Whewell William, Signed (4 results)

Paper. Condition: Good. First Edition. An Original Handwritten Letter Signed by William Whewell to Levi Leone. Dated 1855. A letter accepting the honour of having one of Levi's work dedicated to him, and mentions a work on 'The Influence of Christianity upon Mathematical Law'. William Whewell 1794-1866 was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Whewell introduced what is now called the Whewell equation, an equation defining the shape of a curve without reference to an arbitrarily chosen coordinate system. He also organized thousands of volunteers internationally to study ocean tides, in what is now considered one of the first citizen science projects. He received the Royal Medal for this work in 1837. Levi Leone, 1821-1888. English jurist and statistician. His chief work, History of British Commerce and of the Economic Progress of the British Nation, 1763-1870, is considered to be a partisan account of British economic development. Size is 185mm x 110mm. Condition is good. Light folding creases. Age toned and light marks to rear edge. More images can be taken upon request. Ref17153. Signed by Author(s).

8vo. xv, [1], 591, [1], 31, [1] pp. Frontispiece portrait, index, ads; some pencil marginalia, foxed. Original full olive green cloth with black rules, gilt-stamping; fully restored professionally. Armorial bookplate of Charles James Fox Bunbury. Signed by George Ellery Hale, 1907; embossed stamp of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Mount Wilson Observatory. SIGNED BY GEORGE ELLERY HALE. First edition. "One of Whewell's greatest gifts to science was his word-smithing. He corresponded with many in his field and helped them come up with neologisms for their discoveries. Whewell coined, among other terms, scientist, physicist, linguistics, consilience, catastrophism, uniformitarianism, and astigmatism; he suggested to Michael Faraday the terms electrode, ion, dielectric, anode, and cathode." â" Wikip. PROVENANCE: Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th Baronet of Barton Hall, Suffolk (1809-1886), English naturalist and Fellow of the Royal Society. â" George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), astrophysicist, director of Mount Wilson Observatory â" Mount Wilson Observatory, Pasadena, California.

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. In this significant autograph letter signed, Whewell writes about Sir John Malcolm, a colonial administrator in India and Governor of Bombay, who was also one of the architects behind the early principles that British rule be for benefit of the East India Company, as well as, Indians; and of indirect rule. It is addressed to Malcolm's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Georgina Malcolm, with whom Whewell had a long correspondence. The letter captures Whewell's concern about the British historian John William Kaye's misrepresentation of Sir John in his impending work and his persuasion of Kaye to not to sacrifice truth for an antithesis. "My dear Mrs Malcolm, I should have been very glad to talk with you about the life of my dear friend Sir John Malcolm, but I have some doubts whether by talking we could have done much to alter Mr. Kaye's purpose. During the two days he has been with me here, I have done my best to set him right when I thought he was in danger of going wrong. It will be impossible to inspire him with enthusiasm which you and I feel for Sir John. He has studied Indian politics in another school and has got other heroes. But I think he has a great desire to speak worthily of Sir John's achievements in the great turns of his life, and may be kept from doing injustice by vigilant criticism of his work in detail. If submits the sheets to your husband as they are finished; and you and he must weed out what is wrong _? and _? You see that from the application of such criticism the amount of difference between Sir John and Sir George Barlow, as to the mutiny [British Officer's Mutiny in Madras 1809] and the ___  is made a very tolerable history. You cannot alter the basis of Mr. Kaye's views as he is advanced too far to stop him in his work; so the best course is that you and Kate and other such and reasonable people should set as many points right as you can and prevent foolish young persons, Lady Malcolm and the like from tormenting themselves. I tried to persuade Mr. Kayes, I do not know with what success, not to sacrifice truth to antithesis in his comparison of Sir John Malcolm and Sir Charles Metcalf [a Colonial administrator who liberated the press in West Bengal, souring his relations to the East India Company]. I told him that a family which sent a long list of sons into the army, the navy, the India service, the university, and commercy could not in any memorable way be spoken of as the family of a Scottish farmer. He seemed to cling  _?__ to his antithesis, he I think was shaken at last. I made his __?__   with several persons (Sedgewick amongst them) who had known Gilbert Malcolm here; and shown him that he was admired here, not as a proud man but with actions won [?]. Of course Mr. Kaye who knows so much more about Indian matters than I do is not likely to be much influenced by my opinion alone then. I shall be very glad if I am able to see more of you in London (or elsewhere) than I have lately been, that is clear! Very little. I shall be in town officially about April 27 but I fear I shall have little time for any unofficial engagements. Then I am always your affectionate friend./W Whewell." Four page letter written March 24, 1854 from Trinity Lodging, Cambridge on a folded sheet of 7" x 9" ivory paper edged in mourning black with an embossed seal at the left hand corner. The handwriting is difficult to read. Item #A01864 Condition: A few scattered light spots, mailing fold lines. Generally in very good condition. Signed by Author(s).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. In these two autograph letters signed (Oct. 1 and Oct, 29, 1857), Whewell writes to  Georgina Malcolm regarding her translation of the 1855 German novel, Soll und Haben. In it Gustav Freytag not only extolled German middle-class virtues, but also the superiority of the Germans over Poles and Jews. From his letters, we gather that Whewell has reservations about a writer he does not know. In the Oct. 1, 1857 letter, Whewell playfully asks, "I hear nothing of your "Man Friday' [Freytag]. Has he written anything else in any line of German literature with which this Roman [novel] is connected?" He suggests that Mrs. Malcolm choose "a right tone in style" over an "exact translation" of the "Dedication." The Oct. 29th  letter exhibits his apprehension. At this time, he is reading Malcolm's translation and has the original work: "I do not feel at all confident of making an abstracted [?] article about it. The interest of the narrative turns very much on points about which I am very ignorant; as, the state of commercial society in Germany. Indeed it is not very easy to understand with this English noting why the novel should have such a run as it is said to have. . . . I fear Benson will know a great deal more than I can know and permit us sources of interest which escape my apprehension." However, he is willing to write an opinion piece about the "influence which the work appears to have," that he considers suited for the "Times" and could "catch the favor of the public." October 1 letter is written on three pages of a  5 ¼" x 7" folded sheet of laid paper. October 29 letter is written on four pages of a 7 ¼" x 9" folded sheet of laid paper. William Whewell (1794-1866) was one of the most influential polymaths of the 19th century scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, historian of science and theologian. He was known for his wordsmithinginvented the word scientistand aided scientists with neologisms to describe their discoveries. He influenced the works of John Herschel, Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin, and Michael Faraday among others. He coined the terms anode, cathode and ion for Faraday. He taught Moral Philosophy at Trinity College, was named a Master of the College in 1841, and then became its Vice-Chancellor in 1842 and 1855. Mrs. Georgina Malcolm (1807-1886) was a translator of German theology (including Martin Luther's Letters to Women) and novels, and a great correspondent (Duke of Wellington, the wit Sydney Smith amongst them); her correspondence has been published. She was the first translator of Gustav Freytag's novel Soll und Haben [Debit and Credit] in which he clearly professed the superiority of the Germans. She was Sir John Malcolm's daughter-in-law. Condition: Some light scattered soil, mailing fold lines, generally very good condition. Signed by Author(s).