{"id":8139,"date":"2026-09-01T10:11:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T17:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8139"},"modified":"2026-09-01T10:11:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T17:11:54","slug":"twelve-centuries-of-documents-illuminate-humans-quest-for-knowledge-in-world-unfolding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8139","title":{"rendered":"Twelve Centuries of Documents Illuminate Humans\u2019 Quest for Knowledge in \u2018World Unfolding\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Twelve<\/p>\n

When a portrait of aviation pioneer Ruth Rowland Nichols<\/a> was taken while she stood beside her Lockheed Vega aircraft in 1931, she was already one of the most accomplished pilots in the world. That photo was captured the year she also became the first woman to hold simultaneous international records in altitude, speed, and long distance.<\/p>\n

Nichols\u2019 striking portrait is just one of hundreds of images and illustrations highlighting humans\u2019 pursuit of knowledge in Worlds Unfolding: Science on the Page<\/em>, published by Princeton University Press. The five-volume tome features more than 625 illustrations and an introduction by engineer and PBS personality Bill Nye. Moreover, it\u2019s an exploration of global science, medicine, and technology through the remarkable archives of The Huntington<\/a> in San Marino, California.<\/p>\n

\"a
Dickenson V. Alley, Double-exposure photograph of Nikola Tesla and an active Tesla coil, Colorado Springs Experimental Station (1899). Courtesy of the Burndy Library collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Huntington Library contains a trove of research papers, natural history volumes, photographs, and ephemera that trace the human pursuit of knowledge over the course of centuries. From 18th-century human anatomy studies to aeronautic engineering, the book chronicles our understanding of natural history, electricity, space, geology, flight, and much more.<\/p>\n

Compiled by Jennifer A. Watts,\u00a0Daniel Lewis,\u00a0Joel A. Klein, and\u00a0Natalie Lawler, Worlds Unfolding <\/em>spans the 10th century to today. Readers will discover incredible photos like an uncanny double-exposure portrait of Nikola Tesla sitting calmly in a lab while an enormous electrical current moves through his namesake coil<\/a>. And Eadweard Muybridge\u2019s iconic early photographs capture animals and figures in motion, marking the first time photographic methods were used to essentially record the passage of time.<\/p>\n

The set comprises individual volumes titled Above, Below, Within, Beyond, <\/em>and Alive,<\/em> all of which are presented in a slipcase. \u201cAcross centuries of trial and error, illusion and triumph, the history of science is a continuously unfolding quest,\u201d says a statement.<\/p>\n

Worlds Unfolding <\/em>will be released on October 10. Pre-order your copy from Bookshop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"an
Gautier D\u2019Agoty, from \u2018Myologie complette en couleur et grandeur naturelle\u2019 (A complete life-size and color study of the muscles) (1746\u201348). Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Medical Association<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"nine
Eadweard Muybridge, \u2018The Attitudes of Animals in Motion\u2019 (1881)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Color-enhanced image of Saturn\u2019s Northern Temperate Belt (1980) taken from the Voyager 1 spacecraft, from the Albert R. Hibbs papers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"pilot
Ruth Nichols next to New Cincinnati, her Lockheed Vega (1931), from the Harvey C. Christen papers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"an
Sarah Bowdich Lee (Mrs. R. Lee),\u2019 from \u2018The Fresh-Water Fishes of Great Britain\u2019 (1828)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"an
Gautier D\u2019Agoty, from \u2018Myologie complette en couleur et grandeur naturelle\u2019 (A complete life-size and color study of the muscles) (1746\u201348). Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Medical Association<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cAstronaut Test Flies EVA Self-Rescue Device.\u201d Courtesy of The Planetary Society records<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"two<\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Twelve Centuries of Documents Illuminate Humans\u2019 Quest for Knowledge in \u2018World Unfolding\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a portrait of aviation pioneer Ruth Rowland Nichols was taken while she stood beside her Lockheed Vega aircraft in 1931, she was already one of the most accomplished pilots…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}