2022-05-25 Guide to American Ciphering Books, circa 1780-1830 SPEC.RARE.0015 Finding aid prepared by Rachel Hammer Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2022 May This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2022-11-08T09:39-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard American Ciphering Books SPEC.RARE.0015 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.31 Cubic feet circa 1780-1830 A ciphering (or “cyphering”) book was a handwritten textbook for mathematical definitions, rules, examples, problems, and exercises used by students in North America roughly from 1600-1850. This collection contains three American cipher books, each written by a different author. The books are dated approximately 1780 to 1830. (1) card box English Arrangement of Materials

American Ciphering Books is arranged alphabetically by creator.

 Acquisitions Information

RARE.2022.0008: Purchased, 2021 November

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], American Ciphering Books, SPEC.RARE.0015, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by Rachel Hammer, 2022 May; Finding aid written by Rachel Hammer, 2022 May

 Historical Note

A ciphering (or “cyphering”) book was a handwritten textbook for mathematical definitions, rules, examples, problems, and exercises used by students in Europe from roughly 1200-1850 and in North America 1600-1850. Before textbooks became standard in schools, students would copy the information from a teacher’s example book. It would have also covered topics such as basic arithmetic; as well as more complex subjects including algebra, geometry, and trigonometry; and more practical topics like bartering, the calculation of interest, and surveying. Asa Sharman’s book is the earliest dated book. Sherman wrote dates along the bottom of pages throughout the book, which range from 1788-1790. He also wrote his birthdate and wedding date. Cornelius L. Conover and John Eckman do not provide as much information in their ciphering books. A few scraps of loose paper within Conover’s book are dated 1823 and 1824, but his location was never given. John Eckman gave no indication of his date or location. Based on the binding and penmanship, Eckman’s book was most likely from either the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.

 Scope and Contents

A ciphering (or “cyphering”) book was a handwritten textbook for mathematical definitions, rules, examples, problems, and exercises used by students in Europe from roughly 1200-1850 and in North America 1600-1850. The books contain mathematical definitions, rules, examples, problems, and exercises. There are three scraps of paper loose in Cornelius L. Conover’s book that have names, supplies, and a couple years written on them.

 Conover, Corneslius L Conover, Corneslius L Eckman, John Eckman, John Sherman, Asa Sherman, Asa Calligraphy--North America--18th century Calligraphy--North America--19th century Ciphers--Mathematics--North America--18th century Ciphers--Mathematics--North America--19th century Manuscripts (documents) Mathematics--Problems, exercises, etc.--North America--18th century Mathematics--Problems, exercises, etc.--North America--19th century Mathematics--Study and teaching--North America--18th century Mathematics--Study and teaching--North America--19th century Penmanship--North America--18th century Penmanship--North America--19th century Conover (Cornelius L.) 1 1 circa 1823-1824 Eckman (John) 1 2 circa 1780-1830 Sherman (Asa) 1 3 1788-1790