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Price, Derek John de Solla, 1922 - 1983 (historian of science)

 Person

Found in 44 Collections and/or Records:

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 File

Brief Joseph Needham notes about the academic career of Derek Price of Hove, Sussex, 1948 - 1952

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/16/101
Scope and Contents From the Sub-Fonds:

This series contains files on each topic set out in Joseph Needham's grand plan for 'Science and Civilisation in China'.

Dates: 1948 - 1952
 File

Copy of a letter from Derek J. de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., accompanying an abstract of his paper 'Mechanical Water Clocks of the 14th Century in Fez, Morroco', 1962-06-15

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/NRI2/2/4/1/4
Scope and Contents From the Series:

Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-Djen, John H. Combridge and John S. Major, 'Hall of Heavenly Records: Korean astronomical instruments and clocks', 1380-1780', (Cambridge University Press, 1986)

Dates: 1962-06-15
 File

Copy of a letter from Derek J. de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., to Gari Ledyard of Berkeley, California, U.S.A., about photographs of a clockwork orrery held at the Museum of the University of Seoul, South Korea, 1963-06-27

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/NRI2/2/4/4/22
Scope and Contents From the Sub-Series:

These documents compliment the correspondence catalogued as NRI2/2/4/5. Occasionally there are duplicates, but these have been retained for continuity of the files.

Dates: 1963-06-27
 File
 File

Copy of an article by Derek Price of Cambridge entitled 'Ancient Instruments in Peking' about the opening of the Peking Observatory to the public in May 1956, and other related documents, 1956-05-04 - 1956-09

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/73/4/1
Scope and Contents

The related documents comprise a letter from Anthony [?] of 'Discovery' magazine to Price and attached copy of a 'Times' article about the observatory and its opening; copies of 'New China News Agency Bulletins reporting the opening; notes by Joseph Needham.

Dates: 1956-05-04 - 1956-09
 File

Correspondence and other documents arising from the death of Derek J. Price, 1983-08-11 - 1984-04-04

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/104/1/15
Scope and Contents Price was co-author of 'Heavenly Clockwork' with Wang Ling and Joseph Needham. The documents include a letter from Anthony Michaelis of London advising Needham of Price's death, 4 September 1983; letter from Price looking forward to visiting Needham and to Needham's forthcoming visit to the U.S.A., 11 August 1983, (Needham notes 'Received 6 Sept. the day the news of his death came'); letter from Christian Crone of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, about the death, 10 October 1983; copy...
Dates: 1983-08-11 - 1984-04-04
 File

Correspondence with A. J. Turner in le Mesnil-le-Roi, France, about the identification of Chinese astronomical objects in the collections of The Time Museum, Rockford, Illinois, U.S.A., 1980-01-22 - 1980-11-25

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC6/10/57
Scope and Contents

The objects include an 'unusual Chinese celestial plaque', a celestial globe and a sundial plate.
The correspondence comprises 4 letters from Turner; copies of 3 letters from Joseph Needham.
The documents also include 11 photographs of the objects; letter from Derek de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., commenting on the plaque; notes by Joseph Needham and Lu Gwei-Djen; a rubbing of the sundial plate.

Dates: 1980-01-22 - 1980-11-25
 File

Correspondence with Derek J. De Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., about the Japanese system of counting up numbers, and other matters, 1961-05-29

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/338/11
Scope and Contents

The correspondence comprises 1 letter and 1 note from Price; copy of 1 letter from Joseph Needham.
Other matters discussed include Su Sung's clock; Price's plans for a visit to England; Price's view 'that Euclidean geometry in the form of Ptolemaic astronomy was a the basis of all science..'; study of History of Science at Cambridge; possibility of Needham going to America.

Dates: 1961-05-29
 File

Correspondence with Derek Price at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A., about corrections for 'Heavenly Clockwork' and other matters, 1958-11-24 - 1959-01-19

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/108/29
Scope and Contents

Other matters discussed include the question of how the authors should be described on the title page; a visit by Joseph Needham to the Purple Mountain Observatory near Nanking, China; a brochure entitled 'A Description of a Most Magnificent Piece of Mechanism in Art', London 1769, about the astronomical clcok of James Cox; possibility of Price's employment in England.

Dates: 1958-11-24 - 1959-01-19
 File

Documents relating to a large Ming dynasty copper sundial in the United States, 1962-07-10 - 1965-06-30

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/71/3/24
Scope and Contents The documents include a letter from Derek J. de Solla Price of Yale University describing the sundial which he viewed at the home of its purchaser, Ed Jones of Los Angeles, California, (10 July 1962). He describes it as 'one of the most beautiful and impressive pieces of art workmanship I have ever seen in a scientific instrument'. There are also six photographs of the sundial at Jones' home. The documents also include part of a letter from Francis Maddison of Oxford about the sundial,...
Dates: 1962-07-10 - 1965-06-30
 File

Letter and note from Derek Price in Holt, Norfolk, about the proofs for 'Heavenly Clockwork' and other matters, 1958-10-12 - 1958-10-19

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/108/28
Scope and Contents

Other matters discussed include the possibility of employment for Price at the new astronomical museum in Greenwich.

Dates: 1958-10-12 - 1958-10-19
 File

Letter from Derek de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A. about an article by Xi Zezong [席澤宗 / Hsi Tsê-Tsung] describing discoveries of astronomical artifacts in China and related documents, 1981-08-26 - 1981-12-10

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/67/101
Scope and Contents

The article was published in 'Isis'. The related documents include photocopied pages from the article; copy of a letter from Price to John Diebold of New York, U.S.A.; draft letter of reply from Michael Salt on behalf of Joseph Needham.

Dates: 1981-08-26 - 1981-12-10
 File

Letter from Derek de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., about possible references to the sphere of Archimedes discovered by Dom. Sylvester Houédard, and related document, 1959 - 1973-05-04

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC6/24/7
Scope and Contents

The related document is a copy of Price's paper 'On the Origin of Clockwork, Perpetual Motion Devices, and the Compass', ('United States National Museum Bulletin', 1959).

Dates: 1959 - 1973-05-04
 File

Letter from Derek de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., forwarding four photographs of a set of Chinese paintings collected by the botanist Linnaeus (1707 - 1778), showing the material on a Chinese scholars desk, 1982-07-23

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/178/41
Scope and Contents From the Series:

Joseph Needham noted on his file title that this material was 'gone through by Chhien Tshun-Hsün [錢存訓 / Qian Cunxun], Oct 82 and checked.

Dates: 1982-07-23
 File

Letter from Derek J. de Solla Price, forwarding a copy of a report published in the 'New Haven Register' entitled 'A Working Model of the World's First Clock' about John Combridge's Chinese clock reconstructions, 1968-11-17 - 1968-11-18

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/107/34
Scope and Contents From the Series:

The documents are mostly concerned with alternative reconstructions of the Chinese water-wheel link-work escapement of Su Sung's clock [蘇頌 / Su Song] made by John Combridge of the Post Office Engineering Department, London and Professor Aubrey Burstall, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Dates: 1968-11-17 - 1968-11-18
 File

Letter from Derek J. de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., about a 17th century Korean clock, and related documents, 1962-01-25 - 1962-02-28

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/NRI2/2/4/4/17
Scope and Contents

The related documents comprise a letter from Jeon Sang Woon of Seoul, South Korea to Mrs. Eri Yagi Shizume of Yale, about the clock; English translation Jeon's letter.

Dates: 1962-01-25 - 1962-02-28
 File

Letter from Derek J. de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., about a delay in his work in the field of Korean clockwork, 1962-06-15

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/NRI2/2/4/4/20
Scope and Contents From the Sub-Series:

These documents compliment the correspondence catalogued as NRI2/2/4/5. Occasionally there are duplicates, but these have been retained for continuity of the files.

Dates: 1962-06-15
 File

Letter from Derek J. de Solla Price of Yale University, U.S.A., about the differential gear, 1972-09-13

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC6/22/11
Scope and Contents From the Series:

Joseph Needham's file title reads 'Mech. Engg., misc > 70 [Dorothy Needham > (contd.), 2nd Edition Material'.

Dates: 1972-09-13
 File

Letter from Derek Price at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., U.S.A., about a loan of £500 from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge to enable the publication of 'Heavenly Clockwork' and copy of Joseph Needham's reply, 1957-05-20 - 1957-05-26

 File
Reference Code: GBR/1928/NRI/SCC2/108/7
Scope and Contents From the Series: These documents relate to the monograph 'Heavenly Clockwork: The Great Astronomical Clocks of Medieval China - A Missing Link in Horological History' written by Joseph Needham, Wang Ling and Derek J. Price. It was published in 1960 by Cambridge University Press in Association with the Antiquarian Horology Society. Material from this publication was also used in 'Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 4, Part 2', hence its inclusion amongst the 'Science and Civilisation in China'...
Dates: 1957-05-20 - 1957-05-26
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