Shortly after the Second World War, the Newberry began collecting European military history. When the noted Renaissance historian Hans Baron joined the Newberry staff in 1951, he was charged with evaluating these collections and expanding them, of particular interest were matters of military tactics and military architecture. In early modern Europe, military architecture stood at the crossroads of several disciplines. The hard science of mathematics was essential to creating defensive works that could hold out against powerful siege machinery. This exhibit outlines the connections between politics and mathematics, as well as the campaigns of Louis XIV in maps, plans and images.
The exhibition was on view at the Newberry from August 13 to October 29, 2011.