| | | Author: | Bache, Benjamin Franklin, 1769-1798 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Benjamin Franklin Bache diary, 1782-1785
| | | | Dates: | 1782-1785 | | | | Abstract: | This is a translation of Benjamin Franklin Bache's diary that he kept while in Europe during the American Revolution. Bache traveled there as a young child when his grandfather, Benjamin Franklin, served as the American envoy to France. Bache spent nine years in Europe and during that time, received schooling in Passy and Switzerland. The journal begins with an account of his time in Switzerland and ends with his time with his grandfather in Passy. There are numerous stories and anecdotes in this journal. Some bear only on Bache's experience as a child and teenager in Europe. In Switzerland, among other things, Bache witnessed an execution by firing squad, saw a seven-foot tall giant, and was attacked by a watchdog at a Chateux. While in Passy, Bache received instructions on printing, witnessed numerous ballooning experiments, visited famous sites in Paris, and recorded some comings and goings of prominent guests. Some of these entries from Passy provide insight into Franklin's time in Paris, including a detailed account of the well-known scientific examination Franklin conducted on animal magnetism (hypnosis). Originally in French, this English translation of his journal along with the Benjamin Franklin Bache Collection (Mss.B.B122) provides a clear account of Bache's time in Europe during the Revolution.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B122d | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Diplomatic History | Education | International Travel | Printing and Publishing | Travel | | | | Genre: | Diaries | Travel Narratives and Journals | |
| | Author: | Baldwin, Loammi, 1780-1838 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Loammi Baldwin diary, 9 September 1823 - 29 November 1823
| | | | Dates: | 1823 | | | | Abstract: | The Diary of Loammi Baldwin (September 9 – November 29, 1823) chronicles a portion of Baldwin's trip to Europe where he observed European canals and other internal improvements. Baldwin was a leading civil engineer in antebellum America, and he traveled to Europe to learn about tested methods and good practices that he could bring back to America. The journal begins with Baldwin departing London for Dover and follows his trip through Holland and France. The diary contains numerous sketches of machinery, including carriages, canals, locks, boats, and steam-engine parts. There are also observations on European cities, towns, and customs. Many of the canal sketches are elaborate and detailed.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B189 | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Engineering | International Travel | Science and technology | Travel | | | | Genre: | Art | Scientific Data | Sketchbooks | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Canals -- Belgium. | Canals -- Design and construction. | Canals -- England. | Canals -- France. | Canals -- Netherlands. | Technology - History | |
| | Author: | Bancker, James A. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | James A. Bancker papers, 1842-1849
| | | | Dates: | 1842-1849 | | | | Abstract: | This collection of letters (40+) consists primarily of James Bancker writing to his family from Asia in the 1840s. The collection offers a vivid depiction of an American's life abroad in the nineteenth century. The letters convey quotidian information, such as the type of food he is eating, to more remarkable events, such as witnessing a comet. Bancker also witnessed a number of significant political events while in China, including the acquisition of Hong Kong by Great Britain and resistance to this takeover from the Hong Kong residents (1842-1843). These events, the rioting in particular, are recounted in his often long and detailed correspondence to his Philadelphia-based family. Bancker spent much of his time in Canton, but he also described visits to the Philippines and voyage to and from China. Combined, the collection provides a lens in the experiences of a wealthy American traveling abroad in the midst of the nineteenth century.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B22 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Beyond Early America | Business and Skilled Trades | International Trade. | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Trade | Travel | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Americans -- China -- Social life and customs. | British -- China -- Social life and customs -- 1644-1912. | Voyages and travels. | |
| | Author: | Billings, William, 1746-1800 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Journals of the Ship Apollo, 1789-1791
| | | | Dates: | 1789-1791 | | | | Abstract: | These journals (three volumes) chronicle the voyages of Apollo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1789-1791. William Billings was the captain of this Philadelphia-based ship. The destinations were Oporto and Corunna, and trade was the purpose for the voyages. Nonetheless, the ship's captain, William Billings, used the opportunity to study the Gulf Stream. He made numerous observations about the ocean temperature and weather with the apparent intention of submitting his findings to the American Philosophical Society. He paid particular attention to marking and studying the Gulf Stream. The journals were partially published in with a note in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society shortly after they were received in 1793. The originals are much longer than those published and include additional observations not published and graphs that could not be replicated.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.656.B49 | | | | Extent: | 2 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Business and Skilled Trades | International Travel | Trade | | | | Genre: | Meteorological Data | Scientific Data | | | | Subjects: | Meteorology -- Observations. | Voyages and travels. | |
| | Author: | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Benjamin Franklin Papers, 1642-1841
| | | | Dates: | 1642-1841 | | | | Abstract: | The Papers of Benjamin Franklin are a rich source as varied and expansive as Dr. Franklin's storied life. The Collection has been calendared, catalogued, and much of it is transcribed in printed volumes and online at www.franklinpapers.org.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F85 | | | | Extent: | 85.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | Government Affairs | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | Pennsylvania History | Printing and Publishing | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Manuscript Essays | Political Correspondence | Printed Material | Scientific Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Electricity -- Early works to 1800 | Postal service -- United States | Printers -- Pennsylvania | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | |
| | Author: | Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | William Temple Franklin Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1775-1819 | | | | Abstract: | This is a large collection of William Temple Franklin papers, most of which were written while he was serving alongside his grandfather in France as the secretary of the American mission there. The bulk of the collection is correspondence written to William Temple Franklin during the American Revolution. Franklin had a wide network of friends and associates, and this correspondence captures the range of dealings Franklin had in France. As secretary, he received intelligence, requests, reports of military actions, especially those pertaining to naval actions in the Atlantic, and various other communications. As a private individual, Franklin had relations with many merchants, traders, and land speculators and continued to cultivate these relationships while in Europe. The Collection also includes a diary kept in an almanac for much of 1785, catalogued separately in MOLE.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F86 | | | | Extent: | 4.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Balloons -- Early works to 1800 | Mesmerism | |
| | Author: | Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820-1857 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Elisha Kent Kane Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1810-1953 | | | | Abstract: | This large collection contains the papers of Elisha Kent Kane, a prominent Philadelphian who led the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.K132 | | | | Extent: | 6.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Exploration. | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Africa | Arctic Indians | Arctic regions-Pictorial works | China -- Foreign relations -- United States | Colonization, repatriation | Exploration | Explorers -- United States | Geometry -- Study and teaching | Grinnell Expedition, 1st, 1850-1851 | Grinnell Expedition, 2d, 1853-1855 | Hospitals -- Pennsylvania | Indians of North America -- Nunavut | Inuit -- Canada | Inuit -- Greenland | Inuit -- Nunavut -- Baffin Island | Medicine -- Practice -- Pennsylvania | Medicine -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania | Meteorology -- Arctic Regions | Mineralogy -- Study and teaching | Northwest Passage | Obstetrics | Plantations | Slave trade -- Africa | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | United States -- Foreign relations -- China | United States. Navy | |
| | Author: | Lesley, J. P. (J. Peter), 1819-1903 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | J.P. Lesley Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1826-1898 | | | | Abstract: | J.P. Lesley was a prominent Pennsylvanian who became a leading geologist. This collection contains a range of materials that relate to his life. The content of the correspondence is not just scientific. Instead, subjects span a wide-range of topics, including European travel, the Civil War, politics, art, literature, personal affairs, and family matters. The papers also reflect Lesley wide-ranging scientific interests. Although a geologist, Lesley also dabbled in demographic studies, religion, and philology. A fair amount of the collection is from the 1850s and beyond. Much of this early correspondence is among family members, but some letters are from prominent reformers, such as Lydia Maria Child. Among the Lesley papers are poems, journals, and notebooks. Two boxes date from 1841 to 1851, which, notably, deal with the period before Lesley became a full-time geologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.L56 | | | | Extent: | 7.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | International Travel | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Scientific Data | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Avesta | Cartography. | Charities -- United States. | Education -- United States | Egyptian language -- Writing, Hieroglyphic | France -- Description and travel | Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Egypt | Geological Survey of Pennsylvania | Geology -- Maps | Geology -- Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Geology -- Pennsylvania | Germany -- Description and travel | Hawaiian language | Javanese language | Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Obelisks | Paleontology -- Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania -- Surveys | Philology | Poems | Slavery -- United States. | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Switzerland -- Description and travel | Transcendentalism | Unitarianism | |
| | Author: | Morton, Samuel George, 1799-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Samuel George Morton Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1819-1850 | | | | Abstract: | The Samuel George Morton Collection provides a window into the life of this nineteenth century scientist, explorer, and natural historian. The collection holds a wide-range of materials, and the correspondence touches on many different subjects. The entry in MOLE contains an item level accounting of the collection and its contents. The collection begins in the 1820s, when Morton is just beginning his career and continues through to the 1840s. Letters touch on topics, such as the treatment of Native Americans, Indian burial grounds, discoveries of fossilized remains, and medical education. Material on the Wilkes Expedition and especially on Morton's early medical career is covered in depth. One letter contains a request from General Lafayette for a skull of an Indian for his own scientific collection. Most of the letters are to Morton and contain results of experiments or observations from travel and exploration. Additionally, the Diary to the West Indies form 1834 offers insight into the culture of the islands. Morton's own involvement in the scientific racism is prominent in much of his later writing. Included in the collection are sketches of his "craniometrical drawings," which were used by pro-slavery advocates.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.M843 | | | | Extent: | 2.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | African American | Exploration. | International Travel | Travel | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Archaeology | Aymara Indians | Botany | Craniology. | Craniometry | Education | Egyptology. | Geology | Indians of North America -- Kentucky | Indians of North America -- Massachusetts | Indians of North America -- Mississippi | Indians of North America -- Ohio | Indians of North America -- Physical characteristics | Indians of North America -- Rhode Island | Indians of North America -- Tennessee | Indians of South America -- Peru | Indians of South America -- Physical characteristics | Medicine | Mineralogy | Miscegenation | Natural history | Naumkeag Indians | Ornithology | Paleontology | Pentland, Joseph Barclay | Phrenology | Race | Race, race relations, racism | Science and technology | Skull. | Slavery -- Barbados | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) | |
| | Author: | Rafinesque, C. S. (Constantine Samuel ), 1783-1840 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | C. S. (Constantine Samuel) Rafinesque Papers, 1808-1840
| | | | Dates: | 1808-1840 | | | | Abstract: | The Rafinesque Collection consists of two types of documents: correspondence and copies of his writings. The correspondence is separated into three distinct parts: general correspondence, correspondence with Augustin Pyramus de Candole (a Swiss botanist), and correspondence with John Quincy Adams. The copies of his writings consist of manuscript essays, notebooks, lectures, and other materials that discuss various scientific topics, especially botany.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.R124 | | | | Extent: | 1.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | International Travel | Native America | Natural history | Science and technology | Travel | | | | Genre: | Manuscript Essays | Native American Materials | Notebooks | Political Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Anishinaabe | Biology, genetics, eugenics | Botany. | Culture, community, organizations | Delaware Indians | Indians of North America -- Louisiana | Ojibwa Indians | Osage Indians | Ottawa Indians | Plains Indians | Race, race relations, racism | Wallam olum | Zoology. | |
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