6 autographed letters signed from Joseph Banks to various correspondents including E.A.J. Anisson; Samuel Glasse, 1735-1812; J.J.H. La Billardiere, 1755-1834; Samule Lysons, 1763-1819; and John Symmons, d. 1832.

Botanist and naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, FRS, was born into a wealthy land-owning family on February 12, 1743. He expressed a particular interest in botany at an early age and after inheriting his family's fortune in the 1760's, was free to fully engage in his passion. He accompanied James Cook aboard the H.M.S Endeavor on his first voyage to Tahiti in 1768. The specimens collected on this voyage accounted for approximately 110 new genera and 1300 new species. After this trip, he became actively involved in promoting the British colonization of Australia. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766, he became president in 1778, a post he held until his death on June 19, 1820. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, also known as the Royal Society, was founded in London in 1660. The Society began in the 1640's as a discussion group among natural philosophers. Its purpose was to investigate and support experiential science. The Society became the United Kingdom's national academy of science, supporting and facilitating the work and education of members of the scientific community throughout the UK and the Commonwealth.

6 A.L.S.

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