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Graphical element Home > Exploration and Settlement > Written in Stone Français
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Banner: Written in Stone: William E. Logan and the Geological Survey of Canada
Graphical Element Introduction
Interpreting the Collections
The Digital Collections
Partner Institutions
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Introduction
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William Logan: Author
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William Logan: Biography
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William Logan: Documents
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Journals
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Notebooks
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Publications
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Geological Maps
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Interpreting the Collections

William Logan: Author

Photograph of William Logan

Sir William Logan
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To keep his Geological Survey going, year after year, William Logan had to be able to convince the Canadian government of the value of his work. More than merely scientifically accurate, his written reports also had to be interesting and exciting. The Written in Stone digital collection shows that, from personal journals to field notebooks to official publications, Logan succeeded as a writer because he was a compulsively curious observer.

William Logan was well educated by the standards of his time and reasonably affluent. Like many of his peers, he was interested both in private writing as a means of self-expression and travel as a means of broadening one's mind. For instance, an early surviving document is a journal from an 1829 art and architecture tour in Italy. As well, Logan wrote letters to his brothers and sisters describing his exploits and even wrote poetry when the mood struck him.

Logan put his observational skills to good use in writing for business purposes when he was the manager of a copper-smelting works in the 1830s. An 1834 journal, held by the Toronto Public Library, describes a trip to France and Spain, and includes both commercial and scientific notes.

Page from William Logan's journal showing a sketch of a plant

Logan was a naturally curious individual. He collected information about rocks and fossils, but also about flora and fauna
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As Logan became increasingly interested in geology around this time, he began a series of field notebooks recording his work around Swansea in South Wales; these were so detailed that they were officially incorporated into the Geological Survey of Great Britain. Logan's most important scientific writing during this period discussed the clay deposits he had observed under seams of coal. He presented this paper at the Geological Society of London in 1840, and it was later published in their Proceedings and Transactions.

Logan was therefore an experienced writer of personal journals, field notebooks, and scientific publications by the time he began the Geological Survey of Canada. These documents are an exceptional resource because they reflect both the diligent, attentive man who created them and the richly detailed world in which he lived.



Page from William Logan's journal showing a sketch of a rock face on the Bay of Fundy

By the time Logan worked in the field in Canada, he was also a seasoned sketch artist
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