- Title
- Records of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (inclusive), Blue covered notebook titled "8 New Zealand / Lord Aucklands Island." WE 5., Blue covered notebook titled "8 New Zealand / Lord Aucklands Island." WE 5.
- United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842), creator
- No place, unknown, or undetermined
- The collection is arranged in two series: manuscripts and drawings. The manuscripts come from several authors and include lists of plants collected on the expedition; some lists appear to have been prepared during the expedition, some appear to have been prepared later. A letter from Brackenridge is accompanied by a brief catalog of phanerogams collected in Hawaii. A letter from Francis Boott is accompanied by notes on Carex and Uncinia. Asa Gray’s notes and his 1650 page manuscript for the unpublished second volume of the botanical report are included. A few published materials, including separates of an article by James Dwight Dana about the expedition and a large map of Oregon prepared by the expedition, are grouped with the manuscripts. The drawings come from several artists and include what appear to be field sketches by expedition illustrators Alfred Thomas Agate and Joseph Drayton. There are also several sets of black and white drawings by Alfred Thomas Agate, W. R. Hutton, Joseph Drayton and Isaac Sprague which may be original sketches for plates to be published.
- 1.5 linear feet
- English
- text
still image
Drawings. - Books and documents
- Agate, Alfred T
Boott, Francis
Brackenridge, William D. (William Dunlop)
Drayton, Joseph
Gray, Asa
Rich, William
Sprague, Isaac
Wilkes, Charles
Botany--Oceania
Botany--Hawaii
Scientific expeditions
Voyages around the world
Botany
Hawaii
Oceania - Electronic finding aid available https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/gra00016/catalog
- The United States Exploring Expedition, also known as the U.S. Ex. Ex. or the Wilkes Expedition was the first effort by the United States government to mount an expedition for scientific and navigational investigations similar to those supported by the British and the French governments. The expedition was delayed for several years because of political, financial, and personal disputes. In 1836 Asa Gray agreed to serve as one of the scientists, but frustrated by the delays and the selection some unqualified scientists, he accepted a position at the University of Michigan in July of 1838. Six ships sailed from the Chesapeake Bay on August 18, 1838 under the command of Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) and headed into an adventure that would be remembered not only for remarkable naval and scientific achievements, but also for scandal, betrayal, and human tragedy. The Expedition ended in New York in June of 1842, but the struggles plagued efforts to preserve its collections and publish the reports. The botanical reports were particularly difficult due to the ineptitude of William Rich, the botanist who replaced Gray on the expedition. His specimens were of poor quality and he lacked the knowledge to describe the his own specimens much less those collected by the horticulturist, William Dunlop Brackenridge, the chief zoologist, Charles Pickering, or by interested naval officers. He was simply not capable of preparing a report. Matters were further complicated by the death of the Expedition's botanical artist, Alfred T. Agate, in 1846. Joseph Drayton, another illustrator hired to draw natural history specimens, stepped in to create a few botanical illustrations. By 1848 Wilkes approached Asa Gray take on the task of publishing the botany volume. Gray negotiated a reasonable salary and convinced Wilkes that he needed to study specimens in European herbaria in order to accomplish the project. The first volume of Gray's botanical report, accompanied by illustrations by Isaac Sprague, was published in 1854. Wilkes was unable to secure funds to publish the second part of the report, although special reports on narrower botanical areas were published: Brackenridge's “Botany: Cryptogamia. Filices, including Lycopodiaceae and Hydropterides” was published in 1854. Other reports including William S. Sullivant's report on mosses, Edward Tuckerman's report on lichens, Jacob Whitman Bailey and William Henry Harvey's report on algae, Moses Ashley Curtis and Miles Joseph Berkeley's report on fungi, and John Torrey's report on Phanerogamia of Pacific North America were published officially in 1874 as volume 17 of the “United States exploring expedition. During the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Under the command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N.”
- Records of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. gra00016. Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University.
- Open Collections Program at Harvard University
- Gray Herbarium Library, Botany Libraries, Harvard University
- 990006033490203941_FMUS.GRA:2556263
- Title
- Records of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (inclusive), Blue covered notebook titled "8 New Zealand / Lord Aucklands Island." WE 5., Blue covered notebook titled "8 New Zealand / Lord Aucklands Island." WE 5.
- Creator / Contributor
- United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842), creator
- Place of Origin
- No place, unknown, or undetermined
- Description
- The collection is arranged in two series: manuscripts and drawings. The manuscripts come from several authors and include lists of plants collected on the expedition; some lists appear to have been prepared during the expedition, some appear to have been prepared later. A letter from Brackenridge is accompanied by a brief catalog of phanerogams collected in Hawaii. A letter from Francis Boott is accompanied by notes on Carex and Uncinia. Asa Gray’s notes and his 1650 page manuscript for the unpublished second volume of the botanical report are included. A few published materials, including separates of an article by James Dwight Dana about the expedition and a large map of Oregon prepared by the expedition, are grouped with the manuscripts. The drawings come from several artists and include what appear to be field sketches by expedition illustrators Alfred Thomas Agate and Joseph Drayton. There are also several sets of black and white drawings by Alfred Thomas Agate, W. R. Hutton, Joseph Drayton and Isaac Sprague which may be original sketches for plates to be published.
- Extent
- 1.5 linear feet
- Language
- English
- Genre
- text
still image
Drawings. - Digital Format
- Books and documents
- Subjects
- Agate, Alfred T
Boott, Francis
Brackenridge, William D. (William Dunlop)
Drayton, Joseph
Gray, Asa
Rich, William
Sprague, Isaac
Wilkes, Charles
Botany--Oceania
Botany--Hawaii
Scientific expeditions
Voyages around the world
Botany
Hawaii
Oceania - Notes
- Electronic finding aid available https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/gra00016/catalog
- Biographical / Historical Note
- The United States Exploring Expedition, also known as the U.S. Ex. Ex. or the Wilkes Expedition was the first effort by the United States government to mount an expedition for scientific and navigational investigations similar to those supported by the British and the French governments. The expedition was delayed for several years because of political, financial, and personal disputes. In 1836 Asa Gray agreed to serve as one of the scientists, but frustrated by the delays and the selection some unqualified scientists, he accepted a position at the University of Michigan in July of 1838. Six ships sailed from the Chesapeake Bay on August 18, 1838 under the command of Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) and headed into an adventure that would be remembered not only for remarkable naval and scientific achievements, but also for scandal, betrayal, and human tragedy. The Expedition ended in New York in June of 1842, but the struggles plagued efforts to preserve its collections and publish the reports. The botanical reports were particularly difficult due to the ineptitude of William Rich, the botanist who replaced Gray on the expedition. His specimens were of poor quality and he lacked the knowledge to describe the his own specimens much less those collected by the horticulturist, William Dunlop Brackenridge, the chief zoologist, Charles Pickering, or by interested naval officers. He was simply not capable of preparing a report. Matters were further complicated by the death of the Expedition's botanical artist, Alfred T. Agate, in 1846. Joseph Drayton, another illustrator hired to draw natural history specimens, stepped in to create a few botanical illustrations. By 1848 Wilkes approached Asa Gray take on the task of publishing the botany volume. Gray negotiated a reasonable salary and convinced Wilkes that he needed to study specimens in European herbaria in order to accomplish the project. The first volume of Gray's botanical report, accompanied by illustrations by Isaac Sprague, was published in 1854. Wilkes was unable to secure funds to publish the second part of the report, although special reports on narrower botanical areas were published: Brackenridge's “Botany: Cryptogamia. Filices, including Lycopodiaceae and Hydropterides” was published in 1854. Other reports including William S. Sullivant's report on mosses, Edward Tuckerman's report on lichens, Jacob Whitman Bailey and William Henry Harvey's report on algae, Moses Ashley Curtis and Miles Joseph Berkeley's report on fungi, and John Torrey's report on Phanerogamia of Pacific North America were published officially in 1874 as volume 17 of the “United States exploring expedition. During the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Under the command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N.”
- Cite As
- Records of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. gra00016. Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University.
- Series
- Open Collections Program at Harvard University
- Repository
- Gray Herbarium Library, Botany Libraries, Harvard University
- Record ID
- 990006033490203941_FMUS.GRA:2556263
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