1802 - 1803 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT BOOK OF MATHEMATICS, GEOMETRY, TRIGONOMETRY AND MORE, GEARED TOWARDS THE IRISH IMMIGRANTS NEW TO THE SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TOWNSHIP

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On offer is an interesting document of early 19th century education, an original, handwritten note book covering a myriad of subjects related to mathematics. The owner and creator of this book was a man named Henry Snevely (also written as Snavely) and the book dates from 1802 - 1803. It seems Snevely was born in the United States and lived his whole life in Southeastern Pennsylvania. At the time of the creation of the book, Snevely was almost 50 years old, an established land owner in Bethel Township, Lebanon County. Why he had a book of mathematics is unknown, however, I have found records of a Henry Snavely, who taught at a school in Bethel Township from 1797 onwards. It may be likely that this book is actual not for Henry himself, but for the instruction of his students. Either way, the book presents a fantastic overview of early 18th century knowledge. The book covers a very large range of topics, however, Math pertaining to financial matters is dominant throughout. As well, there are conversions of Irish and British currency. The primary immigrants to the area at the time of the book were indeed Scotch-Irish, so teaching Irish and British currency conversions wouldn’t be too far off. Currency exchange in particular is a primary focus, owing to the large amount of immigrants to the area. Individual page headings in the book include “Exchange” (many pages), ”Exchange of Arbitrations”, ”Barter”, ”Profit and ”Loss, ”Fellowship”, ”Fellowship with Time”, ”Allegation Media”, ”Alternate, Partial, and Total,” ”Square Root”, ”Cube Root”, ”Arithmetical and Geometric Progression”, ”Compound Interest,” ”Single and Double Position,” ”Reduction,” ”Addition,” ”Subtraction,” ”Multiplication,” and ”Division of Fractions and Vulgar Fractions”, ”Rule of Three in Fractions,” and ”Questions for Exercise.” There is a later manuscript memorandum on rear endpaper dated 1829, bearing the names of additional members of the Pennsylvania Snavely clan, Molly, George, and John. The name Martin Rupp also appears in memorandum, and our research confirms various Martin Rupps residing in southeastern Pennsylvania during this time. The book is in fair to good condition. The volume is bound in the original stiff paper wraps. The cover is very worn and the spine is torn and partially detached. There is mild age-toning and occasional staining, but the internal pages are generally clean. The black ink is still bold and easily legible throughout. The book contains about 85 pages of manuscript entries, and the book itself is approximately 90 pages. It measures 12.5” x 8” inches. (Biography: Henry Snavely was born on August 2, 1755 in Bethel Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. “...Henry Snavely was a Lutheran. At that time he was considered a good scholar and is said to have been a hard student, obtaining his knowledge principally by his own exertion. He taught the school from 1797 to 1807.”; A report from 1773 shows his farm had 150 acres, 5 horses, 4 cattle and no servants.) OVERALL: G; Manuscript; Folio - over 12" - 15" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, HENRY SNEVELY, HENRY SNAVELY, EARLY 19TH CENTURY KNOWLEDGE, SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION, MATHEMATICS, GEOMETRY, TRIGONOMETRY, FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS, BARTERING, INTEREST, TEACHER'S BOOK, BETHEL TOWNSHIP, LEBANON COUNTY, SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, COMPLEX MATHEMATICS, ALGEBRA, MARTIN RUPP, PRACTICAL MATH FOR FARMERS, 19TH CENTURY AMERICA, EARLY 1800S IN THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES, CYPHER BOOK, AMERICANA, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, KEEPSAKE WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, ARCHIVE, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNAL, LOG, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, DOCUMENT, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, MANUSKRIPT, PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO, ATTO, VELINA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITTO, CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD, HECHO, VITELA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITO, PAPEL Show more