Literary Pursuits

    Entries drawn from collection & document descriptions

Letter from Joseph Priestley to John Edwards
October 16, 1792

Dr. Joseph Priestley writes to Rev. John Edwards and discusses their recent publications as well as a publication that they are both working on. "I have read 40 pages of your fourth no., and am surprised that any person should object to its publication," as Priestley explains. Transcript...

Location: MC 1998.1, B1, F11

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Science and Technology

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1780-1799

Letter from Charles Nisbet to William Young
November 21, 1792

Charles Nisbet writes to bookseller William Young regarding a packet from an unspecified Mr. Wilson with two letters for Europe. Nisbet also asks for a paper, discusses Carlisle weather, and speculates about the French Revolution.

Letter from Charles Nisbet to Jonathan Ingham
January 14, 1793

Dickinson College President Charles Nisbet writes to Dr. Jonathan Ingham of Bucks County, Pennsylvania with reflections on education, politics, international affairs, as well as other contemporary American issues. Transcript included.

Letter from Timothy Pickering to Charles Hall
August 1, 1799

Secretary of State Timothy Pickering writes Charles Hall of Sunbury regarding Joseph Priestley's "unpardonable" conduct and the receipt of "Mr. [Thomas] Cooper's mischievous address." Pickering notes his opposition to their "meddling with our government." Cooper had published material in which...

Location: I-WilliamsC-1956-9

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1780-1799

Letter from Charles Nisbet to William Young
August 21, 1800

Charles Nisbet writes bookseller William Young to discuss various political and religious events in France, Ireland, and the United States. Nisbet mentions Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson, Mathew Carey, James Napper Tandy, Joseph Priestley, and others. "It is not probable that [France]...

Letter from Joseph Priestley to Matthew Carey
April 2, 1802

Joseph Priestley writes to Matthew Carey, sending corrections for a draft of his book Church History.

Location: I-Friends-1995-4

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1800-1819

Letter from Joseph Priestley to Matthew Carey
April 5, 1802

Joseph Priestley writes to Matthew Carey with proof of the Chart and corrections to Priestley's pamphlet Church History. Priestley also asks that the pamphlets are not advertised immediately. Transcript included.

Location: I-SpahrB-undated-2

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1800-1819

Letter from Joseph Priestley to John Evans
January 8, 1803

Joseph Priestley writes to Rev. John Evans in London, thanking him for his "valuable book." Priestley sends a tract on baptism in return. Transcript included.

Location: I-Friends-1990-5

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1800-1819

Letter from Joseph Priestley to John Vaughan
December 26, 1803

Joseph Priestley sends instructions for printing his manuscript (Index to the Bible) and orders several copies of his Church History and Lectures. Priestley also tells John Vaughan that he is out of oysters. While "the oysters have been of great service to me,"...

Location: I-NeffG-1956-1

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1800-1819

Letter from Charles Keith to Anne Nisbet
July 11, 1805

Charles Keith writes to Anne Nisbet regarding the death of her husband. "One of the best of Men is forever lost to his Friends and Mankind," as Keith observes. Keith also explains his decision to write Monody to the Memory of the Rev. Dr Charles Nisbet and asks that the Nisbet family "...

Location: I-TurnbullM-undated-1

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1800-1819

Letter from Robert Waln Jr. to Samuel Sitgreaves
May 24, 1824

Author Robert Waln, Jr. writes Pennsylvania politician Samuel Sitgreaves to ask for information about the life of James Wilson for a book entitled Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Waln poses nine questions to Sitgreaves regarding Wilson's personal and...

Letter from Richard Rush to Mr. Force
June 7, 1830

Richard Rush writes to an unspecified Mr. Force requesting a few "Abroad and at Home" pamphlets. Rush also wanted to settle any outstanding debts with Force before he left Washington. Transcript included.

Location: I-Friends-1976-7

Subject: Economics and Finance, Literary Pursuits

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1820-1839

Letter from James Buchanan to Hugh Hamilton
February 12, 1831

Representative James Buchanan writes to Hugh Hamilton and regarding Hamilton's mistake in publishing Buchanan's letters in the New York Inquirer. Even though Hamilton "transposed the order of time in which they were written and omitted that portion of the letter in regard to myself...

Location: MC 1998.10, B1, F11

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1820-1839

"Suicide," by A. Herr Smith
July 9, 1840

A. Herr Smith prepared this oration, entitled “Suicide," for the commencement ceremonies held July 9, 1840. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1840-S642s

Subject: Health and Medicine, Literary Pursuits

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

"The Influence of Literature Upon Morality," by Samuel G. Hare
July 9, 1840

Samuel George Hare prepared this oration, entitled “The Influence of Literature Upon Morality," for the commencement ceremonies held July 9, 1840. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1840-H275i

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

"The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth," by Samuel A. Harrison
July 9, 1840

Samuel A. Harrison prepared this oration, entitled “The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth," for the commencement ceremonies held July 9, 1840. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1840-H322l

Subject: Education, Literary Pursuits

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

"The Past," by Henry Augustus Muhlenberg
July 9, 1840

Henry Augustus Muhlenberg prepared this oration, entitled “The Past," for the commencement ceremonies held July 9, 1840. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1840-M952p

Subject: Education, Literary Pursuits

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

"Deficiency of Literature," by Wilson L. Spottswood
July 8, 1841

Wilson Lee Spottswood prepared this oration, entitled “Deficiency of Literature," for the commencement ceremonies held July 8, 1841. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1841-S765d

Subject: Education, Literary Pursuits

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Samuel Hood
December 14, 1844

Senator James Buchanan writes a brief letter to Samuel Hood acknowledging the receipt of Hood's book, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Buchanan states that the book "has a peculiar interest for [him]; as [he is] the son of a native of the Emerald Isle who emigrated to this country......

Location: MC 1998.10, B2, F8

Subject: Genealogy and Family History, Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from Richard Rush to Thomas Aspinwall
June 10, 1845

Richard Rush writes Colonel Thomas Aspinwall to discuss the publication of the English edition of his book, Memoirs of a Residence at the Court of London, which contains "important additions and corrections" that were missing from the Philadelphia edition. Rush does not reflect on his...

Location: I-SellersC-1973-2

Subject: Literary Pursuits

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from Richard Rush to Thomas Aspinwall
June 14, 1845

Diplomat and politician Richard Rush writes to Colonel Thomas Aspinwall, discussing the upcoming publication of Aspinwall's book in Philadelphia, the possibility of publishing a second edition in London, and the reproduction of excerpts in Philadelphia newspapers.

Location: I-Friends-1976-10

Subject: Business and Industry, Literary Pursuits

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Sarah Maury
January 28, 1847

Secretary of State James Buchanan writes to Sarah Maury and asks her to not publish two of his private letters. "If in their publication, you should state that this was done by my permission," Buchanan explains that "it would look like a preconcerted effort to bring my name before the Public...

Location: MC 1998.10, B2, F15

Subject: Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from Henry Dallam to W. Boyd Williams
October 5, 1847

Henry Clay Dallam (Class of 1848) asks William Boyd Williams "to procure for me 'a literal translation of the Plays of Sophocles'" and to mail it to Dickinson. "I have a large amount of extra study to do" and, as Dallam explains, "I am anxious to have every facility." Transcript included.

Collegian (Vol. 1, No. 1)
March 1849

The first issue of the Collegian, Dickinson College's first monthly literary publication. Includes "Nationality," "Machine for Grinding Poetry," "Love in College," "Translation of Cleanthe's Hymn to Jupiter," and "The Spartan Youth."

The Belles Lettres and Union Philosophical...

Location: Dickinsoniana Periodicals

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Literary Pursuits

Format: Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1840-1859

Collegian (Vol. 1, No. 2)
April 1849

The second issue of the Collegian, Dickinson College's first monthly literary publication. Includes "The Tyrol," "Love and Scholarship," "Communings with the Departed," "The Song of the Wind," "War," and "Ernest Maltravers."

The Belles Lettres and Union Philosophical Societies...

Location: Dickinsoniana Periodicals

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Literary Pursuits

Format: Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1840-1859

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