Ambrose Huber cypher books, 1866-1868
2 volumes
2 volumes
1 volume
Daniel Conover composed this mathematics exercise book containing definitions, problems, solved examples, rules, cases, and remarks. Subjects covered include practical geometry, mensuration of superficies, conic sections, mensuration of solids, and cylindrical rings. Short sections relate to the application of the principles to the work of artificers, bricklayers, masons, carpenters and joiners, slaters and tilers, plasterers, painters and glaziers, pavers, as well as the construction of roofs and measuring timber. Conover illustrated examples of geometric shapes and angles, some painted with watercolors. A watercolor painting of a building also appears in the volume.
1 volume
Herman Beck created this book of German-English language practice exercises on ethics, business administration, letter writing, bookkeeping, and other subjects. Beck wrote his German in Fraktur and Kurrent; his English contains many misspellings and some teacher corrections. Three printed, colored illustrations of a scene from William Tell and poems or lyrics ("Der kleine Tambour" and "Der kleine Grenadier") are included, as well as a printed, colored map of Europe. The names B. J. Beck and Johan Beck are legible on the cover and inside flyleaf; Herman Beck signed his name and initials throughout the volume.
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. Colored, floral-patterned paper (wallpaper) is pasted onto the front and back covers.
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).
1 volume
Leo Engleman worked trigonometric and surveying exercises in this cypher book from 1847 to 1848, possibly while a thirteen-year-old boy living in Pennsylvania. Many of the exercises include mathematical drawings and illustrations, and surveying examples often include additional features done in pencil and watercolor, such as trees, rivers, buildings, and lighthouses. A number of headings also feature watercolor embellishments and abstract or geometric designs, and the final pages of the volume include full-page watercolor designs of geometric shapes and a rose bush.
1 volume
Margaret ("Peggy") Montgomery kept this copybook in 1809 to practice her penmanship. She copied religious and moral proverbs, poems, and passages, as well as short phrases, alphabets, and examples of financial receipts. The place name "Windham" appears throughout the volume, but no state is provided. At the back of the volume, from May to June 1838, Margaret Montgomery documented accusations that she had stolen teaspoons and detailed her interactions related to the matter. An undated medicinal recipe and directions for its use appear near the end of the volume for the treatment of an unspecified complaint.
13 volumes
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.
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.
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.
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.
8 items
The collection consists of seven penmanship and cypher books kept by William L. Shimer, Susanna M. Shimer, and Nathan M. Shimer of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the 1840s and 1850s and one alphabet card with lower-case and upper-case letters. The blank books include illustrated covers and several have calligraphic titles for their sections. Five of them are dated and range from 1846 to 1853. The cypher books include exercises for arithmetic, fractions, practical geometry, accounting, and weights and measures, with many examples relating to practical issues like farming, business, and estates. Penmanship exercises include the copying of moral proverbs, common business abbreviations, strings of letters, and phrases. Two of the penmanship books are associated with writing systems: George J. Becker's The American System of Penmanship, and Bayson, Dunton and Scribner's National System of Penmanship.
The cover of William L. Shimer's 1848 exercise book includes an inscription "L. Shimer, Co. A 10 reg. Militia Pa." William L. Shimer's 1850-1852 cypher book includes notations that he was attending the Gen. Taylor school and was being instructed by A. Stout, as well as geometrical drawings, calligraphic headings, and a pen-and-ink drawing of an eagle's head holding a banner that reads, "Let teh Stars and Stripes proudly float over you."
1 volume
6 items
The collection consists of six penmanship exercises composed between 1815 and 1817 by Eirene Smith (aged 13), Nancy Smith (aged 14-16), Mary Smith (aged 17), and Loreney Stone (aged 17), likely students in the same class in Wayland, Massachusetts. The exercises consist of copied poems entitled "The Rose," "To Eliza," "On The Seasons," "To The Lilly," "Epitaph," and "Lines Written in a Winter's Walk."
1 volume
The William Yardley Mathematics and Surveying Exercise Book contains solved geometric, trigonometric, and surveying exercises, including practical problems and illustrated examples that feature drawings of buildings, animals, and landscape elements. Calligraphic lettering appears throughout.
One letter written by Harry [Crockett?] to his mother, Mrs. L. F. Crockett, from Portland, Maine, on October 8, 1903, is laid into the volume. Written on John W. Perkins Company, Wholesale Druggists, illustrated stationery, the letter comments on family matters, business, and deaths of acquaintances, including one gentleman who was killed by an electric car.