Resources in Early American History
General exactCorrespondence in genre [X]
Scientific Correspondence in genre [X]
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Results:  15 Items   Page: 1
1Author:  Wistar, Caspar, 1761-1818Requires cookie*
 Title:  Caspar Wistar Papers     
 Dates:  1794-1817 
 Abstract:  This bound volume contains approximately forty-four content rich letters written to Caspar Wistar, a prominent Philadelphian and scientist. Wistar's wide-ranging scientific interests are captured in the broad content of these letters. Topics of discussion include APS business, distillation, fossils and skeletons, scientific expeditions, and various letters of introductions sent to Wistar. A significant number are written in French.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.W76 
 Extent:  1 volume(s) 
 Topics:  International Travel | Medicine | Natural history | Science and technology | Travel 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  American Philosophical Society | Botany | Medicine -- 19th century | Paleontology -- 19th century | Yellow fever 
2Author:  Bonaparte, Charles Lucian, 1803-1857Requires cookie*
 Title:  Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte letters, 1825-1857     
 Dates:  1825-1857 
 Abstract:  The Charles Lucien Bonaparte collection is noteworthy for its ornithological content and for the exchanges with William Cooper, a fellow ornithologist who had a large collection of bird specimens. The majority of the correspondence surrounds Bonaparte's American Ornithology. The letters are all from Bonaparte to Cooper. Their content shows Cooper to be an engaged and active ornithologist who provided Bonaparte with critical advice on his proofs. Copper founded the Lyceum of Natural History in New York and studied zoology in Europe. He is credited with helping edit Bonaparte's last two works. Bonaparte, for his part, repaid his friend by naming a new species of hawk Cooper's Hawk.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.B642.1.7 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Literature, Arts, and Culture | Natural history | Science and technology 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Learned institutions and societies. | Ornithology. | Science -- Societies, etc. 
3Author:  Collinson, Peter, 1694-1768Requires cookie*
 Title:  Peter Collinson letters, [ca. 1740]-1770     
 Dates:  1740-1770 
 Abstract:  The APS has a number of Collinson collections on microfilm. Its primary source holdings contain approximately thirty-seven letters written to Peter Collinson, a prominent figure in the eighteenth century British scientific community. Because of his networks in trade and science, he served as an important node in the conveyance of knowledge throughout the Atlantic World.The majority of the letters involve discussions of natural history. The letters offer a range of correspondence. There is a letter written about the culture of bathing in Wales in the 1730s to extended correspondence between Collinson and Lady Petre on the botanical gardens on the Petre's estate, and a series of letters from Spanish officials in the Caribbean relaying information to Collinson. There is also a notable amount of correspondence between Collinson and various nobility discussing horticultural issues.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.C692 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Natural history | Science and technology 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Natural history. 
4Author:  Collinson, Peter, 1694-1768Requires cookie*
 Title:  Peter Collinson transcripts, 1721-1768     
 Dates:  1721-1768 
 Abstract:  The Peter Collinson Collection contains copies of correspondence directed primarily to Collinson's North American contacts, especially those based in Pennsylvania. His correspondents include members of the Penn family and Benjamin Franklin. The letters discuss current affairs, politics, and scientific matters.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.C692a 
 Extent:  0.5 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Colonial Politics | Natural history 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
5Author:  Featherstonhaugh, George William, 1780-1866Requires cookie*
 Title:  George William Featherstonhaugh papers, 1809-1840     
 Dates:  1809-1840 
 Abstract:  This collection of George William Featherstonhaugh Correspondence. Featherstonhaugh was a prominent British scientist who traveled to America numerous times and helped promote internal improvements. The single original letter is to Benjamin Franklin Peale and discusses mineralogy. The other documents, all photocopies of originals in private hands, discuss science and APS business and are from APS members Peter Du Ponceau, John Vaughan, and James Mease.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.F31 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Science and technology 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Science -- Societies, etc. 
6Author:  Fothergill, John, 1712-1780Requires cookie*
 Title:  John Fothergill letters, 1737-1778     
 Dates:  1737-1750 
 Abstract:  The John Fothergill Letters Collection, 1737-1778 (bulk 1737-1750), consists of fourteen copies of letters Fothergill wrote. Most of the letters are addressed to Charles Aston and most discuss medicine.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.F82 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Education | Medicine 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Botany. | Medicine. | Science. 
7Author:  Frazer, John Fries, 1812-1872Requires cookie*
 Title:  John Fries Frazer papers, 1834-1871     
 Dates:  1834-1871 
 Abstract:  John Fries Frazer was a prominent Pennsylvania scientist in nineteenth century America, serving as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and very active in both the Franklin Institute and the APS. This large collection of his correspondence provides a snapshot of the growing scientific community in mid-nineteenth century America. Frazer's correspondence involves a wide range of topics: science and scientific institutions (shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, geology, geography, astronomy, chemistry, among others), although there are fragments of personal correspondence. His range of correspondents is as diverse as the topics, but there is a notably large collection of letters from scientific heavyweights Titian Ramsey Peale, Louis Aggasiz, Joseph Henry, and Alexander Dallas Bache.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.F865 
 Extent:  3 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Education | Philadelphia History | Science and technology 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Boilers. | Education -- United States. | Electricity. | Geology -- United States. | Haida Indians | Magnetism. | Natural history. | Paleontology. | Scientific apparatus and instruments. | Scientists -- United States. | Solar eclipses. | Tsimshian Indians | Weights and measures. 
8Author:  Ord, George, 1781-1866Requires cookie*
 Title:  George Ord Collection     
 Dates:  1831-1864 
 Abstract:  The collection of George Ord correspondence is a relatively small but significant collection. Most of the letters are from George Ord to Charles Waterton, a British naturalist, and reflect their shared interest in natural history, especially ornithology. The letters deal with Ord's rivalry with Audubon. Many of Ord's letters question the accuracy of Audobon's work. Other letters touch on Alexander Wilson and on new techniques for capturing images of animal life, such as the use of the Daguerre process.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.Or2 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Early National Politics | Exploration. | Natural history | Philadelphia History | Science and technology 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Abolitionists -- United States -- Attitudes | Animals -- Habits and behavior of | Audubon, John James, 1785-1851. Birds of America | Banks and banking -- United States. | Birds -- Study and teaching | Birds. | Cholic Acid | Church buildings -- Pennsylvania-Philadelphia | Cicada (Genus) | Columbidia | Cuckoos | Daguerreotypes | Dictionary of the English language. Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784 | Dove | English language -- Dictionaries | Famines -- Ireland | France -- 19th century | Frogs -- United States | Frost -- Great Britain | Geese | Gold mines and mining -- California -- 19th century | Heatstroke | Immigrants -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Influenza -- United States | Irish -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Memorials -- Great Britain | Mercury | Mexican War, 1846-1848 | Monk, Maria, d. 1850 | Partridges | Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827 -- Art collections. | Potatoes | Railroads -- 19th century | Rattlesnake | Religion | Reptiles | Sea monsters | Secession -- Southern States | Skin -- Diseases-Treatment | Slaves -- Emancipation-America | Smoking -- Health aspects -- United States | Soap trade -- Pennsylvania | Steam-navigation -- Atlantic Ocean | Steamboat disasters | Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896 Uncle Tom's Cabin. | Telegraph | United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842). | Wilkes, Charles, 1798-1872. Narrative of the United States exploring expedition. | Williams, Eleazer, 1787-1858 
9Author:  Bartram, John, 1699-1777Requires cookie*
 Title:  John Bartram correspondence, 1735-1775     
 Dates:  1735-1775 
 Abstract:  The John Bartram Collection consists of typed transcriptions of originals held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The transcripts take up two volumes and are extensive.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.B28.w 
 Extent:  719 item(s) 
 Topics:  Colony and State Specific History | Natural history | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Botanists. | Botany. | Horticulture. | Horticulturists. | Natural history. | Plant collectors. | Plants -- Collection and preservation. 
10Author:  Various authorsRequires cookie*
 Title:  Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection, 1668-1983     
 Dates:  1668-1983 
 Abstract:  J. Stephen Catlett wrote of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection that "there is no other way to describe these manuscript letters, essays, and other papers that are contained presently in 49 boxes." Catlett then listed a random assortment of names of authors found in the collection. Each individual item was catalogued in the card catalogue, but his data has now been put online. Rather than try to replicate that data, this entry will focus on some of the main themes of the collection and some of the most notable documents.

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 Call #:  Mss.Ms.Coll.200 
 Extent:  25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Beyond Early America | Colonial Politics | Early National Politics | Natural history 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Miscellaneous | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Anishinaabe | Arctic Indians | Autopsy. | Cayuga Indians | Cytology. | Egyptians | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 | Genetics. | History of science and technology. | History, Ancient. | Inuit -- Canada | Iroquois Indians | Isleta Indians | Micmac language | Mohawk Indians | Morgan, Thomas Hunt | Mythology, Egyptian. | Ojibwa Indians | Ojibwa Indians -- Folklore | Ojibwa language | Ojibwe people | Oneida Indians | Onondaga Indians | Ottawa language | Penobscot Indians | Physics -- History. | Sacco-Vanzetti case | Scientific apparatus and instruments. | Seneca Indians | Southwest Indians | Tuscarora Indians | Tyrrhenians | United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 | United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) | Women -- Education | World War, 1939-1945 
11Author:  Morton, Samuel George, 1799-1851Requires 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) 
12Author:  Bache, A.D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867Requires cookie*
 Title:  A. D. Bache Collection     
 Dates:  1833-1873 
 Abstract:  This collection consists of a wide-range of general correspondence to and from Alexander Dallas Bache from 1833-1865. The correspondence includes letters to many prominent scientists, such as Louis Agassiz, Maria Mitchell, and Charles Babbage. The content reflects the wide range of Bache's scientific activity and his extensive contacts. Topics range from cartography to lighthouses to education reform to phrenology.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.B123 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Antebellum Politics | Early National Politics | Science and technology 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Official Government Documents and Records | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Cooper Union | Education | Geological Survey of the State of New Jersey | Geology | Girard College | Lighthouses | National Academy of Sciences | Natural history | United States Coast Survey 
13Author:  Wilson, Alexander, 1766-1813Requires cookie*
 Title:  Alexander Wilson papers, 1806-1813     
 Dates:  1806-1813 
 Abstract:  Alexander Wilson was a prominent ornithologist in nineteenth century America. This collection includes poetry, a copy of an advertisement for Wilson's book in the Albany Gazette and Charleston Courier, some correspondence, and a copy of Wilson's will. His letters to William Bartram describe a conversation he had with others about their travels into the west.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.W692 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Literature, Arts, and Culture | Natural history | Science and technology | Travel 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Legal Records | Literature | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Birds. | Ornithologists. | Ornithology. 
14Author:  Vaughan, John, 1756-1841Requires cookie*
 Title:  John Vaughan papers, 1768 - Circa 1936     
 Dates:  1768 - Circa 1936 
 Abstract:  The John Vaughan Collection is a large collection that reflects the life of this prominent Philadelphian and active member of the American Philosophical Society. The collection is large, but not as large as the Benjamin Vaughan Collection, the collection of John's brother's papers. John lived in Philadelphia and his correspondence contains information on elite society in this city. It also contains data on the operations of the APS during his lifetime. The collection has been well described and inventoried in MOLE.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.V462 
 Extent:  5 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Natural history | Philadelphia History | Science and technology 
 Genre:  Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | Political Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Medicine. | Planetariums. 
15Author:  Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790Requires 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