January 1854-December 1857
The Smithsonian Years
Editor: Marc Rothenberg
Associate Editor: Kathleen W. Dorman
Historian: Frank R. Millikan
Research Assistant: Deborah Y. Jeffries
“It is now thirty-two years since the first volume of Henry's papers was published. In the intervening years they have become a key resource for understanding the development of science not only in the United States but also elsewhere and particularly in Britain because of the close contacts Henry maintained there. The volumes have traced Henry's active career in teaching and scientific research (especially in electricity) from his beginnings in Albany through to his time at Princeton. Then in 1846 Henry abandoned both teaching and research to become an administrator when he was appointed the first secretary of the newly established Smithsonian Institution. The early battles that Henry had to fight in order to shape the Smithsonian into the sort of institution he wanted and to determine the place it would occupy in American scientific and intellectual life were recounted in the previous two volumes. This ninth volume, which covers the middle four years of the 1850s, also charts another sustained period of struggle for Henry as he sought to maintain the Smithsonian in his chosen form- Towards the end of the period covered by this volume Henry became an advisor to the Dudley observatory in Albany, which was to result in considerable unhappiness. That, the editors promise, will be covered in the next and penultimate volume.” BJHS, March 2005
“The years covered by this volume coincide with Joseph Henry’s tenth anniversary as secretary of the Smithsonian (1846), and the selected documents demonstrate how completely the man and the institution were one during these formative years...The great battle, and Henry’s victory, came in this period as he vanquished the advocates of the Smithsonian as a library, in favor of what were called “active operations”...The published volume is a research source in itself, but it is more. It is pleasurable reading, while demonstrating with special poignancy the importance of ongoing access to original documents—inevitably they touch upon the mundane as well as the transcendent and remind us that history really happened.” Isis
“...Volume nine continues the editors’ exemplary job of applying modern, intelligible standards of documentary editing to correspondence that brings a small but crucial slice of Washingtoniana to life.”
Washington History, vol.15, no.1
“A superb primary source and reference to
one man’s unique relationship to the Smithsonian
Institution, quite literally in his own words, and featuring
extensive annotation to place references into context for
the modern-day reader. The Papers of Joseph Henry, Volume
9 continues to be an invaluable contribution to the
history of science in general, and a testament to the work
and contributions of the consummate 19th Century American
scientist Joseph Henry in particular.”
The Midwest Book Review
Contents and Front Matter (104 K)
In 1854 the Smithsonian faced a crisis that threatened to tear the eight-year-old institution apart when Secretary Joseph Henry
and Assistant Secretary Charles C. Jewett publicly clashed over its future direction. Before their dispute was settled, battles had been
fought at regents' meetings, in newspapers and literary journals in New York, Boston, and Washington, and in the halls of Congress. As the
controversy took on national dimensions, it became entangled in partisan politics and broader issues of the decade, particularly the
ever-deepening sectional conflict and the problem of cultural elitism in a democracy. Volume 9 of The Papers of Joseph Henry documents
this struggle to define the purpose of the Smithsonian Institution, one that would recur periodically throughout the institution's history.
2002, 576 pp., illustrated,
ISBN 0-88135-363-9, $79.95
Prices for previously published volumes are as follows:
Volumes 1—3, $30.00 each
Volume 4
Volumes 5—6, $50.00 each
Volumes 7—8, $60.00 each
To reserve your copy of Volume 10, or for questions concerning earlier volumes, please contact .
For complete contents visit the web site of the Joseph Henry Papers project, http://www.si.edu/archives/ihd/jhp/papers01.htm
Excerpts from reviews of prior
volumes:
The following excerpts are taken from reviews of prior volumes that appeared in a wide variety of journals, including the library journal, Choice, general science journals such as
Science, Nature, New Scientist, and Annals of Science, physics journals such as The American Journals of Physics, history of science and history of technology journals such as
Isis and Technology and Culture, history journals such as the Journal of American History and the American Historical
Review, and education journals such as the History of Education Quarterly and Physics Teacher.
"An invaluable aid to any college library that is concerned with the relationship between science, politics, and the public. Too little is known about the scientific leaders of America, and this series begins to fill the obvious gap. While research scholars will go on to consult the full collection of Henry materials, graduates and undergraduates will find this volume rewarding for reading and research on American culture."
Choice, 1973 [vol. 1]
"A model of what such a collection of papers should be."
Science, 1973, [vol. 1]
"One might expect then that while filial piety might move those at the Smithsonian Institution to publish Henry's papers, the resulting volume would be of small interest to any but specialists. This would be quite wrong; for Nathan Reingold and his associates have produced a work which should be of great interest to all those concerned with science and its development. They have shown . . . the close study of a scientist against his background can illuminate the way science works, in ways that the enumeration of major contributions to modern science cannot."
Nature, 1973 [vol. 1]
"Indispensable reference book for the specialist in early 19th-century history of science but will be of interest to those scholars concerned with American social and intellectual history."
Technology and Culture, 1974 [vol. 1]
"There is no questioning the fact that every physics departmental library in the country will want to arrange for all fifteen volumes when they appear."
American Journal of Physics, 1973 [vol. 1]
"A primary source for cultural history . . . the level of scholarly editorship of this volume is exceptionally high."
American Historical Review, 1975 [vol. 1]
"The exceptional documentary history, engaging and absorbing . . . unparalleled insight into America's changeover from the status of dependency to that of a world power in science . . a noteworthy contribution to both the social history of science and to the intellectual history of nineteenth-century America."
American Scientist, 1973 [vol. 1]
"A splendid achievement."
New York History, 1974 [ vol. 1]
"The series is especially recommended to all research and graduate libraries but will also serve undergraduates well."
Choice, 1976 [vol. 2]
"A gold mine of information and social, scientific, and historical commentary, which should prove of great interest and value to many because of the wide variety of Henry's activities. Reading it is like browsing in library stacks—unexpected treasures appear frequently, making it impossible to read just a little."
Isis, 1976 [vol. 2]
"Will supply historians with research aids for years to come."
Journal of the History of Medicine, 1976 [vol. 2]
"An impressive resource for interested scholars of the period."
Annals of Science, 1977 [vol. 2]
"The editors of the Henry Papers . . . add significantly to our understanding of science, its role in history, and ultimately to our understanding of what we are as a society."
History of Education Quarterly, 1983 [vol. 2]
"A major project superbly realized . . . its completion will represent a landmark in our understanding of nineteenth-century American science and the community from which it emerged."
New York History, 1977 [vol. 2]
"This record of Henry's first European visit has value far beyond the history of science; it is an important piece of cultural history that will be used by many scholars for a long time to come."
Isis, 1982 [vol. 3]
"The most outstanding example of conscientious scholarship that I have ever encountered as a reviewer."
New Scientist, 1980 [vol. 3]
"It is impossible to do justice to the richness of material in these papers . . . invaluable to social historians as well as historians of science working on that period."
Nature, 1980 [vol. 3]
"Perhaps the premier letterpress edition in the history of American science."
Isis, 1987 [vol. 5]
"These papers are a must for any library covering the history of science and technology."
New Scientist, 1993 [vol. 6]
"It has been accepted by historians for some time past that some of these notes contain the most useful discussions currently available of some historical issues. Not only for the history of American science, but also for the history of nineteenth-century science generally, these volumes are an important resource."
Annals of Science, 1994 [vol. 6]
"A unique source of information about the scientific, intellectual, and social history of the United States in the 19th century."
American Studies International, 1997 [vol. 7]
"Simply put, the volume is an essential reference source for anyone interested in the historical roots of Washington's unique nexus of politics and culture (including state-funded scientific inquiry)."
Washington History, Fall/Winter 2001-2002 [vol. 8]
Posted review from Annals of Science of volumes seven and eight. PDF file 290K.