Posts tagged ‘18th century’
History of the Portrait Collection, Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia (American Philosophical Society)
History of the Portrait Collection,
Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia
by Doris Devine Fanelli and Karie Diethorn (American Philosophical Society)
(Paperback, 360 pages, 2001, ISBN: 0871692422, $65.00)
The American Philosophical Society in conjunction with the Independence National Historical Park announces the publication of the first catalog of the portraits in the National Park collection.
Read the 
of this book before you purchase it.
These portraits, most of which are exhibited in the Second Bank of the United States, consist of 255 works, 109 of them by Charles Willson Peale. Many are likenesses of heroes of the American Revolution and Founding Fathers of American government, statesmen, jurists, men of science, arts and letters. The collection was enhanced by the addition of the works of notable 18th and 19th Anglo-American artists.
The book is divided into two sections: a history of the collection dividing it chapters covering works pre-1950, 1850-1900 and 1900-1951, and a catalog. Each catalog entry is enhanced with either a black and white or four-color reproduction and contains a physical description of the portrait, a brief biography of the subject, the circumstance of the portrait’s commission and its provenance.
Patriot Improvers Vol. 1-3, Members of the American Philosophical Society (APS), by Whitfield Bell
Patriot Improvers Vol. 1-3, Members of the American Philosophical Society (APS), by Whitfield Bell
When Benjamin Franklin adopted John Bartram’s 1739 idea of bringing together the “virtuosi” of the colonies to promote inquiries into “natural secrets, arts and syances,” the result was, in 1743, the founding of the American Philosophical Society (APS).
Read more about Dr. Whitfield Bell’s definitive three-volume set of biographical sketches of early APS Members, many of whom were important historical figures in colonial Philadelphia.
The three-volume set is a worthy testament to a much loved member of the APS and a handsome addition to bookshelves.
Patriot-Improvers: Members of the American Philosophical Society, Volume One: 1743-1768
(Memoir 226)
(Hardcover, 531 pages, 1997, $40.00)
Includes biographies of the Society’s best known members such as Franklin, David Rittenhouse, John Bartram, Benjamin Rush, John Dickinson, Thomas Hopkinson and lesser known merchants, artisans, farmers, physicians, lawyers and clergymen with familiar surnames such as Biddle, Colden and Morris. Illustrations. Read more >>
Patriot-Improvers: Members of the American Philosophical Society, Volume Two: 1768 (Memoir 227)
(Hardcover, 425 pages, 1999, $40.00)
This is the 2nd of 3 volumes of sketches that represent, “the first systematic attempt to collect and preserve data on the lives of [the Society’s first] members” and add much to our knowledge of the history and culture of 18th-century America. Contents: Sketches of Members inducted from 8 April-20 Dec. 1768; History of the Medical Society 1766-1768 and Sketches of Members; and Portraits of 31 Members. Read more >>
Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society: Volume Three: 1767-1768: Memoirs, APS (vol. 228)
(Hardcover, 696 pages, 2010, $60.00)
The long-anticipated third volume of Patriot-Improvers brings to an end the important work of Dr. Whit Bell, who started in 1997 to put together “biographical sketches of members of the American Philosophical Society elected between 1743, when Franklin proposed it, and 1769, when it was established on its present foundation by the union of several earlier institutions.” Work on this third volume was completed by APS Librarian Charles Greifenstein after the death of Dr. Bell in early 2009. Read more >>
Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society: Volume Three: 1767-1768: Memoirs, APS (Vol. 228)
Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society: Volume Three: 1767-1768: Memoirs, APS (Vol. 228)
by Whitfield J. Bell (American Philosophical Society)
(Hardcover, 696 pages, 2010, ISBN: 0871692287, $60.00)
The long-anticipated third volume of Patriot-Improvers brings to an end the important work of Dr. Whit Bell, who started in 1997 to put together “biographical sketches of members of the American Philosophical Society elected between 1743, when Franklin proposed it, and 1769, when it was established on its present foundation by the union of several earlier institutions” (Patriot-Improvers, Volume One, p. xiii).
Work on this third volume was completed by APS Librarian Charles Greifenstein after the death of Dr. Bell in early 2009. The three-volume set is a worthy testament to a much loved member of the APS and a handsome addition to bookshelves.
Patriot-Improvers: Members of the American Philosophical Society, Volume Two: 1768 (Memoir 227)
Patriot-Improvers: Members of the American Philosophical Society, Volume Two: 1768 (Memoir 227)
by Whitfield J. Bell (American Philosophical Society)
(Hardcover, 425 pages, 1999, ISBN: 0871692279, $40.00)
When Benjamin Franklin adopted John Bartram’s 1739 idea of bringing together the “virtuosi” of the colonies to promote inquiries into “natural secrets, arts and syances,” the result was, in 1743, the founding of the American Philosophical Society. Bell, records the early years of the Society through sketches of its first members, those elected between 1743 and 1769.
This is the second of three volumes of sketches that represent, “the first systematic attempt to collect and preserve data on the lives of [the Society’s first] members” and add much to our knowledge of the history and culture of 18th-century America. Contents: Sketches of Members inducted from 8 April-20 Dec. 1768; History of the Medical Society 1766-1768 and Sketches of Members; and Portraits of 31 Members.
Patriot-Improvers: Members of the American Philosophical Society, Volume One: 1743-1768 (Memoir 226)
Patriot-Improvers: Members of the American Philosophical Society, Volume One: 1743-1768 (Memoir 226)
by Whitfield J. Bell (American Philosophical Society)
(Hardcover, 531 pages, 1997, ISBN: 0871692260, $40.00)
When Benjamin Franklin adopted John Bartram’s 1739 idea of bringing together the “virtuosi” of the colonies to promote inquiries into “natural secrets, arts and syances,” the result was, in 1743, the founding of the American Philosophical Society.
Read the of this book before you purchase it.
Bell records the early years of the Society through sketches of its first members, those elected between 1743 and 1769. This volume includes biographies of some of the Society’s best known members such as Franklin, David Rittenhouse, John Bartram, Benjamin Rush, John Dickinson, Thomas Hopkinson and many lesser known merchants, artisans, farmers, physicians, lawyers and clergymen with familiar surnames such as Biddle, Colden, and Morris. Illustrations.
Acta Germanopolis: Records of the Corporation of Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1691-1707 (Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania)
Acta Germanopolis:
Records of the Corporation of
Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1691-1707
by J. M. Duffin (Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania)
(Hardcover, 700 pages, 2008, ISBN: 9780615217659, $75.00)
This 700-page volume contains the full text of Germantown’s 17th and 18th century town records in both their original languages and in English translation.
It also includes extensive appendices on the naturalization records of the first residents of Germantown and their landholdings through the year 1714.
This book is the product of 15 years of labor by J. M. Duffin, a distinguished Fellow of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (GSP). Mr. Duffin has edited the book and also contributed a comprehensive Introduction, while Professor Don Yoder of the University of Pennsylvania (and another Fellow of the GSP) has written an informative Foreword on Germantown’s role in the history of Pennsylvania and German immigration to America.
Dear Doctor Franklin: E-mails to a Founding Father about Science, Medicine and Technology
Dear Doctor Franklin:
E-mails to a Founding Father about
Science, Medicine and Technology
by Stuart A. Green (Friends of Franklin)
(Paperback, 320 pages, 2008, ISBN: 1422394700, $24.95)
In this unique book on the history of science, Green writes emails to Benjamin Franklin, who died in 1790 but whom Green imagines coming back to life, about developments over the past two centuries.
Author Stuart A. Green writes: “I have written these emails assuming that you carried out the wish you described in 1773: ‘I should prefer to any ordinary death, being immersed in a cask of Madeira wine . . . to be later recalled to life by the solar warmth of my dear country.’”
These emails inform Franklin of progress in science, medicine and technology from his time until now. Includes more than 70 portraits of Franklin’s friends and relatives, and of those researchers who have led medical and scientific advances during the past two centuries. Illustrations.
A Guide to Christ Church, Philadelphia by Julia Leisenring and Patricia Forbes
A Guide to Christ Church, Philadelphia
by Julia B. Leisenring and Patricia A.S. Forbes
Old Christ Church Preservation Trust
(Paperback, 16 pages, 1984, ISBN: 1422365344, $10.00)
This booklet provides an introduction to Christ Church in Philadelphia, a majestic building that gives testimony to vision, faith and courage.
Read the of this book before you purchase it.
In 1695, these qualities led 39 pilgrims to start an Anglican parish in a Quaker city. In 1727, the small congregation transformed their small building into the most beautiful, majestic and grand sanctuary in the colonies, and that vision, courage and faith assures that the church still stands.
In 1754, master builder Robert Smith constructed the highest structure in the colonies in the church’s majestic steeple. Contents: The Building of Christ Church; The Steeple and The Tower Room; Historic and Symbolic Objects Belonging to the Church; Christ Church in the 18th Century; Christ Church in the 20th Century; Bishop White; Rectors of Christ Church; The Church Library; Early Church Archives; Graveyard and Signers of the Declaration of Independence; Christ Church Preservation Trust; and Dates in the History of Christ Church. Illustrations.
To Do Justice to Him and Myself: Evert Wendell’s Account Book of the Fur Trade with Indians in Albany, New York, 1695-1726 (includes cd-rom with original Dutch text) (ISBN: 1606189123)
To Do Justice to Him and Myself:
Evert Wendell’s Account Book of the Fur Trade with Indians in Albany, New York, 1695-1726
by Kees-Jan Waterman (American Philosophical Society, ISBN: 1606189123)
(Paperback, 310 pages and CD-ROM with original Dutch text, 2008, $50.00)
This translated Dutch account book of the fur trade with Indians yields essential data for understanding workings of intercultural fur trade in colonial North America.
It contains accounts of hundreds of Indians, many listed with their own names, who purchased merchandise on credit from Evert Wendell (1681-1750) and his relatives in Albany, NY. Over 2,000 credit transactions and payments are recorded. This book has been praised as a major addition to the literature on the fur trade which challenges many widely held interpretations.
Illustrations. Tables. The book also includes a CD-ROM with transcription of the Dutch manuscript (searchable).
“The introductory essay and the tables put together from Waterman’s detailed reading of the account suggest an active trade between the Evert family and a wide range of Indians from many different tribal groupings,” writes Ann M. Carlos in the Journal of Economic History (70:2). “One has to be particularly impressed with the level of detail extracted from the accounts after looking at the photographs of the original documents.
“Waterman argues that these accounts with about 300 different individuals give us an unprecedented glimpse into intercultural exchanges in the upper Hudson River valley. He points to the role played by women in this trade; to the nature of the goods exchanges; to the range of different tribal groupings; to the mention of “white” and “black” individuals and to the descriptions of naming practices and tattoos or lack of same.
“Not too many family account books from the early eighteenth century exist. This one documents commercial exchanges between an important Dutch trading family and native traders. Waterman provides an incredible level of detail about the people in these transactions [in this] interesting primary source.”
Peter Collinson and the Eighteenth-Century Natural History Exchange (American Philosophical Society Memoir 264, ISBN: 9780871692641)
Peter Collinson and the Eighteenth-Century Natural History Exchange
(American Philosophical Society Memoir 264, ISBN: 9780871692641)
by Jean O’Neill and Elizabeth P. McLean
(Paperback, 216 pages, 2008, $75.00)
Collinson’s life is a microcosm of 18th-century natural history. A gardener and naturalist by avocation, he was what we would now call a facilitator in natural science, disseminating botanical and horticultural knowledge during the Enlightenment.
He influenced the Comte de Buffon and Linnaeus. He found clients for the Philadelphia naturalist John Bartram. American plants populated great estates like those of the Dukes of Richmond, Norfolk, and Bedford, as well as the Chelsea Physic Garden, and the nurseries of James Gordon and Robert Furber. Botanic painters such as Mark Catesby and Georg Dionysius Ehret painted American plants in Collinson’s garden.
He had an unprecedented effect on the exchange of scientific information on both sides of the Atlantic, being credited for introducing more than 150 plans to horticulture. Illustrations.
“One man can make a difference,” co-author Elizabeth McLean tells Green Scene [PDF] in the September/October 2009 issue. “[Collinson] did it for love. He was self-educated, yet he made enormous contributions to natural history in the eighteenth century.”
This book has been indexed by H.W. Wilson in their “Essay and General Literature Index” for June 2009.
H.W. Wilson writes: “These essays describe the life and achievements of the Quaker Peter Collinson, an 18th century London draper and naturalist whose interest in horticulture led him to establish contact with the Philadelphia Quaker farmer and naturalist John Bartram and to import Bartram’s American plants to England.
“The consequent popularity of American plants in English gardens, reflected even in the botanic paintings of the period, have earned Collinson a place in the history of botany as a facilitator between English and American horticulture.”
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