These reels include letters to George Ord in Pennsylvania (1830-1869) and letters to Charles Edmonstone and sisters-in-law Eliza and Helen Edmonstone. There are also extracts of four volumes of observations on birds recorded by Norman Moore (1862-1871) and letters to Moore.

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.

This collection of letters and documents relates primarily to Charles Waterton (B W31n) but included as well are papers of the family (B W31m). Most of the letters to or from Waterton concern birds, bird mating, domestic news, natural history, and Walton Hall, his estate. In addition, there are recipes and a housekeeping account book (1780-1781). There are numerous letters with his sisters-in-law, Eliza and Helen Edmonstone, and also an exchange of letters between Waterton's son Edmund and Sir George Bowyer concerning Papal audiences.

These are primarily scientific letters from Buckland. The subjects mentioned include Milne-Home's seismological investigations, Wheatstone's self-registering instruments, geology (glacial phenomena in Scotland, mineralogy, etc.), numerous references to fossils, and mentions of Mastodon bones and sloths.

Collection of 283 letters assembled and presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia by John Torrey. Correspondents include: Louis Agassiz, Zaccheus Collins, Peter S. Du Ponceau, Elie M. Durand, Asa Gray, William Hembel, Alexander von Humboldt, William H. Keating, James Mease, Samuel G. Morton, George Ord, Charles Pickering, Constantine S. Rafinesque, Benjamin Silliman, Sr., John Torrey, Charles Waterton, Alexander Wilson.

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.

Though the Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection is composed of items that do not fall readily into any other existing collection, the two dominant intellectual areas represented in the collection are Early American History and History of Science.