Manuscripts

Tracks of the Preble

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Description: These items include logs of daily longitude and latitude of the ship during several voyages, a list of outfits for the ship, and a list of cargo returned to the Brooklyn Navy Yard by the ship
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1847-1851.
Call number: mssHM 62921-62929
Creator: Preble (Sloop of war)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of John Haskell Kemble; transferred from the Rare Books Department, October 5, 1992.
Associated people: Kemble, John Haskell, (1912-1990,)

Track of the USS Fredonia from San Francisco to Valparaìso

Manuscripts

The track is a log of the daily latitude and longitude of the ship during the voyage

mssHM 62920

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Track of the Sea Witch from New York to San Francisco

Manuscripts

The track is a log of the daily latitude and longitude of the ship during the voyage

mssHM 62930

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George Washington Felt journal

Manuscripts

The journal covers Felt's voyages on board the ship Rival from Boston to San Francisco, San Francisco to Callao, Peru, and then from Callao to Hampton Roads. Felt gives great detail regarding the events on board the ship, fights among the crew, daily chores and duties, ships and locations passed, the weather and sea conditions, and the longitude and latitude of the ship. The last few pages of the journal are "reminiscences" Felt wrote after the voyage regarding his feelings about being a sailor and his memories of San Francisco (including a visit to a Chinese Temple), and Callao and the Chincha Islands, Peru. Scattered throughout the journal are sketches of ships drawn by Felt; also included is a photo of Felt.

mssHM 63174

Anchor Line track chart of the Atlantic Ocean : T.S.S. Caledonia leaving Glasgow at 11:30 on 26 August 1938, arriving Boston at 3:30 pm on 3 September 1938

Visual Materials

Includes latitude and longitude, course and distance traveled, as well as a chart of the Atlantic with the ships position plotted daily. "J. H. Kemble"--signature on bottom of the front cover. "0224/11/37"--printer's note, back cover lower left corner. Single sheet folded four times. Focus of item: Caledonia.

ephJHK 00117

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Cosmographie and geographie: manuscript in two parts

Manuscripts

In the section on Cosmographie, the first plate illustrates the "Systeme solaire" and includes one overlay. Subsequent leaves illustrate various topics: the phases of the moon; eclipses; the northern and southern constellations; an appealing depiction of the signs of the zodiac; equinoxes and solstices; a depiction of the curvature of the earth; and a description of longitude and latitude.

mssHM 81226

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Jairus Beal correspondence

Manuscripts

Jairus Beal wrote these letters to his wife Hannah while he was away on several voyages on cargo ships. Beal includes some details about the places he is visiting and the activities on shore, but most of the details are about the actual voyage, his shipmates, and his time on the ship at port waiting for cargo to be purchased. Beal sailed between Charleston, New York City, Calcutta, Antwerp, Jakarta, Havana, the Isle of Wight, Singapore, and China. He spends much of each letter telling his wife how much he misses her and how much he wants to go home to see her; he often complains about the lonely life of a sailor and the hard life of a ship captain.

mssHM 63367-63403

Tracks of the Preble

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Track of the USS Fredonia from San Francisco to Valparaìso

Track of the Sea Witch from New York to San Francisco

George Washington Felt journal

Anchor Line track chart of the Atlantic Ocean : T.S.S. Caledonia leaving Glasgow at 11:30 on 26 August 1938, arriving Boston at 3:30 pm on 3 September 1938

Cosmographie and geographie: manuscript in two parts

Jairus Beal correspondence