Early 20th Century German Illustrated Physics Manuscript Notebook. Physik
Germany: undated (c. 1913). 20.8x17cm: unpaginated [326pp. of which 292pp. are used]. Manuscript notebook profusely illustrated with pen and ink drawings, most with color, along with 14 inserted hand drawn illustrations / graphs. Brown marbled paper-covered boards quarter-bound in brown pebbled cloth. Spine bumped, with some loss of cloth at spine ends. Moderate shelfwear to edges, with some surface scratches and rubbing to covers. Small ink stain to fore-edge of textblock. Moderate foxing to endpapers. Spine cracked at several gatherings. Pages clean and bright, with legible text in ink, in German. Better Than Very Good.
This heavily illustrated Physics manuscript notebook includes an examination of the following topics: Wӓrme (Heat), Elektrizitӓt, Magnetismus, Galvanismus, Elektro-Magnetismus, Induktion, Akoustik, Optiks, and Mechanik. Each section with a title page labeled in a shadowed calligraphy style. There are several pasted graphs and diagrams that are folded to fit inside the notebook. It is common for there to be at least one illustration on each page and in some cases several. The illustrations are both technically and artistically done with straight lines, correct labeling, and color changes for emphasis. The notebook includes theories and equations such as Coulomb’s Law, Faraday’s Law, Lorentz’s Force, and Lenz’s Rule, complete with calculations, examples, and diagrams. Also of note are several illustrations of different motors including the diesel motor and the obscure “Sirius M” motor, a detailed eye in the optics section, different kinds of telegraphs, the inner workings of an electric bell, and alternating currents!
Through our research, we determined the level of detail and calculations present to be far too advanced for a student attending a traditional Gymnasium (upper level high school). Additionally, the manuscript lacks any mention of Einstein’s 1905 annus mirabilis that would have likely been part of a university physics program at that time. We did find, however, that the topics and theories that are explored more deeply (electromagnetism, induction, optics, and mechanics) are primarily geared toward engineering. This leads us to believe that the notebook belonged to an engineering student at a Technische Hochschule (TH), a type of German university that focused on granting technical, including engineering, degrees.
We dated the notebook based on a field trip the student took to the Franken Power Plant in Nuremberg, Germany, which opened in 1913. The student provided a two-page study on the specifics of the turbine and three-phase generator along with the pump, steam boiler, transformers, and the switchboard along with information on a city transformer station they visited during the same trip. We could not locate any theories, laws, or equations that were created post 1903. Lichtenhof (a neighborhood in Nuremberg) was the only other location we could identify in the notebook, so we assume the school may have been located in Bavaria.
A beautiful example of a science notebook by a diligent and thoughtful physics student in the early 20th century!
Price: $2,000.00
Item #10449