Collections

This collection consists of a manuscript schoolbook that belonged to Abraham P. Sherril in the mid-1810s and 4 daybooks that Sherril kept between 1837 and 1850. The schoolbook contains rules and example problems in subjects such as mathematics, business finance, and surveying, as well as examples of a daybook and double-entry ledger. The daybooks concern sales of foodstuffs, cloth, and other items in Pike, New York, from the 1830s-1850s.

This collection consists of a manuscript schoolbook and 4 daybooks. The Schoolbook (145 pages) contains 118 pages of notes and example problems concerning mathematics, business finance, and surveying, dated at East Hampton, New York, from March 1815-March 1818. Many of the geometrical and surveying problems are illustrated, and financial problems pertain to subjects such as European currencies and calculation of interest. The schoolbook also includes a copied poem. The final 27 pages provide examples of a daybook (January 1, 1819-January 31, 1819, 11 pages) and double-entry ledger (January 1, 1819-May 29, 1819, 16 pages). The same accounts are represented in each of these sections, and most pertain to sales of foodstuffs and fabrics. The 4 Daybooks (June 22, 1837-May 29, 1850, 765 pages) record Sherril's accounts with customers in Pike, New York. He sold foodstuffs such as butter, spices, and tea; household goods such as brooms and nails; clothing and fabrics such as calico; and other items, such as tobacco and soap.

This volume, which may have belonged to a Scottish teacher, contains pencil drawings of everyday objects and notes related to instruction in art and geography.

This volume, which may have belonged to a Scottish teacher, has pebbled covers, with the title "Sketch Book" stamped in gold on the front. The first section, "Specimen course for Second Year Higher Grade," contains 6 pages of pencil drawings. The subjects include books, plants, household items, a shoe, a water tank, an umbrella, a broom, a basket, and a hand. The final page of drawings includes the note: "Complete course with interiors & outdoor work."

The second part of the volume is a 2-page chart titled "Geography. Scheme of Work," with tables of geographical subjects for students at various levels. Each month's course included the study of a country or geographical region, a "practical" subject, and a "physical" subject. The areas represented are primarily European nations; British colonies such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and India; North and South America; Asia, and Pacific islands. The teacher offered practical instruction in navigational concepts, the use and creation of maps, and surveying, and offered instruction on various geological topics such as the Earth's atmosphere, climate, and physical features such as volcanoes and glaciers.

This volume contains an introduction to land surveying and its underlying mathematical principles. Included are practical problems, illustrated examples, and reference tables.

This volume (174 pages) contains an introduction to land surveying and its underlying mathematical principles. Included are practical problems, illustrated examples, and reference tables.

The book, entitled "Land Surveying," opens with an introduction to geometry and trigonometry then focuses on practical surveying applications (around p. 49). Definitions, theorems, and problems are illustrated with diagrams and example problems. The remainder of the volume (pp. 142-174) pertains to surveying measurements, methodology, and tools. The author explained different measurements, such as Scottish units, English units, and the "chain," and applied mathematical principles to surveyors' practices. Many problems include ink-and-watercolor pictures of irregularly shaped lakes or fields, and several concern locations referred to as "Broom Park," "Mire Park," "Farm Park," and "Hill Side Farm." Additional subjects of study are land division and measuring levelness. The volume also contains tables of measurements. Decorative geometric drawings, done in ink with the occasional addition of watercolors, are interspersed throughout the book.

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.

This collection is an undated 53-page manuscript, containing portions of the English translation of a work of organ music theory and practical application by German organist and instructor Wilhelm Schneider. The manuscript's first page corresponds to page 87 of Schneider's Practical Organ School . . . to which is added a complete Treatise on Harmony and thorough Bass. Translated and Adapted to the wants of Young Organists (Boston: Oliver Ditson & Company, 1851). Afterward, the manuscript follows a different organization from the printed work—chapter one of the manuscript corresponds, for example, to chapter two of the published version. A comparative analysis has not been completed, though a cursory review suggests that the manuscript has textual and possibly other variations from the published version.

This collection is an undated 53-page manuscript, containing portions of the English translation of a work of organ music theory and practical application by German organist and instructor Wilhelm Schneider. The manuscript's first page corresponds to page 87 of Schneider's Practical Organ School . . . to which is added a complete Treatise on Harmony and thorough Bass. Translated and Adapted to the wants of Young Organists (Boston: Oliver Ditson & Company, 1851). Afterward, the manuscript follows a different organization from the printed work—chapter one of the manuscript corresponds, for example, to chapter two of the published version. A comparative analysis has not been completed, though a cursory review suggests that the manuscript has textual and possibly other variations from the published version.

The Zaccheus Brown notebook contains information compiled between 1782 and 1783 on arithmetic, sailing and navigation, and surveying, as well as a log of the Phoenix's voyage from New Jersey to the Virgin Islands in 1789. Mathematical and navigational problems are often illustrated with diagrams, and the volume also contains an example of a Mercator chart of the Caribbean.

The Zaccheus Brown notebook (175 pages) contains information on arithmetic, sailing and navigation, and surveying, as well as a log of the Phoenix's voyage from New Jersey to the Virgin Islands in 1789.

The first 112 pages, compiled from 1782-1783, are comprised of information about mathematics and sailing and contain a brief ship's log. Mathematical subjects include square and cube roots, geometry, and plane trigonometry; Brown copied and solved mathematical problems, which are often illustrated with diagrams. Instructions for aiming cannons appear in the section about trigonometry. Brown also described sailing methods such as plane, traverse, oblique, Mercator, parallel, middle latitude, and current sailing, as well writing instructions for turning a ship windward and for determining location. The parts of the volume concerning sailing also contain problems, diagrams, and an example of a "Plane Chart" and "Mercator's Chart." The Mercator's chart shows the locations of islands in the northern Caribbean Sea. The notebook's other subjects include the compass, calculating the phases of the Moon, and the Gregorian calendar. A final section pertains to surveying.

Zaccheus Brown's notebook also contains logs concerning the voyage of the Endeavour (9 pages) and the schooner Phoenix (58 pages). The Endeavour log, attributed to "L. H," notes the ship's journey "from the Cape" in late June and early July 1783. The Phoenix log details Brown's voyage from June 17, 1789-September 1, 1789 from Salem, New Jersey, to the Virgin Islands and back to Virginia. Some of Brown's daily entries about his voyage on the Phoenix include charts recording the ship's course and position, along with additional remarks on wind speed and direction. Brown occasionally discussed other aspects of his voyage, such as the pidgin language spoken by the ship's Dutch crew and his premonitions after bad weather and delays. He also described the port and the island of Saint Thomas, a Dutch colony (currently part of the United States Virgin Islands).

The volume contains illustrations of a man in the sun, a compass rose, and a fish and man; the latter drawings are flourishes on the heading for the section of the book on cube roots. The back endpaper includes a table of angles related to navigation.