Guide to the Sir Joseph Banks collection

Collection Title: Sir Joseph Banks collection

Dates: 1770-1812

Identification: M000007

Creator: Banks, Joseph, 1743-1820

Physical Description: 51 boxes

Language of Materials: English

Repository: Sutro Library, California State Library

1630 Holloway Avenue

5th floor

San Francisco, CA, 94132-4030

URL: http://www.library.ca.gov/about/sutro_main.html

Email: sutro@library.ca.gov

Phone: 415-469-6100

Abstract: This collection contains approximately 10,000 documents by and/or relating to Sir Joseph Banks. These items document the immense scope of Banks' activities in the world of science, exploration, and the growth of the British Empire's trade and commerce.

Note:

Other Information:

According to a description of the collection on April 21, 1987, the following documents are recorded as missing:

Ag1:6: Letter by Arthur Young

Bk1:1: Broadside, Soyer, Alex Benoit. Dewey number 641.01 .S731

Co1:91 Wilson

Fe1:26: Broadside "Draining through Wainflet...." Dewey number 627.5 W14

GL1:2: Second copy of GL1:1, old Dewey number q662 H55

PN1:30: Banks, notes on a letter Cox from Dalrymble

R1:33b: Jessop, William. Copy of estimates for improving...communication through Lincoln, 1791?

R1:3 Map, Welland River. State of the Outfall...1604.

Wo1:28: Sinclair, Sir John. Letter to Banks enclosing wool samples for Lady Banks.

The following enumerations have no documents and no catalog cards perhaps indicating an error in numbering:

Co1:86

Co3:59

Co3:67

R2:30

The Sutro Library houses one of the largest concentrations of documents by and relating to Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), a man who had a profound influence on the nature and momentum of British exploration, science, and discovery during the latter part of the eighteenth century. In fact, Banks may, by virtue of his tireless commitment to its promotion, be rightly considered the first Minister of Science in Britain.

A botanist, diplomat, ethnographer, explorer, Knight Commander of the Bath, Privy Councillor, longest serving President of the Royal Society, and facilitator of some of the most the important and infamous (i.e., Captain Bligh’s trip on the HMS Bounty) voyages of exploration during his lifetime, Banks’ historical role has been studied by a relatively small number of scholars. At age 18, Banks inherited a massive fortune which he used to satisfy his curiosity of the natural world. Unlike other young elite British who as a rite of passage took the Grand Tour, Banks’ instead aspired to more dangerous travels that would fulfill his innate passion for botany. To this end, he spent thousands equipping himself to serve as official botanist on the HMS Endeavor, and in 1768 set sail with Captain James Cook on a three year voyage circumnavigating the globe. The trip had far-reaching consequences that deeply affected the trajectory of Banks’ career. When Banks returned to London, his exploits and his trip on the Endeavor were a public sensation. Oxford awarded him an honorary doctorate and newspapers glorified his adventures. On the voyage he managed to collect over 1000 species of plants that were unknown to the Western world at the time, as well as numerous native artifacts and animals.

With his public role fixed, at the age of 35 he was appointed President of the Royal Society, a position which he held until his death in 1820. It was in this role that Banks devoted his life to supporting research, science, and discovery and sat “at the hub of scientific and technical progress during a most active period of geographical discovery, war and revolution,” and while Banks “wrote few papers and no books…his influence was immense, and was exercised in no small part through his correspondence.”

Among other notable and rich collections of Banks’ materials and documents are the Mitchell Library, Sidney; Yale University; Royal Society, London; Department of Western Manuscripts at the British Library; and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. References Richard Holmes, The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (New York: Pantheon Books, 2008), 58. Harold Carter, “Introduction,” in The Letters of Sir Joseph Banks: A Selection, 1768-1820, ed. Neil Chambers (London, UK: Imperial College Press, 2000), xvii.

Purchased by Adolph Sutro from Sotheby's on 11 March 1886 then given to the California State Library in 1913 as part of the Sutro Library.

When Sir Joseph Banks died in 1820, his well-organized archive documenting his long and storied career was broken up and sold off in parts by Lord Brabourne, a Banks descendant. The Sutro Library's Banks collection consists of materials created, owned, or acquired by Banks. Prior to the Sotheby's auction, other materials by other creators or collectors may have been added to the collection.

The Banks collection, prior to being rehoused in manuscript boxes, was organized by a subject-based alpha-numeric code. Some of the published items also received a Dewey call number and were cataloged separately. This has led to a hybrid Dewey-local call number that, since rehousing, is obsolete, except in some rare cases.

The original order of the Sutro Library's Banks collection was not documented. The collection was described at the item level in the 1940s or 50s using catalog cards. The information for this guide comes from those catalog cards and were rekeyed by staff beginning in 2021 and may contain errors.

Property rights reside with the repository. Any applicable literary rights would reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please email sutro@library.ca.gov .

The collection is open for research. Please page materials three business days in advance of your visit by email: sutro@library.ca.gov .

[Identification of item], Sir Joseph Banks papers, M000007, Sutro Library, California State Library, San Francisco, Calif.

The following places hold significant holdings of archival materials focused on Sir Joseph Banks and may be of interest:

National Library of Australia

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, England

Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library

The collection is organized alphabetically by subject and then an alpha-numeric code is used. The subjects are:

CODE: A

AFRICA. The main focus of this category is the activity of the African Association from its founding in 1788 to 1820. There are 540 documents in this category. A great many documents relate to the explorations of Major Daniel Houghton, Mungo Park, Friedrich Hornemann and others sponsored by the Association. Many documents concern attempts by the Sierra Leone Company to establish a colony for freed slaves in West Africa, and several documents pertain to the Royal African Company, 1680-88. Documents in this category offer information on the slave trade, botany, geography, and anthropology of Africa. Notable correspondents include: Adam Afzelius, W. T. Aiton, Henry Beaufoy, Erasmus Darwin, Bryan Edwards, John Ledyard, and Francis Masson.

CODE: Ag

AGRICULTURE. Approximately 280 documents encompass a large variety of subjects including: livestock, potato cultivation in Ireland, wheat and barley production in Great Britain and Scotland, wheat blight, and the Board of Agriculture business. Arthur Young and Sir. John Sinclair were among the correspondents.

CODE: Alb

ALBION MILL. Five documents, manuscripts, and clippings, pertain to the Albion Mill, a subject of much controversy.

CODE: Am

AMERICA. Approximately 20 documents relate, in one way or another, to America or Americans. For example, law, population, and maps are included in this category. Also included is correspondence with Edward Everett, then in Gottingen, about electing Nathaniel Bowditch of Massachusetts to the Royal Society.

CODE: Ar

ARTIC. Three of the four documents in this section are letters written during May, 1818, by Sir John Franklin and Sir William Edward Parry while on an artic expedition. The fourth document, an 18 page account by Otto Fabricius, concerns icebergs.

CODE: Art

ART. Prints, bound catalogues or descriptions of art works are among the 10 pieces in this section. Several packets of silhouettes by Dr. James Lind include some of King George and Queen Charlotte, circa 1790.

CODE: As

ASTRONOMY. One of the three documents in this section is a transcript of Banks' address to the Royal Society on the occasion of awarding William Herschel the Copley Gold Medal; another relates to a meteor near Siena; the third is an essay on Hindu astronomy that describes methods for calculating the motions and positions of the planets and for predicting eclipses.

CODE: B

BALLOONING. Approximately 20 clippings, notes, and letters, many in French, pertaining to early balloon ascensions; Montgolfier, Charles and Robert, Blanchard, and Veneziani are discussed.

CODE: BA

BANKS ESTATES, LINCOLNSHIRE. Many of the 150 or so letters, notes, broadsides, and accounts in this sectioin, dated around 1810, concern Banks' Lincolnshire estate, Revesby Abbey, and environs. While many record estate business, for example, fencing, livestock, crops, tenants and accounts, a good portion of the documents also concern enclosure proceedings, drainage, roads, and some political patronage. See also Spring Grove and Household and Expenses.

CODE: BK

BANKS-KNATCHBULL. A variety of documents, about 10 in number, post-date Banks' death in 1820. Notable are two documents regarding the Royal Colosseum, re-opened in 1845 and re-embellished in 1851. Another is a section of an essay about the influence of capital and capitalists, dated 1830.

CODE: Bar

BAROMETER. Two documents relate to a "barometer harmonico," a device consisting of wires stretched across a small area, by the sound of which one could predict the weather.

CODE: Ber

BERMUDA. Three letters and a pamphlet from Henry Hamilton refer to various aspects of Bermuda, and to a proposal for establishing a marine academy there.

CODE: BL

BLEACHING. Five or so documents and a swatch of cloth pertaining to bleaching techniques in France and Switzerland, around 1790.

CODE: Boo

BOOKS AND BOOKDEALERS. Three of the 30 or so documents in this category were written by Carl Ernst Bohn, a German book dealer, regarding books purchased by the Royal Society. The remaining documents are pamphlets and broadsides concerning duties imposed on books and paper.

CODE: BG and Bo

BOTANTICAL GARDENS; BOTANY. Over 250 documents in these two categories contain much in the way of subject overlap. Most documents pertain to (and often list) seed and botanical specimens collected for Kew Gardens, or to the establishment, maintenance, and collecting for botanical gardens in Columbo (Ceylon), St. Vincent (West Indies), and Calcutta. Collectors include William Roxburgh, Robert Kyd, Sir John Murray, and especially James Bowie and Allan Cunningham, with whom Banks corresponded while the two traveled together in Brazil, and while the former was in South Africa, and the latter in Australia. Other correspondents include Francis Robson, Olaf Swartz, Nathaniel Wallick, Domingos Vandelli, and 3rd Viscount Palmerston. Further reference to botany and botanical gardens may be found in many other categories in this collection.

CODE: Bou

BOUNDARIES. Two documents, dated 1805, compare the boundaries of England and Wales; one proposes that England be divided into districts and the other (written by Banks), points out the similarities of boundaries in England and Wales.

CODE: Br

BREAD. A great many of the 30 or so documents in this section concern the Assize of Bread. Others relate to proceedings of the House of Commons Committee on Flour and Bread, 1772-74. A few documents discuss alternative types of flour, especially corn and barley, for making bread. Two documents concern execution of the law against riotous and unlawful assemblies, dated 1795, directed at food riots.

CODE: BF

BREADFRUIT. Although the main focus of these 30 or so documents is on the introduction and cultivation of breadfruit in the West Indies, especially Jamaica, cinnamon, mangoes, and nutmeg are also discussed. There is a good amount of correspondence with James Wiles concerning Jamaican botanical gardens at Bath and Liguanea, and with Alexander Anderson about the botanical garden at St. Vincent.

CODE: Bu

BUFFALO. One broadside, dated 1689-1714, announces the arrival of a bison "...from the wilds of America, and to be seen alive..."

CODE: BT

BUTTONS. Seventeen broadsides, 1689-1714, concern the importation of foreign buttons and prohibition of buttons made of horn.

CODE: CG

CARD GAMES. One pamphlet, dated 1793, entitled "Hoyle Abridged, Part II," is a book of rules for the game of Quadrille.

CODE: CA

CENTRAL AMERICA. All four documents, two of which are sketches, concern the hot "wells" near the Polia River, on the Mosquito Shore, Nicaragua.

CODE: CE

CEYLON. Most of the 14 documents in this category concern the sailing of Alexander Moon for Ceylon where he supervised the botanical garden at Columbo. Several letters concern a Mr. Atkinson, a civil engineer, in the employ of the British governmnet.

CODE: Cha

CHARITIES AND BRIEFS. Fourteen broadsides, circa 1697-1714, address Parliament regarding the poor and workhouses. See also Servants and Poor.

CODE: C

CHINA. The 150 letters, reference notes, reports and lists in this section pertain to China and discuss such topics as Chinese farming, plants, livestock, inscriptions-calligraphy, silk, porcelain, and missionaries. Most of the documents, however, are correspondence between Banks, Sir George Leonard Staunton, and Lord Macartney, as the latter mounted his 1792 expedition to China. Banks helped Macartney select expert personnel, such as artists, naturalists, and the ship's surgeon. Staunton and Macartney corresponded and sent plant specimens while en route. Banks also helped with the publicatioin of the account of the expedition. A few letters concern a second expedition in 1815.

CODE: CP

CHINESE PORCELAIN. The 45 letters and research notes in this section pertain to the use, design, and manufacture of porcelain and to the Far East in general, including calligraphy, Chinese history, and mythology. See China for several letters concerning Josiah Wedgewood and selection of a potter for the Chinese "embassy," 1792.

CODE: Ch

CHURCHES. The majority of these 20 or so documents are broadsides and pamphlets concerning ecclesiastical courts and an act of Parliament to prevent the growth of schism; one addresses Quaker oppositions to this act. A few documents concern the maintenance of the clergy and disposition of lands. One document is a report on the general state of the Isleworth (Middlesex) parish, 1811.

CODE: Coal

COAL. The 30 or so documents in this section are maps, manuscripts, and drawings pertaining to coal mining and trade. One document, sent to Banks by Henry Gray Macnab is a copy of an indenture made between pitmen and employers in the Newcastle coalmines.

CODE: Cof

COFFEE.Two of the three documents here are copies of a pamphlet by Sir John Sinclair entitled, "Hints regarding the use of coffee, as a beverage, and on the art of making it." The third account of the cost of coffee and duties and fees imposed upon it.

CODE: Co

COINAGE AND CURRENCY. Many of the 550 or so documents in this section are from such notable correspondents as Matthew Boulton, Lord Liverpool, Sir Stephen Cottrell, Sir George Yonge, Stanesby Alchorne, Jacques Necker, Henry Cavendish and encompass several subjects: The Committee of Privy Council on Coin, the introduction of copper coins into England, Irish coins, accounts of the cost of precious metals used for coinage, and the establishment of the new mint on Tower Hill in 1805. Also housed here are broadsides and documents regarding acts of Parliament and royal proclamations in relation to coinage.

CODE: CM

COMMERCE. Approximately 20 broadsides, pamphlets, and letters address legislation and policy affecting different groups of manufacturers and merchants in England.

CODE: CL

CORN LAWS, GRAIN TRADE. The majority of these 215 or so documents, date from 1780-95, and concern legislation addressed to the import-export of grain. A great deal of the information concerns grain prices and quantities produced and traded by Great Britain.

CODE: CR

COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY SOCIETIES. Approximately 155 manuscripts, broadsides, pamphlets, and clippings concern counter-revolutionary societies and volunteer corps, organized in reaction to the French Revolution, in order to suppress sedition and defend England against invasion by France. Many of the broadsides are anti-French progaganda. One manuscript is an essay in opposition to Pitt, accusing him of prolonging the war with France in order to favor those with financial interests in the war.

CODE: CT

COURTS. Many of the 35 or so documents in this section are 17th century broadsides including petitions to Parliament, and reasons for and against bills pertaining to law or legal proceedings. A few documents, however, concern sale of forfeited land, and duties on rod iron.

CODE: EI

EAST INDIA COMPANY, EAST INDIES, INDIA. The 120 or so documents in this category cover a varity of topics having India as a common location. Numerous correspondents, such as William Roxburgh, Robert Kyd, Sir Evan Nepean, F. W. Pemberton, Robert Wisset, and George Nicol, discuss trees, vines and plants, such as indigo, pepper, cassada, peaches, and coffee. Here, too, are a great may broadsides pertaining to the East India Company, and correspondence with company officials, Thomas Morton and William Ramsay. A certain portion of the documents deals with social customs and religious practices of India. There are several published letters from James Creassy concerning Colonel Henry Watson, and several letters on the appointment of Baron Reichel as civil architect.

CODE: Ed

EDUCATION. Ten documents here concern proposals for three different schools: the first, a "free daily school" near Brentford (including a list of subscribers and accounts); the second, a public academy proposed by Lewis Maidwell; the third, a daily school for boys by the parish of Heston.

CODE: En

ENTOMOLOGY. Of the approximately 80 documents here, some contain information on insects injurious to agriculture, although the majority concern raising insects for practical use. A greate many documents discuss the cochineal, an insect used for dying cloth and the attempts to introduce it into India from South America. Also discussed is the lac insect, and its many uses, such as in making pela wax and varnish.

CODE: F

FENS, ENCLOSURE, DRAINAGE. Well over a thousand documents pertain to draining and reclaiming the great fen area of England's eastern coast. Maps, plans, elevations, sketches, correspondence, reports, reference notes, newsclippings, broadsides, Parliamentary acts, meeting announcements and resolutions, as well as reports by surveyors and engineers, concern drainage, outfall, navigation, embankment, enclosure, roads, tolls, and taxes. A number of documents here concern 17th and early 18th century attempts at reclamation. Examples include a pamphlet dated 1649 responding to the "Fenn-men's" objections to drainage and a report dated 1727 by engineer John Perry. Engineers, mapmakers, and surveyors in this group include John Rennie, William Chapman, Sir Thomas Hyde Page, and Sir William Dugdale. Other correspondents and authors include George Maxwell, John Golbourne, Thomas Yeoman, James Creassy, John Watte, Humphrey Smith, William Seymour, John Grundy, Benjamin Handley, Jonathan Varley, Fulwood Sanderson, and E. A. Seymour, the Duke of Somerest.

CODE:FE

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, ENGINES. Approximately 35 letters, notes, clippings, and advertising pamphlets concern fire extinguishing methods, notable those of von Aken and Nystrom, fire escape mechanisms, and experiments with spontaneous combustion and inflammable materials. Correspondents include von Aken and Samuel C. Nisser.

CODE: Fi

FISHERIES. Approximately 25 documents concern herring and stickleback fishing, whaling off the coast of Greenland, and oysters. A few broadsides concern prohibiting the importation of fresh fish caught by foreign vessels, circa 1707. Also included are Banks' observations on his experiments in stocking several ponds with carp and tench.

CODE: Fo

FOOD. Most of the 10 or so documents in this category are broadsides and pamphlets addressing acts of Parliament concerning butter, cheese, and meat. There is also a 112-page report (1786) by a Committee to consider the high price of provisions, and an advertisement for the turtle as food. Banks corresponded with H. Sackett regarding curing and smoking meat.

CODE: France

FRANCE. The thirty or so documents in this category record Banks' friendly correspondence with a series of French commissioners in England (Charretie, Gallois, Nettement, Lallemont, and Otto) who, while charged with the exchange of French and English prisoners of war, more often discussed and exchanged scientific papers and information. Documents, including a letter from de Lalande, span the years 1797-1801.

CODE: GL

GASLIGHT, CANDLES, LANTERNS. Two of the five documents in this series are copies of a pamphlet applauding Mr. Winsor "the patentee of the hydro-carbonic gas light, and founder of the national light and heat company." The remaining documents concern Chinese lanterns and candles.

CODE: Geol

GEOLOGY. Two geological essays on cleavage and foliation are housed in this series, as well as hand colored drawings indicating earth strata. Further reference to geology may be found under Coal, Mines and Mining, Volcanoes, and Wells.

CODE: G

GUARDIAN [SAILING VESSEL]. The twenty-five or so letters and clippings in this category concern the ship Guardian, fitted out for plant transport and bound for Botany Bay. Much of the correspondence, including some from aboard and enroute, is from ship's Lt. Edward Riou, who, when the Guardian was severely damaged in a collision with an iceberg, stayed aboard, saved and docked it.

CODE: H

HARBORS. Almost 90 manuscripts, reports, and maps pertain to harbors in various areas in England. Notable correspondents include John Smeaton, Robert Mylne, Nathaniel Kent, James Creassy, John Grundy, and Ralph Dodd.

CODE: Hat

HATS AND WIGS. Six pamphlets and broadsides pertain to laying a duty on hats, circa 1696.

CODE: Ha

HAWKERS AND PEDDLERS. Four broadsides address suppressing hawkers and peddlers circa 1702, another, dated 1691, concerns drapers, mercers, haberdashers and grocers.

CODE: Hp

HEMP. A majority of the 60 or so documents in this section form a correspondence concerning six men sent to India to grow hemp for the East India Company. Also included here are reports by the Privy Council for Trade concerning importing help from Russia and the colonies.

CODE: HF

HESSIAN FLY. Twenty or so documents in this section concern the "Hessian Fly" and the destruction it caused to wheat and rye crops in various areas of England. Correspondents include Lord Liverpool and Sir John Sinclair.

CODE: Ho

HORTICULTURE. The ten or so documents here pertain to plant cultivation on the land of the various correspondents which include Princess Elizabeth. Fruit tree diseases, greenhouses, strawberries, oats, potatoes, and apples are discussed. A long letter from Thomas A. Knight treats plant root tropisms.

CODE: He

HOUSEHOLD AND EXPENSES. Approximately 80 reference notes, lists, accounts, bills and receipts pertain to the Banks' households at Soho Square, Spring Grove, Overton, and Revesby Abbey. Subjects covered include profits and costs, rents due, carriage purchase and maintenance, crop and animal husbandry, taxes, assessment, tithes, servants' wages and duties. Some documents pertain to cost and weights of foods consumed by Banks' household, others are statistical and reference notes on the cost of feeding large households.

CODE: HB

HUDSON BAY. The ten or so documents in this section pertain to exploration, free trade, and a proposal for a convict settlement in Canada. Correspondents and authors include Patrick Wilson, Henry Robertson, Henry Goulburn and James Creassy on allotting Canadian land to (American) Loyalists.

CODE: HU

HUNGARY. A majority of the eighteen documents concern clandestine meetings between a Hungarian, Baron Vay de Vaja, and William Pitt, for which Banks served as an intermediary. His notes chronicle a period of following Joseph II's death in February, 1790. Banks' notes and Pitt's correspondence indicate that the Baron communicated with Pitt in secret code and Latin. Vaja's purpose appears to have been to enlist the support of England for a Hungarian break from Austrian rule. One lengthy document details the advantages of an Anglo-Hungarian alliance; it contains a great deal of information about Hungary's constitution, social structure, judicial system, and resources, and discusses its position in European balance of power. Another document, dated August 10, 1790, is a copy of Declarations sent to King Leopold II from the Hungarian Diet.

CODE: I

ICELAND. Almost all of the 130 documents in this section, which pertains to the geography, government, climate and trade of Iceland, as well as proposals to annex it to England, have been published in New Source Materials on Sir Joseph Banks and Iceland (Occasional Papers, Manuscripts Series No. 3 165-1-10-49, A. Yedida, Supervisor, A. I. Gans, ed. California State Library, Sutro Branch, San Francisco, March 1941). Remaining documents, previously unpublished, include a letter to Banks from Jorgen Jorgensen dated 1806, and a 15-page abstract by Peter van Eggers on the true location of Osterbygd.

CODE: J

JAMAICA. Approximately thirty documents concern various topics having Jamaica in common. Thomas Dancer corresponded on breadfruit, cinnamon, mangoes, plant collecting and the botanical garden at Bath, and on his dispute with the Jamaican legislature. A number of documents pertain to Captain Bligh and the Bounty which brought breadfruit to Jamaica. Others are from or concern Bayly Edwards who brought the first sugar cane to the island. See also Breadfruit, Prize Goods and (for Bligh) South Seas.

CODE: KB

KNIGHTS OF BATH, ORDERS OF THE REALM. The majority of the 30 or so documents in this section concern the installation of the Knights of Bath (list included) on May 19, 1803, and the ball at Ranelagh on June 1, 1803. One manuscript, dated 1813, concerns the origin of the Order of the Garter as related by the Duke of Northumberland.

CODE: Law

LAW AND LAW CASES. The six documents in this category are broadsides or clippings about legal disputes, one of which involved William Banks, another Spence Broughton, a highway man.

CODE: L

LITERATURE. This category contains some 30 documents of a wide variety. Some are polticial writings; one, addressed to Joseph Nollekens, sculptor, criticizes Lord Grenville, William Pitt, and Charles Fox; another satirizes a contested election in Middlesex, circa 1802. Other documents included hymns, verses, and a eulogy on Lord Nelson.

CODE: Ld

LONDON DOCKS. The 35 documents in this section include four plans done by Willy Revely for the London Docks, a plan by John Rennie and Ralph Walker for the East India Docks at Blackwell, as well as other plans and many maps of the Thames.

CODE: LMS

LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. The fifty or so documents in this section relate to the activities of the London Missionary Society in Tahiti, Tonga, and South Africa. Much of the correspondence is from Thomas Haweis who comments on missionary work in Tahiti, and the decline of the Polynesian population since Cook's visit. One document, a 25-page report by Dutch missionary Rev. J. T. Vanderkemp, discusses the population, climate, geography, and customs of Kaffir (Africa). A few documents discuss convict transport by ship; others the capture of the ship Duff in 1799 by a French Privateer. Other correspondents include George Rose and George Burder.

CODE: LPS

LONDON PHILOSOPHIC SOCIETY. Five letters to and from Thomas J. Pettigrew of the London Philosophic Society regarding the proposed election of Banks to an honorary membership which Banks declined.

CODE: Lon

LONGITUDE, BOARD OF. The ten or so documents concern a dispute between Banks, the Board, and Thomas Earnshaw over Earnshaw's claim to the Board's 3,000 pound reward for a sea-worthy chronometer. Included are brief minutes from meetings during the time March 1791 to December 1805 as they relate to Earnshaw's claim. Several documents also concern the American Matthew C. Grove's Quadrant; one letter gives Banks power of attorney to seek a British patent.

CODE: Lot

LOTTERIES. Twenty or so broadsides and pamphlets announce or describe schemes to raise money by means of lotteries.

CODE: Math

MATHEMATICS. The four documents in this section are to or from Josef Maria Hoene-Wronski who requested Banks' assistance in removing duties placed on his instruments. Hoene-Wronski also described his methods for measuring the earth's curvature, a new theory of celestial mechanics to predict the motion of the moon and stars, and his accurate determination of longitude at sea.

CODE: Me

MEDICINE, ANATOMY PHYSIOLOGY. The 50 or so letters, broadsides, pamphlets, and notes in this section include correspondence with Dr. Everard Home, Sir Anthony Carlisle, and William Hunter about the anatomical collection of Dr. John Hunter. A series of documents by Dr. Edward Harrison includes a 20-page log he kept of smallpox inoculations and a questionnaire used to conduct a survey of medical practice in Lincolnshire around 1805. Another series, in many languages and perhaps collected for Banks by Sir Robert Liston, pertains to the drug hermodactyl, which was used to treat gout. A number of 17th century broadsides concern medical practice and reform.

CODE: Min

MINERALS AND METALS; MINES AND MINING. Well over 300 lectures, statistical and informational reference notes, accounts, price lits, maps, and sketches are brought together in these two categories which pertain especially to lead, copper, and gold ores and mining. There is much correspondence with Banks' agent, Abraham Mills, concerning both the County Wicklow, Ireland, gold "discovery," and the Cornish copper mines. Matthew Boulton (father and son) corresponded about Cornish copper and Boulton's copper coinage activities. Banks corresponded with Abraham Robertson and the American Rufus King on relative values of precious metals. Well over a third of the documents are accounts and price lists for lead mining at the Hull and Gregory mines, Derbyshire, spanning years 1746-1810.

CODE: Lo

MONUMENTS. Approximately 30 documents in this section concern erecting monuments or statues for John Gideon Loten, Governor of Ceylon, Dr. Samuel Johnson, and Francis Russel, (5th) Duke of Bedford. Documents include plans, epitaphs, and a list of subscribers and amounts contributed. Included, too, are copies in several languages of Dr. Solander's epitah.

CODE: NH

NATURAL HISTORY. A few of the 15 documents concern the natural history collection of Charles Alexandre de Calonne. Most of the remaining documents are by Lord Glenbervie who comments on field mice, grafting trees, and the elm tree.

CODE: NA

NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. Nearly all of the 75 or so documents in this series are meeting notices, agendas, and election ballots of the Society for the Improvement of Naval Architecture which Banks as a member received from Secretaries Thomas Morton and Joseph Brockbank. Statements of purpose, addresses, and premium offers are also included.

CODE: NS

NAVAL STORES. Four broadsides pertain to the import and encouragement of English manufacture of tar-pitch.

CODE: NAI

NAVIGATION ACTS. Eleven broadsides and pamphlets concern the repeal of particular clauses of the Navigation Acts and are dated 1649-96.

CODE: N

NAVY. Five reports, letters, and broadsides pertain to ship salvage or seizure. One reports the speech of a convicted ship's captain, another is an account of a street battle between the crew of the Neptune and a Chinese "mob" around 1800.

CODE: NB

NEW BRUNSWICK. One document regarding land grants in New Brunswick.

CODE: O

OPIUM. Most of the 13 letters in this section are from Robert Kyd, who forwarded to Banks, along with plant and opium speciments, letters he had received from Indian opium growers Adam Burt and J. W. Williams. One document by James Kerr, Surgeon's Assistant, Calcutta, comments on poppy cultivation, opium preparation in Bahar, annual production figures for Bengal, and suggests a monopoly on production by the East India Company.

CODE: Or

ORNITHOLOGY. Three of the four documents in this category pertain to the mummified ibis. In a fourth document, Banks discussed the Ruff and Ree and the possible impact of fen drainage on its habitat.

CODE: PN

PACIFIC NORTHWEST. Thirty or so notes, letters, clippings, and maps are about trade and exploration in the Pacific Northwest. George Dixon discussed the fur trade and Lt. Henry Robert's voyage to the area. R. C. Etches discussed commercial policy and convict settlement. Other correspondents and authors include Archibald Menzies, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Alexander Henry, James Strange, Isaac Ogden, and James Rennell.

CODE: PA

PALEONTOLOGY, ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORY. Most of the 20 or so letters, reports, notes, and drawings in this section pertain to artifacts or fossils remains found in England, such as Roman stones, elephant tusks, pikesheads, and bracelets. Included, too, is a translation of de la Vega on Peruvian walls and a reference note on 13th century English court etiquette and dress.

CODE: P

PANAMA. Five letters from James Creassy to Lord Sheffield, dating from 1804, outline in 15 pages a plan to size Panama from the Spanish.

CODE: PP

PATRONAGE AND PERSONAL. Over fifty letters and notes concerning various requests for Banks' help, monetary or otherwise. About a third of this section pertains to the estate and will of the playwright George Colman (the elder). A dozen or so letters are about a loan to the son of Rev. Richard Shepherd. A few letters concern the annuity for Dr. Solander's sister in Denmark. Miscellany about Banks' personal life is also filed here.

CODE: Pe

PERSIA. The fourteen documents in this series are assorted correspondence concerning the plants, animals, and climate of Persia. Two documents, written by James Morier, comment on W. G Browne's death near Tabriz. Other correspondents include Joseph Planta, Sir John Malcolm, and Gore Ouseley.

CODE: Pi

PITT, WILLIAM. A single pamphlet entitled, "The Order to be Observed in the Public Funeral Procession of the late Right Honorable William Pitt, 22nd February, 1806" is filed here. Correspondence by Pitt may be found under Hungary, Code: HU.

CODE: Poo

POOR. A majority of the 55 documents in this category are broadsides concerning Insolvency and Debtors Acts, and debtor's prisons (King's Bench, Newgate, Fleet, Ludgate, Marshalsea, and others). Much of the correspondence is in regard to Bethlem and Bridewell Hospitals which served as prisons and trade schools for children of the poor. A few documents draw comparison between the number of poor persons in Sheffield in 1615 and in 1736.

CODE: Po

PORTUGAL AND BRAZIL. One document, circa 1800, author and addressee unknown, is an essay on Spanish threats to Portugal and French threats to Brazil. Many more references to Portugal and Brazil may be found in the Bowie-Cunningham correspondence under Botany [code Bo] and Botanical Gardens [code BG].

CODE: PW

PRISONERS OF WAR. Fifty or so letters to and from French prisoners-of-war (or their families and friends) seek Banks' aid in their release or relief. Prominent is correspondence with Faujas de St. Fond. Other correspondents include Blumenbach, Viborg, William Cadell, Richemont, Dudoit, duCotet, Thibault, and Deshauteurs. Several letters to and from Custom officials are about Dolomieu's mineralogical collection. Occasionally Banks referred to the official displeasure over his activites in this sphere.

CODE:PC

PRIVY COUNCIL. Six documents in this section relate to Banks' involvement in Privy Council Committees on Coinage, Trade, and Foreign Plantations, and on the quarantine of ships. For more information about Committee activities, see Coinage [code Co], West Indies [code WI], and Hemp [code Hp].

CODE: Pr

PRIZE GOODS. Of the 15 or so documents in this section, about half are early 18th century broadsides relating to Jamaican and American prize-good duties. There is also an interesting exchange of letters between Banks and Lord Bathurst, circa 1807, regarding the seizure of the Danish fleet, which Banks deplored out of concern for its possible affect on post-war shipping.

CODE: R

RIVER AND CANAL NAVIGATION. Over 230 maps, drawings, elevations, and reports by engineers and surveyors, including, among many John Rennie, and John Grundy, pertain to river and canal navigation in the counties of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Rutland, Stafford, and York. Documents include letters and notes, "cases" submitted to Parliament, and broadsides. Some reference is made to outfall and drainage. See also Fens [code F].

CODE: Roa

ROADS. Three of the 13 documents contained in this section are about the postal service; one relates to Charles Povey's proposal for a Half-penny Carriage. The remaining documents are maps and broadsides addressed to legislation relating to road building and maintenance.

CODE: RIN

ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. Twenty-three documents in this section are about the business, subscribers, library, and lectures of the Royal Institution.

CODE: RS

ROYAL SOCIETY. Six documents include two speeches Banks made to the Royal Society, an abstract on population by Sir John Call, and several letters to Banks as President of the Royal Society. See also Scientific Correspondence (SC).

CODE: Ro

ROYALTY. Ten or so printed documents concern various royal figures, including Princess Caroline. Others record speeches made to or by royalty, or their funerals. Several documents here post-date Banks, and were perhaps added by Knatchbull.

CODE: Ru

RUSSIA. Almost all of the 50 or so documents in this section have been discussed or published by Harold B. Carter in Sir Joseph Banks and the Plant Collection from Kew Sent to the Empress Catherine II of Russia, 1795 (London: Trustees of British Museum (Natural History), 1974).

CODE:Scl

SAILCLOTH. The four broadsides and pamphlets in this section concern importation of sailcloth and legislation for the encouragement and improvement of sailcloth manufacturing in England.

CODE: SH

ST HELENA AND ASCENSION. Over 30 letters, notes, reports, and clippings pertain to the introduction and cultivation of plants and crops on St. Helena. Correspondence between Banks, Governor Robert Brooke, William Ramsay of the East India Company, and David Kay of the Planters Society of St. Helena, discussed plants, climate, and enclosure. See also Botany (Bo).

CODE: Salt

SALTPETER. Four documents pertain to saltpeter as made in various parts of India; two were communicated by a Mr. Petrie, in Madras.

CODE: Ser

SERVANTS. This category was apparently kept because the documents placed here were found in a folder marked, by Banks, "Servants." Only two of the 10 or so late 17th and early 18th century broadsides pertain to servants; most concern taxes on coal, pepper, and feltmakers, to be directed toward poor relief and orphans.

CODE: SC

SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE (INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES). Well over 100 letters, reference notes, descriptions, speeches, papers and receipts in manuscript and printed form covering a variety of topics. Many are single documents such as: Thomas Edie on a timepiece, John Walker on a barometer, an ad for Urban Jurgensen's thermometer, and A. Zaengesle on peat-to-charcoal conversion. Correspondents include Dr. James Lind, on a "night telegraph," code writing and flares, and chemist William Henry, on a new method for making epsom salts. A small bound packet, in French, by Count Rumford pertains to research on heat. A certain amount of the documents refer to naval-marine inventions or improvements, such as Greathead's life-boat, J. Harrison's and J. Curr's ship cables, Richard Trevithick's iron water-storage casks, and J. G. F. Schmidt's diving mask and vessel.

About 40 documents pertain to experiments on specific gravity and the hydrometer. Notes, letters, and receipts are by Banks, Jesse Ramsden, Sir Charles Blagden, George Gilpin, Dr. Dollphus, J. G. Schmeisser, and George Cholmondeley at the Excise Office.

CODE: Si

SILK. Almost all of hte 15 or so documents in this section are late 17th and early 18th century broadsides concerning the European and Levantine silk trade and manufacture. Several documents by James Anderson discussed introducing silk culture from China into India on the Coromandel coast.

CODE: Sin

SINCLAIR, SIR JOHN. Approximately 10 documents, spanning the years 1813-1816, relate to Sinclair's appeal to Parliament for a grant. Very much in debt at the time, Sinclair tried to raise funds by subscription; a list of subscribers is contained here. Further reference to SInclair may be found in Africa, Agriculture, Corn Laws, Coffee, Fens, Hessian Fly, Wool, and Voyages.

CODE:Sm

SMEATON, JOHN. The 15 or so documents here include correspondence between Banks and John Brooke, from whom Banks purchased Smeaton's papers, and Robert Mylne, who was most responsible for their publication in 1797. Among the documents are a 13 page manuscript inventory of the purchase, and about 150 pages of copies made by Banks of letters Smeaton received from, among others, James Watt, and Mr. Pickernell regarding the Hexham Bridge.

CODE:SAM

SOUTH AMERICA. Six or so documents in this category include a long account of A. Guzman's travels in South America in 1797, two letters from Major Bonham in Surinam, circa 1811, and an 1810 letter from Captain Boynton regarding alpacas and llamas which included specimens of their wool.

CODE:SS

SOUTH SEAS. One hundred or so documents in this section have as their main theme plant collecting-introduction and expeditions to the islands of the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and the Maylay Peninsula. Numerous letters here are to, from, or about Captain Bligh. Correspondents with special reference to Bligh include Sir Evan Nepean, the Duke of York, Lord Bathurst, and Samuel Marsden. Included as well are several original drawings for plant storage aboard the Bounty and Cook's Discovery is the subject of an extensive series of letters. George Harrison at the Treasury, Allan Cunningham, and Governor Macquarie corresponded about plant collecting for Kew in Australia. Banks also corresponds with Samuel Marsden and Sydney merchant, Robert Campbell.

CODE:SSC

SOUTH SEAS COMPANY. Approximately 10 broadsides and pamphlets, spanning the years 1707-33, pertain to financial aspects of the South Seas Company and the "South Sea Bubble."

CODE: S

SPICES.Four documents here include a detailed, 20 page memorandum about spice plants, such as nutmeg, cloves, and mace in Sumatra, and cinnamon in Ceylon.

CODE: SG

SPRING GROVE. Over 100 letters, reference notes, receipts, drawings, accounts, and advertisements relating to Banks' estates and environs in Middlesex concerning crops, livestock, taxes, and maintenance. Some documents record experiments by Banks on underground temperature and increasing wood production. Another document is an ode, apparently by Banks to Spring Grove. Banks corresponded with his solicitors and the Biscoes about buying the property. Also included here are a number of documents relating to the Isleworth-Twickenham-Heston (Middlesex) enclosure.

CODE:St

STOVES, OVENS. One of the five documents in this section is a letter to Banks from Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) about his fuel-efficient oven which used air vents. The remaining four drawings and engravings concern ovens and bear identification in Italian.

CODE:Sub

SUBSCRIPTIONS. The 55 documents in this category are requests for subscriptions for publications, and receipts of funds subscribed to by Banks for writings on a large variety of subjects. Among the many writers requesting Banks' subscriptions are Nicholas Carlisle, William Lewin, William Playfair, Francis Plowden, Rogers Ruding, and F. Balthazar Solvins.

CODE:Su

SUGAR. The 15 or so documents in this section pertain to sugar cultivation in India and the West Indies. Documents include pictures, reports, and correspondence with William Roxburgh and Robert Kyd.

CODE:Sum

SUMATRA. Three letters, by John MacDonald, describes Sumatran plant and animal specimens and artifacts which he sent to Banks.

CODE:T

TANNING AND FURS. About 100 broadsides, pamphlets and letters concern legislation and import duties on leather, and a few concern seal fur processing. Correspondents include Samuel Purkis and Lord Liverpool.

CODE: TX

TAXES. Approximately 60 documents are about Banks' property and parish taxes, or broadsides pertaining to tax proposals.

CODE:Tea

TEA. The 30 documents in this section encompass many aspects of the tea trade. Topics discussed included cost, amounts imported by Great Britian, trade with China, tea cultivation in India and the West Indies, and the role of the East India Company. Correspondents include Lord Sheffield and William Richardson.

CODE:Th

THEATER. Four documents pertain to petition to allow a Well Street Theater to remain open, about which Rev. Richard Shepherd corresponded. A fifth document is a printed prologue-epilogue of a dramatic reading performed before royalty.

CODE:Ti

TIBET. This category includes just one 80 page document entitled, "The [Samuel] Turner Report of the Embassy to China and Tibet," circa 1784.

CODE:To

TOBACCO. Five broadsides and pamphlets are about the tobacco trade in relation to Scotland, Virginia, and Great Britian.

CODE: Ta

TRADE. Ten or so broadsides, pamphlets, and letters pertain to protection of trade and commerce. A few documents address the question of whether Leghorn should be a freeport. Banks and John Reeves discussed a dispute the latter had with the Treasury, circa 1806. In a lengthy document, Banks compared British and American whaling in the south polar region.

CODE:TE and TN (respectively)

TYSSEN ESTATE; TYSSEN-NARBOROUGH. Almost 200 documents in these two categories pertain to Banks' trusteeship of the estate of Samuel Tyssen, during the minority of his heirs. Included are letters, bills, and receipts, reference notes, inventories, and accounts. Banks and his solicitors attended to legal and financial matters, as well as to the leasing and maintenance of Narborough Hall, Norfolk.

CODE:Vol

VOLCANO. One document, by Sir Humphrey Davy, written in Naples, comments on the 1820 eruption of Vesuvius. The other two documents concern a volcano on Barren Island located 12' North Latitude.

CODE:Vo

VOYAGES. The five documents in this section include Sir John Sinclair's sketch of a journey made in 1786-7; three others, by the pseudonymous Eugenius, satirize Sinclair and his publication. The fifth document, by John Hawkesworth, is the "Preface to the Second Edition of Voyages Round the World."

CODE:Wea

WEATHER. The 3 documents in this section concern the Cirencester tornado of 1809, and tidal waves at Plymouth, Looe, and Fowey in 1817.

CODE:WM

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The majority of the 18 documents here concern the proceedings and study of the Commission, appointed by Lord Sidmouth, to investigate and make recommendations for a more uniform standard of weights and measures. There is much correspondence between Banks, a member of the Commission, and Sidmouth. Several broadsides by G. Medhurst regard patent scales. One document, a survey of England by John Farey, gives his recommendations for measurement reform.

CODE:WL

WELLS. About 40 documents, including drawings of plans for wells and earth strata, relate to the expense and technique for boring and sinking wells at various locations in England. Archibald Menzies was a correspondent.

CODE: WI

WEST INDIES. Thirty or so documents pertain to the West Indies, especially to plant cultivation and introduction, and to botanical gardens, notably the one at St. Vincent. Correspondents include Benjamin Vaughan, Dr. George Young, Alexander Anderson, Lord Palmerston, Dr. Maerter of Vienna, Stephen Fuller, Mrs. William Lockhead, Sir William Young, the Governor of Tobago, and Sir John Sinclair. See also Botanical Gardens and Botany.

CODE: W

WINES AND SPIRITS. About 45 broadsides and pamphlets are about duties and excise on French wines and brandies, and legislation concerning the use of malt and corn in making beer, ale, rum, and other liquors.

CODE: Wd

WOOD. The 10 or so documents in this category are various and include a chart indicating an annual pruning schedule, John Farey's discussion of planting ash trees at Woburn, and Thomas A. Knight on sap-rise and wood grains. Banks responded to Lord Glenbervie's queries on the cultivation and management of navy timber, and discussed, in a note, dry rot.

CODE: WL

WOOL. Many, if not most, of the 800 documents in this section have been published in The Sheep and Wool Correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks, 1781-1820, Harold B. Carter, ed. (Norwich and Suffolk: Richard Clay Ltd, The Library Council of New South Wales in Association with the British Museum (Natural History), 1979. Most of these documents concern Banks' management of the King's Merino sheep flock. Also included are wool samples, and numerous 17th and 18th century broadsides about the wool industry.

The collection is comprised primarily of correspondence but other formats found in the collection include: published broadsides and pamphlets, clippings, specimens, diagrams, drawings, charts, maps, and artifacts.