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The Library of Benjamin Franklin (Memoir 257)

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Memoir 257
Beginning in the late 1950s, Edwin Wolf 2nd embarked on a bibliographic odyssey to reconstruct the �lost� library of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin�s library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson in the last eighteenth century to Robert Morris Jr., who subsequently sold it in the early nineteenth century. None of the catalogs of the collection survive, and the contents of the library were virtually unknown until 1956, when Wolf discovered the unique shelfmarks Franklin used to identify his books. Wolf�s work to reconstruct a catalog of the library continued for the next thirty years but was unfinished at the time of his death. As the tercentenary of Franklin�s birth approached, Kevin J. Hayes took up the work and has continued to discover titles that were part of the library. Everything found to date, close to 4,000 entries, has been compiled here. (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society and the Library Company of Philadelphia, 2006.)

Planetary, Lunar and Solar Positions, 601 B.C. to A.D. 1, at Five-Day and Ten Day Intervals (Memoir 56)

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Memoir 56
The need for these tables became pressing when hundreds of astronomical cuneiform tables in the British Museum became available for study, partly through the copies made in the 1880s & 1890s. All these texts originally came from some archive in Babylon which was discovered by Arabs in the middle of the 19th century. Most of the texts were written from about 330 B.C. to the first century A.D. Many of the texts are fragments of the original clay tables which have broken. In many cases, a fragment contains only parts of a few legible lines. Much of the information is of an astronomical character. It is evident that for investigations of these tablets the possibility of rapid scanning of accurately dated planetary positions is of primary importance. It was with this in view that these tables were developed by Dr. B., Tuckerman in consultation with Prof. A. Sach, Dr. H.H. Goldstine, & O. Neugebauer.

Dictionary of Weights and Measures for the British Isles

Dictionary of Weights and Measures for the British Isles: The Middle Ages to the 20th Century (Memoir 168)

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Memoir 168
The complexity of medieval & modern pre-metric weights & measures (W&M) in Britain presents an obstacle to scholarly res. on Western European econ. history. The problem is: the approx. dimensions of many non-standardized measuring units, used by both the Crown & the regional & local markets, varied from time to time & from place to place; & the dimensions even of standard W&M used in any period are poorly understood. This book will clarify the confusion & bring a new focus to the field of metrology & a new understanding of the units. It includes: tables for rapid identification of all ruling English, Scottish, Irish, or Welsh sovereigns; current English Imperial, Amer. Customary, & metric units; & the basic equiv. for these W&M; & A Dict. of Brit. W&M.

Stability and Variation in Hopi Song (Memoir 204)

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Memoir 204
The Hopi are the westernmost group of the pueblo Indians of the southwestern U.S. They live on a high, dry plateau in northern Arizona, & have been a sedentary, agricultural people. This study attempts to establish the stylistic parameters of song in a particular culture. Author George List wishes to determine what is meant when a Hopi man or woman states that two or more performances are those of the same song. To what extent can speech sounds, pitches, & durational values, or the forms of which they are the constituents, differ & the performances still be considered to be those of the same song? Or, to state the matter in reverse, to what extent must they be similar for the performances to be so considered? In attempting to answer these questions List has transcribed & compared 8 recordings of performances of a particular kachina dance song & 11 recordings of performance of a particular lullaby, made from 1903 to 1984. Illus.

Russian Overseas Commerce with Great Britain During the Reign of Catherine II

Russian Overseas Commerce with Great Britain During the Reign of Catherine II (Memoir 218)

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Memoir 218
On the basis of newly-discovered Russian & British archival sources, Prof. Herbert Kaplan makes important scholarly contributions to 18th-century economic history. He conclusively demonstrates that there was not only a symbiotic economic relationship between Russia & Great Britain, but also that Russia contributed greatly to Britain�s industrial revolution & its imperial strategic military & political power during the second half of the 18th century. Kaplan is the first to estimate the real balance of payments between the two countries in a detailed analysis of a subject. The interpretations are based on an enormous array of data culled from contemporary customs & commercial archival manuscripts. Kaplan�s meticulous analysis of Anglo-Russian commercial treaties as well as Russian tariffs, which were intended to undermine them, reveals policies that both countries undertook to advance their respective maritime & mercantile power. Finally, Kaplan persuasively argues that Britain�s military supremacy crucially depended on its receiving an uninterrupted supply of Russian manufactured & natural resources. Charts & tables.

Soldier-Scholars: Higher Education in the American Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1919 (Memoir 221)

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Memoir 221
A study educational opportunities offered after World War I to Am. soldiers of the Amer. Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Some stayed in Europe & studied art, attended clases at the Sorbonne, took medical courses at London�s Fellowship of Medicine, read law at the Inns of Court, enrolled in veterinary classes at the U. of Edinburgh, & studied French culture & language at numerous French universities & institutes. About 10,000 men were involved in these programs. In addition, 10,000 soldier-students attended the AEF�s own university at Beaune, created from nothing in a few short weeks to give them academic opportunities at the college level. For a few months in the spring of 1919, this university was the largest in the English-spoeaking world. Beyond the university level, other educational opportunities of various sorts were made available to virtually every soldier in the AEF. Illustrations.

Natural Philosophy of Chu Hsi (1130-1200) (Memoir 235)

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Memoir 235
Chu Hsi (1130-1200), author of the great Neo-Confucian synthesis, exerted a lasting influence on the thought & life of the Chinese in subsequent centuries. The core of his all-encompassing synthesis was moral & social philosophy, but it also included knowledge about the natural world. His doctrine of ke-wu (investigation of things) & his official duties made him mindful of the specialized knowledged in such �scientific� traditions as astronomy, harmonics, medicine, etc. In this study of Chu Hsi�s thought, Part 1 gives a systematic account of the basic concepts of his natural philosophy as background for understanding his natural knowledge. Part 2 discusses Chu Hsi�s actual knowledge about the natural world. Part 3 examines the relation between Chu Hsi & Chinese �scientific� traditions & compares his natural knowledge with that of the Western scientific tradition.

America's Curious Botanist: A Tercentennial Reappraisal of John Bartram (1699-1777) (Memoir 249)

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Memoir 249
The Academy of Natural Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the John Bartram Association, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, & the Philadelphia Botanical Club sponsored a three-day symposium in May 1999 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of John Bartram's birth. This collection of essays arises from that symposium. All of the essays contribute to the telling of the story of the multifaceted John Bartram, whose life spanned most of the 18th-century and who was called �the greatest natural botanist in the world.� The work is published in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia & John Bartram Association. Color & black & white illustrations.

Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740) & the Vatican Tomb of Pope Alexander VIII (Memoir 252)

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Memoir 252
Examines the commission of the Vatican tomb of Pope Alexander VIII Ottoboni by his great-nephew Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. Although neglected for centuries, the Ottoboni monument occupies the most strategic liturgical position in the complex of tombs in the Vatican basilica. It is impressive in scale, & offers a commanding presence on the path from the papal entryway to the apse & main altar, with a majestic papal effigy, a visually compelling narrative relief carving, & symbolically important allegories. Using unpublished archival documents in the Vatican & Lateran archives, this study discusses in detail the 30-year campaign for the construction of the tomb & identifies the artists & artisans responsible for the project. The monograph is comprehensive in its stylistic analysis, exploration of iconography, discussion of liturgical practice, & consideration of studio procedures beginning with patron & artist, architect & sculptors, & sculptor & artisans. reveals why the project required three decades to complete. "A well-written, informative, & important monograph. And, in the process, he has expanded our understanding of contemporary workshop practice and art making in the Rome of the later Baroque period. There are sections where the author's meticulous care & insightful reconstruction of events gives the reader a sense of ""being there"" in the day-to-day process of work on the site. These parts make for especially exciting and engaging reading." -- "An absolutely wonderful piece of work."

Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables

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E.S. Kennedy (au). The most impressive aspect of the source material for the study of medieval oriental astronomy is its overwhelming quantity of Byzantine Greek, Sanscrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, & Turkish astronomical & astrological manuscripts. Anyone wishing to assist in building up a precise & detailed picture of Islamic astronomy is constrained to choose his material from amid a welter of easily available manuscripts. Of these manuscript masses it is possible to isolate a fairly well-defined group of works, the �zijes,� which make up the most significant & historically rewarding subclass of the whole. A �zij� consists essentially of the numerical tables & accompanying explanation sufficient to enable the practising astronomer, or astrologer, to solve all the standard problems of his profession, i.e. to measure time & to compute planetary & stellar positions, appearance, & eclipses. This paper is a survey of the number, distribution, contents, & relations between �zijes� written in Arabic or Persian during the period from the 8th through the 15th centuries of the Christian era. Illus. Oversize.