This collection contains manuscript notes, lists, and catalogs concerning bird specimens. The catalogs are the primary documentation for many of the specimens of the
Division of Birds. Although they vary in content, as a general rule they contain specimen-related data including catalogs of specimens collected, dates, localities, tag numbers,
measurements, and remarks on the specimens. Less frequently, they contain journal entries of the collector describing field activities, affairs of the day, anthropological
observations, personal financial accounts, and other personal matters. Also included is an edited manuscript on Arctic birds, apparently compiled from the notes of Bernard
Rogan Ross, Roderick Ross MacFarlane, Robert Kennicott, and others.
Scrapbook created by W. D. MacFarlane who was a partner, with his brother Robert, in the MacFarlane Old Dye Works in Albany, New York. The book contains chemical solutions for dying textiles, newspaper clippings, marriage and obituary notices, poems and political cartoons.
Scope and Contents:
This scrapbook contain several handwritten directions for preparation of chemical solutions for dying textiles various colors; newspaper clippings relate to a variety of subjects; and several marriage and obituary notices concerning the MacFarlane and Albright families of Albany. In addition, there are numerous clippings of poems and several political cartoons.
Biographical / Historical:
W.D. MacFarlane was apparently in the dyeing business in Albany, New York (MacFarlane's Old Dye Works) as a partner with his brother Robert. Their father, Robert MacFarlane (1815 1883) had emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1836, where he carried on the family trade of dyeing, but also engaged in more intellectual pursuits, serving as editor of the Scientific American for seventeen years. There is little information on his sons.
Provenance:
This collection was presumably a part of the Warshaw Collection, which was purchased from Augusta Warshaw, widow of Isadore Warshaw, in 1971.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu.
A practical treatise on dyeing and calico-printing : including the latest inventions and improvements : also, a description of the origin, manufacture, uses, and chemical properties of the various animal, vegetable and mineral substances employed in these arts : with an appendix, comprising definitions of chemical terms, with tables of weights, measures, thermometers, hydrometers, &c. / by an experienced dyer ; assisted by several scientific gentlemen ; with a supplement, containing the most recent discoveries in color chemistry, by Robert Macfarlane ... ; with engravings on steel and wood
A practical treatise on dyeing and calico-printing; including the latest inventions and improvements; also, a description of the origin, manufacture, uses, and chemical properties of the various animal and mineral substances employed in these arts. With an appendix ... By an experienced dyer. Assisted by several scientific gentlemen. With a supplement, containing the most recent discoveries in color chemistry. By Robert Macfarlane
