Gabb, George H (fl 1880-1930)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0064 GAB
Held at	: National Maritime Museum   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/ ›
Full title	: Gabb, George H (fl 1880-1930)
Date(s)	: 1677-1873
Level of description	: Collection
Extent	: 52 items
Name of creator(s)	: Various

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

For some fifty years George H. Gabb (fl 1880-1930) built up a collection not only of manuscripts relating to science, but also of scientific instruments.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

The manuscripts in the collection consist of fifty-two letters written by thirty-seven scientists. They are arranged alphabetically by writer and date between 1677 and 1873. Among those which discuss scientific projects and topics is a letter, written in 1772, from Edward Bancroft (1744-1821) to Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) about preserving ships' timbers from the ravages of 'aquatic worms'. Another, 1823, from Sir John Herschel (q.v.) to Pierre Simon, Marquis de la Place (1749-1827) is concerned with Sir William Herschel's discovery of the distances and position of the double stars and the series of experiments, using binary systems, carried out by Sir John to verify the discovery. Astronomy is again the subject of a letter of 1854 from Sir George Airy (1801-1892) to Urbain Le Verrier (1811-1877) on the arrangement of an apparatus for the galvanic register of observations, simultaneously at Greenwich and Paris, for the determination of longitude. The majority of documents in this collection have, however, been collected for their autograph value. Other than the prominent scientists mentioned above, the letters include those by William Brouncker (1620-1684), 1677 and 1685; John Flamstead (1646-1719), 1695 and 1703; Nevile Maskelyne (1732-1811), 1784; Joseph Priestly (1733-1804), 1772; William Scoresby (1789-1857), 1827 and Michael Faraday (1791-1867), 1857.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by writer and date.

Conditions governing access:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

The collection, including pictures and navigational instruments, was presented by Sir James Caird in 1937.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Edited by Sarah Drewery, Jun 2011.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
2010-08-26