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54 [[preprinted letterhead]]BURNDY LIBRARY Norwalk, Connecticut [[Burndy Library Stamp]][[/preprinted letterhead]] May 10, 1974 Mr. S. Dillon Ripley Secretary Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 Dear Mr. Ripley: For more than a year I have engaged in informal discussions with Mr. Silvio A. Bedini, Deputy Director of the National Museum of History and Technology, and other members of your staff, concerning a possible transfer to that Museum and the Smithsonian Institution of the major portion of the resources of the Burndy Library, presently located in Norwalk, Connecticut. As representative of that Library, I am now prepared to make a definite commitment on this matter if we can agree on certain conditions of transfer. The purpose of this letter is to outline for your consideration general terms of such a gift which would be acceptable to the library. The Burndy Library consists of an extensive collection of scientific and industrial publications, manuscripts, portraits, devices and memorabilia which has been carefully collected over more than forty years. A most modest estimate of the present value of the collection is in excess of ten million dollars. As founder and chief architect of the collection I can state that a major objective of the Library has been and is to make this excellent resource widely available to scholars and the public in the most effective manner. Is is presently felt that this can be best accomplished at the Smithsonian Institution, as part of the National Museum of History and Technology. It should be understood, therefore, that the proposal outlined in this letter is being made solely to the Smithsonian Institution and if the Institution cannot accept, the collection will remain in its present situation in the Burndy Library at Norwalk, Connecticut. The Library proposes to offer as a gift to the Smithsonian Institution a collection of rare works in the history of science and technology, which presently constitutes the major resource of the Burndy Library. It is estimated that this gift collection will be selected from a total of approximately 50,000 published works, over 300 incunabula, 300 medallions, about 2,000 painted or engraved portraits, a selection of manuscripts, and scientific instruments. On a mutually
