AKICIF: Babbage biography
Anna Feruglio Dal Dan
Turing, I have told him to get the one by Hodges, which I've skimmed
when it was first published and about which I've heard all sort of good
things; I don't know about Babbage, though. Anybody has any suggestions?
--
Anna Feruglio Dal Dan
http://www.fantascienza.net/sfpeople/elethiomel
Gens una sumus
Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey
> My partner is looking for a good biography of Turing and Babbage. For
> Turing, I have told him to get the one by Hodges, which I've skimmed
> when it was first published and about which I've heard all sort of good
> things; I don't know about Babbage, though. Anybody has any suggestions?
Babbage had a lot of pals in Italy, you know.
I read *Charles Babbage: Pioneer of the Computer* by Anthony Hyman (1982).
It's a little bit dry and scholarly, but it's a good look at the man and his
broad-ranging ideas. I see at amazon.com that Hyman has also edited some
collections of Babbage's writings, and penned a book called *Afghanistan
under Soviet domination, 1964-91*(!).
You may also want to look at Babbage's autobiography, *Passages from the
Life of a Philosopher*, which I haven't read.
An older (Sixties?) biography I haven't read is *Irascible Genius*. I do
have a copy, and I can tell you that it has interesting photographs,
including one of Babbage's preserved brain.
One fascinating thing I learned from the Hyman book: Babbage worked out a
system of colored stage lighting using limelight shining through glass tanks
of colored fluid. He produced a ballet that would show off his special
effects, and got some of his Royal Society buddies to assist him. Hyman
comments that, with Babbage and Michael Faraday, this ballet had perhaps the
most scientifically high-powered tech crew in history.
I was even more fascinated by a brief mention of a souvenir Babbage picked
up in his travels. You know the famous Jacquard Loom, where a complicated
design is built up from the holes in a set of wooden punched cards?
In the middle of August 1840 Babbage left England... In Lyons he
purchased from Didier-Petit and Co. of Quai de Retz no. 34,
Manufacture d'etoffes pour Ameublements et Ornamens d'Eglise, a
silk portrait of Jacquard which had been woven on a Jaquard loom
instructed by those punched cards that were also to instruct the
Analytical Engine [Babbage's planned computer]. Babbage already
possessed one of the portraits of Jacquard, a gift from a friend,
but he wished to obtain a second copy to present to the Duke of
Tuscany. The portraits were only made by special favour and
Babbage spent many fascinating hours watching it being made.
[Babbage then visited Italy to discuss the Analytical Engine with
Italian scientists, and got to know King Charles Albert.] ...he
was forced to to abandon his intention of visiting Florence.
However Charles Albert's Queen was the sister of the Grand Duke of
Tuscany and Babbage decided to present the silk portrait of
Jacquard to the Queen instead of her brother.
I always thought this self-referential "Jacquard Jacquard" was really cool,
and the image of it stayed in my mind for years after I read the book. I
wondered whether any of these silk portraits survive; presumably
Didier-Petit and Co. made a lot of them.
A couple of years ago, I bestirred myself to work the Net and see if I could
learn anything about possible surviving portraits. I was led to a mailing
list of textile conservators, where I encountered several helpful and
friendly people. (I don't know squat about textiles.) I was delighted to
learn that a few Jacquard Jacquards still exist.
About a year ago, apparently finding my remarks about Jacquard Jacquards on
the Net someplace, I was contacted by a guy in Montana who owns one! I gave
him all the fragments of information I had gathered, and he sent me a
photocopy of the portrait. So now I have my own picture of Jacquard.
Even more remarkably, the library at the University of Delaware has a
portrait of Francois Carquillat, the guy who designed the Jacquard Jacquard:
<http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/treasures/arts/carquillat.html>
In this picture, some duke is visiting Carquillat in his workshop, AND
CARQUILLAT IS HOLDING A COPY OF HIS JACQUARD JACQUARD! Is that cool, or
what? I haven't seen this picture, only the verbal description. I really
should try to get the U. of Delaware to put a scan or photo on-line. Real
soon now.
(Hey, I see they have a campus in Lewes. It's punkin-chunkin time again
next weekend!)
--
Bill Higgins | Every so often, Innumeracy strikes.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory | Out of all Americans,
| a lot suffer from it.
Internet: hig...@fnal.gov | But we can win
| the fight against Innumeracy
| with your help.
| All it takes is a few pennies a day.
Michael Kube-McDowell
Dan) carefully left the following thoughtprints where they could be
seen:
>My partner is looking for a good biography of Turing and Babbage. For
>Turing, I have told him to get the one by Hodges, which I've skimmed
>when it was first published and about which I've heard all sort of good
>things; I don't know about Babbage, though. Anybody has any suggestions?
Anna. I just finished reading THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE: Charles Babbage
and the Quest to Build the First Computer, by Doron Swade (Viking
Press), and would recommend it highly. Biographical content is about
equal to the engineering content, and after reading it I don't know
that the two could be usefully separated.
K-Mac
--
Michael Kube-McDowell, author and packrat
SF and other bad habits: http://k-mac.home.att.net
Anna Feruglio Dal Dan
> Anna. I just finished reading THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE: Charles Babbage
> and the Quest to Build the First Computer, by Doron Swade (Viking
> Press), and would recommend it highly. Biographical content is about
> equal to the engineering content, and after reading it I don't know
> that the two could be usefully separated.
Yes, that was one of the possibilites we had in mind. I'm glad to know
it's a good one.