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C. A. Young Collection

Notifications

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Young, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1834-1908

A professor of astronomy at Princeton (1877-1905) and the first director of its Observatory, C. A. Young was an authority on the sun and a pioneer in spectrum analysis.

The collection consists, for the most part, of letters written to Young by other astronomers, such as N. M. Paul of the United States Naval Observatory and Leonard Waldo of Harvard, and by clock, astronomical, and scientific instrument manufacturers, including Howard Grubb, Fauth and Co., E. Howard and Co., and Edward Kahler. In addition, there are some drawings of astronomical instruments and a few bank books.

Further accessions include measures (1879) of the polar and equatorial diameters of the planet Mars by Prof. Young at the Observatory of the John C. Green School of Science, Princeton University, and an autograph manuscript with 12 sheets of figures on graph paper from the G. P. Kuiper Scientific Collection. Also included are letters from Simon Newcomb concerning discussions with Stephen H. Emmens in February and March 1897, and two letters from Young to Stephen Alexander discussing equipment for the astronomical observatory to be built on the "Olden lot" on Prospect Ave. in Princeton.

Arranged in alphabetical order.

The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family or subject.

The manuscript, charts, and graphs, were a gift of Mrs. Sarah Kuiper Roth, on August 20, 1979.

A list (2 pp.) of correspondents is available in the Dept.

Folder inventory prepared by Feng Zhu '2014 in 2011.

No appraisal information is available.

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Date
2008
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.

Collection Inventory

Correspondence: Alexander, Stephen, 1877-1883. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: A - B, 1877-1879. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: C - H, 1877-1885. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: A. Clark & Sons, 1876-1878. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: Fauth & Co, 1877-1879. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Correspondence: Grubb, Howard, 1877-1878. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: H - M, 1876-1879. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: E. Howard & Co, 1877-1879. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Correspondence: Kahler, Edward, 1877-1878. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: Newcomb, Simon, 1897 February-March. 1 folder.
Scope and Contents

ALS and LS to Charles Augustus Young from S. Newcomb.

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: Paul, N. M. (US Naval Observatory), 1878-1880. 2 folders.
Scope and Contents

Includes 3 charts concerning stars.

Physical Description

2 folders

Miscellaneous Correspondence and Papers, 1877-1898. 1 folder.
Scope and Contents

Includes maps, lists, checks and formulas.

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: Suppliers of Equipment, 1877-1879. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: T - Z, 1873-1880. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence: Waldo, Leonard, 1877. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

"Measures of the Polar and Equatorial Diameters of the Planet Mars", 1879 November. 1 folder.
Scope and Contents

AMs of lecture delivered at the Observatory of the John C. Green School of Science, Princeton University.

Physical Description

1 folder

Early spectroscopic plates, undated. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

Includes spectrograms of the Sun taken by Professor Young. Some of the spectra were taken lit at the solar limb and show prominences. A few of the plates have been labeled by Professor Young who scratched writing on them with a diamond. These plates were mostly taken about 1890.

Physical Description

1 box

Photograph of Solar Prominences, 1870 September 28. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

Inscription in Young's handwriting. Spectrograph taken with wide slit. Possibly one of the earliest photographs of the sun.

Physical Description

1 box

G.P. Kuiper Scientific Collection Autograph Manuscript Autograph Manuscript, undated. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

Includes 12 sheets of figures on graph paper from the G.P. Kuiper Scientific Collection.

Physical Description

1 box

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