May 16th Rare Autograph Auction
Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867), a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, headed the United States Coast Survey from 1843 until his death. In this role, he corresponded with many of the leading scientists and political leaders of the day. Highlights of this group include: * Arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane. Autograph Letter Signed. Discusses the instruments used to make observations on the recently completed Second Grinnell Expedition. Philadelphia, 8 November 1855 * Arctic explorer Isaac I. Hayes * Secretary of War Simon Cameron. Letter Signed, requesting population statistics to reflect Cameron's proposed new state boundaries for Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. [Washington], 30 November 1861. Nantucket, MA, 25 October 1851 * Former Secretary of Treasury Robert J. Walker. Autograph Letter Signed. Invites Bache to view a demonstration of the experimental steamer Naugatuck. Hoboken, NJ, 27 December 1861. Other correspondents include Congressman Anson Burlingame, Senator Clement C. Clay, chemist Benjamin Silliman, and Southern poet William Gilmore Simms.
Alexander D. Bache (July 19, 1806 – February 17, 1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mideastern United States coastline. Originally an army engineer, he later became Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, and built it into the foremost scientific institution in the country before the American Civil War.
With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA.
Letters to Alexander D. Bache From : Elisha Kent Kane,Isaac I. Hayes,Benjamin Silliman,Clement C. Clay
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