The Bookwheel invented by Agostino Ramelli in 1588!
As I started browsing through Wikipedia this morning I came across a contraption invented by Italian military engineer Agostino Ramelli the bookwheel!! It was the perfect invention for all of those like us, who back in 1588 loved to read more than one book at a time! It’s just a tad bulkier than your Kindle!!
Th bookwheel which is sometimes called a reading wheel is according to Wikipedia….
a type of rotating bookcase designed to allow one person to read a variety of heavy books in one location with ease. The books are rotated vertically similar to the motion of a water wheel, as opposed to rotating on a flat table surface. The design for the bookwheel originally appeared in a 16th-century illustration by Agostino Ramelli. Since then, Ramelli’s design has influenced other artists and engineers…..
….The bookwheel, in its most commonly seen form, was invented by, presented as one of the 195 designs in Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli (The various and ingenious machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli).[1] To ensure that the books remained at a constant angle, Ramelli incorporated an epicyclic gearing arrangement, a complex device that had only previously been used in astronomical clocks. Ramelli’s design is unnecessarily elaborate, as he likely understood that gravity could have worked just as effectively (as it does with a Ferris wheel, invented centuries later), but the gearing system allowed him to display his mathematical prowess.[2] While other people would go on to build bookwheels based on Ramelli’s design, Ramelli did not in fact ever construct his own. Continue Reading
In Agostino Ramelli’s Book Wheel by Kirsten Reach posted at the Melville House. Kristen writes that Ramelli says the following about his invention…..
This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing. Read More
Check out the complete article Agostino Ramelli’s Book Wheel in it Ms. Reach also writes about Daniel Libeskind, who had a crew of students put together his own interpretation of the structure for 1986 Venice Architecture Biennale.
All I can say is thanks for the Kindle, the Nook and the other e-readers because I don’t think there would be room in the house for a bookwheel!!
