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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Henry Fox Talbot, dated at Collingwood

Reference number: HS/22/81

Date: 22 March 1841

Description

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Congratulates William Henry Fox Talbot on the calotype invention and the patent. Responds at some length to William Henry Fox Talbot's concerns about the infinity of the universe. In postscript, provides a 4-page dialogue on the subject.

Reference number
HS/22/81
Earliest possible date
22 March 1841
Page extent
8 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Henry Fox Talbot, dated at Collingwood, 22 March 1841, HS/22/81, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_81/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-henry-fox-talbot-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 15 March 2025

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_81/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-henry-fox-talbot-dated-at-collingwood

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  • Herschel Letters

    This collection of nearly 10,900 letters, drafts, copies and notes is the largest repository of scientific correspondence from and to Sir John Herschel, leading figure of Victorian science.

    Dates: 1807 - 1875

    View collection