̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Alison Pearn

Lines of Thought: From Darwin to DNA

sjr81 — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 13:05:27 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� Library is celebrating its 600th anniversary with an exhibition of priceless treasures communicating 4,000 years of human thought. As part of the celebrations, they have commissioned six films on the six distinct themes featured in the exhibition Lines of Thought.

In the latest film, we travel from Darwin to DNA, demonstrating how Cambridge and the Cambridge collections have been crucial to the history of how we have understood heredity.

From Darwin’s provisional hypothesis of pangenesis to William Bateson’s work on animal variation, right the way through to Crick, Watson and Franklin, Cambridge has been at the forefront of understanding our place in the world.

Dr Alison Pearn, who curated the Darwin to DNA theme of Lines of Thought, said: “Darwin understood that natural variations, could over time, give rise to completely new forms and this is clearly demonstrated by the stuffed pigeons we have in the exhibition: the rock dove and the almond tumbler. ̽��ֱ��almond tumbler was one of Darwin’s favourite birds and you are able to see very clearly the differences between the two.

“We also have on display Darwin’s draft of the hypothesis of pangenesis, which is very much a tentative working idea for how variation might be passed on through generations. It’s a model for how inheritance might work.”

Other objects in the exhibition and film include a watercolour of Darwin staring at his ape predecessors in the Gallery of Ancestors, the working notes of Rosalind Franklin, and the 1905 letter by William Bateson where he first coins the term ‘genetics’ in its modern sense.

Added Pearn: “Bateson spent his career studying variation and said that the laws of inheritance would change man’s outlook on the world more than any advance in the history of knowledge. We are thrilled to have his work and so many other world-class exhibits on display at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library this year.”

Lines of Thought runs until September 30, 2016. Entry is free. To see the other films in the series, visit our YouTube channel.

Darwin’s stuffed pigeons, the letter which first coined the term ‘genetics’ and a paper by Crick and Watson which helped decode DNA all feature in the latest film to celebrate Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library’s 600th anniversary.

Darwin understood that natural variations, could over time, give rise to completely new forms.

Alison Pearn

Lines of Thought: From Darwin to DNA

Charles Darwin

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HMS Beagle sketchbooks added to Cambridge Digital Library

sjr81 — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:56:42 +0000

̽��ֱ��intricate pencil drawings and watercolours in the sketchbooks were made by Conrad Martens, shipmate to Charles Darwin as they travelled around South America on the voyage of HMS Beagle.

Now, for the first time, all of Martens’ Beagle sketches have been made freely available online through Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library’s Digital Library: cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk and can also be seen in the photo film above.

Martens made the drawings between the summer of 1833 and the early months of 1835. Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library owns his two sketchbooks from this period and has made the above audio slideshow to celebrate their addition to the Digital Library.

“These drawings were made almost two centuries ago but even now, they still really vividly bring to life one of the most famous voyages in the world and arguably the most famous in the history of science,” said Dr Alison Pearn, Associate Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project.

“Each of these pages is only 14cm by 20cm. It’s wonderful that everyone now has the opportunity to flick through these sketchbooks in their virtual representation and to follow the journey as Martens and Darwin saw it unfold.”

̽��ֱ��first sketchbook begins just before Martens heard that the Beagle was looking for a new ship’s artist, capturing street life in Montevideo in August 1833. ̽��ֱ��later sketches give a sense of how hard and difficult the journey must have been both on sea and land in uncharted territory.

Martens did not have much time to make his sketches and the notebooks are littered with hastily-scribbled notes to himself about colours, textures and the geology of the landscapes before him.

“Darwin described the Beagle voyage as the most formative experience of his life and to see it through the eyes of one of his companions is a very vivid reminder of the reality of that journey,” added Pearn. “Martens' sketches are a visual counterpart to Darwin’s letters home. Both bring to life a really remarkable adventure in a vast and remote part of the world.”

Tiny sketchbooks that bring to life one of the most famous voyages in history have been digitised and made available online for the first time.

Darwin described the Beagle voyage as the most formative experience of his life and to see it through the eyes of one of his companions is a very vivid reminder of the reality of that journey.

Alison Pearn

A Voyage of Sketches: ̽��ֱ��Art of Conrad Martens

Conrad Martens/Cambridge Digital Library

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