Revolution in Electricity : The Story of the Wonder Crystals: Transistors, Solar Cells, Supermagnets, and Electronic Lights (1962)
Look through about any school science textbook today and they are absolutely brimming with glossy illustrations. But, for some reason, older science books seemed to have a bit more “flair” than today. Unlike the illustrations of today’s science textbooks which are all-too-perfect, but also all-too-dull, the 1950s-1970s delivered some impressively creative and often odd visuals.
So, let’s thumb through some pages of science book art from the 1950s-1980s and see what wondrous finds we uncover. Enjoy.
Atoms, Energy and Machines (1957)
McCormick, Jack |New York, NY: Creative Educational Society, Inc.
Lasers: Tools of Modern Technology (1968)
Brown, Ronald | Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Future World (1979)
Goodwin, Peter | New York, NY: Crescent Books
Los Ordenadores (1973)
Translation: The Computers. Berenguer, X., Corominas, A., Garriga, J. | Barcelona: Salvat Editores, S.A.
Physics: A Basic Science (1954)
Elmer, E., Verwiebe, F., Hazel, H., Van Hooft, G. | New York, NY: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.
Matter (1974)
Lapp, Ralph E. | New York, NY: Time, Inc.
Robots: Machines in Man’s Image (1985)
Asimov, I., Frenkel, K. | New York, NY: Harmony Books
Bionic Parts for People (1978)
Skurzynski, Gloria | New York, NY: Four Winds Press
Supersonic Cruise Technology (1985)
McLean, Edward | Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The Engineer (1975)
Furnas, C.C., McCarthy, J. | New York, NY: Time-Life Books
Why Chimps Can Read (1976)
Premack, Ann J. | New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers
Sound: From Communication to Noise Pollution (1970)
Chedd, Graham | Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Modern Science: Man, Matter and Energy (1967)
Blanc, S., Fischler, A., Gardner, O. | New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
The Mind (1964)
Wilson, John Rowan | New York, NY: Time Incorporated
So, if you still have your old science books, it may be worthwhile to page through them – you never know what gem of an illustration you may find. Also check out the Reanimation Library online – where old textbooks get new life, and is the source for many of the illustrations in this article.
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