JOHN W. ALEXANDER JOHN HENRY HAMMOND HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN WILLIAM BARCLAY PARSONS GEORGE L. RIVES CHARLES HOWLAND RUSSELL JOHN PURROY MITCHEL, mayor of the City of New York, ex officio OFFICERS President, GEORGE L. RIVES, LL.D. First Vice-President, Lewis Cass LedYARD. Second Vice-President,1 Secretary, CHARLES HOWLAND RUSSELL, 476 Fifth avenue. Treasurer, EDWARD W. SHELDON, 45 Wall street. Assistant Treasurer, UNITED STATES TRUST COMPANY, 45 Wall street. Director, EDWIN H. ANDERSON, 476 Fifth avenue. Chief Reference Librarian, H. M. LYDENBERG, 476 Fifth avenue. Chief of the Circulation Department, BENJAMIN ADAMS, 476 Fifth avenue. 1 Vacant because of the election of Mr. Ledyard to the office of First Vice-President. 2 The arrangement of branches, with the exception of the Central Building, is from south to north in Manhattan and The Bronx. BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS Published monthly by The New York Public Library at 476 Fifth Avenue, New York City. President, George L. Rives, 476 Fifth Avenue; Secretary, Charles Howland Russell, 476 Fifth Avenue; Treasurer, Edward W. Sheldon, 45 Wall Street; Director, Edwin H. Anderson, 476 Fifth Avenue. Subscription One Dollar a year, current single numbers Ten Cents. Entered at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter, January 30, 1897, under act of July 16, 1894. Printed at The New York Public Library, 476 Fifth Avenue. Edmund L. Pearson, Editor. VOLUME XIX MAY 1915 NUMBER 5 A THE DRAPER BEQUESTS NNA PALMER DRAPER, widow of Dr. Henry Draper, and a good friend and benefactress of The New York Public Library, died at her home in New York City, Dec. 8, 1914. Mrs. Draper, who was the daughter of Courtlandt Palmer of New York City, was honorably associated with the study of astronomy, through her interest in the work of her husband, a distinguished astronomer. Dr. Draper built a large telescope at his private observatory at Hastings-on-Hudson in 1867, the year of his marriage. Mrs. Draper was her husband's associate and helper in his astronomical work from the very first year of their married life. In 1878, according to an article by Annie J. Cannon in "Science," Dr. Draper organized an expedition to go to Rawlings, Wyoming, for the purpose of observing the total eclipse of the sun on July 29. Mrs. Draper accompanied him to assist in the observation. Her special duty was to count the seconds during the eclipse, and it is typical of Mrs. Draper's scientific enthusiasm that she consented to sit inside a tent and see nothing of the extraordinary spectacle. It was feared that the sight of the eclipse might affect the accuracy of her counting, and she therefore made this personal sacrifice in order to assist her husband to a correct result. Dr. and Mrs. Draper lived in the summer at Dobbs Ferry, driving together in the evening to the observatory at Hastings-on-Hudson, for their work with the telescope. In the winter they lived on Madison Avenue in New York City. Dr. Draper had established a laboratory, connected with his house by a covered passage, and in this laboratory carried on work not requiring the telescope. The house, which is between 39th and 40th Streets, was built by Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Draper's father, and it was at the time of erection the last house to the north in the city. Mr. Palmer was cautioned by his friends against investing in property so far away from the business centre. Dr. Draper died in 1882. His widow, desiring to establish some memorial to her husband, contemplated the erection of an observatory in New York City. The idea proved impracticable, however, and she finally decided to found a memorial in connection with the Harvard Observatory. The Henry Draper Memorial was the result, - a fund devoted to stellar research. She took personal interest in the work, visiting the Harvard Observatory regularly until her health failed her. Miss Cannon writes: "The results of the Henry Draper Memorial have been varied. The first catalogue giving the spectra of a large number of stars was published in 1890, and was called the Draper Catalogue. This contained 10,351 spectra. Following closely upon this, came detailed discussions of about 5,000 spectra of the brighter northern and southern stars. In 1911, observations were commenced for a new Draper Catalogue, which will contain the spectra of at least 200,000 stars situated over the entire sky. In this work Mrs. Draper was greatly interested until the very last, and wrote encouragingly about its progress." Mrs. Draper to the end of her life maintained interest in the work of scholars and men of science, and had a lively sympathy and understanding of their work, which led to firm friendships with a number of distinguished investigators. Her mind was alert and eager, not only for scientific information, but for odd and unusual knowledge of every kind. This trait led her to collect books dealing with unusual branches of human belief, with superstitions, and with every variety of mythology and folklore. Mrs. Draper's interest in The New York Public Library was manifested by various benefactions during the last two decades of her life, and by bequests in her will. She was constantly presenting the Library with books, prints, and other valuable articles. The records contain many references to her gifts. During 1902 alone, she gave the Library over 1,200 volumes and about a hundred pamphlets, including the John Robinson collection of literary annuals, and a collection of old English, American, and French almanacs. Later she added the Vinkhuizen collection of military costumes of all nations, and a set of the "Ellesmere Chaucer" reproduced in facsimile. |