Book Description

The Scientific Correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks is an unprecedented and continuous record of fifty years of intellectual and technological activity. It provides a unique insight into the development of science and discovery from the eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. It links British science and society to developments on the continent of Europe, the West Indies, North America and to countries farther afield. The current edition is almost entirely comprised of previously unpublished letters to and from Sir Joseph Banks, gathered together from over 150 repositories worldwide. The letters are invaluable to scholars and students of the history of science and natural history, eighteenth-century culture and society, as well as empire studies. They will also be welcomed by museums and institutions around the world associated with Banks' life and work. It includes: around 2,300 letters, largely unpublished, from international archives including: The Natural History Museum, London; The British Library, London; The Sutro Library, California; The Mitchell Library, Sydney; The National Library of Australia, Canberra; Yale University Libraries, Connecticut; Lincolnshire County Archives, Lincoln; Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone; Archive, and Royal Botanic Gardens. Editorial apparatus includes full and detailed annotation, a general introduction and a consolidated index. A calendar of correspondents is also given, along with brief biographical details of each.