(SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING) Small archive of letters received

Sale 2344 - Lot 238

Price Realized: $ 3,840

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Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750

(SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.) Small archive of letters received by Alexander Dallas Bache as head of the United States Coast Survey. 12 letters from various correspondents; various sizes and conditions. Vp, 1851-63

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Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867), a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, headed the United States Coast Survey from 1843 until his death. In this role, he corresponded with many of the leading scientists and political leaders of the day. Highlights of this group include: Secretary of War Simon Cameron. Letter Signed, requesting population statistics to reflect Cameron's proposed new state boundaries for Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. [Washington], 30 November 1861 Arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane. Autograph Letter Signed. Discusses the instruments used to make observations on the recently completed Second Grinnell Expedition. Philadelphia, 8 November 1855 Astronomer Maria Mitchell. Autograph Letter Signed. Requests his critique of her manuscript. Nantucket, MA, 25 October 1851 Former Secretary of Treasury Robert J. Walker. Autograph Letter Signed. Invites Bache to view a demonstration of the experimental steamer Naugatuck. Hoboken, NJ, 27 December 1861. Other correspondents include Congressman Anson Burlingame, Senator Clement C. Clay, naval officer Samuel Francis Du Pont (2 letters), Arctic explorer Isaac I. Hayes, landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted, chemist Benjamin Silliman, and Southern poet William Gilmore Simms. Full inventory available upon request.