University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine 2018 Fall Libraries Magazine | Page 12

Alchemy and Other Curiosities
By Robin Rider
T
his year’s Madison Early Music Festival,
with its theme “A Cabinet of Curiosities:
Journey to Lübeck,” gave us the opportunity
to showcase our many books of curiosities
from the 16th to 18th centuries. One of
the most curious is Heinrich Khunrath’s
Amphitheatrum sapientiæ æternæ, solius veræ.
Thanks to our colleagues in UW Digital
Collections, especially Jesse Henderson and
Steven Dast in collaboration with Special
Collections’ Carly Sentieri, a newly digitized
version of Khunrath’s masterpiece from our
Duveen Collection is now available.
The oft-reproduced, hand-colored engraving
of the alchemist’s laboratory features musical
instruments in the foreground.
An exhibit in the first floor lobby of
Memorial Library highlighted holdings
from Special Collections and Mills Music
Library related to cabinets of curiosities, early
music, and early music printing. Sentieri and
Jeanette Casey, of Mills Music Library, also
held a special gallery talk about the exhibit
over the summer.
The digital version of Khunrath’s work is
available through UWDC.
Debut: A Selection of Recent
Acquisitions in Special Collections
S
howcasing new acquisitions from
the Kohler Art Library, Mills Music
Library, Special Collections, and University
Archives, this new exhibit in Memorial
Library runs through December 24, giving
visitors a look at some of our newest items.
Highlights include artists’ books that respond
to contemporary political issues; Japanese
materials related to the Russo-Japanese War
and World War II; original paintings of cats
and dogs by comic artist (and UW–Madison
faculty member) Lynda Barry; selections from
the Ben Sidran Papers and the archive of
Cuca Records; realia from the LGBTQ Archive
Project; and rare books and manuscripts
in the areas of history of science, women’s
literature, and much more. The exhibit was
curated by a collective of staff members
(Susan Barribeau, Jeanette Casey, Paloma
Celis-Carbajal, Yoriko Dixon, Lyn Korenic,
Katie Nash, Robin Rider, and Lisa Wettleson),
under the leadership of Carly Sentieri.
Images: Getty Institute (top, Middle). Alchemist’s laboratory. From Heinrich Khunrath, Amphitheatrum
sapientiae aeternae (Hamburg, 1595). Duveen Collection, Department of Special Collections,
Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Right).
12 | LIBRARIES Fall 2018
University of Wisconsin–Madison | 13