> If we are talking about the inventor of the miner's safety lamp
> the name is Sir Humphry Davy.
In that case the National Register of Archives gives thirteen
references to collections containing material relating to Humphry
Davy:
> Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), 1st baronet, physicist
> see HMC, MS papers of British scientists, 1600-1940 (1982)
>
> corresp and papers
> Royal Institution of Great Britain
> NRA 9522 Royal Institution
>
> corresp and papers (copies)
> Keele University Library
> NRA 1085 Richards
>
> papers
> Royal Society
>
> lecture notes and papers
> Royal Geological Society of Cornwall Library
>
> 1823-25: letters and reports rel to ships
> National Maritime Museum, Manuscripts Section
> Reference : ADM BP/43-45
> NRA 9518 NMM scientific
>
> 1799-1829: family corresp (69 items)
> Science Museum Library
> Reference : MS 333
> NRA 9524 Science Museum
> see Annual return 1993
>
> 1808-25: corresp with JJ Berzelius
> Kungl Vetenskapsakademien (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
>
> 1816-30: letters to J Buddle
> Lambton Park
> NRA 11184 Lambton
>
> 1807-24: letters (23) to JG Children
> British Library, Manuscript Collections
> Reference : Add MS 38625
>
> letters to Daniel Ellis
> Gloucestershire Record Office
> Reference : D1501,2227
> NRA 11418 Viner-Ellis
>
> 1815-23: letters (12) to Michael Faraday
> Institution of Electrical Engineers Archives Department
> Reference : Blaikley collection
>
> 1803-22: letters (26) to Alexander Marcet
> American Philosophical Society Library
> NRA 9728 American Philosophic
> see Guide 1966
>
> 1823-26: corresp with Sir Robert Peel
> British Library, Manuscript Collections
> Reference : Add MSS 40356-89 passim
There are also another six references to Davy in NLW's Lewis Weston
Dillwyn diaries, plus five references in the schedule to the Vivian
papers.
It goes to show that it pays to search on reasonable (and sometimes
unreasonabe) mis-spellings of names indexes and catalogues. Generally
accepted current cataloguing practice is to use standard versions of
personal and place names, in the latter case using the spelling
used by the national mapping agency (the OS in the UK). Older
practice was to use the version of the name in the original document.
However, very few record offices are going to go over their old
schedules "correcting" personal and place names. To take the example
of Dolaucothi (the OS spelling; the correct Welsh spelling is Dolau
Cothi), a gold mine and landed estate in Carmarthenshire, the NLW
on-line schedules include references to Dolau Cothi (4), Dolau Cothy
(2), Dolaucothi (17), Dolaucothy (17), Dolaucothys (1), Dolecothi
(1), Dolecothy (21) and Dolycothi (1). Other mines in other record
offices could tell equally cautionary tales.
Stephen Benham
Archifydd Cynorthwyol / Assistant Archivist
Adran Llawysgrifau a Chofysgrifau / Dept of Manuscripts & Records
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3BU
e-bost / e-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
tel: 01970 632 870
ffacs: 01970 632 883
<http://www.llgc.org.uk>
Fy marn fy hun yw'r uchod a nid yw o raid un LlGC
The above is my own opinion and not necessarily that of NLW
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