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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Delft

Reference number: EL/L1/17

Date: 22 February 1676

Description

Signed autograph
An account of the structure of hair and how it grows; theory about curly hair; observations of the structure of cow's skin; observations of the membranes of eggs
Ink figure of Leeuwenhoek' s facial hair after shaving
See EL/L4/29 for information about rasors for shaving
Transcribed and translated in 'Alle de brieven van Antoni van Leeuwenhoek', edited, illustrated and annotated by Committee of Dutch Scientists, part 1, p 348
For summary see 'The correspondence of Henry Oldenburg', ed and trans by A Rupert Hall & Marie Boas Hall, vol 12, p 192

Reference number
EL/L1/17
Earliest possible date
22 February 1676
Page extent
10 pages
Format
Manuscript
Also available on Early Modern Letters Online
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Creator name

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

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Citation

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Delft, 22 February 1676, EL/L1/17, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_l1_17/letter-from-antoni-van-leeuwenhoek-to-henry-oldenburg-dated-at-delft, accessed on 17 February 2026

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    The archival collection known as 'Early Letters' is composed of original manuscript letters sent to, or collected by, the Royal Society from English and foreign correspondents.

    Dates: 1613 - 1740

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