Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

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Collection

Isam Leonard arithmetic book, 1808

1 volume

The Isam Leonard Arithmetic Book includes mathematical rules, questions, practical examples, and solved exercises covering subtraction, multiplication, division, addition, reduction, fractions, decimals, the single rule of three direct, inverse and compound proportions, and simple interest. The volume includes calligraphic lettering and designs. One undated, unsigned pencil drawing of the "Old Mill at Iffley" is tipped into the volume.

The Isam Leonard Arithmetic Book includes mathematical rules, questions, practical examples, and solved exercises covering subtraction, multiplication, division, addition, reduction, fractions, decimals, the single rule of three direct, inverse and compound proportions, and simple interest. The volume includes calligraphic lettering and designs. One undated, unsigned pencil drawing of the "Old Mill at Iffley" is tipped into the volume. Colored, floral-patterned paper (wallpaper) is pasted onto the front and back covers.

Collection

James West, Elements of Navigation, 1785

1 volume

Elements of Navigation, a manuscript adaptation of John Robertson’s work of the same name, provides instruction and practical exercises in arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, geography, astronomy, and navigational principles (781 pages). The volume is heavily illustrated with mathematical diagrams. It also contains a 1785 copy of a ship log for a 1772 voyage from England to Madeira, (21 pages).

"Elements of Navigation," a manuscript adaptation of John Robertson’s work of the same name, provides instruction and practical exercises in arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, geography, astronomy, and navigational principles (781 pages). The volume is illustrated with mathematical diagrams. It also contains a 1785 copy of a ship's log for a 1772 voyage from England to Madeira (21 pages). The book is divided into 14 primary chapters, 11 of them preceded by an ink or watercolor illustration of buildings, ships, and places, such as the watercolor drawings "The Desire in a Storm" and "A west View of Islington, old Church." (See below for complete list.) Several chapters are further divided into sections, and most chapters or sections are followed by problems, questions, case studies, answers, and explanations. Please see the box and folder listing below for a table of contents.

The volume begins with explanations of basic mathematical principles, including arithmetic operations, decimals and fractions, roots and powers, notation, and "Tables of English Money, Weights, and Measures" (pp. 9 verso-10 verso). This chapter is followed by theorems and problems of geometry and trigonometry. The subsequent section on geography contains prose explanations of the discipline's foundations, such as the shape of the Earth, the concept of latitude and longitude, and the currently known world. Remarks on the continents are accompanied by tables showing major countries, principal cities, rivers, and mountains. The tables for North and South America are split, and individual states within the United States are identified as "countries," as are California, New Mexico, Old Mexico, Louisiana, Canada, New Britain, New Wales, and others. Introductory geographic material also includes content on winds, tides, and bodies of water. A segment on "chronology" introduces several scales for measuring time, and explains the reasoning behind concepts such as the leap year and the "Golden Number" (pp. 147-147 verso).

The remainder of the work focuses on the art of maritime navigation. Several topics include: the calculation of compound courses, oblique and windward sailing, sailing in currents, and globular sailing. The sections devoted to each topic are comprised primarily of rules or theorems, exercises, and illustrations of practical applicability. A chapter on "spherics" introduces spherical geometry and trigonometry. Two chapters on astronomy explain concepts in "star astronomy," "terrestrial astronomy," and "spherical astronomy," such as the composition of the Solar System, planetary movements, and mathematical applications. The final 80 pages contain information on the art of sailing and expand on principles previously discussed. These pages include instructions on how to calculate the location of a ship at sea, make necessary observations, and correct a ship's course, among other similar topics.

The final 21 pages consist of a log from an unknown ship traveling from England to Madeira in 1772, transcribed by James West in 1785. Between July 2 and July 11, the log contains notes on the weather, wind direction, and general remarks of occurrences on board as the ship prepared for its journey at Deptford, London. On one occasion, the author mentioned a sailor being disciplined for drunkenness (July 3). Between July 12 and July 28, the log documents the weather, wind direction, ship's location, use of various sails, and other information compiled throughout the course of each day. The ship arrived at Madeira on July 28. The log is followed by a brief note by James West concerning the location of Funchal, Madeira.

The non-mathematical illustrations separating the book's chapters are done in ink or watercolor, and depict rural scenes and sailing ships.

These are:
  • [View of a village, with a man fishing in a river], p. 2
  • [View of a river, with a cylindrical building in the foreground and a church in the background], p. 76
  • [View of an arched gateway, with attached buildings and bridge], p. 114
  • [View of a stone building with a high-peaked roof, alongside a body of water], p. 138
  • "The Victor in a calm sea," p. 187
  • [Oval-framed view of two persons sitting beside a river, with a ship and fortifications in the background], p. 202
  • "The Desire in a Storm," p. 223
  • [Oval-framed view of a small sailing vessel on shore beside a stone building], p. 241
  • "A west View of Islington, Old Church," p. 267
  • "Teneirs House," p. 319
  • "At Abingdon 1782," p. 349

The royal coat of arms of the British monarch is imprinted on the volume's front and back covers.

Collection

John Morison copybook, 1764-1772

1 volume

John Morison of Windham, New Hampshire, compiled this mathematical cypher book, containing extensive notes and practice problems on sailing, surveying, trigonometry, accounting, weights and measures, arithmetic, algebra, fractions, decimals, geometry, geodesia, and navigation. Many of the signatures are of different-size paper and stitched together using different thread. The final signature is upside down from the rest of the volume and contains penmanship practice, poetry, a song, scattered family names, miscellaneous figures, and drawings (including a windmill).

John Morison of Windham, New Hampshire, compiled this mathematical cypher book, containing extensive notes and practice problems on sailing, surveying, trigonometry, accounting, weights and measures, arithmetic, algebra, fractions, decimals, geometry, geodesia, and navigation. Many of the signatures are of different-size paper and stitched together using different thread. The final signature is upside down from the rest of the volume and contains penmanship practice, poetry, a song, scattered family names, miscellaneous figures, and drawings (including a windmill).

List of Contents:
  • Cases [these pages are severely damaged along the foredge with loss to significant text]
  • Division of Coin, Weights &c [these pages are severely damaged along the foredge with significant loss of text]
  • Reduction descending & ascending [application of multiplication and division]
  • Tare & Trett &c [weights and measures between vendor and customer]
  • The Single Rule of Three Direct
  • Rule of Three Reverse
  • The Double Rule of Three Direct
  • The Double Rule of Three Reverse
  • Compound Proportion
  • Simple Interest
  • Compound Company
  • Factor's Allowance
  • Interest for Months ; For Weeks ; Interest for Days
  • Rebate or Discount
  • Equation of Payment
  • Barter
  • Profit & Loss
  • Simple Company
  • Exchange [currency exchange]
  • Comparison Weights & Measures
  • Alligation Alternate
  • Double Position, or Negative Arithmetic
  • Progression Arithmetical
  • Geometrical Progression
  • Permutation, or Changing the order of Things
  • Vulgar Fractions & first of Reduction
  • Addition of Vulgar
  • Subtraction of Vulgar
  • Multiplication of Vulgar Fractions
  • Division of Vulgar Fractions
  • Addition of Decimals ; Subtraction of Decimals
  • Multiplication of Decimals ; Division of Decimals
  • Reduction of Decimals
  • Simple Rule of Three Direct in Decimals
  • Practical Geometry
  • Plain Trigonometry Rectangular
  • Extraction of the Square Root &c &c
  • Extraction of the Cube Root
  • Surveying &c. &c. &c.
  • Mensuration Surveying &c.
  • [Draft of a legal document related land/labor]
  • Algebra
  • Numerical Algebra
  • Evolution of Whole Quantities
  • Fractions
  • Evolution of Fractional Quantities
  • Addition & Subtraction of Surd Quantities ; Multiplication of Surds ; Involution of Surds
  • Reduction by Involution
  • Of Analyses, or the Method of Resolving Problems
  • Practical Geometry
  • Plain Trigonometry Rectangular
  • Plain Trigonometry Obliquangular
  • Plain Sailing the First Part
  • Plain Sailing the Second Part
  • Traverse Sailing
  • Oblique Sailing
  • Mercator's Sailing
  • Middle Latitude Sailing
  • Geodesia or Surveying [with a landscape cross section, a sketch of a field, and a sketch of a tower]
  • Alimetry & Longimetry [with one sketch of a tower in a field, a sketch of a windmill, large building, and tree]
  • Variation of the Compass
  • Dialing [with one sketch of a horizontal dial]
Final section (upside down from rest of volume)
  • Penmanship practice, repeated copies of: "Know all men by these Presents that I John morison of the Perish of Windam", "ten things A Penman should have Near at Hand" [sadly, the ten things are not listed], and "from thy Desk to keep thy breast from harm upright thy head", and others.
  • Multiplication table and many miscellaneous scribbled mathematical notations and problems.
  • Some poetry and many partial words, family names, and letter practice.
  • "[New?] Song with its own tune Prented 1764" on a relationship separation in which the man was scorned by the woman, but then on her remorse they reunited.
Collection

Loomis family papers, 1828-1890s

27 items

This collection contains materials relating to the Loomis family of Columbia, Connecticut, between the 1820s and 1890s, primarily concerning the education of the children Ormond P., Mary, Emily, Aurelia, and Dwight. Educational content includes penmanship exercises, cypher books, drawings, maps, and various mathematical and astronomical calculations.The collection also includes documentation of Ormond P. Loomis's teaching, classroom, and students for Fall-Winter 1829-1830. An estate inventory produced upon the death of their father, Elam Loomis, in 1855 is also present, as well as a partially completed family record. Several pieces of poetry, speech notes, and other writings by members of the Loomis family are also included.

This collection contains materials relating to the Loomis family of Columbia, Connecticut, between the 1820s and 1890s, primarily concerning the education of the children Ormond P., Mary, Emily, Aurelia, and Dwight. Educational content includes penmanship exercises, cypher books, drawings, maps, and various mathematical and astronomical calculations. Some of the illustrations and pen work are based on Eleazer Huntington's The American Penman and on "Aaron Yeomans Instructor." Two are datelined "Pine Swamp." The collection also includes documentation of Ormond P. Loomis's teaching, classroom, and students for Fall-Winter 1829-1830. An estate inventory produced upon the death of their father, Elam Loomis, in 1855 is also present, as well as a partially completed family record. Several pieces of poetry, speech notes, and other writings by members of the Loomis family are also included.

The collection's contents include:
  • Penmanship and Forms, beginning January 23, 1828 (11 pages) kept by Ormond P. Loomis, featuring elegant, different scripts and illustrations.
  • Penmanship exercise by Ormond P. Loomis: "Duties of Men," February 21, 1828; with an illustration of an American eagle and shield, with an ornate oval border.
  • "Miscellaneous Matters &c." cypher book with astronomical content by Ormond P. Loomis, March 20, 1828.
  • Two loose sheets with illustrated projections and calculations for solar eclipses in 1831 and 1836, dated April 1 and 3, 1829, produced by Ormond P. Loomis.
  • Penmanship exercise, with different versions of Ormond P. Loomis' name, phonetically spelled with Hebrew and Greek characters, May 31, 1828.
  • Illustration of an American eagle with a shield and banner, made by Ormond P. Loomis 1828.
  • Illustrations of modern winged cherubim, with a quotation beginning "O! Righteous! thou lovely thing!", made by Ormond P. Loomis on January 18, 1829.
  • Sheet of penmanship practice by Ormond P. Loomis with quotations on verso respecting eloquence, and a statement "Andrew Jackson of Tennessee President!", June 1829.
  • Illustrated projection drawn by Ormond P. Loomis of the moon's eclipse of September 2, 1830, dated March 20, 1829.
  • Illustration of an eagle with a banner by Ormond P. Loomis in 1828.
  • "Journal kept at the 3rd school District in the school society in Hebron", maintained by Ormond P. Loomis in 1829. Including a foldout of tabular information about daily school attendance by 10 students, and daily weather. Concludes with a statement about why Loomis decided to leave the profession of teacher. A separate list identifies male and female students in the School Society in Hebron by class status.
  • Two sheets with miscellaneous astronomical calculations, canal lengths, and numerical Christian Bible information produced by Ormond P. Loomis in 1830 and 1831.
  • Handmade, stab-sewn volume with poetry, literature, and biblical extracts kept by Aurelia Loomis between 1838-1841.
  • "Appendix to Report on Free Schools," compiled in 1847, possibly by Dwight Loomis before his graduation from Yale Law School.
  • Circa 1855 volume inventorying the estate of Elam Loomis.
  • Letter from Dwight Loomis to Mary Loomis dated March 26, 1863, and a copy of correspondence between Dwight Loomis and Cyrus White including a riddle about white lies dated February 21, 1889.
  • Circa 1890s bound volume of notes for a speech to the Burpee Post of the Grand Army of the Republic about the Civil War, possibly by Dwight Loomis, concerning memorialization of the Civil War dead, naturalization, suffrage, citizenship, patriotism and education.
  • Undated manuscript map of England, Ireland, and Scotland drawn by Ormond P. Loomis.
  • Newspaper clipping showing demographic information for the states and territories in the United States, [1822?].
  • Two undated pencil sketches drawn by Emily Loomis of the exterior of buildings, including the "Mill at Hartford."
  • Undated poem about Abraham Lincoln, "Hitch Your Wagon to a Star," possibly written by Dwight Loomis.
  • Undated "Family Record" for the Loomis family with entries for family members and their birth dates. Includes record of Loomis P. Ormond's death.
  • Undated cypher book kept by Mary Loomis with several patriotic and religious calligraphic exercises.
Collection

Marianna C. Lanman Penmanship and Mathematics Exercise Books, 1814

2 volumes

This collection is made up of 2 volumes that Marianna Chandler Lanman composed while studying at Mrs. Rowson's Academy for Young Ladies in Boston, Massachusetts, around 1814. One concerns arithmetic, focusing on practical applications in bookkeeping, conversion, and monetary transactions; the other contains copied poems, calligraphic alphabets, and graphic illustrations.

This collection is made up of 2 volumes that Marianna Chandler Lanman composed while studying at Mrs. Rowson's Academy for Young Ladies in Boston, Massachusetts, around 1814. One concerns arithmetic, focusing on practical applications in bookkeeping, conversion, and monetary transactions; the other contains copied poems, calligraphic alphabets, and graphic illustrations. Lanman dedicated both volumes to her parents.

Lanman composed the first volume, entitled "Practical Arithmetic[:] Comprising All the Rules for Transacting Business" (10"x16", 60 pages), at Mrs. Rawson's Academy in 1814. Its sections, each labeled in calligraphy, concern mathematical operations, rules and theorems; weights and measures; and practical applications of mathematical principles. Many of the later pages concern subjects such as the calculation of simple and compound interest, the value of "federal money" against "lawful money" (state currencies), commission charges, and bookkeeping. The explanatory text is accompanied by finished exercises and problems. The volume also includes tables of weights and measures and an index.

The second volume, "Specimens of Penmanship" (16"x10", 23 pages), is undated. Lanman copied poetry and proverbs on the book's odd-numbered pages; most concern subjects such as happiness, rural living, and gratitude. The title of a poem on the "Pleasures of retired Life" is written on a drawing of a ribbon (p. 19). One poem, entitled "Virtue's Tears Embalm the Brave," is dedicated to the memory of American casualties of the War of 1812 (p. 21). The volume contains several drawings: a hermit in his home (p. 3), a bald eagle among patriotic decorations (p. 21), a sailing ship (p. 21), and a line drawing of a bird with the word "industry" in its feathers (p. 23). The volume also includes examples of cursive, German, and Old English alphabets.

Collection

Plumer family penmanship and cypher books, 1831-1832

13 volumes

This collection is made up of seven penmanship books and six cypher books kept by brothers Stephen Plumer, Daniel T. Plumer, Horace Plumer, and unidentified individuals, dating from 1831-1832 (11 volumes are undated). As the books came from the same source, the unidentified volumes are likely by members of the Plumer family of Newbury, Massachusetts.

The seven penmanship books include two by Daniel T. Plumer, one by Stephen Plumer, and four by unidentified individuals. The students practiced writing individual words and short, largely moral and practical statements. Examples include: "Circumspection," "Saratoga," "Cherokee," "Choctaw," "Empyrean," "Command respect by deportment," "Incumber not the mind with toys," "Sound the waters of science," "God made the world," and many others.

The cypher books include one by Horace Plumer and the others by unidentified individuals. The volumes include arithmetic, decimals and fractions, proportions, weights and measures, Federal and English money, currency exchange, mercantile word problems, copies of bills of exchange, alligation, and interest.

Collection

Robert Galbreath cypher book, 1820

1 volume

In 1820, Robert Galbreath created this cypher book, sold by Bennet & Walton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes rules, examples, and exercises for vulgar fractions, raising of powers, square and cube roots, measurements, gravity, and applied mathematics for walling, masonry, paving, shingling, plastering, and digging. The volume has several pen-and-ink drawings of geometrical objects related to math problems.

In 1820, Robert Galbreath created this cypher book, sold by Bennet & Walton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes rules, examples, and exercises for vulgar fractions, raising of powers, square and cube roots, measurements, gravity, and applied mathematics for walling, masonry, paving, shingling, plastering, and digging. The volume has several pen-and-ink drawings of geometrical objects related to math problems.

Collection

Robert Galbreath cypher book, 1820

1 volume

In 1820, Robert Galbreath created this cypher book, sold by Bennet & Walton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes rules, examples, and exercises for vulgar fractions, raising of powers, square and cube roots, measurements, gravity, and applied mathematics for walling, masonry, paving, shingling, plastering, and digging. The volume has several pen-and-ink drawings of geometrical objects related to math problems.

In 1820, Robert Galbreath created this cypher book, sold by Bennet & Walton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes rules, examples, and exercises for vulgar fractions, raising of powers, square and cube roots, measurements, gravity, and applied mathematics for walling, masonry, paving, shingling, plastering, and digging. The volume has several pen-and-ink drawings of geometrical objects related to math problems.

Collection

Samuel Burrier cypher book, 1821-1822

1 volume

This cypher book contains mathematics problems and exercises copied and completed by Samuel Burrier. The sections include multiplication, addition, division, weights (apothecary weights, et al.), and liquid measures. Several of the headers incorporate chickens into the calligraphic lettering.

This cypher book contains mathematics problems and exercises copied and completed by Samuel Burrier. The sections include multiplication, addition, division, weights (apothecary weights, et al.), and liquid measures. Several of the headers incorporate chickens into the calligraphic lettering.

Collection

Sarah Sinnock cookbook and mathematics book, [1797]-1801

1 volume

This volume contains mathematical definitions and problems, example accounts, and recipes compiled by Sarah Sinnock of Bexhill, England, around the turn of the 19th century.

This volume (128 pages) contains mathematical definitions and problems, example accounts, and recipes compiled by Sarah Sinnock of Bexhill, England, around the turn of the 19th century. Sinnock's name and a date ([1797?]) are written on the front cover.

The mathematical notes, written on most recto and some verso pages, concern addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and reduction. Sinnock copied definitions of these arithmetic functions as well as related problems, often involving money, fabric, and food prices. The mathematical notes include a basic multiplication table and conversion tables for troy weights and cloth measurements. Several example financial accounts between women includes an entry with Sarah Sinnock's name, dated 1798.

Many of the volume's verso pages contain recipes and cooking instructions, some of which are dated 1801. Sinnock copied recipes for pickling meats and mushrooms; baking cakes; and making pies, as well as instructions for roasting numerous types of birds and clarifying butter. She noted methods for making various types of wine, including orange wine and ginger wine, and for making jellied pigs' feet and ears and preserving pears. Some notes pertain to cuts of beef.