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Start Over You searched for: Creator Anonymous Remove constraint Creator: Anonymous Subjects Geometry--Early works to 1800. Remove constraint Subjects: Geometry--Early works to 1800.
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Collection

New England Schoolmaster's teaching book, 1787-1811

1 volume

In this book, a traveling New England schoolteacher recorded instructional exercises, instructional explanations, poetry, and biographical information about pupils. The author taught in New Hampshire and present-day Maine. Subjects of instruction include arithmetic, surveying, geometry, nautical navigation, and writing.

A traveling New England schoolteacher recorded instructional exercises, instructional explanations, poetry, and biographical information about pupils in this volume (220 pages, 8" x 12") between 1787 and 1811. The author taught in New Hampshire and present-day Maine and entered personal information about teaching appointments throughout the volume. Individual lessons are dated as early as 1787, and the volume includes several lists of male and female pupils from teaching engagements in various towns, dated as late as 1811. Some lists of students are accompanied by the students' birthdates. Classes convened in schoolhouses, other public structures, and private homes.

Each page has a subject label, and several pages are comprised of miscellaneous questions entitled "A Collection of Questions," occasionally attributed to The London Magazine. Much of the volume pertains to instruction in mathematical subjects such as algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, and it includes diagrams, examples, and practical applications. Lengthy sections are devoted to surveying and nautical navigation (including "plane-sailing"), often with many diagrams. Other sections concern subjects such as writing and history, with examples of proverbs, deeds, marriage licenses, and letters for copying. Some pages have collections of anecdotes, proverbs, and poems, usually pertaining to morality and religion. A number of lengthier poems concern death and weddings, and one is entitled "Rodgers & Victory[:] Tit for tat. Or the Chesapeake paid for in British Blood!!!" Other parts include a cure for jaundice, a "rebus," a table of symbols for astronomical objects, information about "Occult Philosophy or Magic," instructions for gauging a copper kettle and a man of war, and a list of nouns with corresponding verbs and participles. Some of the material is copied from outside sources, such as John Love's Geodesia.

Collection

Practical Mathematics manuscript, 1700s

1 volume

The Practical Mathematics manuscript contains definitions and problems related to algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation, and surveying. Many of the problems are accompanied by illustrated figures and/or practical examples.

The Practical Mathematics manuscript contains definitions and problems related to algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation, and surveying. These categories are divided into specific applications; the section on algebra deals with topics such as basic algebraic statements, algebraic fractions, simple and quadratic equations, and arithmetical and geometrical progressions. Most of the problems are accompanied by illustrated figures and/or examples of concepts' practical applications. A section concerning globes pertains to both terrestrial and celestial globes, and includes a list of the signs of the zodiac, as well as descriptions of navigational methods, accompanied by a compass rose and charts, including "Mercator's Charts."

The manuscript also explains methods for determining location and time by observing celestial objects, and contains instructions for keeping ships' logs and surveying notes. A section on navigation includes a copied log from the voyage of the Pegasus from England to Barbados (January 31, 1737-March 22, 1737), as well as a map showing the coasts of France and Spain and the islands around Barbados. Some of the surveying problems are illustrated with a sailing ship, a tree, and a turret.

Partial List of Subjects
  • Algebra
    • Simple Equations
    • Quadratic Equations
    • Arithmetic Progressions
    • Geometric Progressions
  • The Use of Globes
    • Terrestrial Globe
    • Celestial Globe
  • Spherical Geometry
  • Spherical Trigonometry
    • [Acute] Angled
    • Right Angled
    • Oblique Angled
  • "To Find the Prime or Golden Number"
  • Geometry
  • Trigonometry
    • Plain Trigonometry
    • Spherical Trigonometry
  • Navigation
    • Latitude
    • Longitude
    • Sailing
      • Plain Sailing
      • Traverse Sailing
      • Mercator's Sailing
      • Parallel Sailing
      • Oblique Sailing
      • Plain Sailing by Arithmetic
  • Observation by the Meridian Altitude or Zenith Distance of the Sun or Stars
  • Rules for Keeping a Journal [Ship's Log]
  • Astronomy
  • Dialing
  • Surveying
  • Mensuration
    • Mensuration of Superficies
    • Mensuration of Solids
    • Measuring of Timber