Science collection, 1748-1980

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon Historical Society
Title
Science collection
Dates
1748-1980 (inclusive)
Quantity
2 cubic feet, (3 document cases, 1 flat box, 6 reels of microfilm)
Collection Number
Mss 1524
Summary
Collection created by the Oregon Historical Society containing printed and manuscript materials concerning natural history and physical science in general, and including astronomy, geography, zoology, and other fields related to the Pacific northwest region. Includes copies of documents related to botanist Archibald Menzies, herbarium scrapbooks of Richard Meyer (1871) and Julius L. Meier (1892), and clippings on the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English, German, Russian

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Science collection is an artificial collection created by the Oregon Historical Society from a variety of sources. It contains printed and manuscript materials (primarily photocopies) concerning natural history and physical science in general, and including astronomy, geography, zoology, and other fields related to the Pacific northwest region. Included are: herbarium scrapbooks of Richard Meyer (1871) and Julius L. Meier (1892); copies of letters and documents relating to Archibald Menzies, with a typescript of a book on Menzies by Norah Gourlie; a report on the coal fields of the Pacific coast, prepared for the Foundation Oven Corporation by George Watkin Evans; a memoir of James Burney (1818), who served on Cook's third voyage; copies of the correspondence of Joseph Banks; biographical sketch of Georg Wilhelm Steller (in Russian); and scrapbooks of clippings concerning the eruption of Mount St. Helens in southern Washington State 1980.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Science collection, Mss 1524, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in alphabetical order by subject.

Location of Originals

Originals of some of the materials are located at: The Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland; New College Library, Edinburgh, Scotland; British Library and British Museum of Natural History, London; Kew Gardens Library, London; the Carl Heinrich Merck Archives, Darmstadt, Germany; and the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Acquisition Information

The collection was assembled by the Oregon Historical Society from a variety of sources

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 Astronomy--"Astronaut John H. Glenn orbits the earth for America" (booklet) 1962
1/2 Botany--Published papers on forest botany
Includes papers on botanical expeditions in Oregon and other writings on botany, gardening, fungi, whitlavia, and horticulture. Authors include: George Barclay, John Jeffrey, Dr. D. Lyall, Frederich Pursh, F. P. Keen, and Peter Schutt.
1835-1988
1/3 Botany--R.B. Hinds journals (photocopies)
See additional copy on Mss 1524 Microfilm, Reel 2
1836-1842
1/4-5 Botany--Archibald Menzies materials (photocopies)
Materials were collected by Norah Gourlie, author of "The life and adventures of Archibald Menzies." A detailed list of materials is included in the first folder. Some items also available on Mss 1524 Microfilm.
1784-1951
1/6 Botany--"The life and adventures of Archibald Menzies," by Norah Gourlie, with a forward and appendix by Robert Jeffers (typescript and manuscript) undated
1/7 Botany--Letters from Archibald Menzies to Joseph Banks (photocopies) 1793
1/8 Botany--Herbarium scrapbook of Richard Meyer, and booklet of sea mosses from Oregon 1871, undated
4/2 Botany--Herbarium scrapbook of Julius L. Meier, Portland, Oregon 1892
Microfilm Reel 6 Botany--Minute books and correspondence of Botanical Society expeditions to British Columbia and Oregon, 1850s and 1860s (copies of originals at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland) circa 1850-1870
1/9 Entomology--Writings of Thomas, Lord Walsingham
Includes "On the distribution of the different species of deer and other ruminants in northern California and Oregon," 1873; and "Itinerary of Lord Walsingham in California and Oregon, 1871-1872," by F. O. Essig, 1941.
1873-1970
2/1 Exploration--"Vancouver Island exploring expedition" (photocopy of printed work) 1864
2/2 Exploration--Steller, Georg Wilhelm, biography (photocopy, in Russian)
Steller was a German scientist who accompanied Vitus Bering on his second expedition, 1735-1741, and was supposedly the first scientist to set foot in the northwestern United States.
1748
2/3 Exploration--Copies of German publications regarding exploration of western North America 1869-1871
Microfilm reel 1 Exploration--"Narrative journal of the Vancouver expedition, 1791-1794" (copies from originals at the British Museum of Natural History) 1791-1794
2/4 Geography--"A memoir on the geography of the north-eastern part of Asia, and on the question whether Asia and America are contiguous, or are separated by the sea," by James Burney (photocopy of printed text) 1817
2/5 Geology--George Watkin Evans, "A report on the coal fields of the Pacific Coast, for the Foundation Oven Corporation" (typescript, carbon) 1920
2/6 Geology--General materials, including biographies of Hilary Bauerman 1909-1936
4/1 Hydrology--Comparative water table, "Relation between the Various Datum Planes Used in Portland and Vicinity" 1930
2/7 Meteorology--U.S. Weather Bureau data from San Francicso (manuscript) 1870-1892
2/8 Nuclear power-- The atom, electricity and you!(comic book produced for the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, Rainer, Or.) 1973
2/9 Oceanography--Flyer for illustrated talks at Oregon State University 1967
2/10 Volcanology--Mount St. Helens ephemera circa 1980
2/11-2/14 Volcanology--Mount St. Helens clippings 1980
3/1-3 Volcanology--Mount St. Helens scrapbooks 1980

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Botany--Oregon
  • Volcanoes--Washington (State)--Saint Helens, Mount
  • Voyages to the Pacific coast.

Personal Names

  • Meier, Julius L., 1874-1937. (creator)

Corporate Names

  • Foundation Oven Corporation (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Clippings
  • Scrapbooks

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Burney, James, 1750-1821. (creator)
    • Gourlie, Norah. (creator)
    • Menzies, Archibald, 1754-1842. (creator)
    • Meyer, Richard, fl. 1871. (creator)