Manuscript Gallery

Mendeleyevs periodic table, 1869

Mendeleyev's periodic table, 1869. Mendeleyev's periodic table of 1869. This is the first version of the periodic table drawn up by the Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev (1834-1907). He left gaps in the table for new elements, that were indeed later discovered, vindicating his theory. This version has the elements listed using chemical symbols, and ordered by atomic weight, but the fully correct chemical arrangement has not yet emerged. The final version (1871) had the elements arranged in the familiar vertical columns or groups. This version is dated (lower left) to 17 February 1869, and Mendeleyev's name is at top. This manuscript is from the Mendeleyev museum. Photographed in St Petersburg, Russia. See also H413/297

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Saxtons Map of Norfolk, 1574, (1944). Creator: Christopher Saxton

Saxton's Map of Norfolk, 1574, (1944). Detail of the county of Norfolk, showing rivers, towns and villages, and a ship in The Wash. One of 35 coloured maps in "Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales", the first atlas of any country, made by Christopher Saxton. Manuscript in the British Library in London. From "British Maps and Map-Makers", by Edward Lynam. [Collins, London, 1944]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Page from the Dresden Codex, Maya manuscript

Page from the Dresden Codex, Maya manuscript. Chromolithograph of a page showing a section of a tonalamatl, a sacred season of 260 days. The god Quetalcoatl is depicted several times, including ferrying a woman (centre) and with an axe (bottom left). The original manuscript was probably produced in the first half of the 13th century, and contains tables predicting astronomical occurrences with great accuracy. It was sent to Europe after the Spanish conquest of Central America, and is today one of only four Mayan codices known to have survived

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images