’s, London, in July 1958, was described as “p. 264 of the 5th ed. 1869.” It may be that Bern Dibner did not realize the gem he had.

Our single manuscript page will be a part of the Darwin Manuscripts Project’s planned edition of all locatable manuscript pages of the Origin of Species’ first edition. The Project was just given grant funding to digitize Darwin’s Library, including the extensive marginal notes in his own hand. Press releases detailing the scope of this project can be found here and here.—Kirsten van der Veen

Darwin Anniversary Symposium: We Have the Books!

Mannen van beteekenis in onze dagen ; -- d. 6, 1876?, Portrait of Charles Darwin

This well-attended event at the National Museum of Natural History on September 12, 2009, featured ten speakers, with an introduction by Cristián Samper who reminded the audience that next year is the 100th anniversary of the Museum, which owns the largest natural history collection in the world.  Janet Browne focused on the role of anniversaries in reviewing, reassessing, boosting, or "rebooting" theories in biology. Jonathan Coddington observed how "tree thinking" in evolutionary biology was "invented" by Darwin, prospered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then was forgotten for some time and is now back in favor. Jim Lake examined the role of cooperation in the evolution of prokaryotes, especially how two groups of prokaryotes, actinobacteria and clostridia, led to double-membrane prokaryotes (which include cyanobacteria, the photosynthetic organisms that made oxygen a significant component of earth's atmosphere). Gene Hunt noted that the fossil record helps understand the transformation of species as well as the history of life more broadly, and discussed gradualism, punctuated equilibrium, and stasis as models for the evolution of biological features. Peter Crane discussed the origin and early evolution of angiosperms. Douglas Erwin examined the Cambrian explosion, noting that "diversity begets diversity through a process of ecosystem engineering." Vladimir Nabokov, his serious interest in blue butterflies, and the evolutionary significance of butterfly wing color were the subject of  Naomi Pierce's talk. P.E. Ahlberg tackled the question as to whether fish fins and the limbs of terrestrial animals are not merely analogous but also homologous structures. Hans Sues discussed the fossil record for the origin of mammals.  Finally, Richard Potts gave an overview of what we have learned about evolution since Darwin, stressing the importance of adaptability.

The speakers cited several important books, all of which are part of the Libraries' collections. If you'd like to take a(nother) look at some of these classics in natural history, you can find them in the Libraries catalog:

• Browne, Janet. Charles Darwin.  London: Jonathan Cape, 1995-
• Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de, 1744-1829. Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres.  Paris: J.B. Baillière, 1835-45.
• Cuvier, Georges, baron, 1769-1832. Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux, et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée.  Paris: Deterville, 1817.
• Prothero, Donald R. Evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters.  New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
• Hughes, Norman F.  Palaeobiology of angiosperm origins: problems of Mesozoic seed-plant evolution.   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
• Origin and early evolution of angiosperms. Charles B. Beck, ed.  New York: Columbia University Press, 1976.
• White, M. J. D. (Michael James Denham), 1910- Modes of speciation. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, c1978.
• Johnson, Kurt, and Steven L. Coates. Nabokov's blues: the scientific odyssey of a literary genius. Cambridge, Mass.: Zoland Books, 1999.

This was also the opening day for the much-awaited exhibition,  Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution.

A few images from the symposium and exhibition are available here.

Darwin’s Legacy

Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of... , 1839-1843, Plate 42. Amblyryuchus Demarlii [Iguana]

The Libraries opened its new exhibition  Darwin’s Legacy in the National Museum of Natural History on Sept. 10. The exhibition cases feature the first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859), a revolutionary book that changed the course of modern science. November 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of the book’s publication. This exhibition will be on display through Sept. 12, 2010.               

On the Origin of Species is widely heralded as the foundation for evolutionary biology. After graduating from Cambridge University in 1831, Darwin signed up as an unpaid naturalist for a five-year scientific voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. As he sailed around South America and the Galápagos Islands (1831-36), Darwin made notes and observations, collected animal fossils and plant specimens and studied the geology of islands and coral reefs. His work led him to think deeply about the distribution of animals and plants over place and time.

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection grew out of his work aboard the Beagle. “The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my life and has determined my whole career.” In 1857, he outlined his theory of evolution in a letter to American botanist Asa Gray, his greatest U.S. advocate. On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 and soon found supporters at the Smithsonian Institution. Joseph Henry, a famed scientist and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, held the book in high regard. Darwin’s theory continues to guide research at the National Museum of Natural History to this day.

The exhibition also showcases Darwin’s silk neckerchief, Joseph Henry’s desk diary, beautifully illustrated volumes from Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (edited by Charles Darwin and published from 1838-43), a background map of the track of the H.M.S. Beagle, and Galápagos land iguana and mockingbird specimens from the collections of the National Museum of Natural History.—Liz O'Brien

Charlie is 200

It's Charles Darwin's 200th birthday this year, and Catalog Management has been receiving several books about Darwin and evolution. An example: Darwin: the story of the man and his theories of evolution, by historian of science John Van Whye (published by Andre Deutsch, 2008), contains facsimiles of 25 newly researched manuscripts and other documents. Watch the Libraries video above or on YouTube.

By the way, there is an upcoming exhibition, at the National Museum of Natural History, Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution (September 12, 2009 to July 18, 2010), which will show the importance of evolution as a scientific basis for biology, and how our understanding of evolution has evolved since Darwin's time.

Darwin @ 200

Portrait of Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), Biologist
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian Institution

“The cultivation of natural science cannot be efficiently carried on without reference to an extensive library.” (1)
- Charles Darwin, et al (1847)

Today, February 12, 2009, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Later this year will be yet another landmark date for Darwin, the sesquicentennial (mark your calenders now for November 24th!) of the publication of On the Origin of Species (1859).

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries is a key member of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) Project, a consortium of ten natural history and botanical garden libraries engaged in the task of digitizing the worlds taxonomic literature.

Those working in systematics and taxonomy are heavily dependent on the historic literature – to a greater extent than perhaps most of the sciences. This importance of the literature, as well as the ongoing importance of publication (and library deposit) to validate taxonomic concepts, contribute to the mission and continue to inform the day to day development of the BHL.

This portrait of Darwin, by Ernest Edwards, is blogged from the Flickr Commons. Staff from the Smithsonian Libraries are part of a team from across the Smithsonian pushing our photo collections out into a new environment. This portrait of Darwin has inspired the Flickr community to comment on Darwin the man and his contribution to science.

Scientific Identity: Portraits from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. Smithsonian Institution Libraries, is the source for this portrait of Darwin. Scientific Identity is a treasure trove of portraits of scientists and inventors from over the years, including many of Darwin's coevals.

Darwin himself acknowledged the importance of library materials to the study of natural history in the passage quoted above (in a document signed by Darwin and over 30 other notables including Charles Lyell, W.J. Hooker, and Richard Owen) which was part of an appeal for support of natural history research at the British Museum. —Martin Kalfatovic

Portrait of Charles Darwin by Ernest Edwards
From Scientific Identity: Portraits from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. Smithsonian Institution Libraries

(1) Darwin, C. R. et al. 1847. Copy of Memorial to the First Lord of the Treasury [Lord John Russell], respecting the Management of the British Museum. Parliamentary Papers, Accounts and Papers 1847, paper number (268), volume XXXIV.253 (13 April): 1-3. [Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online]