University of Cincinnati Libraries Press Release
Contact: Melissa Cox Norris, Director of Library Communications, (513) 556-1558 or melissa.norris@uc.edu
A New Digital Collection from the University of Cincinnati Libraries Showcases Historical Chemistry Museum and Collection
August 23, 2010 –A new digital collection is available at the University of Cincinnati Libraries Digital Collections website. The Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry contain well over 1,000 images and 3-D models highlighting historic chemical apparatus and a circa 1900 chemistry lab, as well as sections under development that will feature portraits, prints, rare books, and journals related to the history of chemistry.
To navigate the online collection, virtual tours are available of the Apparatus Museum and chemistry lab where users may click on a case, then a shelf, and then an individual apparatus for 3-D and high resolution images of each apparatus. Users may also approach the collections through several indices, including a thumbnail display of the apparatus, an index to names of inventors, a topics index, and an index to artifacts.
A joint project of the Ralph E. Oesper Chemistry-Biology Library and the Department of Chemistry, the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry consist of three components: The Apparatus Museum, roughly 4,000 artifacts spanning the period from 1650 to 1970; the rare Books and Journals collection, a research-level collection of more than 17,000 volumes dating from 1600 to 1960; and the Portraits and Prints Collection, containing more than 2,500 portraits, prints, and photographs related to the history of chemistry.
The development of the online collection was funded in part by generous donations from Mary Ellen Ramey Betz, UC Alumna, and the Ralph E. Oesper Endowment.
The Oesper Collections are the legacy of Ralph Edward Oesper who received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1914 and returned in 1918 as a member of the chemistry faculty. Shortly after his return, Oesper was put in charge of building up the Chemistry Library. During the next 30 years, he purchased a substantial collection of 17th, 18th, and early 19th-century monographs and journals. Upon his death in 1977, Oesper left an endowment to the Chemistry Department for the support of activities in the history of chemistry. The department used this fund to support a faculty position in chemical education and history of chemistry, and in 1986 William B. Jensen was appointed Oesper Professor of Chemical Education and History of Chemistry. Jensen, an avid collector of antique chemical apparatus, developed the chemical apparatus collection. For availability, or for more information about the complete Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry, please contact the Chemistry-Biology Library at (513) 556-1498 or William B. Jensen at (513) 556-9308.
The Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry join several other library digital collections online, including:
- Alice Weston: Great Houses of Cincinnati: over 1,400 images of some of the city’s great architectural gems photographed by environmental artist Alice Weston.
- Cooperative Engineer: issues of the quarterly publication produced from 1921 to 1975 by the students and alumni of the College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati.
- The Architecture and Urban Planning Collection: over 2,500 architectural and urban planning images from China, Africa, Europe, and the United States, with an emphasis on Cincinnati.
For more information, or to view other digital collections, see http://digitalprojects.libraries.uc.edu/.
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