The Herschel Archive:– William Herschel (Part 1 of 3)

1/1. William Herschel’s letter book. A bound volume containing copies of 184 letters by WH. Most have been copied by CH, but a few are in WH’s hand. There is a note by JH on the spine: ‘Copies of my Fathers Letters 1781 to 1817’. See Dreyer, p. 553.

1/2. Copies of 2 letters by WH on loose sheets originally inside 1/1.

1/3. Six original letters WH to Abraham Robertson, found at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, and sent to Lady Lubbock by H. Knox-Shaw in 1932.

1/4. Correspondence between WH and Prince Lucien Bonaparte of Canino, 1814–18, and Chevalier Alexis Boyer, 1816, with some other MSS relating to Bonaparte’s purchase of the large 10-ft telescope.

1/5. Copies of 5 letters of WH (including 3 to Sir Joseph Banks); 4 copied by CH, the other (1/5.5) by WH.

1/6. Thirteen letters as follows:

6.3–12. Typed copies of letters in the Assay Office, Birmingham, sent to Lady Lubbock by the Assay Master in 1929. (Includes letters from WH, JH and J. A. Deluc.)

6.13. A copy of a letter WH to C. F. Gauss, 1802.

6.15. An original letter WH to Thomas Hornsby, 1782, with a ‘Catalogue of Double-Stars. first Class’, sent to Lady Lubbock by H. Knox-Shaw in 1933.

1/7. Autograph letter WH to Sir Joseph Banks, 1781.

1/8. Forty-three letters WH to CH, 1774–1819. Photocopies of originals in the possession of Mrs E. Shorland.

1/9. Five letters WH to Alexander Herschel. Photocopies of originals in the possession of Mrs E. Shorland.

1/10. Six letters WH to Lady Mary Herschel, 1810–21. Photocopies of originals in the possession of Mrs E. Shorland.

1/11. Five letters WH to JH, 1813-21. Photocopies of MSS in the possession of Mrs E. Shorland; 11.1 and 11.3 of typed copies, the rest of originals.

1/12. Two letters of WH, 1806, concerning meteoric iron. Photocopies of originals in the possession of Mrs E. Shorland.

1/13. Nine hundred and ninety-six original letters to WH, arranged alphabetically by correspondents. (There is a list of these letters, with brief notes on the contents of most of them.) See Dreyer, p. 553.

1/14. Three letters to WH, 2 to Lady Mary Herschel and 1 to Lady Margaret Brodie Herschel. Photocopies of originals in the possession of Mrs E. Shorland.

1/15. A printed letter to WH from Patrick Wilson, concerning engraving on glass, with a specimen of the result, 1798.

2/1. Journal: in 13 folio volumes. (See Dreyer, p. 548.)

1.1. Journal No 1. (1 March 1774 – 29 Feb. 1780.)

1.2. Journal No 2. (15 July 1780 – 24 May 1781.)

1.3. Journal No 3. (20 May 1781 – 20 Jan. 1782.)

1.4. Journal No 4. (6 Feb. 1782 – 6 Nov. 1782.)

1.5. Journal No 5. (6 Nov. 1782 – 2 April 1783.)

1.6. Journal No 6. (2 April 1783 – 24 Sept. 1783.)

1.7. Journal No 7. (25 Sept. 1783 – 19 Feb. 1784.)

1.8. Journal No 8. (19 Feb. 1784 – 9 May 1784.)

1.9. Journal No 9. (11 May 1784 – 7 Sept. 1784.)

1.10. Journal No. 10.A. (8 Sept. 1784 – 21 Dec. 1784.)

1.11. Journal No 10.B. (11 Jan. 1787 – 25 April 1787.)

1.12. Journal No 11. (19 May 1787 – 7 March 1794. In 1918 Dreyer noted that this volume was missing, see Dreyer, p. 548.)

1.13. Journal No 12. (7 March 1794 – 14 Sept. 1799.)

2/2. Review: in 8 folio volumes. (See Dreyer, pp. 548–49.)

2.1. Review No 1. (17 Aug. 1779 – 6 Aug. 1780.)

2.2. Review No 2. (Aug. 1780 – Aug. 1781.)

2.3. Review No. 3. (Aug. 1781 – Nov. 1781.)

2.4. Review No 4. (Jan. 1782 – Aug. 1783) ‘7 feet Reflector power 460’.

2.5. Review No 5. (14 Feb. 1792 – 31 Jan. 1800.)

2.6. Review No 6. (4 Feb. 1800 – 1 Sept. 1802.)

2.7. Review No 7. (4 Sept. 1802 – 27 Sept. 1810.)

2.8. Review No 8. (30 Sept. 1810 – 7 July 1819.)

2/3. Sweeps, made with the 20-ft telescope, in 8 folio volumes: copies by CH of originals now at the Royal Society.

3.1. No 1. Sweeps from 46 to 206. (18 Dec. 1783 – 24 April 1784. In the front of this volume is a letter JH to R. Hodgson, RAS Secretary, 15 Dec. 1863, presenting these copies to the Society.)

3.2. No 2. Sweeps from 207 to 279. (25 April 1784 – 20 Sept. 1784.)

3.3. No 3. Sweeps from 280 to 387. (20 Sept. 1784 – 13 March 1785.)

3.4. No 4. Sweeps from 388 to 485. (13 March 1785 – 7 Dec. 1785.)

3.5. No 5. Sweeps from 486 to 598. (7 Dec. 1785 – 21 Sept. 1786.)

3.6. No 6. Sweeps from 599 to 765. (21 Sept. 1786 – 14 Oct. 1787.)

3.7. No 7. Sweeps from 766 to 953. (14 Oct. 1787 – 19 March 1790.)

3.8. No 8. Sweeps from 954 to 1112. (20 March 1790 – 30 Sept. 1802.)

2/4. Observations with the 40ft telescope. (24 Oct. 1788 – 9 April 1793. See Dreyer, pp. 549–50.)

2/5. Four volumes of observations of double stars, brought together on separate sheets for each star, and ordered and numbered as in the published catalogues. (See Mem., xxxv, p. 24.)

5.1. Vol. 1. 1st and 2nd class.

5.2. Vol. 2. 3rd and 4th class.

5.3. Vol. 3. 5th and 6th class.

5.4. Vol. 4. 145 new of all classes. (See Papers, ii, 614–27.)

2/6. Loose miscellaneous papers, under a cover marked ‘Observing work’.

2/7. Loose miscellaneous papers, under a cover marked ‘Sweeping Concerns’.

2/8. Five large folders of ‘Registers’ of WH’s observations:

8.1. Register of Sweeps of the Ecliptic with the 40 feet telescope.

8.2. Register of Nebulae.

8.3. Register of Sweeps according to the time of observation.

8.4. Register of Sweeps By the Time of 1690.

8.5. Register of Gages.

3/1. Observations extracted from the Journal or the Review relating to the Sun, the Moon, planets and comets: in 14 volumes. (See Dreyer, pp. 551–52.)

1.1. Sun and Mercury. No 1. (19 April 1779 – 6 Dec. 1802.)

1.2. Sun and Mercury. No 2. (14 Dec. 1802 – 24 July 1818.)

1.3. Venus. (17 April 1777 – 15 Dec. 1813.)

1.4. Moon. (7 March 1775 – 9 Nov. 1807.)

1.5. Mars. (8 April 1777 – 15 Dec. 1813.)

1.6. Jupiter. (15 Dec. 1774 – 24 Nov. 1811; 15 Dec. 1774 – 29 Oct. 1783.)

1.7. Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites. (15 Dec. 1774 – 29 Oct. 1783. This is similar to the last four pages of 3/1.6.)

1.8. Saturn. No 1. (17 March 1774 – 2 Nov. 1789.)

1.9. Saturn. No 2. (2 Nov. 1789 – Aug. 1815.)

1.10. Georgian Planet and its Satellites. No 1. (13 March 1781 – 27 Jan. 1792.)

1.11. Georgian Planet and its Satellites. No 2. (12 Feb. 1792 – 25 May 1810.)

1.12. Comets and Asteroids. No 1. (21 Nov. 1781 – 9 Nov. 1811; 16 Sept. 1801 – 3 June 1807.)

1.13. Asteroids. No 2. (8 Sept. 1808 – 17 Feb. 1814.)

1.14. Comets. No 3. (9 Nov. 1811 – 31 March 1815.)

3/2. On the causes and symptoms of the variable emission of the light and heat of the sun ... (Papers, ii, 147–80.)

3/3. Additional observations tending to investigate the symptoms of the variable emission of the light and heat of the sun... (Papers, ii, 181–86.)

3/4. Observations of the transit of Mercury over the disk of the Sun... (Papers, ii, 238–49.)

3/5.1. Observations on the Planet Venus. (Papers, i, 441–51.)

3/5.2. Calculations belonging to the Paper of Observations on the Planet Venus.

3/6. Account of three Volcanos in the Moon. (Papers, i, 315–16.)

3/7.1. On the Remarkable Appearances at the Polar Regions of Mars... (Papers, i, 131–56.)

3/7.2. Loose notes related to 3/7.1.

3/8.1. Observations of the changeable brightness of the satellites of Jupiter... (Papers, i, 585–97.)

3/8.2. Calculations related to 3/8.1.

3/9. Account of the discovery of a sixth and seventh satellite of Saturn ... (Papers, i, 370–81.)

3/10. On the satellites of the Planet Saturn, and the Rotation of its Ring on an axis. (Papers, i, 382–414.)

3/11.1. On the Ring of Saturn, and the Rotation of the fifth Satellite upon its Axis, with Miscellaneous Observations. (Papers, i, 426–40.)

3/11.2. Loose calculations, including some relevant to the ‘Miscellaneous Observations’ under 3/11.1.

3/12. Calculations on the Saturnian system (with a few on the satellites of Uranus), containing material relevant to 3/9–11.

3/13. Calculations relevant to 3/10, 3/11.1, 3/27. Other calculations concern the satellites of Saturn, a comet of Dec. 1791, etc.

3/14. Observations of a quintuple belt on the Planet Saturn. (Papers, i, 452–54.)

3/15.1. On the rotation of the planet Saturn upon its axis. (Papers, i, 458–69.)

3/15.2. Calculations belonging to the paper on the Rotation of the planet Saturn on its axis.

3/16. Observations of the singular figure of the planet Saturn. (Papers, ii, 332–37.)

3/17.1. Observations and remarks on the figure, the Climate and the atmosphere of Saturn, and its ring. (Papers, ii, 360–67.)

3/17.2. Notes and calculations relevant to 3/17.1.

3/18. Loose pages of observations and notes, under a cover marked: ‘Satellites of Saturn and Jupiter’.

3/19. Configurations of Saturns Satellites.

3/20. Tables & Configurations of [Saturn’s] Satellites.

3/21. Calculation of the Satellites of Saturn and of the Georgian Planet. 1790 to 1803.

3/22. Loose papers under a cover marked: ‘Configurations of Satellites of [Saturn] and [Uranus]’. [Note: WH used symbols here for the planets rather than names]

3/23. Account of a Comet. (Papers, i, 30–38.)

3/24.1. On the Diameter, and Magnitude of the Georgium Sidus... (Papers, i, 102–7.)

3/24.2. Packet of ‘Discs Used when the measurments of the G.S. were made’.

3/25. An Account of the Discovery of Two Satellites revolving round the Georgian Planet. (Papers, i, 312–14.)

3/26.1. On the Georgian Planet and its Satellites. (Papers, i, 317–26.)

3/26.2. Loose papers relevant to 3/26.1.

3/26.3. Reprint of 3/26.1 from Phil trans., with MS corrections by WH.

3/27. On the discovery of four additional satellites of the Georgium Sidus... (Papers, ii, 1–21.)

3/28.1. A series of observations of the Satellites of the Georgian Planet... (Papers, ii, 542–74.)

3/28.2. Tables made in connection with 3/28.1.

3/29. Five folders of calculations concerning Uranus, under one cover.

29.1. ‘Last Period of the 1st Satellite’.

29.2. ‘2nd Satellite. Last Period’.

29.3. ‘Identifications of the Satellites’.

29.4 ‘Tables of Periods and of Reductions’.

29.5. ‘Calculations of the Georgium Sidus in 1784 by Aubert & others’.

3/30. Observation of the Georgium Sidus by Mr Hornsby at Oxford 1783 Dec 10...

3/31. Astronomical Observations on the rotation of the Planets round their...... (Papers, i, 16–29.)

3/32.1. Account of some particulars observed during the late eclipse of the Sun. (Papers, i, 455–57.)

3/32.2. A page of calculations relevant to 3/32.1.

3/33.1. Observations on the two lately discovered Celestial bodies. (Papers, ii, 187–98.)

3/33.2. Calculation belonging to the paper of observations on the two new stars.

3/34. Observations on the nature of the new celestial body discovered by Dr. Olbers... (Papers, ii, 399–402.)

3/35. Drawings of Planets. (See Dreyer, p. 552. In fact there are 7 drawings; in addition to those mentioned by Dreyer, there are 2 undated drawings of Saturn.)

3/36.1. Observations of a Comet made with a view to investigate its magnitude and the nature of its illumination... (Papers, ii, 403–13.)

3/36.2. Calculations for the paper on the Comet.

3/37.1. Observations of a Comet, with remarks on the construction of its different parts. (Papers, ii, 498–514.)

3/37.2. Calculation for the paper on the Comet of 1811.

3/38.1. Observations of a second Comet, with remarks on its construction. (Papers, ii, 515–19.)

3/38.2. Calculation for the comet of 1812.

3/39. Folder marked: ‘Particulars relating to the calculation of the Orbits of Comets’.

39.1 ‘Figures for the Observations of Comets to be calculated by’.

39.2. Loose pages of calculations and miscellaneous material relating to comets.

39.3. Diagrams related to cometary orbits, pasted on to cardboard.

39.4. A list of symbols, written in French, concerning data on cometary orbits.