A woven Book of Hours
Book of Hours
Early computer science applied to weaving in silk
A Friends of the Library Discovery Event
Don鈥檛 miss the presentation and display of this amazing book artefact from the Barr Smith Library.
For the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle world fair, bookseller and publisher A. Roux of Lyon, entered his award winning Livre de Pri猫res tiss茅 d'apr猫s les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVI siecle. This is no ordinary book - it was fabricated from silk threads woven on a . The Jacquard Loom, patented by in 1804, used the concept of punched cards to control the weaving operation. Considered an important step in the history of computing, it is known to have inspired 's .
Event details
When: Monday 5 August 2024, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, tea and coffee from 11:45 pm
奥丑别谤别:听Ira Raymond Exhibition Room, Barr Smith Library Level 3 - LOCATION UPDATED!
Cost: $15 per person (incl GST). Students free. Proceeds support the Library.
Bookings:
The woven Book of Hours will be on display.
It is estimated that between 106,000 and 500,000 punched cards were programmed to weave 400 woof silk threads per 2.5 cm. (approximately one square inch), demanding machine movements of not more than a tenth of a millimetre. Fine quality grey and black silk threads were used. It took two years and close to fifty trials before the first copy of the prayer book was successfully completed. The pages include elaborate borders, decorative initials, and facsimiles of manuscript illuminations of the Virgin and Child, Crucifixion, and Nativity.
Presented by
Professor Derek Abbott, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Lee Hayes, Assistant Librarian, Rare Books & Manuscripts, University Library