Collections of scientific instruments originated as part of the Renaissance collections of 'naturalia' and 'arificialia'. Surveying and astronomical instruments were common in such collections, their role being to impress the visitors with the display of the additional power that a ruler acquired by controlling science. This book offers selected studies about noticeable sixteenth and eighteenth centuries European collections of scientific instruments. These studies also describe the activity of important instrument makers of the time, and their relation with patrons and rulers. Finally, attention is given to the role of nowadays museums and collectors in saving this scientific heritage from dispersal. The result is an up-to-date panorama about the formation of the most important museums of the history of science.The contributors include: Paolo Brenni, Filippo Camerota, Gloria Clifton, Wolfram Dolz, Sven Dupre, Karsten Gaulke, Sven Hauschke, Michael Korey, Mara Miniati, Tatiana M. Moisseeva, Peter Pla meyer, Klaus Schillinger, Giorgio Strano, Koenraad Van Cleempoel, and Ewa Wyka.