Overview
Papers of German academic Christophe Daniel Ebeling.
Dates
- 1790-1818
Language of Materials
Collection materials are chiefly in German, Spanish, and English; also includes Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, and Inuit.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Box 10 of this collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
3 linear feet (26 volumes in 9 boxes and 1 portfolio box)Consists of Ebeling’s lectures and notes in 26 bound manuscript volumes, chiefly in German but also containing sizable sections in Spanish and English. The manuscripts treat of the geography, history, commerce, and flora and fauna of the United States, Mexico, the West Indies, South America, and the Philippine Islands; presumably this material was drawn upon for Ebeling's magnum opus, Erdbeschreibung und geschichte von Amerika. Includes bibliographical references and, occasionally, summaries of the works of other scholars. Also includes miscellaneous items, such as letters and newspaper clippings. Some sections of the manuscripts are written in different hands; these materials were probably supplied to Ebeling for his reference. NB: Titles given below were taken from covers or spines of the volumes. Place names are given as spelled by Ebeling.
Biographical / Historical
Ebeling was a professor at the University of Hamburg and librarian at the Stadtsbibliothek. Part of his personal collection of Americana was bought by Israel Thorndike and presented to Harvard College in 1818.
Arrangement
This material was kept in original order as received.
Physical Location
MS, pf (Harvard Depository)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Gift of Israel Thorndike, 1818.
General note
Box 10 of this collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. See access restrictions below for additional information.
Processing Information
Processed by: Michael W. Austin
- Title
- Ebeling, Christophe Daniel, 1741-1817. Christophe Daniel Ebeling papers, ca. 1790-1818: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02444
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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