These pages are in the early
stages of development. The content will deal with the early purchases
and teaching practices of the first pieces of teaching apparatus at the
university.
Equipment Purchases
There is evidence (Tradition Looks Forward, The University of Vermont: A History 1791 - 1904, Julian Ira Lindsay, 1954, University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, pgs. 106- 107) that UVM purchased items from John Prince, a Massachusetts supplier and maker of philosophical apparatus. The correspondence describing the items available from Prince to James Dean, UVM's first professor, as well as the bill for the items have been lost since the 1950's. This bill may have turned up in the Samuel Williams papers held in Special Collections at UVM.
List
of Apparatus Click here for a scan of
the actual bill.
Transcription of the above bill.
The following are scans of copies of money transfers and bills for purchases of apparatus.
Compass, chains, and Hadley's Quadrant from E.A. Kutz, 1835
Atwood Machine from William Welch
G.W.
Benedict purchase of a solar microscope, lenses, electrometers, thunder
house, etc., 1836
Transcript of above
A telescope and micrometer from Amasa Holcomb, 1835
In the early 1830's Joseph Torrey went to Europe to buy books and Apparatus for the University. The following are accounts and letters relating to that trip.
Transcript of a letter of introduction and arrangements for credit in Europe.
Account
of money transfers from G.W. Benedict to Porter Denny & Co., mentions
two barometers. 1837 - 1838
Transcription of the above
Teaching
A
letter from George Wyllys Benedict to his brother E. C. Benedict, July
9th, 1828. On
the second page of this letter Benedict describes teaching practices at
the university.(This is a large file)
Transcription
of the above mentioned section.
In 1829, George Benedict gave
a series of public lectures at Gould's Hotel in Burlington. He wanted
to earn some extra money for himself as well as familiarize the community
with the university, and satasfy a general public interest with this new
understanding of electricity. Lindsay (pg 197) reproduces a note from the
Feb 3rd, 1829 Iris , a short lived literary gazette edited by Zadock
Thompson:
| Professor Benedict commenced his course of lectures on Electricity on Friday evening last at Mr. Gould's Assembly Room, and will lecture on the evenings of Tuesday and Friday of each week, (commencing at 7 o'clock) till the course is completed. These lectures afford the Ladies and Genlemen of Burlington an excellent opportunity of becoming aquainted with this brilliant and interesting science, and we are very happy to observe that so great a share of our citizens are disposed to avail themselves of it. Those who attend, wether from motives of pleasure or instruction, will, we believe, be amply rewarded for their troubles. No person can behold, without being intereseted and amused, the wonderful exhibition, of this subtle fluid, in the brilliant experiments which are continually presented in these lectures. |
The differences in the two dates, the 1829 Iris and his 1827 letter below seem to indicate he gave these lectures more than once.
Transcript of a letter to Abner Benedict in which George Benedict talks about his lectures on electricity, 1827.
The lecture notes are still at the university (roughly 105 pages) and a partial (someday complete) transcription is posted below.