The national cyclopedia of american biography, 23, page 172173, 1933. Wilson bentley, the snowflake man, had given a great gift to the world. Snowflake bentley by jacqueline briggs martin, mary. His parents supported his curiosity and saved until they could give him his own camera and microscope. Wilson alwyn bentley, also known as snowflake bentley, was an american meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their features. Includes over 2400 plates of snowflakes, frost, and dew. Cloudman tells about wilson bentley the snowflake man. The technology bentley used became known as photomicrography. The bentley snow crystal collection of the buffalo museum of science is a digital library providing a highquality collection of stunning, unretouched images of wilson a.
That component was bentley s one book, titled simply snow crystals and published in 1931 with the help of william jackson humphreys, who received his phd in physics at johns hopkins in 1897. His groundbreaking 1931 book, snow crystals, recorded for posterity the beauty, fragility and lacy designs of 2,500 snowflakes credit. The way the book is arranged starts off with simple snow crystal structure. In this caldecott medalwinning picture book, the true story of wilson bentley and his singular fascination with snowflakes is rendered in rich prose and gorgeous artwork, perfect for the holidays, snow days, and everyday. In childhood and adulthood, he saw each tiny crystal of a snowflake as a little miracle and wanted to understand them. Although his photographs were taken between 1885 and 1931, they have. Dec 28, 2009 in this caldecott medalwinning picture book, the true story of wilson bentley and his singular fascination with snowflakes is rendered in rich prose and gorgeous artwork, perfect for the holidays, snow days, and everyday. His groundbreaking 1931 book, snow crystals, recorded for posterity the. Wilson also released his book snow crystals in 1931, with 2000 of his photographs.
It is done in only black and white as this book was published in the 1900s. Snowflake bentley and foiled flakes snowflakes art. Bentley snow crystal collection is an important resource for all who seek inspiring examples of the artistry of snow crystals and knowledge of the science behind snow crystal formation. Perhaps it was no accident that bentley always loved snow more than anything else in the world. Wilson alwyn snowflake bentley february 7, 1865 december 23, 1931 is one of the first known photographers of snowflakes. For over forty years, wilson snowflake bentley 18651931 photographed thousands of individual snowflakes and perfected the innovative. This article was triggered by a ups package i received a couple of days ago. The images in the database are crossreferenced to those contained on the jericho historical societys cdrom, wilson snowflake bentley digital archives and to those contained in the dover book, snow crystals 1962. In willies hometown of jericho, vermont, you can still read the monument dedicated to snowflake bentley, jerichos world famous snowflake authority. Nov 24, 2014 with this thought in mind and snowflake bentley as our model, perhaps we can reclaim some of the pure joy of childhood snow days. Snow crystals, a book of wilson bentley s photomicrographs was published with almost 2,500 of his photos. In childhood and adulthood, he saw each tiny crystal of a snowflake as a. Jan, 2021 before bentley died in 1931from catching pneumonia in a blizzardhe published a book, snow crystals, with physicist and atmospheric researcher william j.
But though the beauty of the snow is evanescent, like the beauties of the autumn, as of the evening sky, it fades but to come again. Bentley s snowflakes cdrom and book dover electronic clip art. Wilson alwyn bentley february 9, 1865 december 23, 1931, also known as snowflake bentley, was an american meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their features. The photographer who discovered that no two snowflakes are. Perhaps it was no accident that bentley always loved snow more than. This amazing book was written by wilson bentley snowflake bent ley. In 1885, american farmer wilson bentley attached a camera to his microscope and took what is believed to be the very first photo of a snowflake. One day, while glancing through it, i saw the connection between the shape of a snow crystal and a twomirror, sixsided kaleidoscopic image. To experience bentley s childlike wonder for yourself, visit massanutten regional library to check out duncan c. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes dynamic resources to further an appreciation and understanding of bentley and his work. Visit your local library or order from an online company a copy of wilson bentley s book, snow crystals. Jan 05, 2019 as a young boy, bentley would handdraw pictures of snow crystals, and in his lifetime, wilson made over 5,000 photographic negatives of dew frost, snowflakes, raindrops, clouds and fog.
Vermont farmer and 19th century photo pioneer wilson bentleys. Jan 09, 2017 snow crystals was first published in 1931 by wilson bentley, in collaboration with william j. Because of his wonderful work with snow crystals, he became affectionately know as snowflake bentley. This amazing book was written by wilson bentley snowflake bentley. Although his photographs were taken between 1885 and 1931, they have never been equalled and are in great demand today. In print for more than 85 years, snow crystals has inspired countless artists and crafters offering a large selection of snowflake designs. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated. It slowly progresses through thousands of snowflakes, from simplest to intricate doilylike flakes. Wilson bentley is still known as an expert on snowflakes, and made history with his love for snow.
He wrote the entry on snow in encyclopedia britannica. Wilson bentleys photographs of snowflakes are as mesmerizing today as. Vermont photographer wilson alwyn bentley 18651931, known as snowflake bentley, spent a lifetime photographing snowflakes, eventually collecting thousands of images published at the end of his life in a book called snow crystals. There are also brief discussions of the nature and cause of ice flowers, windowpane frost, dew, rime, sleet, and graupel. Wilson bentley project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
That same year, less than a month after the book s release, wilson a. Vermont farmers images of snowflakes go on sale in nyc the. Wilson bentleys snowflakes pack montessoriinspired printables snowflake art print, winter wall art, nature art, snow, antique photography print, wilson alwyn. Vermont farmer and 19th century photo pioneer wilson bentley. Shortly after, on december 23, 1931, wilson bentley died at the family farmhouse in jericho where he lived his entire life. Bentley, a vermont farmer, photographed the marvels of snow crystals. Vermont farmers images of snowflakes go on sale in nyc. I opened it and found the snowflake man, a biography of wilson bentley 18651931 written and personally autographed by my good friend dr. T hree years bentley s senior, humphreys was born in 1862, in gap mills, west virginia. Mar 10, 2017 media in category wilson bentley snow crystals the following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. Wilson alwyn bentley 18651931, famous for his photomicrographs of snowflakes, prepared sets of glass lantern slides of dew, frost and ice crystals.
Bentley, popularly known as the snowflake man, was born on the family farm at. We actually used 2 books for our art influence on this project. The snow snow and ice snowflake bentley snowflake photos real snowflakes snowflakes falling paper snowflakes ice crystals things under a microscope. The university of wisconsins department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences donated their collection to the schwerdtfeger library in 2000. Humphreys, a physicist with the us weather bureau, published these findings in snow crystals, a volume containing 2300 of his photographs for all to study and enjoy. The blackandwhite prints of these intricate starlike crystals, each approximately 3 square inches, had been made at the turn of the 20th century by wilson alwyn bentley of jericho, vermont, whose work was introduced to. Throughout his life, he also published 60 articles in various scientific and popular journals. Sadly it was the last book he wrote before he died. Mar 2, 2021 shop wilson bentley snowflakes poster created by snowcrystal. Blanchard the snowflake man is a biography of wilson bentley, a farmer from jericho, vermont, who spent a lifetime 18651931 studying the beauty and science of snow crystals.
When he was sixtyfour, his book, snow crystals, was published. The microphotographic wonders of vermonts snowflake man. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same. Listen to the online radiolab podcast, crystal bliss, to.
In november of 1931, his book snow crystals was published by mcgrawhill and is still in print today. For the first time, the americans could study snowflakes as objects of both beauty and. Blanchards the snowflake man, bentley s own snow crystals, or a charming picture book like. This is a biography of wilson alwyn bentley, the farmer from jericho, vermont, who took over five thousand photomicrographs of ice, dew, frost, and especially snow crystals.
Bentley walked home in a raging snow blizzard to make yet more photos of his beloved form of precipitation, and, contracting pneumonia from. In this lecture, alexander nemerov, chair of the department of art and art history at stanford university. I used to think of a snowflake as a visual paragon, a model of perfection. See more ideas about snowflakes, snow crystal, snowflake photos. Bentley s prodigious body of work, snow crystals, was published in 1931 in new york, n.
Bentley is one of the first known snowflake photographers. Wilson bentley introduced the world to his study of snow, but it didnt stop there. Dec 16, 2017 wilson alwyn bentley, known to his family as willie, was born on the family farm in the nashville section of jericho on feb. Jan 21, 2010 his groundbreaking 1931 book, snow crystals, recorded for posterity the beauty, fragility and lacy designs of 2,500 snowflakes credit. Using the cdrom and the text as catalogs to our collection, we documented duplicate images in the image record. Martins book snowflake bentley which is about wilson bentley was a famous writer and photographer for his images he captured of snowflakes. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same as those used today, and that whil. From gathering this large collection of snowflakes, bentley learned that every single snowflake was unique and in the year of his death he, along with william j. Born on this day february 9 wilson bentley a pioneer. Bentley s original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes dynamic resources to further an appreciation and understanding of bentley and his work.
A professor at the university of vermont convinced wilson bentley. By juryrigging a microscope with a bellows camera, bentley was able to capture for the first time the exquisite delicacy of a snowflake. By age sixtysix with the help of other scientists, bentley had his pictures made into a book called snow crystals. A monograph featuring over 2,000 photographs of individual snowflakes, snow crystals revealed the true shapes of snowflakes to the general public. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes. Snowflake bentley is the story of wilson bentley, a farmer born in 1865 in jericho, vermont, a small town between lake champlain and mount mansfield, in the heart of vermonts snowbelt. Wilson snowflake bentley gave the world a gift when he learned to photograph snow crystals. Snowflake bentley pdf download full pdf read book page. Bentley also sold his photographs to universities and published them in leading science magazines, including nature and the national geographic magazine. In this lecture, alexander nemerov, chair of the department of art and art history at stanford university, will consider the relation of wilson s.
Many of these sets found their way to colleges and universities around the united states. The 66year old who came to be known as the snowflake man died of pneumonia at his farmhouse in jericho, vermont. Wilson snowflake bentley artists carl hammer gallery. His groundbreaking 1931 book, snow crystals, recorded for posterity the beauty, fragility and lacy designs of 2,500 snowflakes. This is a great book to introduce a unit on diversity. Wilson bentley snowflakes poster march 2021 your walls are a reflection of your personality, so let them speak with your favorite quotes, art, or designs printed on our custom posters. It shows his incredible work and the most amazing snowflake images that one has ever seen. In 1931, the united states weather bureau now known as the national weather service published bentley s research and 2,600 of his photographs in a book titled snow crystals, which he cowrote. Vermont farmer and 19th century photo pioneer wilson.
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