(SCIENCE ENGINEERING) Notebooks kept by analytical chemist

Sale 2615 - Lot 241

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(SCIENCE & ENGINEERING.) Notebooks kept by analytical chemist Thomas Hall Garrett during the Civil War and beyond. 10 manuscript volumes, each about 24 to 36 pages. Each 4to, original printed wrappers, minor wear; not continuously dated. [Philadelphia], 1861-1869

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Thomas Hall Garrett (1830-1905) graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and then became a partner in a prominent Philadelphia analytical chemistry lab with a better-known chemist, James Curtis Booth. Clients brought in samples--coal, textiles, fertilizer, brass, vinegar, paint, guano, petroleum, etc.--and Garrett reported on the chemical composition. Various kinds of ore made up a substantial part of the business, particularly gold, silver, lead (galena) and iron. These notebooks list the client name, substance, date, and detailed notes on Garrett's findings. An extensive analysis of the water supply of Wilmington, DE was undertaken in November 1863.

The first three volumes were compiled during the Civil War, and the firm did occasional work for the Union Army's Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia. On 2 November 1863, its commandant Major Theodore Laidley brought in a gunpowder sample, which was determined to contain 0.01% sodium chloride (salt) by Garrett's partner Booth, who initialed the entry. Similarly, more gunpowder samples were brought in on 1 February and 10 March 1865, also handled by Booth. These were delivered by Laidley's successor Captain Stephen Vincent Benét (grandfather of the noted author of the same name), who also brought in batches of saltpeter on 20 March and 23 May 1865.