The American Philosophical Society Archivist Tracey deJong has finished cataloging to current standards the papers of Duhamel du Monceau and his nephew Fougeroux de Bondaroy, important men of science in Enlightenment France.
Duhamel du Monceau and Fougeroux de Bondaroy corresponded or met with Collinson, Buffon, Franklin, Turgot, Condorcet, Cousineri, Crevecoeur, Gauthier, Louis XV, Louis XVI and many others during their life-times. Both were elected to the Academie Francaise and Duhamel was a member of the Royal Society. Duhamel was recognized in 1728 for his work on saffron blight and has been considered the founder of the science of agronomy. He also was a naval engineer, experimenting with wood to find the best timber for the king’s ships. Fougeroux de Bondaroy was recognized as an agronomist, architect, and natural scientist.
The manuscripts shed light on what botanists in America and Europe were studying and sending across the Atlantic to each other in the 18 th century and has drawings even botanical materials and seed packets. The collection also includes sketches of machinery; correspondence; notes relating to electricity, weather, forestry, ship building, commerce and industry. The manuscripts are in French and Latin and include notes in English that were possibly left by G. Chinard and J. Ewan, who examined the collection when it was acquired.