Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm70052837
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The records of the United States Naval Observatory were deposited in the Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1951 and converted to a gift in 1998.
The records of United States Naval Observatory were arranged and described in 1974. The finding aid was revised in 2011.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of United States Naval Observatory is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The records of United States Naval Observatory are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, United States Naval Observatory Records, Naval Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The records of the United States Naval Observatory span the years
1830-1900 and reflect the activities of the observatory throughout nineteenth
century, from its beginnings in the Depot of Charts and Instruments to its
place as the primary observatory in the nation. The collection is organized
into seven series:
Superintendent’s Office Correspondence
,
Superintendent’s Office Administrative Records
,
The correspondence and administrative records of the Superintendent’s Office are primarily of a routine nature: inquiries about astronomical observation; the acquisition, maintenance, and distribution of instruments and charts; the distribution of observatory publications; and administrative directives of the Navy Department. Early letterbooks reflect the operation of the Depot of Charts and Instruments under Lieutenants Charles Wilkes and J. M. Gilliss and contain material relating to their efforts toward the creation of the observatory as a separate operation. Other matters covered by the remainder of the materials are the construction of the superintendent’s residence, the eclipse expeditions of 1869 and 1878, and the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia, which dealt with the second expedition to the Arctic of Charles Francis Hall.
The correspondence with the wind and current chart agents reflects an activity of the observatory which was the inspiration and accomplishment of Superintendent Matthew Fontaine Maury. With the assistance of ship captains, who collected data for him, Maury was able to plot the normal winds and currents of the oceans during different periods of the year and on that basis to suggest the most advantageous courses for ships to take. He entered this data on charts and sold them through the agency first of George Manning and then A. G. Seaman. His correspondence with Manning, which consists entirely of letters sent by Maury, reflects the wide range of Maury’s activities. There are discussions about the production and sale of the charts, but also about Atlantic soundings and an Atlantic telegraphic cable; trade on the Amazon and other South American rivers; a planned expedition to the Arctic by Henry Grinnell; Maury’s investments; his lecture tours; the publication of his book,
The correspondence of the
The correspondence between the
The correspondence and administrative records of the Librarian’s Office are also routine. The material primarily concerns the acquisition of books and periodicals, as well as their binding for library use. There is some discussion of the distribution of observatory publications, particularly their exchange with other institutions.
The correspondence of the Superintendent of Compasses Office is of a routine nature and deals primarily with the acquisition, testing, and construction of compasses, and with magnetic observation, particularly in terms of the problems encountered in such observations when conducted on iron ships.
The Instruments Office correspondence, which is also routine, relates to the procurement and maintenance of chronometers and includes some letters which discuss the calculation of time
This collection is arranged in seven series:
Outgoing and incoming letters and wind and chart agent correspondence.
Arranged chronologically within the groupings. Letters sent to wind and current chart agent George Manning by Matthew Fontaine Maury, and received by him from chart agent A. G. Seaman, are at the end of the series.
Administrative records including personnel lists, memoranda, building contracts, financial records, and biographical information.
Arranged by type of material.
Outgoing and incoming correspondence, letters sent and received by agents for the sale of the Nautical Almanac, and letters sent and received from the Navy Department by the
Arranged chronologically within the groupings.
Outgoing and incoming correspondence.
Arranged chronologically within the groupings. Invoices and lists are filed at the end of the correspondence.
Copies of letters sent in letter copy books.
Arranged chronologically.
Copies of letters sent in a letter copy book.
Contract and specifications for buildings.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.