The collection consists of ten bound volumes of autograph manuscript correspondence to and from American meteorologist William C. Redfield largely concerning steam navigation and weather phenomena including cyclones, hurricanes, storms, and typhoons. Series I contains four volumes of letters received by Redfield from meteorologists, engineers, geologists, and other scientific colleagues in North America, Great Britain, Europe, and the Caribbean. The letters were arranged in two groups: Steam Boats and Railroads, 1822-1854 (volume 1) and Scientific, 1831-1857 (volumes 2-4), and occasionally include broadsides, newspaper clippings, and manuscript charts and diagrams tipped in with letters. Series II contains three volumes of letter books holding copies of Redfield's outgoing letters in chronological order. The volumes in Series I were likely compiled by Redfield's son John Howard Redfield; each volume in both series has an index of correspondents at the front and Series III contains three volumes of correspondence between Redfield and the British meteorologist Sir William Reid and his wife Sarah Bolland Reid, arranged chronologically. The Reids wrote from their government posts in Bermuda (1839-1846), Barbados (1846-1848), London (1848-1851), and Malta (1852-1857). The volumes were created in 1858 by John Howard Redfield, who provided an autograph manuscript essay in the first volume that serves as an introduction to the set. Redfield's replies to Reid were copied from the letterbooks in Series II.
Description:
William C. Redfield (1789-1857), American meteorologist and first president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Redfield was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on March 26, 1789, and died in New York, New York, on February 12, 1857., In English., and Box 1 contains Series I, Steam Boats and Railroads Letters. Box 2 contains Series I, Scientific Letters, 1831-1841. Box 3 contains Series I, Scientific Letters, 1842-1847. Box 4 contains Series I, Scientific Letters, 1848-1857. Box 5 contains Series II. Box 6 contains Series III.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain., United States., Barbados, Bermuda Islands, and Malta
Subject (Name):
Becher, A. B. 1796-1876. (Alexander Bridport),, Coffin, James H. 1806-1873. (James Henry),, Clinton, DeWitt, 1805-1833., Dana, James Dwight, 1813-1895., Gibbes, Robert W. 1809-1866. (Robert Wilson),, Hall, James, 1811-1898., Henwood, William Jory, 1805-1875., Hitchcock, Edward, 1793-1864., Lefroy, J. H. Sir, 1817-1890. (John Henry),, Loomis, Elias, 1811-1889., Martin, F. P. B., Perry, Matthew Calbraith, 1794-1858., Piddington, Henry, 1797-1858., Preston, Samuel, 1756-1834., Redfield, John Howard, 1815-1895., Redfield, W. C. 1789-1857. (William C.),, Reid, Sarah Bolland, -1858., Reid, William, 1791-1858., Silliman, Benjamin, 1779-1864., Silliman, Benjamin, 1816-1885., Smith, Vivus Wood, 1804-1881., Verneuil, Édouard de, 1805-1873., Webster, Matthew Henry, 1803-1846., Whitney, Asa, 1791-1874., and Whittlesey, Charles, 1808-1886.
Subject (Topic):
Cyclones, Hurricanes, Meteorologists, Ocean currents, Railroads, Steam-navigation, Tornadoes, Description and travel, Politics and government, and Social life and customs