Lankester Edwin Ray, Signed (2 results)

3pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper with a thin strip of glue in gutter from previous mounting. Lankester complains that he has 'not received a copy of Mr. Sedgwick's translation of Claus' Handbook of Zoology'. He has 'a large number of students (annually over 60) at University College' to whom he would recommend the book if he had it. 'I should wish to be able to place it on the lecture table for them to see.' He claims that it is 'usual for publishers to enable teachers to do this kind of thing - by sending them copies of works likely to be recommended'. Since he uses the German edition of the book himself, he has 'no intention of purchasing a copy of the English translation', and asks them to 'send me a presentation copy to University College'. Accompanying the letter is a photographic portrait of Lankester, removed from a magazine and neatly attached to a paper mount. It is captioned 'The most prominent English scientist to-day'.

1 lettre autographe signée 2 In-8 30 janvier [vers 1980] bon Dans cette lettre en anglais, Sir Edwin Ray Lankester remercie Louis Olivier pour l'envoi du dernier numéro de la Revue générale des sciences pures et appliquées et espère pouvoir lui soumettre un article avant mai. Il en profite pour émettre une critique sur un texte du Docteur Edmond Retterer : « Allow me in the meanwhile to draw your attention to the strange statements of Dr. Retterer, a gentleman whom I do not know. I have marked the passages which astonish me. They make me doubt Dr. Retterer's competence as a critic in histology ! » Eminent zoologiste anglais, spécialiste des invertébrés. Professeur à l'University College of London et à l'Université d'Oxford, il reçut la prestigieuse médaille Copley de la Royal Society.