Announcing the launch of the Rolland-Thompson Collection of Antiquarian Books in Early Optics and Related Sciences
As I’m sure anyone who wanders over to read this knows, next week is the big week: IODC. For me, perhaps the most exciting event that I know of in advance is that ORA is launching the Rolland-Thompson Collection of Antiquarian Books in Early Optics and Related Sciences, in partnership with Kirtas Technologies, a leader in book digitization. This partnership allows these rare, out-of-print books to be available for sale online at Kirtasbooks.com. This is a not-for-profit venture, with any and all proceeds going to adding to the collection.
Be sure to come by our booth for more details, and to get your own copy of Airy’s 1848 book, the Undulatory Theory of Light, one of over 150 rare titles in optics from my personal collection that are now readily available as e-books (~$2-3), soft cover (~$15), or hard cover (<$50 in almost all cases), depending on your budget.
Among the classics we have at Kirtasbooks.com is Coddington’s original work. A little later this month, Robert Smith’s Opticks will be available; this is, I believe, the first book on optical design in English (1728).
To access the Rolland-Thompson Collection of Antiquarian Books in Early Optics and Related Sciences, visit: http://www.kirtasbooks.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=59&Itemid=3
If/as you choose to read books from this collection, please consider submitting comments to this blog about what neat little tidbits you learned. Although I collected these books, in many cases I have not read them myself. I strongly recommend Dennis Taylor.
Also, if you have a pre-1921 book on your shelf that is on optics or optical design and is not on the list, and you would like to arrange to have it added to the collection, please contact me.
Hope to see you there. Do come immediately to get your book, as the on-site supply will be limited.
By the way, if you are a true fanatic, there will be a few copies of the 1906 Optics Convention that I had printed in the hard cover format to see how it comes out. If you track me down at IODC, you might be able to talk me out of a copy.
Instructions on how to reach the book site going forward will be found at www.opticalres.com
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