Detailed notes from Alexander Wilson's "American ornithology," including item numbers from Peale's museum. Also two loose pages in vol. 1 attributed to John Abbot; Case for 2 volumes says "George Ord -- Birds of North America. Original manuscript."

Moses Moon (1754-1822) was a Bucks County, Pennsylvania resident. He spent his entire life living and working at his family's Woodbourne Estate in Bucks County as a farmer, horticulturist and surveyor. The collection consists of what Moon called his Cyphering Book, containing drawings of the solar system, and the positions of the stars dated 1772, as well as a copy of a deed with a map on the reverse from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, dated 1787.

This volume includes definitions and problems on parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola.

This item, by an unknown author, presents an astronomical sketch of eclipses, some of which could be seen from Philadelphia and Canton, China.

A member of a family of early 19th century artists and instrument makers that included Cornelius, John, and William Fleetwood Varley, Cromwell J. Varley shared in the family interests in astronomy. The Journal of Astronomical Observations includes brief notes on telescopic observations of comets, stars, and planets conducted by Cromwell J. Varley between 1845 and 1858, accompanied by twenty ink and watercolor sketches.

These volumes contain calculations and drawings of an eclipse of the sun, 24 June 1778, and of the moon, 29 May 1779, adjusted to the meridian of Philadelphia. There is also an incomplete duplicate of the calculations for the sun, and a duplicate of the calculations for the moon. An apparently personal reference in the text suggests that Freehauff was a native of Germany.

Part I contains a series of definitions of the principles of physics. Part II includes chapters on the visible world, the earth, the senses, light, and meteorology.

This essay discusses Priestley's experiments concerning phlogiston, also called "the principle of inflammability," which was once thought to be a volatile substance that was part of all combustible matter and was released as flame in combustion.

This journal was kept on a voyage from the Downs to the Capes of Delaware on board the ship Three Sisters, 26 June-20 August, 1803. The volume includes "Observations on the storm glass," made on the same voyage. The storm glass, with an explanation of its use, and the journal of observations are at the American Philosophical Society.

Treat sent this volume to Thomas Jefferson in 1809 from "Arkansa in Louisiana," and wrote, "If from their perusal you can derive, either information or amusement, respecting the climate of this part of our country, your acceptance will be highly gratifying."

Kampman copied this document at the request of John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder "for the information of the [American] Philosophical Society," and Heckewelder transmitted it to the Society.

One of the great scientists of colonial Mexico, Martin de Sessé y Lacasta arrived in Mexico City from his native Aragon in 1780. A founder of the Botanical Garden in Mexico City, Sessé was also co-leader of the sixteen year long Royal Botanical Expedition, which surveyed the flora and fauna of the Spanish colonies from California to Costa Rica. Sessé returned to Spain in 1803 to write up the results of his expedition, but died before completing the project. The results were finally published in 1887, when they appeared as Plantae Novae Hispaniae and Flora Mexicana. The Catalogo de animales y plantas Mexicanas by Martin de Sessé y Lacasta represents a catalog of plant and animal specimens collected by the Royal Botanical Expedition in Mexico as of 1794. The manuscript is arranged in three parts: a brief letter of introduction to the Conde Revillagigedo (11p.), an inventory of animal specimens (52p.), and an inventory of the plants (163p.). The plant and animal sections are organized by Linnaean class, with a code indicating whether they were drawn from life, whether a specimen was collected, and whether the species was new to science.

This item contains a list of plants with brief descriptions, used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in public lectures in the Jardin du Roi. The plants are arranged according to the classification which Jussieu published in 1789 under the title "Genera plantarum secundum ordines naturales disposita."

This volume is from the voyage of the China Packet from Philadelphia to Canton, China, and return. The concluding statement reads: "One hundred & thirty days from Maccoa out of which time we had 30 Calm days, the longest passage I Ever had from China. With this Journal I have done and glad Am I."

Relating especially to American Philosophical Society business, these papers contain letters to and from men of science and institutions in Europe on the purchase and shipment of books and on the pubications of the Society. Many of the letters are to or from John Vaughan.

Written by William Alexander at Basking Ridge, New Jersey, March 27, 1773, this essay appeals to the American Philosophical Society to collect and publish astronomical observations. It was sent to the American Philosophical Society, where it was duly read in May 1773.

This item is a book of calculations, including problems in the elements of astronomy; the calculations of lunar eclipses at Philadelphia, 1747-1761, and of solar eclipses in 1744 and 1752; and Halley's tables of the sun and moon.

This volume was made at Wilmington, Delaware, for determining the longitude, from 1 July-14 October. It records the position of selected stars and planets. Contains also: Note regarding his astronomical clock, and entries relative to his work in continuing the Mason & Dixon's line.