The Pencil:
- Renaissance invention
- Invented by Conrad Gesner in 1555 in Switzerland
- Quill writing was complex - the pencil was a tool to make writing easier and more accessible
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| Subject: Conrad Gesner. Medium: Why pencil of course! |
Wallpaper:
- Turn of the 15th-16th century in England
- Supposed to imitate the tapestry that the rich had to decorate their walls and keep the cold out
- Middle-class could imagine their space as similar to high class
Knitting Machine:
- Invented in 1509 by William Lee
- Weaving/textiles was a major export for England
- Allowed more to be done in little time, therefore providing more leisure time
- Contributed to the literary explosion of the time
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| Depiction of William Lee watching his wife knit by hand...you can just see the wheels turning inside his little Elizabethan head, can't you? |
The Toilet Bowl:
- Invented by John Harrington in the 1590’s
- “saucy” godson of Queen Elizabeth
- tutor to Henry Prince of Whales
- created the toilet for himself, and gave one to Elizabeth
- The invention did not catch on at first, but became popular much later
- Another example of an invention made by a literary figure which is important for everyday modern life!
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| The saucy man himself, John Harrington. |
Beer:
- Beer was usually served from barrels, flat and warm
- Brewers started experimenting with bottles
- Came upon double fermentation process that added “fizz"
- Beer was generally drank in inns or pubs known as “inn-yards”
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| Bottle. |
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| Barrel. |
Robotics (Flying Wooden Beetle):
- John Dee was an influential figure in the Elizabethan period (one of the prime hermeticists)
- Created a flying wooden beetle in 1543
- This was the first sign of robotics!
- Created for Cambridge drama production
- Caused great sensation/fearful reaction (thought to be black magic)
- As a result, Dee was charged with witchcraft and seen as a devil-worshiper
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| John Dee - father of robotics?? |
Thermoscope (Thermometer):
- Invented in 1593 by Galileo Galieli
- Consisted of a closed glass tube holding bulbs containing liquids of varying densities
- Bulbs rise and fall as the temperature fluctuated
- First time that changes in temperature could be measured
- Now commonly used as decoration!
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| The beautiful Galileo Thermoscope (modern version). |
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| Galileo Galieli |
Glasses, Telescope, Microscope:
- Early Renaissance period (Italy)
- Combined effort of science and literature
- John Dee and Thomas Diggs start using telescope for astrology
- John Dee used it while acting as Elizabeth's fortune-teller
- Diggs writes about how it gave them the ability to read money that placed in an open, private field, miles away
- Blurred the lines between private and publicly viewed places
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| Old microscope. |
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| Old pair of glasses... with equally old case (presumably) |
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| Old telescope. |
Guitar Tabs:
- John Dowland
- Was a famous lute musician, most popular artist of the period
- Wrote both art and popular songs
- Sold many songbooks, which made him sort of a celebrity in both high and low culture
- Music was extremely important to culture
- Everyone was encouraged to learn an instrument
- Lute songbooks used tabulature to help people learn the instrument
- Created by Thomas Mace
- Very similar to contemporary guitar tabs
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| Lute Tabulture |
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| Guitar Tab for Silent Night |
The Pocket Watch:
- Early 1500's in Germany
- Invention credited to locksmith Peter Henlein
- This was a major technological advance, as other time keepers were much larger and less accurate than Henleins portable piece
- His balance spring technology allowed the clock to run for 40 hours without requiring re-winding
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| Early Pocketwatch |
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| Look guys, a watch on your wrist, like....a wrist-watch! |
