Subject| • | Abolition, emancipation, freedom |
(3)
| | • | Abolitionists -- United States -- Attitudes |
(1)
| | • | Adena culture -- West Virginia |
(1)
| | • | Advance (Brig) |
(1)
| | • | Africa, West -- Description and travel |
(1)
| | • | African American churches -- United States |
(1)
| | • | Agriculture |
(6)
| | • | Agriculture -- Study and teaching -- 18th century |
(1)
| | • | Algebra. |
(1)
| | • | American Academy of Music (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
(1)
| | • | American Colonization Society |
(1)
| | • | American Philosophical Society |
(2)
| | • | Anatomy -- 18th century |
(1)
| | • | Animal magnetism. |
(2)
| | • | Animals -- Habits and behavior of |
(1)
| | • | Anishinaabe |
(2)
| | • | Annuities. |
(1)
| | • | Antislavery movements -- Pennsylvania |
(1)
| | • | Archaeology -- Pennsylvania |
(1)
| | • | Architecture |
(1)
| | • | Arctic Regions -- Discovery and exploration |
(1)
| | • | Artifacts |
(1)
| | • | Astronomy |
(1)
| | • | Astronomy - Research - England |
(1)
| | • | Astronomy -- 18th century |
(3)
| | • | Astronomy -- Charts, diagrams, etc. |
(1)
| | • | Astronomy -- Mathematics. |
(1)
| | • | Astronomy -- Observations |
(1)
| | • | Astronomy. |
(8)
| | • | Audubon, John James, 1785-1851. Birds of America |
(1)
| | • | Auroras. |
(1)
| | • | Aztecs. |
(1)
| | • | Balloons. |
(1)
| | • | Banks and banking -- United States -- History -- 19th century. |
(1)
| | • | Banks and banking -- United States. |
(1)
| | • | Bartram's Garden (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
(1)
| | • | Beetles. |
(1)
| | • | Bible - Criticism, interpretation, etc. |
(1)
| | • | Biology, genetics, eugenics |
(1)
| | • | Birds -- Migration -- United States. |
(1)
| | • | Birds -- North America |
(1)
| | • | Birds -- Study and teaching |
(1)
| | • | Birds. |
(2)
| | • | Blowpipe. |
(1)
| | • | Boilers. |
(1)
| | • | Botanical chemistry |
(1)
| | • | Botanical gardens. |
(1)
| | • | Botanists |
(1)
| | • | Botany |
(2)
| | • | Botany -- 18th century |
(1)
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| | 61 | Author: | Alexander, William, 1726-1783 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Variation of the compass, 1773
| | | | Dates: | 1773 | | | | Abstract: | This slender volume is an essay by William Alexander, a prominent figure in New Jersey politics and business. Alexander wrote this essay with the hope that it would spur the American Philosophical Society to support the study of variations in compasses. Alexander's interest in this subject likely had to do with his background as a merchant. He realized compass variations created inefficiencies and risks for captains and the merchants that relied on them. Alexander appeals specifically to the APS's mission by stating that such a study would be "useful to mankind." Alexander's essays shows that he is conversant in many of the current theories about variations. He also proposed a plan for the APS to facilitate a systematic study of compass variations that he believed would produce a clear general law for variations in compasses.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.522.76.Al2 | | | | Extent: | 1 item(s) | | | | Topics: | Science and technology | Surveying and Maps | Trade | | | | Genre: | Scientific Correspondence | Scientific Data | | | | Subjects: | Astronomy -- 18th century | Compass. | Learned institutions and societies. | |
| 62 | Author: | Stevens, John Austin, 1795-1874 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Notes, from Professor Day's Lectures, on Natural Philosophy
| | | | Dates: | 1812 | | | | Abstract: | This bound volume contains notes taken by John Austin Stevens, a student at Yale University, in 1812 during Jeremiah Day's course on Natural Philosophy. The twenty lectures touch on a wide range of subjects, including electricity, astronomy, magnetism, meteorology, and fluids.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.530.St45 | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Education | Natural history | Science and technology | | | | Genre: | Educational Material | Notebooks | Scientific Data | | | | Subjects: | Gravitation | Hydraulics | Mechanics | Physics -- Study and teaching -- 19th century | |
| 69 | 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. | |
| 70 | 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. | |
| 72 | Author: | Patterson family. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Patterson-Lord papers, [ca. 1809]-1876
| | | | Dates: | Circa 1809-1876 | | | | Abstract: | Previously catalogued with the Robert Patterson Collection, The Patterson-Lord Collection contains contains a range of documents that touch on many different topics, although most have to do with science and engineering. The largest portion of the documents relate to scientific correspondence to Robert Patterson, a member of the APS. Much of this correspondence is done under the cover of official APS business. Of particular note are a series of letters relating to nautical calculations that include complex equations used to determine longitude and latitude for nautical almanacs.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.P274.2 | | | | Extent: | 0.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Education | Science and technology | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | | | | Subjects: | Education -- Europe -- 19th century. | |
| 73 | Author: | Patterson, , Robert M. (Robert Maskell), 1787-1854 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Robert Maskell Patterson notebooks, 1810-1811
| | | | Dates: | 1810-1811 | | | | Abstract: | Previously catalogued as part of the the Robert Patterson Collection, this portion contains lecture notes on natural philosophy, death, mathematics, engineering, and other subjects. In addition to the notes, there is a class roster from the Universities of Pennsylvania and Virginia and copies of exams. There is also meteorological data for 1775 and 1776.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.P275.n | | | | Extent: | 4 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Education | Natural history | Science and technology | | | | Genre: | Educational Material | Meteorological Data | Notebooks | | | | Subjects: | Agriculture | Botany | Chemistry | Mineralogy | Physics | Zoology | |
| 76 | 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 | |
| 77 | Author: | Bruno, M. de | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Essai metaphysique, physique et phisiologistique relativement à la découverte de M. Mesmer, 1786
| | | | Dates: | 1786 | | | | Abstract: | This is a handwritten essay on Franz Mesmer and his claims to have healing and other metaphysical powers. Mesmer is today thought of as an early user of hypnosis. Throughout the 1770s and 1780s, he captivated French society. Marie Antoinette was particularly interested in his abilities. Finally, King Louis convened a scientific body in 1784 to examine the claims of Mesmer and his disciples. Benjamin Franklin, still in France as an American envoy, headed the committee, which debunked Mesmerism. The report can be found in the Papers of Benjamin Franklin and in the Diary of Benjamin Franklin Bache, both of which are at the APS.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.134.B83 | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Beyond Early America | Medicine | Natural history | Science and technology | | | | Genre: | Manuscript Essays | | | | Subjects: | Animal magnetism. | Hypnotism. | Mesmerism. | |
| 78 | Author: | Latrobe, Benjamin Henry, 1764-1820 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Opinion On A Project For Removing the Obstructions To A Ship Navigation To Georgetown, Col.
| | | | Dates: | 1812 | | | | Abstract: | This volume from Thomas Jefferson's personal library contains a series of pamphlets dealing with internal improvements that Jefferson bound together. The earliest and first one in the series dates to 1812 and is by Benjamin Latrobe. There are also official state reports on internal improvements, most notably from New York, and one from France and another from Great Britain. One of the pamphlets has detailed sketches of canal boats.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.626.L35o | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Engineering | International Trade. | Science and technology | Trade | | | | Genre: | Printed Material | |
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