A new Flickr gallery showing some of the images that have been included in our current digitisation project is now available. The images have been selected from the glass plate negative series (KDBP/1/1) which contain a number of images documenting x-ray diffraction and other physical studies into DNA. The series dating from 1949 to 1984 contains significant landmark diffraction patterns of DNA including early crystalline A-and semi-crystalline B-forms in particularly 'Photo 51' created by Rosalind Franklin. Along with x-ray patterns there are also model representations of the structure and graphical representations of the King's team's findings.
The new Flickr set can be found in the link below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51665752@N04/sets/72157630717145856/
KCL and the Foundations of Modern Genetics: The Library of Maurice Wilkins: Part 2
KCL and the Foundations of Modern Genetics: The Library of Maurice Wilkins: Part 2: In this second instalment regarding the personal library of Maurice Wilkins, I have selected a number of books from the collection and ...
The library of Maurice Wilkins
“A personal library is an X-ray of the owner’s
soul. It offers keys to a particular temperament, an intellectual disposition,
a way of being in the world. Even how the books are arranged on the shelves
deserves notice, even reflection. There is probably no such thing as complete
chaos in such arrangements.”
- Jay Parini,
American writer and academic (b 1948-)
As part of the acquisition of Maurice Wilkins personal papers for the King’s College London archives, the family also donated an extensive part of his private library. This generous gift contains a plethora of non-fictional material ranging from his scientific career in biophysics to later work in nuclear disarmament. The collection, consisting of books, booklets, pamphlets and journal articles, can be found within the Archives Reading Room in the Strand Building and occupies ten shelves. As the above quotation states, a personal library can be a window to the owner’s soul and the Wilkins library collection certainly conveys a sense of Wilkins’ range of interests.
The collection contains journal articles and leaflets from a number of publications. Some relate to his scientific career with off-prints from the Journal of Molecular Biology, while others reveal his interest in the relationship between art and science. Also included are a series of annual booklets from the Nobel Prize organisation, listing prize winners.
The published books cover a diverse number of subjects but can be broken down into the following categories:
Science: life sciences, genetics, physics and biographical material
History: mainly the history of science, but also of ancient Greece, the Renaissance and the political and scientific history of the twentieth century
Psychology and Philosophy: psychoanalysis and how the mind works, also alternative therapies and eastern philosophy, in particular the practice of yoga
Anti-nuclear: relating to the anti-nuclear movement, disarmament, nuclear conflict.
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