| | 23 | Author: | Frazer, John Fries, 1812-1872 | Requires 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. | |
| 24 | Author: | Hays, Isaac,1796-1879. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Isaac and I. Minis Hays papers
| | | | Dates: | Circa 1820-1925 | | | | Abstract: | Isaac Hays was a Philadelphia ophthalmologist who was also deeply involved in natural history. The Isaac Hays material has two discreet sections: a volume of correspondence for 1824-1855 and a collection of loose manuscripts. The first part of the collection is a bound volume that contains the correspondence Hays carried on with other prominent naturalists in the nineteenth century from 1824–1855, although the bulk come from the 1820s and early 1830s. Prominent correspondents in this series include Charles Lucien Bonaparte, George Ord, Thomas Say, and Charles Lesueur. All of the correspondence is incoming, addressed to Hays. Occasionally the correspondence involves commentary on other current events in addition to the obvious scientific nature of the correspondence. A letter from Bonaparte, for instance, discusses the rivalry between the Philadelphia and New York orchestras. The Ord correspondence, written mostly from Europe, makes reference to Audubon, Ord's ornithological rival, and scientific publications and thought prominent in Europe. The Say correspondence, written from New Harmony, also provides insight on that utopian experiment and his relationship with Lesueur, who also settled in New Harmony. There are only a few Lesueur letters, all of which are in French and written from New Harmony.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.H334 | | | | Extent: | 1.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Natural history | Science and technology | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Scientific Data | | | | Subjects: | Medical publishing -- United States -- 19th century. | Medical publishing -- United States. | Medicine -- Societies, etc. | Medicine -- United States -- 19th century. | Medicine -- United States. | Natural history. | Paleontology. | |
| 25 | Author: | Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Thomas Jefferson, letters to and from various persons, 1791-1840
| | | | Dates: | 1791-1840 | | | | Abstract: | This is a particularly rich collection of Thomas Jefferson's letters from his retirement years. The letters primarily cover the years 1813-1820s, although there are some from earlier. Most of the letters are outgoing, and L. H. Girardin is the primary recipient. The letters to Girardin often discuss Virginia's history and sometimes Jefferson's own recollections of events, including letters on Virginia during the American Revolution and a supposed attempt to create a dictatorship in Virginia in 1776. Some letters also convey information on contemporary events and offer a window into Jefferson's personal and family life. A few letters from 1791 discuss Jefferson's memory of Benjamin Franklin, including anecdotes of Franklin in France. One document is a draft of a profile of Baron Humboldt. A series of letters to Peter Du Ponceau discuss Thomas Jefferson's attempt to acquire a copy of William Byrd's "A Secret History of the Line" and, once acquired, his interpretation of it. Another portion discusses the journals of Lewis and Clark.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.J35.Le | | | | Extent: | 63 item(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colony and State Specific History | Exploration. | Native America | War of 1812 | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | |
| 26 | Author: | Day, Sherman,1806-1884. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Ephraim Dyer IV Collection, ca. 1842, of the sketches of Sherman Day
| | | | Dates: | Circa 1842 | | | | Abstract: | This collection contains the proofs of images for Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania. The book is over 700 pages long with more than 200 images. The book and images capture Pennsylvania life past and present and can provide insight into the customs of the period. Days' engravings provide detailed images of towns and areas of Pennsylvania circa 1840. Some of the over 250 images included in this collection are: Pittsburgh with steamboats traveling up the rivers and smoke spouting in the sky from factories, a redoubt at Fort Pitt, a vista of Reading, mines in western Pennsylvania, Native American engravings found on a rock, the public squares at Chambersburg, Lancaster and Erie, and Ephrata's houses.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.917.48.D33 | | | | Extent: | 0.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Pennsylvania History | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Art | General Correspondence | Sketchbooks | | | | Subjects: | Architecture -- Pennsylvania. | Delaware Indians | Indians of North America -- Pennsylvania | Landscape -- Pennsylvania. | Seneca Indians | |
| 29 | Author: | Bache, Benjamin Franklin, 1769-1798 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Benjamin Franklin Bache papers, 1779-1793
| | | | Dates: | 1779-1793 | | | | Abstract: | The Benjamin Franklin Bache Collection is composed primarily of correspondence sent from B.F. Bache. The vast majority dates to his time in Europe during the American Revolution while a young child under the care of his grandfather, Benjamin Franklin, who was then serving as one of America's ambassadors to France. These letters consist of B.F. Bache writing from his school in Switzerland to his grandfather in Paris (often in French) and to his parents in America (in English). Most of the letters relay information on B.F.'s formal education and his experience learning the printing trade. The only letter dated after Bache's time in Europe is a personal letter mourning the loss of Benjamin Franklin that he wrote to his soon-to-be-wife, Margaret Markoe. The letter contains one of the most detailed accounts of Franklin's last days.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B122 | | | | Extent: | 0.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Diplomatic History | Education | Printing and Publishing | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Aurora (Philadelphia, Pa.) | Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, with the United States of America (1794 November 19) | |
| 31 | Author: | unknown | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | George Weedon military correspondence, 1777-1786
| | | | Dates: | 1777-1786 | | | | Abstract: | The George Weedon military correspondence contains a wealth of information on the American Revolution and its immediate aftermath. There are letters from the Morristown and Valley Forge winters, although the bulk of the material comes from 1780-1781. The collection follows Weedon's service throughout the war. His correspondence often details movements, strategies, supplies, and life in the Continental Army. Weedon also receives letters from correspondents stationed throughout the United States. This correspondence can provide information on events happening in these other locations. Correspondents include Baron von Steuben, Thomas Jefferson, Nathaniel Greene, Peter Muhlenberg, George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Horatio Gates, and many others. Washington, in particular, is a frequent correspondent who writes to Weedon seeking advice on military action.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.W41 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colonial Politics | Military History | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Military Records | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Military history, Modern -- 18th century. | |
| 33 | Author: | Correia da Serra, José Francisco, 1750-1823 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Note nécrologique sur le Docteur Wistar, 1818
| | | | Dates: | 1818 | | | | Abstract: | This small bound volume contains a range of information on Caspar Wistar's life. There is a French essay on Wistar, a 47-page printed eulogy published by the APS, various newspaper clippings, and letters from others, all commemorating Wistar's life. A range of significant moments in Wistar's life are discussed, such as the yellow fever epidemic, scientific pursuits and friends, and his career as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.W76c | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Medicine | Philadelphia History | Science and technology | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Manuscript Essays | Printed Material | | | | Subjects: | Physicians | |
| 37 | 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) | |
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