Virtual Exhibits – Mann Library

Last Call: Bird Loss and the Threat of Extinction
Bird Loss and the Threat of Extinction

The world has lost, or is on the brink of losing, many remarkable bird species. Meanwhile, many once-numerous bird populations are rapidly shrinking. In North America alone, research led by Cornell scientists has shown that the continent’s total number of birds has declined by an estimated 2.9 billion adults over just a few decades, reflecting widespread pressures such as habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and invasive species. Understanding and reversing these bird declines requires both...

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Vladimir Nabokov: Lepidopterist
From the life and net of a butterfly scientist

Vladimir Nabokov, recognized as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, was also from early childhood impassioned by a very different subject: butterflies. Nabokov’s love of Lepidoptera spanned his full lifetime, from his exuberant childhood in Russia collecting moths and butterflies and poring over scientific illustrated tomes, to his final days in Switzerland lamenting that he would not live to see a certain butterfly again. This lesser-known side of Nabokov as a devoted...

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Redressing Histories of Early Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih Women at Cornell, 1914-1942

This exhibition examines the histories, stories, and lived experiences of early Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih (Haudenosaunee, formally referred to as Iroquois in previous literature) women at Cornell University. The Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih Confederacy are an alliance of six sovereign nations located across the upper region of what is colonially known as New York State and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The Confederacy is comprised of six nations who share common cultural and political goals: Onyota’a:ka (Oneida), Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk),...

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Image of a painting of the HMS Challenger ship at sea

Challenging the Deep: The Voyage and Revelations of HMS Challenger
The Voyage and Revelations of HMS Challenger

This exhibit celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Challenger expedition. Over that century and a half, thousands of people, both professional and citizen scientists, have contributed new knowledge to oceanography and marine biology. Mann Library houses an extensive collection of books, papers, and other media that add to these vital sciences, including many of the first-hand accounts of those aboard HMS Challenger. Cornell University Library's Rare and Manuscript Collections hold a copy of Report on...

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Mud Paintings
Sensing Chemical and Physical Changes of Microbial Industry

From April through October, 2022, Mann Library Gallery presents a selection of Mud Paintings by Jenifer Wightman. When microbes living in the mud are exposed to light, they synthesize pigment. Each painting presents a site-specific transforming colorfield, reflecting the diverse species and the unique soil and water conditions of the mud sample. This show displays diverse compositions derived from the most pristine to the most toxic landscapes, illustrating the incredible capacity for microbes to make...

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Cultivating Silence
Nikolai Vavilov and the Suppression of Science in the Modern Era

In 1932, Nikolai Vavilov, a brilliant plant geneticist of the early Soviet Union, visited Cornell University to attend the 6th International Congress of Genetics hosted by Cornell and the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y. Recognized for key contributions to the study of plant genetics, including his pioneering work on global centers of genetic diversity, he achieved worldwide fame in his lifetime. Yet, only a few years after his Cornell visit, Vavilov died...

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flower pansy collection language of flowers flower emblems

Written in Petals
The Language of Flowers in Victorian Europe

Though an ancient practice, attaching meanings to flowers probably reached the zenith of its expression in the books of the mid-nineteenth century printed in England, France, and the United States. What had started as simply applying connotations – a feeling, a broad concept – had, by Queen Victoria’s reign blossomed into a complex system of messaging that could convey a surprising amount of information in the arrangement of a bouquet.

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Caught Between the Pages
Treasures from the Franclemont Collection

A peek at select treasures from the collection of Cornell entomologist John G. Franclemont introduces the early history of a fascinating life science.

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Vintage Vision
The Art of Gazette du Bon Ton

In 1912 Lucien Vogel started a new magazine dedicated to presenting the fashions of the most prominent Parisian design houses in the most luxurious way possible - la Gazette du Bon Ton. By 1925 he was running Condé Nast's VOGUE Paris. In between, a stable of brilliant young artists filled the pages of Gazette du Bon Ton with stylish pochoir prints which would help propel Art Deco to the forefront of the design world. Together,...

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Unturned Leaves
Early Women in Botanical Illustration

Prior to the 20th century, one of the few paths to scientific relevance for women was the pursuit of botany; a number of women achieved success and recognition through illustrating scientific works on plant life with accuracy, skill, and beauty. This exhibit celebrates the art and achievements of several woman illustrators of the 19th and early 20th centuries whose works are held by Albert R. Mann Library.

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