William Albert Locy (1857-1924) Papers

The William Albert Locy Papers are arranged in five main categories in three boxes containing twenty-one folders and one bound volume. The categories are: biographical material; correspondence; reprints; lecture and miscellaneous notes; manuscripts.

Biographical Material consists primarily of three reprints: 1, the biographical sketch from the National Cyclopedia of American Biography (1920); 2, an obituary by his colleague, Prof. C. E. Tharaldsen (Scientific Monthly 21: 478-486, 1925); and 3, pages 12-13, 16-19, in Clarence L. Turner's “A Century of Biology at Northwestern University” (Bios 25: 3-34, March, 1954). All three have the same portrait.

Correspondence consists mostly of letters to Locy, though a few (mostly drafts) are from him. Many of the letters deal with Locy's publications, primarily books and reprints, or potential publications - the longest ser-ies, 26 items, pertains to a Cyclopedia of Biology proposed un-successfully to several publishers by Locy and John M. Coulter of the University of Chicago. This eventually was published as part of Biology and its Makers. Correspondents include J. Christian Bay, William Bulloch, William Deering, E. L. Mark, Charles L. Minot, Charles Singer, and Lynn Thorndike.

Reprints are contained in 1 folder and 1 bound volume. The bound volume contains 18 reprints of Locy's papers (1884-1905). Included here are two short student papers in type-script.

Lecture and Miscellaneous Notes consinsts of brief lecture notes (1901) on the history of zoology and a variety of items.

The Manuscripts Series contains typed and printed versions of books and articles and related notes. These include revisions and carbon copy of submitted typescript for The Story of Biology, related notes, and corrections. There is also a page-proof version of The Main Currents of Zoology. In addition, three full-length unpublished volumes are listed by the Library of Congress as being in the University of Pennsylvania Zoological Library.