John Wesley Powell Signed Letter To Harvard Professor N. S. Shaler JOHN WESLEY POWELL

JOHN WESLEY POWELL (1834-1902). John Wesley Powell was the first director of the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution and the second director of the USGS from 1881 to 1894. He gained fame for his explorations of the west including his 1869 and 1871 explorations of the Colorado and Green Rivers.TLS. 1 pg. May 4, 1893. Cambridge, Massachusetts. A typed letter signed JW Powell to N. S. Shaler. Dear Sir: In response to your letter of May 1 I beg to say that I think it is best to complete the work in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, where you have topographic maps, before engaging in new work in the States to the north. Yours very truly, JW Powell. During this time John Wesley Powell was the second director of the United States Geographical Survey (USGS). N. S. Shaler was the head of USGS Atlantic Division and a Harvard Professor of Geology. In 1893, he was overseeing geologic mapping of the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations along the East Coast, which is likely the work being referenced in this letter. This letter is in fine condition and Powells signature is a scarce signature.