George Newbold Lawrence correspondence

The George Newbold Lawrence Correspondence collection consists almost completely of handwritten, signed letters received by Lawrence from other ornithologists and naturalists from the United States and Europe discussing the classification of birds and the exchange of bird skins. Some of the folders contain drafts or copies of Lawrence's replies. While there is a small number of official letters from institutions, almost all of the letters are from individuals. In addition to 228 documents from Baird, there are significant numbers from many other correspondents (number of items shown in parentheses) including: J.A. Allen (49); Maria Rebecca Audubon (5); Adolphe Boucard (29); T.M. Brewer (38); William Brewster (24); J.G. Cooper (11); Charles B. Cory (27); Elliott Coues (11); William Dutcher (14); Otto Finsch (25); George F. Gaumer (54); J.P. Giraud (20); John Gould (51); Johannes Gundlach (63); John Henry Gurney, Sr. and Jr. (20 combined); Henry W. Henshaw (16); Frederick A. Ober (47); Robert Ridgway (137); Osbert Salvin (25); Philip Lutley Sclater (100); George B. Sennett (19); A.L.J. François Sumichrast (71); and John Grant Wells (71). Some of the correspondence was conducted in languages other than English. August Wilhelm Heinrich Blasius and John Gundlach wrote in German, Dugès A. Paillieux and A.L.J.F. Sumichrast wrote in French and Jesus Sanchez wrote in Spanish. Only some of these foreign letters are accompanied by an English translation. The collection also contains an inventory of the correspondence compiled by Ralph J. Chodes in 1940.

Box 1 contains 18 folders of correspondence between Lawrence and various individuals and institutions. The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with “Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia” and ending with “Baird.” There is also a folder of biographical information on Lawrence, a folder of two letters detailing the provenance of the collection, a folder containing earlier inventories compiled by Ralph J. Chodes in 1940 and a folder of unidentified correspondence or documents with illegible signatures. Correspondence between Lawrence and Joel Asaph Allen, an ornithologist and curator at the American Museum of Natural History, occupies three folders. Correspondence with Spencer F. Baird, an ornithologist and the first curator at the Smithsonian Institution, occupies nine folders. Box 2 contains more of the correspondence between Lawrence and Baird in five additional folders. A printed copy of the collection’s online library catalog sheet is included in Box 1 without a folder. Folder 11 contains the following label: “Letter from September 12, 1874 is missing.” They were still missing when the collection was updated by Cristina Vignone in June 2012.

Box 2 contains 32 folders of correspondence between Lawrence and various individuals and institutions. The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with “Baird” and ending with “Churchill.” Correspondence with Spencer F. Baird, an ornithologist and the first curator at the Smithsonian Institution, occupies five folders continuing from Box 1. Correspondence with Thomas Brewer, a naturalist occupies two folders. Folder 47 contains the following label: “Chodes’ 1940 inventory shows 15 Butler letters. These were noted as missing when two Butler letters were added in 1989. The letters were still missing in 1995.” They were still missing when the collection was updated by Cristina Vignone in June 2012.

Box 3 contains 28 folders of correspondence between Lawrence and various individuals, institutions and companies. The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with “Colardeau” and ending with “Gaumer.” Correspondence between Lawrence and Charles B. Cory, an ornithologist, occupies two folders. Correspondence between Lawrence and George Gaumer, a physicist and biologist, occupies three folders. Folder 66 contains the following label: “Letter of 1892 cited in Chodes’ inventory of 1940 was missing when the collection was updated by Eleanor Schwartz in April 1995.” It was still missing when the collection was updated by Cristina Vignone in June 2012.

Box 4 contains 38 folders of correspondence between Lawrence and various individuals and companies. The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with “Giraud” and ending with “Nutting.” Correspondence between Lawrence and John Gould, an ornithologist and artist, occupies two folders. Correspondence between Lawrence and John Gundlach, a naturalist, occupies two folders. Folder 97 contains the following label: “The letter was not in this folder when the folder was opened on April 6, 1995 during the updating of the collection.” It was still missing when the collection was updated by Cristina Vignone in June 2012.

Box 5 contains 22 folders of correspondence between Lawrence and various individuals. The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with “Ober” and ending with “Salvin.” Correspondence between Lawrence and Frederick A. Ober, a naturalist, occupies two folders. Correspondence between Lawrence and Robert Ridgway, an ornithologist, Curator of Ornithology at the Smithsonian Institution, founding member of the AOU and co-editor of The Auk, occupies nine folders. Folder 137 contains a money order of 30 Francs payable to August Sallé as well as a receipt of exchange from Morton Bliss & Co.

Box 6 contains 32 folders of correspondence between Lawrence and various individuals, institutions and companies. The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with “Sanchez” and ending with “Zeledon.” Correspondence between Lawrence and Philip L. Sclater, an ornithologist, occupies five folders. Correspondence between Lawrence and A.L.J.F. Sumichrast, an ornithologist and professor, occupies seven folders. Correspondence between Lawrence and John Grant Wells, an ornithologist, occupies four folders. Folder 141 is labeled: “The Chodes inventory lists a letter from Robert Shufeldt, dated 1885. This was missing when the collection was updated in 1995.” It was still missing when the collection was updated by Cristina Vignone in June 2012. Folder 152 contains shipment records and receipts from the Smithsonian Institution regarding bird specimens. It also contains three pages from a “Distribution of Specimens” ledger of the Smithsonian Institution.