Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/nz805z70x
Howard C. Rice collection on the Rittenhouse Orrery, 1943-1954: Preliminary Finding Aid
AC066
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Published in 2007.
©2007 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Creator:
- Rice, Howard C. (Howard Crosby), 1904-
- Title and dates:
- Howard C. Rice collection on the Rittenhouse Orrery, 1943-1954.
- Abstract:
- Howard C. Rice was a former assistant librarian for rare books and special collections at Princeton. The collection consists of papers relating to the orrery built by David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) and acquired by the College of New Jersey in 1771.
- Size:
- 2.50 cu. ft. (6 boxes)
- Call number:
- AC066
- Location:
- Princeton University Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Princeton University Archives.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA - Language(s) of material:
- English
- Storage note:
- This collection is stored onsite at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
Biography
Howard C. Rice was a former assistant librarian for rare books and special collections at Princeton. The orrery or planetarium built by David Rittenhouse was acquired for the College of New Jersey by John Witherspoon in 1771, and lost after 1893. After its rediscovery in 1948 and subsequent restoration in 1952-1953, was accompanied by an exhibition presented by the Library.
Description
Consists of papers relating to the orrery built by David Rittenhouse (1732-1796). Included in the collection are letters and documents tracing the search for, and restoration and exhibition of, the orrery; exhibition plans, display cards, and publicity releases; photographs of the Rittenhouse and other orreries; two notebooks, containing a "Documentary History of the Rittenhouse Orrery, 1767-1951" and "18th Century Orreries Before and After David Rittenhouse," with bibliographies; and notes and typescripts for Rice's "The Rittenhouse Orrery" (1954), a narrative commentary on the exhibition. Also included are photostats of manuscript material, including letters by Thomas Jefferson and David Rittenhouse, lent to the Library for the exhibition by Elizabeth Sergeant Abbot, and lists of items borrowed from other sources.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following order: manuscripts for "The Rittenhouse Orrery", correspondence, exhibition material, photographs, Abbot photostats, notebooks and documents.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Restrictions on Use and Copyright
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the University Archivist. The Library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection, and researchers are responsible for determining any question of copyright.
Related Material
Publication by Rice: The Rittenhouse Orrery (Princeton: Princeton University Library, 1954).
Processing and Other Information
Descriptive Rules Used
Finding aid content adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
Encoding
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 created from MARC record via MarcEdit and XSL stylesheets in 2007.
Finding aid written in English.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item; Date (if known); Howard C. Rice Collection on the Rittenhouse Orrery, Box and Folder Number; University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections; Princeton University Library.
Subject Headings
These materials have been indexed in the Princeton University Library online catalog using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
- Rittenhouse, David, 1732-1796.
- Princeton University. -- Library.
- Astronomical models.
- Astronomy -- United States -- 18th century.
- Librarians -- New Jersey -- Princeton
- Planetariums -- Europe -- 18th century.
- Planetariums -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 18th century.
- Planetariums -- Pennsylvania -- 18th century.
- Bibliographies.
- Correspondence.
- Exhibition catalogs.
- Photographs.
- Typescripts.
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/nz805z70x