Universities and Museums Which Have Owned or Currently Posses Models

Note: This list is is growing as I get a minute of time to update it. Please, if you know of a place that has models that is not on this list, please send me an email.

Centro de Matemática e Aplicações Fundamentais (CMAF - University of Lisbon)

The CMAF has copies of models of ruled surfaces from the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers made around 1864, and they has working reproductions made. Wow! Check it all out here.

Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris

According to Fink p.277, they had a series of string models in 1830. They still have many interesting objects, including models of surfaces, many by T. Olivier. See their catalogue (in French). Kidwell, p. 206 endnote, says that they have/had a couple of models by G. Monge. Looking at their catalog, they have at least one model that is possibly by Moore. I have sent an email to their public relations department to try to get in touch with someone who works with their collections and am awaiting a response.

Deutsches Museum, Munich

Walter Dyck helped to found this museum, so I very much suspect they had models at some point. They do have a mathematics exhibitions, but I haven't gotten around to talking to the people in their collections department. It doesn't hurt that I dont speak german of course.

Fairfield University in Connecticut

Seems to have some -- a professor at the university has some models on his web site. I have not yet contacted him.

Martin-Luther-Universtät Halle-Wittenberg

Their web page (in German) on the history of the mathematics department has an item for their historical collection of mathematical models, but links have not yet been provided. I have not yet contacted anyone at the school.

Massachusetts Institue of Technology.

There are models in cases at MIT in the mathematics building (building #2). I am currently trying to find out more aobut the collection, and will hopefully post some pictures here in the future.

Poincare Institute in Paris.

Man Ray photographed some of the models at the Poincare Institute. They still have thier model room with 600 objects. See their web site (in French).

The Science Museum in London.

In 1876 there was an exhibition of scientific apparatus at the South Kensington Museum, which eventually became the Science Museum. Many mathematical models were exhibited, and the museum still has a large collection. Henry Moore was inspired by models at the science museum (see Henry Spencer Moore, p. 105.) The museum is currently running an exhibition highlighting the models. Jane Wess is the curator of Mathematics and astronomy, j.wess@nmsi.ac.uk. See the references list for books on the collections.

Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC.

Has a pretty extensive collection of models in the Division of Information Technology and Society, but only a couple were on display the last that I was there. Peggy Kidwell curates the mathematics collection -- follow the link above for contact information if you want to make an appointment to study the collections.

Universität Regensburg.

Has an online display of models, both historic and modern.

University of Arizona

The mathematics department has a great web site on thier collection with lots of pictures. Many of their models were made by R. Baker.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.

Has an outstanding collection in Altgeld Hall, discussed here.

Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA.

Wellesley has a number of (approx 50) models of polyhedra in plastic. Some has stickers saying "A. Harry Wheeler" on them, and I suspect that all were from a collection created or sold by Wheeler. They had a couple of plastic models showing intersections of surfaces that had stickers saying "Unterrights Modelle" and that they were made in Germany. There were five stringed models of ruled surfaces with aluminum frames. There were two larger string models. One, in metal, looks like something I've seen in Dyck's catalog, so I have to look at that again. The other, made of wood, I think depicted a cone and a hyperboloid of one sheet. The string on that model was unravelling quite a bit. Right now the models are under the care of Joan McCarthy, an administrative assistant in the department (jmccarthy@wellesley.edu). Previously, she says they were under the care of Patrick Morton. She suggested I try contacting Wilma Slate at the Wellesley library (work with the archives) to try to find more information.

Kidwell has a photograph showing some Brill models at Wellesley College (photo pub in "Women in the American Mathematical Community" in Math Intelligencer 1987 #9 p 17, in Wellesley College Archives).

I have a copy of the Wellesley College Bulletin for the 1925-26 school year that notes (p. 144), "The [mathematics] department has a collection of 45 Brill-Schilling models of surfaces, chiefly of the second and third orders, beside [sic] several simple models, including some made by its members."

Other Leads on Places with Models

• From Kidwell, schools that purchased models:
  • Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Michigan (Schroeder models of polyhedra)
  • Johns Hopkins, Stevens Institute of Technology, Princton (Schroeder models for descriptive geometry)
  • University of Mississippi, Physics Collection (should currently have some of Engel's models)
  • Harvard University, Union College, West Point, Steven's Institute of Technology (Olivier's models). Princeton had duplicates of Olivier models.
  • Brill/Shilling models: Johns Hopkins, Clark University in MA (has photos of collection, wee "W.E. Story of Hopkins and Clark" in A Century of Mathematics in America ed by R. Duren), Wellesley College (photo pub in "Women in the American Mathematical Community" in Math Intelligencer 1987 #9 p 17, in Wellesley College Archives), Columbia College, Wesleyan University (much of this collection is at Smithsonian), University of Illinois, Yale University (has a collection currently), Cornell University, Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke College, Bowling Green State University, University of Michigan
  • Models made by Eberback of Ann Arbor (Christian Eberbach & son Ottmar) in University of Michigan.
  • Polyhedral models of Wheeler: MIT, Wellesley, Brown. Wheeler's personal collection and a large number from Brown are at the smithsonian.
  
  
  
• From Cajori's Teaching and History of Mathematics in the United States. Cajori reports the result of a survey sent by the Board of Education to educational instututions, including Universities through high schools. One of the questions was "To what extent are models used in geometry?" I have listed the schools whose responses are very affirmative (so might have had a large collection) or are interesting in some other way. The majority of the respondents said either "Not at all" or "Very little" or some variation, or indicated that only the most simple models were used (sphere, cone, etc.).
  • Huntsville Female College in Huntsville, AL. A.B. Jones, respondent.
  • Pierce Chistian College, College City, CA. D.E. Hughes.
  • State School of Mines in Golden Colorado, Paul Meyer. Says they use models "in descriptive geometry only"
  • Trinity College, Harford, CT, F.s. Luther.
  • Georgetown College, Wash, DC J.F. Dawson -- used for teaching conic sections.
  • Howard University, Wash, DC G.W. Gook
  • Florida State Agricultural College in Lake City FL, L.H. Orleman reports "models have just been obtained."
  • University of Georgia, Athens, GA, W. Rutherford.
  • University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill S.W. Shattuck. "Used in the study of the geometry of space, of surfaces of the second order.
  • Illinois College, Jacsonville, IL, J.H. Pratt "We approve of their extensive use"
  • Indiana University, Bloomington, INd, W.B. Morgan
  • Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, IN, C.A. Waldo "they are used in teaching the higher surfaces, especially the warped surfaces in descriptive geometry.
  • University of Des Moines, Des Moines, IA, T.M. Blakslee.
  • UNiversity of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, E. Miller. "We have about one hundred dollars' worth of models for pure mathematics.
  • Maine State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Orono, ME, J.N. Hart "the sphereical blackboard and models are used considerably.
  • Minnesota State University, Minneapolis, Minn, J.F. Downey, "Full sets of Schroder's (Darmstadt) models".
  • School of Mines, University of Missouri, Rolla, MO, W.H. Echols "to a small extent in descriptive geometry (warped surfaces, etc.)
  • Trinity College, Randolph County, NC, J.M. Bandy
  • Niagara University, Niagara, NY, E.A. Antill
  • U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY, E.W. Bass. "None are used in plane geometry. We have twenty-six fine models of warped and single-curved surfaces for use in descriptive geometry.
  • University of Texas, Austin, TX. GB Halstead
  • Agricultureal and Mechanical College of Texas, College Station, TX, LL M'Innis
  • Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA, R.B. Smithey
  • Bethel Military academy, E.S. Smith
• Other Places
  • Whipple Museum for the History of Science.
  • Universiteit van Amsterdam. I heard a rumour that they had mathematical models.

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  Last modified: February 1, 2001
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  Angela Vierling
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