Altgeld Model Collection
The Mathematical Model
Collection scattered across display cases throughout Altgeld is
perhaps the second greatest of its kind in the world, second only to
the Smithsonian's. The history of the
collection can be traced back to Edgar
Townsend, who was hired as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at
the University of Illinois during the 1893
Chicago World Columbian Exposition. Felix Klein was at the
exhibition showcasing the German models which were being produced at
the time. Six years
later, Townsend went to Göttingen, Germany, to study under
Hilbert. Göttingen at
the time was the epicenter of the model production efforts, and upon
completing his dissertation, Townsend returned to the University of
Illinois and
ordered a full set of the available models. Not satisfied with the
existing collection, he hired Arnold Emch in 1911 and commissioned
him to construct a number of custom pieces never manufactured
anywhere else.
At least 380 of the models are still on display today
and the collection as a whole
illustrates:
Geometric forms and their topological properties as they
occur in the various branches of algebraic geometry, differential
geometry, algebra, and some special fields of analysis; also
mechanisms and linkages for the description of conics and trochoids,
and the illustration of problems in the geometry of
movements.
| Selected Images of the Altgeld Model Collection |
Below is a selection of images of the Altgeld Model Collection. These images may be viewed for personal use only and may NOT be republished in any form. To use one of these images in a U of I presentation or Web or print publication, please click on the "License" link beneath each image to license the image free of charge.
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