Public and Private Science

In October this year, The King George III Collection, a unique assembly of scientific instruments, goes on display in a specially commissioned gallery at the Science Museum, London. This lavishly illustrated book comprises the catalogue of that remarkable collection. It describes the context in which these pieces of equipment were commissioned (many by the monarch himself), made, and used, providing a fascinating perspective on scientific life in eighteenth century London. The book gives details of the various craftsmen who made instruments for popular scientific demonstrations, and links the spread of scientific knowledge to the broader cultural developments of the period. The collection itself is graphically illustrated with many colour plates and specially taken black and white photographs, and full details are given for every individual item - including construction, maker, and intended use. This book is intended for historians of science and technology, social and cultural historians, collectors of scientific instruments, and museum curators.Table of Content1: The King George III Collection: a collection of collections. 2: Science as polite culture: early scientific lectures in London, 1700-45. 3: A new generation of lecturers on natural philosophy: a study of newspaper advertisements, 1745-70. 4: The career of S.C.T. Demainbray (1710-82). Catalogue of the collection. I: The apparatus of S.C.T. Demainbray. II: The apparatus supplied for King George III by George Adams in 1761-2. III: Other seventeenth and eighteenth century material. IV: Nineteenth century material. V: Less significant objects. Index. Inventory number index