COLLECTIONS A-Z

• David E. Pingree Collection on the History of Mathematics and the Exact Sciences
  The late David E. Pingree chaired the Department of History of Mathematics at Brown, and acquired a scholarly reputation of international renown from his own research into the history of mathematics and the exact sciences. In the course of his research, he compiled a research collection of books, pamphlets and manuscripts (many in photocopy format)in a variety of languages, some exceedingly rare and others found nowhere else in North America. The collection comprises more than 22,000 items, and is a remarkable resource for the study of mathematics in the ancient world. Its special focus on India and the relationship of Eastern mathematics to the development of mathematics and related disciplines in the West makes it of unique and particular importance for the study of the history of science. ...more information
  
  
• Palm Leaf Manuscripts
  
  The Rev. Dr. J.N. Cushing, Class of 1862, was a missionary to the Shan people of British-occupied Burma and a noted linguist who translated the Bible into the Shan dialect and compiled a Shan-English dictionary. In 1881 he presented a complete set of the Tipitaka, the canonical text of Buddhism and many manuscripts written on painted and lacquered palm leaves. ...more information
  
  
• Persian, Mughal, and Indian Miniature Paintings from the Minassian Collection
  Miniature paintings from the estate of Mrs. Adrienne Minassian. The paintings often include text from Persian and Indian tales. ...more information
  
  
• Scott Library
  A collection of 1,000 volumes in Icelandic, Pali, and Sanscrit formerly belonging to Dr. Adrian Scott, Class of 1872, was presented to the Library in 1914 by his classmates ...more information
  
  
• Wheaton Collection on International Law
  The Wheaton Collection on International Law, established and developed by William V. Kellen, Class of 1872 and George Grafton Wilson, a faculty member at Brown.. The collection, named in honor of Henry Wheaton, Class of 1802, a major figure in the field of international law, and author of Elements of International law. The collection, now including over 4,000 volumes holds many important books, particularly early editions of Grotius and Pufendorf. It also includes an unusually complete collection of general treatises on international law in English and foreign languages; fairly complete documentations for international arbitrations, the League of Nations, and the Permanent Court of International Justice; complete files of the more important international law periodicals for the 19th and early 20th centuries; a large collection of diplomatic pamphlets, and manuy volumes of diplomatic law and diplomatic correspondence.
  List available ...more information
  
  

Image Source: The Kammavaca. Painted and lacquered manuscript palm leaves written in the Pali language using Burmese script. 18th century. Rare Book Collection. Gift of Rev. Dr. J. N. Cushing, Class of 1862.

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