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John Casper Branner's Map of Brazil: Original or Facsimile?

The Branner Earth Sciences Library is named after John Casper Branner (1850-1922). Branner was, among many things, a geologist, an academic and a founding member of the faculty at Stanford and went on to become Stanford’s second president. He was also president of the Geological Society of America and served as the president of the Seismological Society of America.   Mappa [sic] geologico do Brazil, Geological Society of America, 1919. Branner, John Casper, Contributor. The roots of his academic work in geology began in South America, where in 1874, he made his first trip to Brazil, sparking a love affair with that country—taking him back there several times. He accompanied Dr. Charles Hartt of Cornell University who had already published on the geology of Brazil. The 1874 expedition led to the establishment of the Department of Geology by the Brazilian government the following year—Branner was hired as Dr. Hartt’s assistant. Branner returned to the US in 1876 and following this, went back to Brazil on several occasions, including, in 1880, under the request of Thomas A. Edison to look for vegetable fiber to strengthen incandescent lights. In 1882 he was asked to return by the US Department of Agriculture to study cotton cultivation. He returned to the US in 1883. After several appointments in the US, including becoming State Geologist of Arkansas (1887-1891) and then a faculty member of Stanford University, his career culminating as the University’s second president (1913-1915).   The map on display in this case is one that he authored after he retired from Stanford University, published with the help of the Geological Society of America—where he wrote accompanying texts in English and Portuguese.  According to R. A. Penrose, Jr, who wrote a short memoir on him states: “This great amount of geologic detail displayed over vast areas of country in this map is a mute but eloquent testimony to the research, the learning and the untiring efforts of its author.” Creating a Facsimile The Map Scanning Lab at Stanford University Libraries was tasked with imaging this map and collaborating with Special Collections to create a facsimile for display. Imaged 600 pixels per inch (PPI) on Stanford's Widetek 36" sheet-feed scanner, as you can see in the below image, a level of detail similar to what one might see if holding a standard magnifying glass over the physical object was achieved.   The resulting image was then optimized for printing on our HP Designjet Z3200PS large format printer. First, using Adobe Photoshop CS6 we reduced PPI from 600 to 355 and applied the Adobe RGB 1998 color profile. Then, the image was optimized for printing in Photoshop. Five different test swatches were printed and compared with the physical map as a part of the optimization process. We made sure to evaluate the facsimile images in the same type of light (in this case daylight) used in the exhibit.  Next, the facsimile of the entire map was printed using permanent pigments, carefully trimmed, folded and finished to resemble the original map. Comparing the two versions So, can you spot the difference in this small piece of the map above? The versions are separated at the center. Which half is the original, and which half is the facsimile? Come and see for yourself. Download a high resolution image of the map. This exhibit is part of the anniversary celebration commemorating the 100th year since the founding of the Branner Earth Sciences Library & Map Collections (June 14, 1915 - June 15, 2015.) Counting down to the anniversary on June 14, each week we will be exhibiting items from our collection and archive.  This exhibition is part of an ongoing series of anniversary events that culminate with a public celebration, speakers, and tour of the library on Thursday, June 11, 2015 from 4-6:30pm.  Please be sure to join us! Authors: G. Salim Mohammed and Deardra Fuzzell

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New music scores and facsimiles, Summer 2022

Bach, CPE. Keyboard concertos from manuscript sources. X / Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach ; edited by Peter Wollny; Keyboard concertos from manuscript sources. XII / Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach ; edited by Jason B. Grant and Matthias Röder Boccherini. Sinfonie concertanti : G 491, 523. Opera omnia / Luigi Boccherini ; edizione critica diretta da Christian Speck. vol. 14 Brahms. Klavierauszug von Franz Schuberts Messe Es-dur D 950, Anh. Ia Nr. 18. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke / Johannes Brahms. Ser. 9, Bd. 5 Brahms. Violin sonatas; Clarinet sonatas. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke / Johannes Brahms. Ser. 2, Bd. 8 Faure. Motets et cantiques ; Messe de l'Association des pêcheurs de Villerville (N 60a) ; Messe basse (N 163) ; Noëls populaires harmonisés / Gabriel Fauré ; édités par Helga Schauerte-Maubouet Haydn. Arrangement of arias and ensembles of other composers, Volume 2. Werke / Joseph Haydn. Ser. 26, vol. 4 Haydn. Masses no. 5-8. Werke / Joseph Haydn. Ser. 23, vol. 2 (rev.) Purcell. Dido and Aeneas (v.3, new ed.). The works of Henry Purcell and complete index of works / rev. under the supervision of the Purcell Society Rameau. Dardanus (version 1744). Opera omnia / Jean-Philippe Rameau. Ser. IV, vol. 8 Saint-Saëns. Andante d'une sonate pour violon et piano en ut majeur (R deest) ; Sonate pour violon et piano en si♭ majeur (R 103) ; Sonate pour violon et piano (inachevée) en fa majeur (R 106) ; Sonate pour violon et piano no 1 en ré mineur, op. 75 (R 123) ; Sonate pour violon et piano no 2 en mi♭ majeur, op. 102 (R 130) / Camille Saint-Saëns ; édités par Fabien Guilloux et François De Médicis Telemann. Musik zum Konvivium der Hamburger Bürgerkapitäne 1730. Musikalische Werke / Georg Philipp Telemann. vol. 63 Verdi. Un giorno di regno. The works of Giuseppe Verdi / editorial board, Philip Gossett, general editor ... [et al.] Weill. Happy End (Stephen Hinton and Elmar Juchem, editors). The Kurt Weill edition / editorial board, David Drew ... [et al.] ; managing editor, Edward Harsh.

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Six new digital collections now available in SearchWorks!

These new collections take advantage of recently released functionality that provides researchers with new rich discovery and access capabilities for finding and working with digital collection content. Researchers may now discover the following materials:  Pleistocene Lake Surprise This collection provides supplemental data and spreadsheets related to the M.S. thesis in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences by Daniel Ibarra (December, 2014) and the subsequent publication in the Geological Society of America Bulletin (Ibarra et al., 2014). For additional information about this collection, check out this recent blog post by Amy Hodge. Collection Contact: Amy Hodge Donald Pippin Collection - MUS.0003  The Donald Pippin Collection consists primarily of Pippin's numerous English translations of operatic libretto. Additional materials include facsimiles of over 300 print media reviews of Pocket Opera productions; copies of two anthologies published by Pippin, "A pocketful of lyrics" and " As the lights go up…: tales from the opera; a speech on Offenbach given by Pippin in San Francisco in 1996; a tribute ode by Anne Dudley on the occasion of Pippin's 60th birthday; and finally an interview with Pippin published in Journal Français d'Amérique in 1996. Collection Contact: Jonathan Manton John McCarthy papers, 1951-2008  Correspondence, memos, reports, course materials, newsletters, articles, reprints, computer manuals, and other materials pertaining to McCarthy's research and his teaching at Stanford and MIT. The image accompanying this blog post is of McCarthy's mathematics notes, circa 1947-1948. Collection Contact: Daniel Hartwig Stanford Athletics Interviews Conducted by Bob Murphy  Interviews with former Stanford athletes conducted by Bob Murphy. Collection Contact: Daniel Hartwig Stanford University LGBT Alumni Oral History Interviews  Oral histories with Stanford alums conducted by students in HISTORY 257C: LGBT/Queer Life in the United States. Collection Contact: Daniel Hartwig Digital Humanities  This collection consists of research data, publications, etc., produced by Stanford students, faculty, and researchers in the course of work in the Digital Humanities. The works are deposited in the Stanford Digital Repository for long-term preservation, to provide for persistent linking, and to encourage sharing and re-use of these unique resources. Collection Contact: Hannah Frost The integration of digital collections into SearchWorks means that items from collections containing digital material can be discovered in the course of searching and browsing through the totality of Stanford's library catalog. Prior to this major SearchWorks enhancement, digital collections were only available either through special digital collections web sites, such as http://collections.stanford.edu/ or through PURL (persistent URL) pages for individual objects, such as this 18th century map of California as an Island. For more information on depositing materials into the Stanford Digital Repository, check out our website. For questions or additional information about the Stanford Digital Repository service, please email sdr-contact@lists.stanford.edu.  

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The county of Bedford [Sheet 1 of 8]

Relief shown by hachures. Inset: A plan of Bedford (1:7,920). Accompanied by text: Thomas Jefferys and his map of Bedfordshire / by Betty Chambers....

The county of Bedford [Sheet 2 of 8]

Relief shown by hachures. Inset: A plan of Bedford (1:7,920). Accompanied by text: Thomas Jefferys and his map of Bedfordshire / by Betty Chambers....

The county of Bedford [Sheet 3 of 8]

Relief shown by hachures. Inset: A plan of Bedford (1:7,920). Accompanied by text: Thomas Jefferys and his map of Bedfordshire / by Betty Chambers....