SCIENTIFIC

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. On aged paper, with minor damp staining. If the recipient has 'come home' he invites him to dine. 'We have already such a preponderance of the female sex, from ladies staying here, that I am sorry we cannot ask any more.' If his son is 'still at Sandridge instead of you we shall be glad to have him as your locum tenertem here also'. He is directing the letter 'accordingly', 'but out of the multitude of your name in Crockford [the clerical directory] I dare not make a shot at his Christian name'.

1p., small 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, with light signs of age. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with remains of red wax seal, to 'Mr Booth | Duke street'. It is his intention 'to go abroad and not to keep the house longer than Ii am obliged', so he asks Booth if he will 'put up a bill that the house is to be let. it is understood that, if no one will take it before february, I must pay the rent.' He asks if Booth knows 'any poor family in whom you have confidence and who would be glad to live in it till it is let again', suggesting 'the same family who was in it before me'.

English electronic engineer (1849-1945), inventor of thermionic valve. Widely considered to be 'the founder of electronics'. All three items good though grubby and on slightly discoloured paper. Item three dog-eared and grubby in top left-hand corner. All signed 'J. A. Fleming' and bearing the Society's stamp. ITEM ONE (two pages, quarto, 15 November 1915, University College, Gower St, to Wood, docketed): On the subject of a paper he proposes to give to the Society entitled 'The Organisation of Scientific Research'.

6 + [1] pp., folio. On two bifoliums stitched together with black thread. Laid out in the customary legal style, with embossed tax stamp. Unsigned. The agreement is 'Between The Reverend Henry Highton of the Cedars, Putney, in the County of Surrey, Clerk, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Patentee') of the one part and William Henry Allcard of New Burlington Street in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, and George Frederick Smith of Golden Square in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, of the other part'.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with one short closed tear along a fold. Mounted on piece of grey paper. On opening a letter, which he is forwarding, he finds that it was 'addressed at the Bottom to Dr Bliss & on the Cover directed to Dr Bandinel'.

2pp., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. On two leaves stapled together. The letterhead, printed in red, is a cartoon portrait of the artist with palette and brush, pointing to the address on a blackboard. A long chatty letter, listing the titles and prices of an order Malcolm has made, describing his activities at a time when he is 'pushed like mad', arranging an 'interview for ERG', discribing the contents of the four albums of his stamp collecting ('I wouldn't call myself a philatelist . . . .

16pp., 4to. Unbound and unstitched pamphlet. On aged and worn paper. The first page has the Wesley stamp, and is headed 'Specimen Of First Seven Plates' It also carries nine lines describing the 'object of the author'. The seven plates are accompanied by captions, and there is also an explanation regarding them.

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. He explains his 'great and chief excuse' for breaking his promise to call on her that morning. 'The fact is I have to give an address on Monday evening as President of the Society of Chemical Industry'.

1p., 8vo. In very good condition. Page with reference at foot: 'SCHEDULE.ACC 28 Aug 95', headed with printed list, divided into four sections: 'Completed' (5 items beginning with 'Message to Future Mars Colonists (Video: Russian Lander, 96)'), 'Contracted' (5 items beginning with 'S.E. Asia Information Conference (Keynote: Colombo 5 Sept)'), 'Optioned' (5 items beginning with 'The Hammer of God (Spielberg, Zanuck, Brown - Paramount)'), and 'Under Discussion' (7 items beginning with 'Telecom 95 (ITU, Geneva 3-11 Oct)'). Clarke's autograph note reads: 'Dear Malcolm [sic] - photo herewith!

The Patent Office - now the Intellectual Property Office - was established by the Patent Law Amendment Act of 1852, which simplified the procedure for obtaining patents of invention and reduced costs. In 1883 another Act of Parliament brought into being the office of Comptroller General of Patents, with, according to the National Archives, 'a staff of patent examiners to carry out a limited form of examination; mainly to ensure that the specification described the invention properly, but without any investigation into novelty'.

1p., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged grey paper, laid down on paper mount, and slighty discoloured by glue used. He apologises for being unable to provide him with the desired order, 'but on any particular day you may require one I shall be glad to assist you as far as I can'. He suggests that they speak 'after lecture'. In a contemporary hand, written at foot of mount: 'Professor Robert Bentley F.L.S. (Professor of Botany) Author | born 1821.'

ONE: Typescripts of 13 radio talks. 65pp., 4to. On loose leaves. Titles: 1, 'Our Earth in Space'; 2, 'Dreams of other Worlds'; 3, 'Rockets into Space'; 4, 'Man-made Moons'; 5, 'Man in Space'; 6, 'Space Research and Ourselves'; 7, 'Contact with the Moon'; 8, '"One small Step . . . ."'; 9, 'Space Stations and Lunar Bases'; 10, 'Mariners to Mars'; 11, 'Into the Hot Regions'; 12, 'The Grand Tour'; 13, 'Flight to the Stars'. TWO: Typed Note, signed on behalf of T. Van Heerden, Head of External Services, SABC. 16 March 1972.

Collection of eleven items. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. ONE: Typescripts of 13 radio talks. 65pp., 4to. On loose leaves. Titles: 1, 'Our Earth in Space'; 2, 'Dreams of other Worlds'; 3, 'Rockets into Space'; 4, 'Man-made Moons'; 5, 'Man in Space'; 6, 'Space Research and Ourselves'; 7, 'Contact with the Moon'; 8, '"One small Step . . . ."'; 9, 'Space Stations and Lunar Bases'; 10, 'Mariners to Mars'; 11, 'Into the Hot Regions'; 12, 'The Grand Tour'; 13, 'Flight to the Stars'. With a few manuscript emendations by Moore in black felt-tip pen, and other editorial emendations.

In two columns, on one side of piece of 50 x 30.5 cm paper. Aged and worn, with chipping and loss to margins. Two pencil notes in margin: 'this was ommitted [sic]' and 'the truth acquired mostly forgotten'. Clearly not intended for publication, and apparently the advice of a knowledgeable and well-educated man of scientific bent to his family, regarding the future of 'Charlie' (his grandson?). A reference to Clifton College may suggest a West Country origin. The piece begins: 'The subject of Education is in a great state of confusion, and great diversities of opinion exist about it.

31 + [1]pp., 12mo. Disbound. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. No copy of the present item traced, either on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat, or in the Bibliothèque Nationale, but WorldCat does record one copy of ''La Vérité sur le remède d'Abyssinie poudre antiasthmatique' by Hugues Clery (Marseilles, 1874).

Papert has been described by by Marvin Minsky as 'the greatest living mathematics educator'. At the time of this paper he was studying for a PhD at Cambridge University and living in London, where he was a leading figure in the revolutionary socialist circle centred on the magazine 'Socialist Review'. 9pp., 8vo. On nine leaves stapled together. In fair condition, aged and worn, with creasing to last couple of leaves. Divided into three parts: '1. Propriétés des treillis des ouverts et représentation des treillis comme treillis d'ouverts; | 2.

Pp, [1]-81[82], folio, unbound as issued, stitched, p.[82] being a sort of title, minor wear and tear to outer leaves, mainly good condition. P.[1] signed by the Chairman of the Select Committee, E.A. Sanford, M.P., writing boldly to p.[82] "My Papers & Mem's as Chairman of the Civil List Pension Committee", and adding a few words of information to the margin of p.52.

1p., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. He thanks him for his reply to his 'plea for assistance in connexion with the possible publication by a foreign press of my history of Plague'. He had 'no intention' in writing 'of soliciting any financial aid from the Society, because any such solicitation would have been an impertinence on my part.' He would need £20,000 to have the book 'privately printed by one of the smaller English presses, such as Messrs.

6pp., 8vo, followed by one lithographic plate by Waterlow & Sons. Stitched. In blue printed wraps. Aged and creased, with minor staining; in worn wraps,and with some underlining in ink on second page.

A substantial run of a historic scientific journal, at a significant period in its history, with the theory of Evolution occasioning an upheaval of received ideas. 153 numbers, dating from the first number of 1 Feb. 1845 to that of 1 Nov. 1901, with a single subsequent number (Feb. 1911). (Numbers were generally arranged in yearly 'Volumes', with occasional additional numbers (for example 120* and 200a and 200b). All issues 8vo, with numbers of pages varying from around 60 to upwards of 20. The full number and date range are as follows: 1-4 [1 Feb. 1845 to 1 Nov. 1845], 9 [1 Feb.

2pp., 4to. 36 closely-written lines of text. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Addressed, with 'NISMES' postmark, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Monsieur L'abbé Pourret | membre de plusieurs academies | à Narbonne'. The letter begins: 'il est bien tems me direz vous mon cher collegue que je vous donne de mes nouvelles, et surtout des plantes que que j'ai reçues de votre part'. He proceeds to give a detailed report, naming several specimens.

[2] + 99pp., 8vo. The leaves in fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, but with signatures detached, and creasing to the last couple of leaves. In worn and chipped printed wraps, with front cover detached. With the blind stamp of the 1846 Prussian-British Convention on Copyright (which all books imported from Prussia had to bear). Scarce: no copies on COPAC, and six runs on OCLC WorldCat all at American institutions.

On one side of piece of 31 x 25 cm shiny art paper. In fair condition, lightly aged, with wear at head and foot and vertical fold at right hand edge. Image undamaged. At head: 'THE FAUNA OF CAMBRIDGE. | With apologies to the Authors of "ANIMAL LAND," E.T.R., and the "GRANTA." | THE MYKE.' At foot: 'THIS wyse little animile nose all about what is going on inside, but he is very korshus when he tels you about it.

A Fellow of the Royal Society, Marlborough's main scientific interest was astronomy, a subject on which he corresponded with von Brühl. The four items in good condition, with light signs of age and wear. They are accompanied by a typewritten (1960s?) report (3pp., folio), whose purpose is to disprove any connection between them and 'the name of Henry Cavendish and his work on the barometer'.

80pp., 8vo. Stitched and unbound. All but the first few leaves unopened. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with traces of the original blue wraps adhering at spine. In manuscript at head of title-page: 'hommage de l'auteur'. At the time of his death de la Rive's work was deemed by one obituarist ' indispensable for the scientific student of electricity', and the phrase was repeated in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Scarce: no copy in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and of the seven copies on OCLC WorldCat, five in Swiss libraries.

22pp., 8vo. Stitched and in brown printed wraps. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, in chipped and damaged wraps with shelfmark. Unopened. In manuscript at head of front wrap: 'de la part des auteurs'. Scarce: no copy in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and only three copies on OCLC WorldCat.

35pp., 8vo. Stitched and unbound. All but the first few leaves unopened. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with traces of the original blue wraps adhering at spine. At the time of his death de la Rive's work was deemed by one obituarist ' indispensable for the scientific student of electricity', and the phrase was repeated in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Scarce: no copy in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and of the nine copies on OCLC WorldCat, eight in Swiss libraries.

111pp., folio. Unpaginated, and printed on the rectos only. A duplicated and stapled production, in grey printed wraps. In poor condition: on brittle and aged high-acidity paper, with chipping to wraps and front cover loosening. Inscribed inside the front cover. No. 44 of 72 contributions is 'J. NEEDHAM - L. WANG - D. J. PRICE (INGHILTERRA) - Chinese astronomical clockwork.' Scarce: no copy on COPAC or in the Wellcome collection, and the only copy on OCLC WorldCat at the BNF.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with closed tears at head and foot of gutter. Reads: 'Dear Sir, I much regret that the pressure of my other engagements makes it impossible for me to comply with the kind request of the Committee of your Society that I should become President during the next session.'

On 4.5 x 9.5 cm rectangle of paper, cut from letter. In fair condition, lightly aged, and laid down on part of leaf from album. Reads: 'Yours vy trly | Henry Thompson'.