| | 21 | Author: | Nuttall, Thomas, 1786-1859 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Thomas Nuttall diary, 1810
| | | | Dates: | 1810 | | | | Abstract: | Thomas Nuttall's travel narrative tracks his journey from Philadelphia to Detroit during the spring and summer of 1810. Nuttall makes a range of observations, including discussions of the weather, plant life, rivers, and the various people he meets, including Native peoples. The last portion of the narrative, which takes place around Detroit, discusses Indians a fair amount – their history in the area, the various groups he met (Chippewa in particular), and their customs.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.N96 | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Exploration. | Native America | Natural history | Travel | | | | Genre: | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Botany -- North America. | Goiter. | Indians of North America | Voyages and travels. | Zoology -- North America. | |
| 22 | Author: | Pursh, Frederick, 1774-1820 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Journal of a botanical excursion in the Northeastern parts of Pennsylvania and in the state of New York, 1807
| | | | Dates: | 1807 | | | | Abstract: | This volume contains the travel journal of Frederick Pursh, a patron of Benjamin Smith Barton, during his journey from Philadelphia throughout northeastern Pennsylvania and New York. Although the excursion was for botanical research, Pursh's diary entries record many other details, including comments on the state of roads, the people he met, the towns he visited, and the natural environment. There are two sketches in the volume.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.580.P97 | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Colony and State Specific History | Natural history | Pennsylvania History | Travel | | | | Genre: | Scientific Data | Sketchbooks | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Botany -- New York (State) | Botany -- Pennsylvania. | |
| 26 | 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 | |
| 27 | 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 | |
| 30 | 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. | |
| 32 | Author: | Braddock, Edward, 1695-1755 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Manuscripts on Indian affairs, 1755-1792, [n.d.]
| | | | Dates: | 1755-1792 | | | | Abstract: | These volumes contain an assortment of documents relating to colonial Pennsylvania's relations with Indian groups. Most notably, the collection contains journals and treaty minutes from the Seven Years' War, including a journal by Conrad Weiser, a manuscript version of Charles Thomson's "Enquiry into the Alienation," and official government records from the war. There are other documents that do not bear directly on Indian affairs. Most notably, there is a manuscript essay by Lewis Evans on German immigration that details the often brutal experience of immigrants' journey to Pennsylvania and proposes a series of reforms. There is also a printed essay in the back of the volume that opposes capital punishment and was printed in Philadelphia in 1792.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.970.4.M415 | | | | Extent: | 2 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | Diplomatic History | Law | Native America | Pennsylvania History | Seven Years' War | Social Life and Custom | Travel | | | | Genre: | Diplomatic Material | Manuscript Essays | Official Government Documents and Records | Printed Material | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Braddock's Campaign, 1755. | Delaware Indians | Indians of North America -- Pennsylvania | Indians of North America -- Treaties | Pennsylvania -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 | Shawnee Indians | |
| 33 | 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. | |
| 34 | Author: | Barton, Benjamin Smith, 1766-1815 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Violetta Delafield-Benjamin Smith Barton Collection
| | | | Dates: | 1783-1817 | | | | Abstract: | The extensive Benjamin Smith Barton collection contains six sections: Correspondence, Bound Volumes (including notebooks), Subject Files, and Graphic Materials. The material includes numerous images, sketches, notes, printed material, and other correspondence. The collection also has numerous copper plates that were used to print images drawn by Barton. Although a collection this large touches on a variety of interesting and important subjects, the collection's strength is its wealth of data on nineteenth century medical, botanical, and Native American studies.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B284d | | | | Extent: | 10 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Business and Skilled Trades | Education | Language and Linguistics | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Medicine | Native America | Natural history | Printing and Publishing | Science and technology | Travel | | | | Genre: | Art | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Language Material | Notebooks | Political Correspondence | Sketchbooks | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Bartram's Garden (Philadelphia, Pa.) | Botanists | Botany -- Study and teaching -- 19th century | Botany -- Virginia | Chemistry -- 18th century | Cherokee Indians | Cherokee language | Choctaw Indians | Dysentery. | Electricity -- 18th century | Ethnobotany | Geology -- 18th century | Gout | Indians of North America | Indians of North America -- Agriculture | Indians of North America -- Languages | Kaigana Indians | Kaskaskia Indians | Mammals -- Classification | Mandan Indians | Mastodons | Materia medica | Medicine -- Practice -- 18th century | Medicine -- Study and teaching -- 18th century | Meteorology -- United States -- 18th century | Meteors | Mineralogy | Natural history -- 18th century | Natural history -- 19th century | Osage language | Physicians -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Physics | Rittenhouse, David, 1732-1796 | Seminole Indians | Seneca Indians | Tuscarora Indians | University of Pennsylvania -- Faculty | Venereal disease | Yellow fever | Yellow fever -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- 1793 | Zoology -- 18th century | |
| 37 | Author: | Vaux, George, V, 1721-1803 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Vaux Family Papers, 1690-1996
| | | | Dates: | 1690-1996 | | | | Abstract: | The George Vaux Papers is a massive collection which is focused on the business and financial interests of a prominent Philadelphia family. What follows is a list of some of the more notable parts of this expansive collection:
- Correspondence: There is a massive amount of correspondence, much of which is personal and familial in nature. Nonetheless, the letters often discuss politics, current affairs, and society. The earliest records date to 1701, although the great bulk are focused on the revolutionary era to the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
- Almanacs, 1790-1870: The collection contains a large collection of small pocket almanacs from Philadelphia. Some of the earliest ones contain records of financial transactions and diaries.
- Charles Thomson Correspondence: The collection has a series of letters from Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Continental Congress. These letters are from the 1780s, after Thomson had largely retired from the political arena.
- Legal and Estate Documents: This portion of the collection is extensive and difficult to summarize. The family owned a huge amount of property throughout the state. These papers contain deeds, information on rents, surveys of land, and other transactions. Moreover, the Vaux family had ties through marriage and friendship to other prominent families, and some of their estate business is included in this collection. Among the notable papers are documents pertaining to John and Sally Norris Dickinson's properties and the estates of the Emlens and the Sansoms. One document complements the Jane Aitken Collection, as it has an accounting of the Bible that she printed.
- Travel Accounts: Most notably, George Vaux VII made a trip to "Indian Country" in 1802-1803. He wrote numerous letters home and kept a small and incomplete travel journal.
- Philadelphia City Affairs: The Vaux were active in civic life. The collection contains information on city improvements, with specific letters and records relating to the water supply. The collection has letters that discuss building the Water Works, records of a Committee on the Sewers, and an agreement between the city and Peale's Museum.
- Business Affairs: The record of the Vaux's diverse business interests is contained in this collection. In addition to their land holdings, the Vaux's were very active in internal improvements, with records from numerous navigation companies held in the collection. The Vaux's were also involved in mining and mineralogy, including Pennsylvania's oil lands, which is also reflected in the content of this collection. Finally, there are partial records of some prominent Philadelphia institutions, such as the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Contributorship.
- Native American Documents - In addition to George Vaux's travels into Indian Country, there are extracts from Indian Treaties and some records of the Friendly Association in this collection.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.Ms.Coll.73 | | | | Extent: | 150 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | African American | American Revolution | Antebellum Politics | Early National Politics | Marriage and Family Life | Native America | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps | Travel | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | Legal Records | Maps and Surveys | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Genealogy. | Land speculation | Mineralogy. | Quaker businesspeople | Quakers -- Missions. | Seneca Indians | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Yellow fever. | |
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