Joseph Delafield Mineral Collection Catalog
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Abstract
Joseph Delafield (1790-1875) was a lawyer, veteran of the War of 1812, and a member of the University Council at the time of the founding of New York University. He collected minerals and was an active member of scientific associations in the United States and Europe. This collection includes a catalog of his collection of minerals, as well as correspondence and sales catalogs related to minerology and mineral collecting in the 19th century.
Biographical
Joseph Delafield (1790-1875) was a New York City resident, lawyer, and soldier who fought in the War of 1812. From 1817 to 1828, Delafield worked as part of a commission charged by the Threaty of Ghent to establish the Northwest border of the United States. As a member of this commission, Delafield traveled throughout North America and began collecting minerals; his mineral collection was eventually considered one of the best private collections in the United States.
Delafield was active in scientific associations and served as president of the New York Lyceum of Natural History from 1827 to 1866. He was also involved in the founding of New York University; he served as an early member of the University Council and was a signatory to "Considerations upon the expediency and the means of establishing a university in the city of New York, addressed to the citizens," one of NYU's founding documents.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a bound volume with a handwritten catalog of mineral samples in Joseph Delafield's mineral collection. It also includes correspondence between NYU geology professor John J. Stevenson and the Smithsonian Institution and other documents that reference mineral collections and collecting.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection, which were created between 1842 and 1902, are in the public domain. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Joseph Delafield mineral collection catalog; MC 394; box number; folder number or item identifier; University Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was accessioned in 1985, but the full provenance was not recorded. The accession number associated with this collection is 85.009.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Items were rehoused in 2023.