In 1839-1840, the ichthyologist Richard Parnell left London for a collecting expedition to Jamaica and a tour of museum collections in the United States. An authority on both fishes and grasses, Parnell published two noted works as a young man, his Prize Essay on the Natural and Economical History of the Fishes Marine, Fluviatile, and Lacustrine, of the River District of the Firth of Forth (Edinburgh: Neill and Co., 1838) and The Grasses of Britain, 2 vols. (Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1842-1845). He appears, however, to have abandoned publication in 1845, although he continued collecting for many years. The notebook kept by Richard Parnell during his voyage to the West Indies and United States in 1839-1840 contains little narrative, but dozens of pencil and watercolor sketches of the marine life that absorbed his interest, primarily fishes. Most sketches are accompanied by brief notes on the anatomy of the fish, sometimes with close-ups of fin structures, air bladders, or the digestive tract and stomach. Although collecting localities are seldom recorded, the majority of specimens seem to have been collected in Jamaica, with at least a few observed in vitro at the New York Museum.

The first fifteen volumes of these "Notes of Travel" are Lea's account of his trips to Europe during 1832 and 1852-1853. He met with naturalists, scientists, and did much sightseeing in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. He records in detail visits and discussions with scientists, and makes sketches of many of the places he saw, particularly the Rhine River. The sixteenth volume is a memorandum book, 1853, containing accounts and expenses while in Europe.

The approximately 3,700 color and black and white drawings were collected and drawn by John Lawrence LeConte, with two in the first volume are by Titian R. Peale, but most are likely by John Abbot. The previous description noted that there are some drawings by John Abbot, and that most were likely by John Lawrence Le Conte. However, John V. Calhoun has shown extensive evidence that most of the drawings are by John Abbot (John Abbot's "Lost" Drawings for John E. LeConte in the American Philosophical Society Library, Philadelphia. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 60(4), 2006, 211-217). The contents of the collection: 1. Coleoptera. 654 figures. 2. Diptera, Hemiptera, and Lepidoptera. 564 figures. 3. Coleoptera. 698 figures. 4. Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. 228 figures. 5. Coleoptera. 657 figures. 6. Hymenoptera and Diptera. 234 figures 7. Diptera. 304 figures. 8. Hemiptera, Araneina, Myripoda. 356 figures

This diary records the travels of Loammi Baldwin in the Netherlands (then including Belgium), England, and France, with detailed observations and careful pen-and-ink sketches of canals and canal machinery.

A compendium of natural philosophical knowledge, written in 1718-1720 by John Questebrune, chaplain to the 6th Earl of Galway. The chapters treat the various parts of the physical world (earth, water, air, and fire), plants (including a great deal on medicinal plants), animals, and the human body and soul. The volume is embellished with decorative chapter headings and pen and ink and watercolor sketches depicting the terrestrial globe, the Ptolemaic and Copernican solar systems, the phases of the moon, and the human body in dissection.

John James Audubon (1785-1851), the American Woodsman, is a legendary naturalist and bird artist. His technique of painting North American birds dramatically as they appeared in their natural habitat was a major contribution to the emerging discipline of ornithology in the nineteenth century. His masterpiece, The Birds of America (1827-1838), elephant folio, was followed by a companion text edition, Ornithological Biography (1831-1849), a smaller octavo edition of Birds (1840-1844) and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, published posthumously. This collection of original letters of publication information, ornithology, and some personal notes was sent primarily to Lucy Bakewell Audubon, his wife, from 1826-1834, and to Victor Gifford Audubon, his son, from 1833-1834, 1840-1844, with some sporadic contact with both between 1836-1839. Items in the collection relate to Audubon's Florida, Great Egg Harbor, and Great Pine Forest expeditions but not to his final expedition up the Missouri River. Of particular note, letters of 1833 and 1834 contain references to his response to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia president George Ord's attacks on his credibility. A partial journal entry from New Orleans in 1821 and a few letters to other correspondents, including John Bachman, round out the material.

A physician, natural historian, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815) was one of the central figures in Philadelphia's early national scientific establishment. Having received his medical training in European universities, Barton was appointed Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 1789, lecturing on botany, materia medica, natural history. A prolific author, he established his reputation as one of the nation's preeminent botanists through his botanical text book The Elements of Botany (1803), but his contribtions to zoology, ethnology, and medicine were equally noteworthy. Barton's monograph on the "fascinating faculty" of the rattlesnake and his efforts in historical linguistics (New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America, 1798) were widely read, and his Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal (1804-1809) was one of the nation's first medical journals and an important outlet for natural historical research. The Barton Papers offer a comprehensive view of the professional work of Benjamin Smith Barton from the time of his return to the United States in 1789 until his death. The collection is divided into five series: Correspondence, Subject Files, Bound Volumes, Graphic Materials, and Printing Plates. The collection includes a particularly valuable series of botanical, medical, and natural historical drawings collected by Barton for research, reference, and publication. Among the many artists represented are William Bartram, Frederick Pursh, Pierre Turpin, and Benjamin Henry Latrobe.