Just one of the “various and ingenious machines” of Agostino Ramelli
In 1588, Agostino Ramelli designed a device to allow one person to read a variety of books in one location with ease. He called his machine the bookwheel. Ramelli, an Italian engineer, incorporated epicyclic gearing in his invention.
Read an interesting article from The Atlantic about his early reading machine.
Want to see Ramelli’s other ingenious machines? You’re in luck! The library owns a book called: The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli: a Classic Sixteenth Century Illustrated Treatise on Technology. This book is located in the Oversize Collection, Call Number TJ144 R313 1987.