Moving toward the Museum in 18th-Century Germany

In the 18th century, the museum experience in Germany was largely a theoretical enterprise. Despite efforts to initiate the museum as a civic institution, the majority of collections in Germanophone Europe remained in private ownership until much later in the century, secluded from public view and difficult to access in conventional terms. Visitation to collections was consequently limited to the initiated (and invited) few, who often travelled great distances to view displayed objects and who then communicated their knowledge of exhibits to others in a series of aesthetic writings. This article examines the intense interaction of print culture and collecting practices in 18th-century Germany by focusing specifically on the vital interconnection existing between discursivity and the physical object. It explores the general nature of this relationship, while also illustrating the impact it had on the nascent public practice of collecting in Germany. It regards the promulgation of collecting within this context primarily as a textual strategy, rather than as a factual reality, and evaluates the role reading played in promoting the acquisition and collection of material culture to a post-Enlightenment general public.Au 18e siècle, la manière dont on concevait les musées en Allemagne relevait en grande partie de la théorie. En dépit d’efforts pour faire du musée une institution civique, la plupart des collections en Europe germanophone sont demeurées dans un cadre privé jusque bien plus tard dans ce siècle, cachées aux yeux du public et difficiles d’accès en termes conventionnels. La visite des collections était par conséquent réservée aux rares initiés (et invités), qui se déplaçaient souvent sur de grandes distances pour voir les objets exposés et qui ensuite faisaient part de leurs connaissances de ces expositions à d’autres, dans des séries d’écrits esthétiques. Cet article examine l’intense interaction entre la culture imprimée et les pratiques de collectionnement dans l’Allemagne du 18e siècle, en se concentrant plus particulièrement sur l’interconnexion vitale entre la discursivité et l’objet concret. Il explore la nature générale de cette relation, tout en illustrant également l’impact que celle-ci a eu sur les pratiques émergentes de collectionnement en Allemagne. Il considère la promulgation du collectionnement dans ce contexte comme étant avant tout une stratégie textuelle, plutôt qu’une réalité factuelle, et évalue attentivement le rôle qu’a joué la lecture dans la promotion de l’acquisition et de la collection de culture matérielle auprès du grand public, postérieurement à l’époque des Lumières

Elastic scattering of intermediate-energy electrons from C_(60) molecules

Experimental and calculated differential cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons by C_(60) molecules at collision energies of 100 to 500 eV are reported. The elastic differential cross sections were measured in a standard crossed-beam apparatus, while the calculations were performed employing the Schwinger multichannel technique at the static-exchange level. Diffraction effects, some due to the overall spherical-cage structure and some to scattering by individual C atoms, are observed in both the measured and calculated cross sections

Lo que se sabe de Hervás: ideas lingüísticas, errores y revitalización de su figura en el marco de la historiografía lingüística

The works of the ex-Jesuit Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) represent one of the most relevant contributions to 18th-century Linguistics. In particular, his linguistic texts can be classified into three strands: 1) treatises discussing the origin of language and the development of speech, 2) treatises covering the origin and evolution of languages across time and their relationships and 3) materials developed to study the former topics. The analysis of Hervás' contributions to these themes shows the implementation of an innovative method which allowed him to achieve several original findings linked mainly to the description of the languages of the world and their distribution in linguistic families. However, despite the significance of his conclusions, traditionally Hervás' works haven't been exhaustively scrutinized, due to several intrinsic and extrinsic reasons, hence it is common to come across errors and inaccuracies on the works that mention his contributions to the history of linguistics and science; only recently several scholars have tried to restore Hervás' role in the history of linguistics.Los trabajos del ex jesuita conquense don Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) constituyen una aportación esencial a la historiografía lingüística ilustrada. De manera global, sus obras dedicadas al estudio de lenguaje y las lenguas pueden clasificarse en tres bloques temáticos: 1) tratados sobre el origen del lenguaje y el desarrollo de la facultad del habla, 2) tratados sobre el origen y la evolución de las lenguas a lo largo del tiempo y las relaciones entre ellas y 3) materiales para el estudio de los dos tópicos anteriores. El análisis de las aportaciones del abate al conocimiento de estas cuestiones revela determinados hallazgos notables, sobre todo con relación a la descripción de las lenguas del mundo y al establecimiento de familias lingüísticas; además, destaca el empleo por parte de Hervás y Panduro de una metodología innovadora, cuya aplicación le permite alcanzar varias conclusiones originales. Sin embargo, ciertas causas intrínsecas y extrínsecas provocan que los trabajos de Hervás y Panduro carezcan, hasta épocas recientes, de estudios exhaustivos, detallados y hasta cierto punto objetivos acerca de sus ideas lingüísticas, aunque desde hace un tiempo determinados autores se preocupan por revitalizar la figura de don Lorenzo

Camões e o Sonho Erótico de Luís Rafael Soyé

Luís Rafael Soyé (1760-1831), an author whose biography takes place in cities as different as Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro, published his first book in Lisbon in 1786: Dream, erotic poem, which he offered to the beneficent prince of Brazil, D. José. In this poem, we find peculiar traits of his work: a desire to renew the Portuguese poetry, an extreme care with language, a broad dialogue with the European literary tradition. If we look at the universe of Soyé’s poetry, we easily find the constellation Camões. Thus, we intend to show how the poetry of Camões is received/rewritten in his first literary adventure.Luís Rafael Soyé (1760-1831), autor cuja biografia se desenrola em cidades tão diferentes quanto Madrid, Lisboa, Paris e o Rio de Janeiro, publicou em 1786, em Lisboa, o seu primeiro livro: Sonho, poema erótico, que ofereceu ao benéfico Príncipe do Brasil, D. José. Neste poema começam a revelar-se traços definidores da sua obra: uma vontade de renovação da poesia portuguesa, um extremo cuidado com a linguagem, um diálogo amplo com a tradição literária europeia. Se olharmos para o universo da poesia de Soyé, encontramos facilmente a constelação Camões. Assim, pretendemos dar a ver de que forma se processa a recepção da poesia camoniana nesta sua primeira aventura literária

Gravitational Conundrum: Confusing Clock-Rate Measurements on the "First Fleet" from England to Australia

Voyages of exploration often included astronomers among their crew to aid with maritime navigation. William Dawes, a British Marine who had been trained in practical astronomy, was assigned to the "First Fleet", a convoy of eleven ships that left England in May 1787 bound for Botany Bay (Sydney, Australia). Dawes was also expected to take measurements of the local gravitational acceleration, $g$, at any port of call by measuring the daily rate by which his Shelton pendulum clock differed from that at Greenwich, its calibration location. Although Dawes and Nevil Maskelyne, Britain's fifth Astronomer Royal, had planned to obtain clock-rate measurements in the Canary Islands, San Sebastian (Rio de Janeiro) and Table Bay, Captain Arthur Phillip, Commander of the First Fleet, only allowed Dawes to disembark the clock in Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, we have just one set of clock-rate measurements from the voyage, in addition to land-based measurements obtained in New South Wales. If gravity was the dominant factor affecting the clock's changing rate, Dawes' measurement of $-48.067$ sec per (sidereal) day obtained in Rio de Janeiro implies a local gravitational acceleration, $g = 9.7946$ m sec$^{-2}$. On the other hand, if we adopt the modern value, $g = 9.7878$ m s$^{-2}$, the implied daily decay rate is almost exactly 30 sec greater than Dawes' clock-rate determination, a difference that is well in excess of the prevailing uncertainties. This suggests that the pendulum's regulator nut may have been offset by a full turn, thus implying that our assumptions regarding the pendulum length may have to be revisited.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, in press (December 2022 issue

Lo que se sabe de Hervás: ideas lingüísticas, errores y revitalización de su figura en el marco de la historiografía lingüística

Los trabajos del ex jesuita conquense don Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) constituyen una aportación esencial a la historiografía lingüística ilustrada. De manera global, sus obras dedicadas al estudio de lenguaje y las lenguas pueden clasificarse en tres bloques temáticos: 1) tratados sobre el origen del lenguaje y el desarrollo de la facultad del habla, 2) tratados sobre el origen y la evolución de las lenguas a lo largo del tiempo y las relaciones entre ellas y 3) materiales para el estudio de los dos tópicos anteriores. El análisis de las aportaciones del abate al conocimiento de estas cuestiones revela determinados hallazgos notables, sobre todo con relación a la descripción de las lenguas del mundo y al establecimiento de familias lingüísticas; además, destaca el empleo por parte de Hervás y Panduro de una metodología innovadora, cuya aplicación le permite alcanzar varias conclusiones originales. Sin embargo, ciertas causas intrínsecas y extrínsecas provocan que los trabajos de Hervás y Panduro carezcan, hasta épocas recientes, de estudios exhaustivos, detallados y hasta cierto punto objetivos acerca de sus ideas lingüísticas, aunque desde hace un tiempo determinados autores se preocupan por revitalizar la figura de don Lorenzo. The works of the ex-Jesuit Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) represent one of the most relevant contributions to 18th-century Linguistics. In particular, his linguistic texts can be classified into three strands: 1) treatises discussing the origin of language and the development of speech, 2) treatises covering the origin and evolution of languages across time and their relationships and 3) materials developed to study the former topics. The analysis of Hervás' contributions to these themes shows the implementation of an innovative method which allowed him to achieve several original findings linked mainly to the description of the languages of the world and their distribution in linguistic families. However, despite the significance of his conclusions, traditionally Hervás' works haven't been exhaustively scrutinized, due to several intrinsic and extrinsic reasons, hence it is common to come across errors and inaccuracies on the works that mention his contributions to the history of linguistics and science; only recently several scholars have tried to restore Hervás' role in the history of linguistics