Difference between revisions of "Ramelli's Bookwheel"

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(Biography)
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=Biography=
 
=Biography=
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)
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==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==
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Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)
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==The Book That Never Happened==
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He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)
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=The Bookwheel=
 
=The Bookwheel=
 
==Ramelli’s Design:==
 
==Ramelli’s Design:==
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===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===
 
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===
  
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).
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Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554). It is debatable whether Western and Chinese bookcases are related however as there is inconclusive evidence as to their connection.
  
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)
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Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)  
  
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table.  
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Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. Some resembled old fashioned piano stools, while others were more reminiscent of book cases yet still based on the table shape. One of the designs, which was featured in a fresco in the Church of Saint Peter at Perugia (ca. 1470's)had a revolving book case on the floor behind St. Jerome. It featured a lantern bracket on its top, presumably to assist in reading texts in low light circumstances and locations. (Hall 390) 
  
 
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.
 
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.

Revision as of 14:45, 3 December 2008

Biography

The Bookwheel

Ramelli’s Design:

Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)


The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:

Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554). It is debatable whether Western and Chinese bookcases are related however as there is inconclusive evidence as to their connection.

Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)

Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. Some resembled old fashioned piano stools, while others were more reminiscent of book cases yet still based on the table shape. One of the designs, which was featured in a fresco in the Church of Saint Peter at Perugia (ca. 1470's)had a revolving book case on the floor behind St. Jerome. It featured a lantern bracket on its top, presumably to assist in reading texts in low light circumstances and locations. (Hall 390)

Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.