This volume contains extracts, chiefly in an unknown hand (probably Charles Waterton), from Ord's letters, 1831-1835, criticizing Audubon as a man and as a naturalist. Ord wrote the last part of the volume (signed and dated June 29, 1838), and there are manuscript comments by Charles Waterton.

The primary correspondence (ca. 65 letters) is with William Cooper (1798-1864) on Bonaparte's publications, especially "American Ornithology" and "Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology," but also included are many references to American and European men of science and learned societies. There are also letters to Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, George Robert Gray, Titian Ramsay Peale, and Wilhelm P. S. Rüppell.

These are primarily letters, with some receipts for medical services rendered included. They relate to the general social and intellectural life of Philadelphia and to publications on medical topics. Many of the letters are introductions to Europeans when Pennock first visited there. Letters dated post-1867 are to relatives and colleagues (?).

This collection consists of correspondence to Bonaparte from American scientists regarding ornithology, zoology, and specimens.

Letters and papers to or from American scientists or about America, selected from the Linnean Society's collections. Includes letters to William Swainson from John Abbott, John J. Audubon, Constantine S. Rafinesque, Isaac Lea, and John E. LeConte; letters to Sir James Edward Smith from Jacob Bigelow, DeWitt Clinton, J.F. Correia da Serra, David Hosack, Theodore Lyman, William Dandridge Peck, Rafinesque, and Gotthilf H.E. Muhlenberg; letters to William Darlington; letters to Asa Gray; letters of John Bartram; letters of Peter Collinson to J.F. Gronovius; letters and papers of John Ellis, including letters from Alexander Garden, Samuel Martin, and Bernard Romans; letters to Carl Linnaeus from John Bartram, John Clayton, Cadwallader Colden, Correia da Serra, Peter Kalm, Adam Kuhn, James Logan, John Mitchell, and Charles Wrangel.

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.

George Ord made important contributions as an ornithologist and writer but is also famous for his contempt of fellow ornithologist John James Audubon. Throughout his life he published numerous scientific articles and assisted in completing Alexander Wilson's life's work, American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of the Birds of the United States. Ord also left his mark as a member of the American Philosophical Society and as the president of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia. The George Ord collection consists primarily of outgoing personal correspondence to Charles Waterton ranging from 1831 to 1866 that highlights Ord's professional as well as personal affairs, most notably his hostility toward Audubon. The collection is supplemented by correspondence of Ord's to and from various individuals regarding personal and business matters.