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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished letter, regarding perfect hydrostatics from W Shalders to the Secretary of the Royal Society

Reference number: AP/13/25

Date: 20 May 1827

Description

Shalders writes a letter on a printed copy of an advertisement for a patent for his hydrostatic machine for raising fluids. He asks if the Royal Society believes that it is possible to construct his machine with the desired effect using the parts illustrated on his advertisement. He explains that previous attempts to construct the machine have not been fully successful.

John Frederick William Herschel has written his initials next to the date received, and John George Children had written his initials next to the date reading was declined.

Subject: Hydrostatics

Addressed to the Secretary of the Royal Society at Somerset House, London. Received by the Royal Society on 26 May 1827. Reading declined by the Committee [of Papers] on 31 May 1827.

Reference number
AP/13/25
Earliest possible date
20 May 1827
Physical description
Ink on paper; typescript on paper
Page extent
3 pages
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Unpublished letter, regarding perfect hydrostatics from W Shalders to the Secretary of the Royal Society, 20 May 1827, AP/13/25, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_13_25/unpublished-letter-regarding-perfect-hydrostatics-from-w-shalders-to-the-secretary-of-the-royal-society, accessed on 20 July 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_13_25/unpublished-letter-regarding-perfect-hydrostatics-from-w-shalders-to-the-secretary-of-the-royal-society

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  • Archived Papers

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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