Main content

Edward G. Brame, Jr. Papers

Notifications

Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. 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

Edward G. Brame, Jr. was an American chemist and spectroscopist. He was born in Shiloh, New Jersey on March 20, 1927 and spent his childhood living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1948, Brame graduated from Dickinson College and received his master's degree from Columbia University. From 1950 to 1953, he worked at the Corn Products Refining Company as a research chemist. He was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1957. Brame worked at the DuPont Company for twenty-seven years in the Elastomer Chemicals and Polymer Products Departments. Along with Dr. Edward Dunlop, he co-founded the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS) and served in several capacities over the years as the organization's president, secretary, and exhibits chairperson.

In 1984, Brame retired from DuPont but continued working as a consulting chemist. He became co-founder and president of the CECON Group in 1985. As a consultant, he became involved in the study of parapsychology, to which he brought his skills as an analytical chemist. In 1986, he was commissioned by the Mobius Society to study whether the physical composition of water underwent change as the result of healing energies being applied to it. Although these activities may have seemed unorthodox to those who knew him only as a respected spectroscopist, he strongly opposed what he regarded as "scientific fundamentalism" (the refusal of scientists to probe beyond established boundaries). Much of his interest in phenomena like therapeutic touch and eyeless sight was piqued during his National Academy of Science-sponsored trips to the Soviet Union, where parapsychology was studied more seriously than in the United States. He and his wife Grace visited the Soviet Union to work and lecture five times between 1981 and 1990.

Brame was an active member of several organizations: Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS), Society of Applied Spectroscopy (SAS), Colloquium Spectroscopium International (CSI), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Subcommittee on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and the Chemical Instrumentation Group for the Chemical Heritage Instrumentation Foundation. He served on the Awards Committee of the American Chemical Society (ACS). He was also the editor of Applied Spectroscopy Reviews for thirty years, editor of Practical Spectroscopy for twenty-two years, and associate editor of Applied Spectroscopy for five years.

Edward G. Brame, Jr. died suddenly while vacationing in Shanghai, China on September 1, 2002.

Sources

Edward G. Brame, Jr. Papers, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Edward G. Brame, Jr. Papers contain the personal papers of Edward G. Brame, Jr. The collection is arranged into the following six series:

  1. Biographical Material
  2. Scientific Work
  3. Travels in Russia
  4. Parapsychology
  5. Organizations
  6. Oversized Materials and Obsolete Formats

The Edward G. Brame, Jr. Papers were donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by Grace Adolphsen Brame in 2007.

The Edward G. Brame, Jr. Papers were processed by Andrew Mangravite in 2009 and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher in 2020.

Publisher
Science History Institute Archives
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid created by Andrew Mangravite and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher.
Finding Aid Date
2009
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.

Use Restrictions

The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Edward G. Brame, Jr. Papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Collection Inventory

Series Description

This series contains Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s Biographical Material files. Arranged in their original order, this series consists of twenty-five files in two boxes. The files are arranged in the following two sub-series:

  1. Childhood Through Graduate School
  2. Life After University
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of eleven files. These files contain genealogies of the Brame family, Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s academic materials from primary school to graduate school, and his military records.

Brame genealogy - from 1700 onward (Incl. some "Who's Who" data.), 1962.
Box 1 Folder 1
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania School Perfect Attendance Certificate, 1935.
Box 1 Folder 2
U.S. Navy records (Incl. rating description and discharge papers.), 1946.
Box 1 Folder 3
"Life in Baghdad" - a paper written for History 1A, 1945.
Box 1 Folder 4
Notecards for EGB's "Life in Baghdad" paper (Incl. quotes copied from readings.), undated.
Box 1 Folder 5
Advanced Organic 532 - course notebook, 1947 October-1948 January.
Box 1 Folder 6
Lab notebook, undated.
Box 1 Folder 7
Postcards to family members from trips abroad, 1950-1956, 1968.
Box 1 Folder 8
IR Spectra of Inorganic Solids I, II, III - typescript and galley proofs, 1957-1958.
Box 1 Folder 9
"Infrared Study of Some Complexes of the Platinum Metals and Related Compounds" - bound thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1957.
Box 1 Folder 10
Degree, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, 1957 June 21.
Box 1 Folder 11
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of fourteen files. These files contain correspondence, job applications, notecards, notebooks, awards, publications, and obituaries belonging to and about Edward G. Brame, Jr.

Personal file (business) - job applications (In a binder.), 1947-1959.
Box 2 Folder 1
Correspondence with European colleagues, 1972-1983.
Box 2 Folder 2
Delaware Today Magazine - "The Super Scientists" (Incl. a profile of EGB.), 1975.
Box 2 Folder 3
Correspondence - re: Marcel Dekker Practical Spectroscopy series (In 1965, EGB had been chosen by Dekker to become Editor of Applied Spectroscopy Reviews.), 1970-1993.
Box 2 Folder 4
Correspondence - re: EGB's time as Associate Editor of Applied Spectroscopy, 1979-1984.
Box 2 Folder 5
Correspondence - re: seminars based on work done in U.S.S.R., 1981-1983.
Box 2 Folder 6
DuPont - 25th anniversary congratulatory letters, 1982.
Box 2 Folder 7
National Science Foundation - correspondence (re: unsuccessful bid to become a program officer.), 1983-1984.
Box 2 Folder 8
"Spectroscopist of the Year" - award from SAS Delaware Valley Chapter, 1983.
Box 2 Folder 9
FACSS Special Tribute, 1992.
Box 2 Folder 10
Outside interests - church work, politics, music, 1969, 1972, 1974, undated.
Box 2 Folder 11
Brame on parapsychology, 1975-1977.
Box 2 Folder 12
Two notebooks - on spirituality and prayer (Sparse entries.), 1994, 1998.
Box 2 Folder 13
Brame obituary notices (Incl. EGB vitae.), 2003.
Box 2 Folder 14

Series Description

This series contains Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s Scientific Work files. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of ten files in two boxes. The files are arranged in the following two sub-series:

  1. Reports and Course Outlines
  2. Reprints
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of six files. These files contain charts, handouts, notes, reports, and correspondence generated during Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s employment at DuPont Chemical Company.

Course on NMR, MS, IR, and UV - charts and spectra used for problem-solving, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Training - Phase III - handouts and notes from what appears to have been a DuPont-sponsored program, 1981.
Box 3 Folder 2
MS Spectroscopy - correspondence (re: EGB's work in the field.), 1965-1988.
Box 3 Folder 3
NAS-NRC Data Program (Incl. reports from Ad Hoc committees on Interatomic Distances and NMR Data.) (EGB served on this committee during his tenure as board member then Chairman of FACSS.), 1967-1975.
Box 3 Folder 4
ASTM Subcommittee on NMR - correspondence and data, 1978-1979, undated.
Box 3 Folder 5
Beckman FT-IR course notes, company information, overheads (All in a red Beckman folder.), 1983-1985, undated.
Box 3 Folder 6
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of four files. These files contain abstracts of lectures, reprints of articles and lectures, and memoranda from DuPont Elastomer Chemicals Department.

High Resolution NMR - abstracts of talks and reproductions of spectra, 1958-1959, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Reprints of articles and lectures by EGB (Incomplete run.) (Folder 1 of 2), 1956-1978.
Box 4 Folder 2
Reprints of articles and lectures by EGB (Incomplete run.) (Folder 2 of 2), 1995, undated.
Box 4 Folder 3
DuPont Elastomer Chemicals Department - memoranda, 1972, 1973, 1978.
Box 4 Folder 4

Series Description

This series contains Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s Travels in Russia files. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of four boxes of twenty-one files. The files are arranged in the following three sub-series:

  1. NAS-Related Documents
  2. Articles and Personal Reminiscences
  3. Scientific Work Conducted in the U.S.S.R.
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of six files. These files contain correspondence, handbooks, newsletters, reports, and lists of contacts regarding the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the U.S. Department of State.

National Academy of Sciences correspondence and documents (In a ring binder.), 1979-1992.
Box 5 Folder 1
NAS Information Handbooks of Memoranda of Understanding, 1980, 1983.
Box 5 Folder 2
NAS newsletters and forms, 1981-1990.
Box 5 Folder 3
U.S. Department of State Special Reports (on implementation of the Helsinki Accords), 1978-1980.
Box 5 Folder 4
Analytical contacts, 1977.
Box 5 Folder 5
Letters and card from the U.S.S.R., 1981-1995.
Box 5 Folder 6
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of five files. These files contain Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s notebooks, articles, newspaper clippings, abstracts and reports about Russia and its relationships with science and religion.

Tour Speaker for SAS (Incl. notes, handouts, and abstracts.), 1984-1985.
Box 6 Folder 1
"Our Articles About Russia" - articles by Edward and/or Grace Adolphsen Brame, 1981-1990, undated.
Box 6 Folder 2
News clippings on the U.S.S.R. (There were many such clippings in the collection, of these a representative sampling has been made.), 1980-1988.
Box 6 Folder 3
Russia and religion - clippings, reports, notes, etc., 1983-1984.
Box 6 Folder 4
Science and religion - clippings, reports, notes, etc., 1968-1995, undated.
Box 6 Folder 5
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of two boxes of ten files. These files contain correspondence, notebooks, notes, and reprints of publications regarding Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s visits to the U.S.S.R. and his scientific research.

U.S.S.R. - Brame - correspondence, reprints, spectra (All on polychlorals.), 1982-1983.
Box 7 Folder 1
Research done on trips taken in 1977 and 1983 - correspondence, notes, spectra, 1977-1985.
Box 7 Folder 2
Papers published in Polymers, 1987.
Box 7 Folder 3
1990 Visit - correspondence, notes, reprints, spectra, etc., 1990.
Box 7 Folder 4
Reprints of articles by Russian colleagues, 1976-1989.
Box 8 Folder 1
Research spectra, undated.
Box 8 Folder 2
Notebook - "Edward G. Brame, Jr. April-June 1981 and May 1983" (Research notebook), 1981 April-1983 May.
Box 8 Folder 3
Notebook - "Edward G. Brame, Jr. Institutes of Spec and Element-Organo Compounds April 18, 1985-July 12, 1985" (Lab notes and narrative.), 1985 April-1985 July.
Box 8 Folder 4
Notebook - "E.G. Brame, Jr. April 1990-July 1990 Research Notebook", 1990 April-1990 July.
Box 8 Folder 5
U.S.-U.S.S.R. Exchange Program - correspondence, 1981-1989.
Box 8 Folder 6

Series Description

This series contains Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s Parapsychology files. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of thirty-nine files in two boxes. The files are arranged in the following two sub-series:

  1. Water, Therapeutic Touch, and Eyeless Sight Reprints
  2. Parapsychology and Spirituality
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of nineteen files. These files contain correspondence, publications, handouts, notebooks, abstracts, and spectra concerning Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s research conducted for the Mobius Society about the healing properties of "altered" water.

The Mobius Society - consultation agreement with EGB (In a binder.), 1986 April 3.
Box 9 Folder 1
The Mobius Society - "Concerning Infra-red Spectrophotometry of Water Samples, Personality Factor Analysis, and Therapeutic Touch": Double-Blind Correlation Pilot Study-Protocol and Hypotheses (Abstract and overview.), 1986.
Box 9 Folder 2
The Mobius Society - "Concerning Infra-red Spectrophotometry of Water Samples, Personality Factor Analyses, and Therapeutic Touch": Double-Blind Correlation Pilot Study-Protocol and Hypotheses, 1986.
Box 9 Folder 3
General Note

"His avocational experiments were in the field of subtle human energies with investigation into the efficacy of prayer and healing, particularly. After hearing of an experiment conducted at Hartwick College about the effect of prayer on water which was then used to feed plants, he was challenged to discern whether there was a scientifically analytical way to discern the effect of prayer and healing energies applied to water. He began his work on the project and later included Dr. William Tiller, Head of the Material Sciences Division of Stanford University. Together they worked primarily on surface tension measurements of the samples. In 1986, he was commissioned by the Mobius Society to extend his experiments in live situations where the water was again involved.

Briefly, the results obtained, as recounted by his wife, were that the water, in comparison with control samples, gained measurable energy during the experiments, and after several months of storage did not lose the energy it had gained. It did not return to its former state as steam does when it is cooled. The experiments with the Mobius Society indicated that when some measure of healing occurred in an individual, the process took only about five minutes. A longer time in prayer and the laying on of hands appeared to make no difference.

Also fascinating in this work was the conclusion that the phases of the moon seemed to make an appreciable difference. For instance, water placed at the altars of churches on an Easter Sunday when there were large crowds and communion was less affected than water in the same position on the Sunday following." Note by Grace Adolphsen Brame.

The Mobius Society - "Concerning Infra-red Spectrophotometry of Water Samples, Personality Factor Analyses, and Laying-on of Hands/Therapeutic Touch": Correlation Pilot Study-Initial Evaluation, 1986 May 27.
Box 9 Folder 4
The Mobius Society - "Infrared Spectra Alteration in Water Proximate to the Palms of Therapeutic Practitioners": Final Report, 1986 October 29.
Box 9 Folder 5
Mobius - Mobius Society Healing Pilot Study - correspondence, notes, spectra, reprints of published papers, 1986-1987.
Box 9 Folder 6
Water analysis spectra, 1986 April 24-1986 May 29.
Box 9 Folder 7
"The Mobius Workshop in Expanded Human Performance" - course handout, 1989.
Box 9 Folder 8
Overheads for three lectures on water and therapeutic touch experiments, undated.
Box 9 Folder 9
Preliminary report by William A. Tiller on the water samples analyzed by EGB - data and tapes (In a binder.), 1996.
Box 9 Folder 10
Related Materials

See also Box 10 Folder 6.

Water - correspondence, reprints, data, 1972-1996.
Box 9 Folder 11
Wilks MIRAN 80 and Water Analysis (Incl. product information.), undated.
Box 9 Folder 12
Experiments with water - correspondence, reprints, spectra and lab tapes, 1979-1982.
Box 9 Folder 13
More on water (Incl. responses to EGB's Mobius Study findings.), 1972-1994.
Box 9 Folder 14
Healing experiments - spectra and reprints, 1974-1976.
Box 9 Folder 15
Worship experiments - correspondence, spectra, and reprints, 1974-1979.
Box 9 Folder 16
Healing energies - correspondence and reprints (Incl. two EGB papers.), 1993-1994.
Box 9 Folder 17
Eyeless sight - notebook detailing experiments with subject Mary Margaret Donahue, props used, trade literature on instrumentation used, etc. (This was not a research topic particularly dear to EGB's heart.), 1971-1972.
Box 9 Folder 18
International Journal on Parapsychology, Volume 7, Number 4 (Special issue devoted to "Eyeless Sight".), 1965.
Box 9 Folder 19
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of twenty files in one box. These files contain correspondence, publications, handouts, notes, conference materials, and miscellaneous items collected by Edward G. Brame, Jr. The materials have been collected from publications, conferences, and lectures on the topics of both parapsychology and spirituality.

Spectroscopy can? - re: use of spectroscopy to investigate phenomena, 1975.
Box 10 Folder 1
Parapsychology reprints, 1972-1983.
Box 10 Folder 2
Parapsychology reprints, 1983-1986.
Box 10 Folder 3
Reading lists - psychic studies, 1971, 1973, undated.
Box 10 Folder 4
Psychic research - clippings of popular articles and reprints (Incl. material generated by Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship Research Committee.), 1969-1982.
Box 10 Folder 5
Tiller, William A. - correspondence and reprints (Incl. reprints dealing with Kirlian photography.) (Tiller was a Stanford University professor whose research interests ran similar to those of EGB.), 1972-1999.
Box 10 Folder 6
Related Materials

See also Box 9 Folder 10.

Wilmington scientists - psychic studies (Misc. subjects incl. Ingo Swann.), 1971-1981.
Box 10 Folder 7
Center for Frontier Sciences (Temple University) - handouts and notes on lectures attended, 1990-2001.
Box 10 Folder 8
Correspondence - psychic studies, 1971-1983.
Box 10 Folder 9
Creative Living Institute - handouts and correspondence, 1975.
Box 10 Folder 10
P-K Planning Workshop - re: "The Methodology of Unconventional Research", University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware (Incl. notes on presentations, CVs of participants, reprints and workshop materials.), 1982-1983.
Box 10 Folder 11
Miscellaneous items regarding human consciousness, 1973-1977.
Box 10 Folder 12
Claude Foster and Keith Russell - notes on spirituality, 1994.
Box 10 Folder 13
Grace Adolphsen Brame - Evelyn Underhill and receptive prayer, 1951, 1995.
Box 10 Folder 14
"Where Mysticism Meets Science" - Rosicrucian Conference, Rye Town Hilton, Rye Brook, New York (Incl. conference materials, notes on presentations and correspondence.) (Presentation given on the Mobius Society water study.), 1999 October.
Box 10 Folder 15
Exploring psi mechanisms (Incl. reprints and notes.), 1973.
Box 10 Folder 16
Science and religion - correspondence and notes, 1985-1986.
Box 10 Folder 17
"Scientific Fundamentalism" - letter from EGB to The Scientist and responses, 1992-1997.
Box 10 Folder 18
Hershkowitz, A. "Theory of Motive", in Psychology: The Leading Edge, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 340, 1980.
Box 10 Folder 19
Pribam, K. "What the Fuss is All About," Revision ("The Holographic Brain".), 1978.
Box 10 Folder 20

Series Description

This series contains Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s Organizations files. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of nineteen files in two boxes. These files primarily concern his participation in professional organizations, especially spectroscopy and chemistry. Other organizations include Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship and CECON Group.

CECON Group - brochures (CECON began as Crippen Consulting Associates, Incorporated. EGB became President of the reformed CECON Group and served in that capacity until his death in 2002.), 1987-1999.
Box 11 Folder 1
CHF Instrumentation Museum - material relating to the early years of a project to establish an instrumentation museum in Philadelphia, 1996-2002.
Box 11 Folder 2
General Note

"In 1981, the American Chemical Society asked Dr. Brame and Dr. John Ferraro to begin a collection of historical instruments used in chemistry. The Chemical Heritage Foundation agreed to house the collection. At first the task was difficult, with few companies contributing, but within a few years the collection became too large for the space allocated to it. In 2002, Dr. Thomas Porro acquired for CHF the contents of a similar collection which was closing in Europe. That collection, the Perkin-Elmer Bodenseewerk Museum Collection, was a critical addition, making the CHF collection the finest in the world." Note by Grace Adolphsen Brame.

The Coblentz Society - EGB was a member of the Society's Speaker's Bureau (Material includes two society newsletters and Speaker's Bureau questionnaire.), 1974-1976.
Box 11 Folder 3
ENC, Incorporated - EGB was a Board Member - files contain material sent to him by an associate member for possible use as a conference presentation on the early history of NMR (Dr. James Schoolery's spectra of 16-methylated steroids.), 1956, 1958, 1984 .
Box 11 Folder 4
FACSS - Certificate of Incorporation (copy) and Minutes of First Meeting, 1972, 1986.
Box 11 Folder 5
General Note

"Dr. Brame had a penchant for organization. He and Dr. Edward Dunlop organized FACSS. Early on Dr. Jenny Grasselli became part of the committee as well as the first President of the international organization. Dr. Brame eventually became its President, Secretary and Exhibits Director." Note by Grace Adolphsen Brame.

FACSS - 3rd Annual Meeting program, 1976.
Box 11 Folder 6
FACSS - Meetings 6-8 programs and abstract books, 1979-1981.
Box 11 Folder 7
FACSS - Meeting 14 - preliminary and final program, 1987.
Box 11 Folder 8
FACSS - Meeting 15 - final program, 1988.
Box 11 Folder 9
FACSS - Meeting 16 - Instruments Software Exhibition brochure, 1989.
Box 11 Folder 10
FACSS - Meeting 17 - final program, 1990.
Box 11 Folder 11
FACSS - Meeting 29 - photocopied pages from program book, 2002.
Box 11 Folder 12
FACSS - Ed's Exhibits, 1991-1992.
Box 11 Folder 13
FACSS - Distinguished Service Award - nominating letters for EGB, 1992-1993.
Box 11 Folder 14
SAS (Society for Applied Spectroscopy) - final program - XXI Mid-American Symposium of Spectroscopy, Sheraton-Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (EGB served as President of SAS in 1978.), 1970 June.
Box 12 Folder 1
SAS - Presidential Issue, Applied Spectroscopy, Volume 32, Number 6, 1976.
Box 12 Folder 2
SAS-Delaware Valley Section - correspondence and announcements, 1957-1992.
Box 12 Folder 3
SFF (Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship) - Newsletter, Volume 9, Number 9 (Includes "Physical Research", an editorial by EGB.), 1975 November.
Box 12 Folder 4
ACS - a variety of reports and meeting programs (Topics include employment prospects, training, and finances.), 1960-1969, 1990-1995.
Box 12 Folder 5

Series Description

This series contains Edward G. Brame, Jr.'s Oversized Materials and Obsolete Formats files. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of four items in two boxes. The items are arranged in the following two sub-series:

  1. Oversized Materials
  2. Obsolete Formats
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of three items in one box. These items contain a scrapbook with newspaper clippings and ephemera, and large graphs and spectra.

Brame Scrapbook (Contains news clippings and paper ephemera mostly relating to EGB's high school and college years.), 1940-1945, 1948, undated .
Box 13 Folder 1
Large absorbance/wavenumbers graphs, undated.
Box 13 Folder 2
Original spectra and graphs, undated.
Box 13 Folder 3
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of one box of fourteen floppy diskettes. The box is labelled "EGB Files" but no other information regarding the contents on the diskettes.

EGB Files, (Plastic file box containing fourteen 3.5 floppy diskettes.), undated.
Box 14 Folder 1

Print, Suggest