A report from the mayor, city council, and various governmental departments of Charleston, South Carolina for the year 1882. The yearbook opens with an address from Mayor Courtenay followed by reports from various departments and an appendix recounting the history of Charleston.
Frank R. Fisher's notes contain observations, drawings, and photographs relating to scientific studies, particularly astronomical observations made while Fisher was a resident in Charleston, S.C., during the 1880s. Fisher, a cashier at the South Carolina Railroad Company in Charleston, was an amateur scientist and inventor who occasionally worked in consultation with longtime College of Charleston professor Lewis R. Gibbes. Fisher's astronomical observations begin in Charleston in 1882 with the sighting of a comet. He also records his observations of the transit of Venus (1883), an aurora and sun spots (1892), and discusses new theories concerning Jupiter (1894) and the nature of the sun's corona (1892). He includes charts, drawings, and diagrams. Of particular interest are observations made during the Charleston earthquake in Aug. 1886 (pages 41-73). Other notes include inscriptions from buildings in Nineveh, Hebrew alphabets, the "hieroglyphic alphabet" and discussions on the Rosetta Stone and the statue of Memnon at Thebes. 123p. Full text.
Pencil sketches and one watercolor, by Charleston-born architect William Martin Aiken. Includes images of grand houses (exterior and interior) with architectural details, gates and doors, sailing vessels and flora. Charleston, Savannah, Rhode Island, and England.
Pencil sketches by Charleston-born architect William Martin Aiken. Mainly Aiken's copies of fellow student's work, drawn while travelling in Europe (primarily France and Italy). Initials of original artist are often provided.
