These papers include correspondence from over 180 individuals, lecture notes and essays on mathematics, astronomy, and electricity, and his diaries from journeys through Germany (1798) and Switzerland (1802).

This collection includes correspondence to and from Boskovic; a travel journal in Europe; and a large number of manuscripts on astronomy, hydrography, hydro-mechanics, mathematics, geometry, mechanics, and optics; and a volume of poetry.

This item contains much information about his various posts and about conflicts, personalities, and the politics of science. There are also many references and comments about scientific technology of the day, and of such people as Matthew F. Maury. There are numerous letters to A. D. Bache, James Henry Coffin, Charles Henry Davis, and William H. Willcox.

Robert Maskell Patterson (1787-1854, APS 1809) was a professor of chemistry and natural philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania (1812-1828) and professor of natural philosophy at the University of Virginia (1828-1835). He was director of the U.S. Mint from 1835 to 1851. His father, Robert Patterson, was a revolutionary soldier, professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania (1779-1814), and director of the U.S. Mint (1805-1824).