Scope and arrangement
The Charles Albert Browne papers are arranged in five series:
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The General Correspondence series consists primarily of incoming letters to Browne in his capacity as an agricultural chemist. There are a few typescript replies. The correspondence also includes some references to Browne's monograph A Handbook of Sugar Analysis and his biography of the 18th-19th century German chemist Frederick Christian Accum (1769-1838). The letters are written in English and German. The remainder of the correspondence contains a few miscellaneous letters to Mrs. Charles A. Browne.
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The journals chronicle Browne's travels throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific. The journals are arranged into five continuous subseries. Subseries 1, Volumes 1-41, contains the original manuscripts of Browne's writings of his observations in the United States and abroad; these observations include visits to agricultural and chemical sites, the people and customs Browne encountered, and historical sites. The writings are supplemented by photographs and letters. The photographs include pictures of the south and northwestern United States, Great Britain, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Subseries 2, Volumes 42-52, consists of typescripts extracted from volumes 1-41. Volume 52 is an index to volumes 42-51. Subseries 3, Volume 53 is Browne's account of visits to European agricultural museums, 1929-1938. Subseries 3, Volumes 54-58, contains journals of Browne's visit to Australia to attend the Congress of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists held in Brisbane from August 27 to September 3, 1935. Volumes 57-58 are duplicate carbon typescripts. Subseries 4, Volumes 59-60, is a record of chemical and agricultural observations in Great Britain, France, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark during 1938. Subseries 5, Volumes 61- 69, is a miscellaneous assortment of material including duplicate chemical reprints of articles by Browne 1936-1945; a list of Browne's publications 1896-1945, an incomplete typescript of Browne's monograph, A Source Book of Agricultural Chemistry, and unpublished papers by Browne. The remaining material consists of Browne's "Laboratory Journal of Interviews" as chemist in charge of New York Sugar Trade Laboratory 1919-1923. The title is misleading; it is chiefly a diary in which are recorded Browne's conversations with chemists about sugar production. (Container no. 18).
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The Reprints contain reprints of Browne's articles which were published in scientific journals and serials regarding agricultural chemistry and alchemy. The remainder of the series consists of some reprints by other authors. Volume 69 is a duplicate volume of chemical reprints.
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The photographs are primarily pictures taken by Browne of his trips in the United States and abroad and conferences he attended. The photographs of cities, people and agricultural sites are interleaved in the journals. The other group of photographs are panoramic shots of groups of people at conferences or attending large banquets.
The remainder of the papers are ephemera, miscellaneous printed material, miscellaneous financial documents and artifacts (dried maple leaves).