GUIDE TO THE CORRESPONDENCE SERIES WITHIN THE CHARLES BABBAGE / NEVILLE BABBAGE ARCHIVES IN THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM 97/186 97/229/1 Paul Wilson 2010 COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES DESCRIPTION Registration Number: 97/186/1-1 Creators: Babbage, Charles Babbage, Neville Series Title: Correspondence to Charles Babbage Date Range: 1826-1894 Physical Characteristics: Handwritten letters, envelopes, cards, invitation and document Description: Correspondence, letters (17), cards (6), envelopes (29), one invitation and one document, to Charles Babbage, Charles Babbage/Neville Babbage, England/Australia, 1826-1894 This series contains correspondence predominantly sent to Charles Babbage. The letters provide evidence of his interests and social connections. Babbage was a well known figure in London society. He was friends with many prominent people, such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, Sir John Herschel and Charles Darwin. He held regular Saturday evening parties at his home in Manchester Square for many years, which were apparently attended by two or three hundred people and were said to be a meeting place for Europe's liberal intelligentsia. This series contains a letter from Joshua Field as well as correspondence from (Augusta) Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (Byron's daughter). Other correspondents include the Duchess Dowager of Somerset, the scientist Sir Charles Wheatstone, writer and statesman Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Admiral Edward Codrington, politician Henry Bougham, heiress and philanthropist Baroness Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, actor William McCready, scientific writer John Peter Gassoit and the civil engineer Isambar Kingdom Brunel. Many of the letters are invitations to social events. Arrangement: Based on order created by Neville Babbage Dimensions: Shelf Length 0.040 m Box Number: 1 COLLECTED ARCHIVES ITEM LIST Series Title: Item Number Item Title Box 97/186/1-1/1 Letter, Joshua Field to Charles Babbage, paper/ink/pencil, 14 1 November 1831 One page hand written letter in black ink from Joshua Field, Lambeth, London, England, to Charles Babbage. In the letter Field thanks Babbage for sending him a copy of the new edition of his 'Logarithmic Tables', and states that "I fully appreciate the value of the improvements you have contributed to this valuable branch of science." The paper sheet (183 h x 225 w) was folded in half for the production of the letter then three times for postage. The letter is signed 'Joshua Field'. 97/186/1-1/2 Letter, unknown to Charles Babbage, paper/ink/wax/pencil, c. 1 1840 One page hand written letter from an unknown correspondent to Charles Babbage asking if he were interested in joining him/her in a journey on the following day commencing at 1:45 pm. The sheet has black edging on all four sides. On the other side of the folded sheet the letter is addressed to 'Charles Babbage Esq/ Dorset St'. There is also a broken black wax seal. The paper sheet (112 mm h x 155 mm w) was folded in half for the production of the letter then twice for postage and sealed. The letter is signed 'L'. The letter was once attributed to Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. 97/186/1-1/3 Letter, part of letter from Augusta Ada King, Countess of 1 Lovelace to Charles Babbage, paper/ink, c. 1840 Part of a torn page of a hand written letter in black ink from Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, to Charles Babbage, asking Babbage to visit her at Horsley, Surrey, England. The letter is signed 'A. L.' 97/186/1-1/4 Visiting card and envelope, Augusta Ada King, Countess of 1 Lovelace, to Charles Babbage, c. 1840 97/186/1-1/4/1 Visiting card, Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, to Charles Babbage, paper/ink, c. 1840 Visiting card of Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, sent to Charles Babbage. The white card has text printed in black that reads, "COUNTESS OF LOVELACE." On the back of the card there is hand written text in black ink that reads, "Very interesting". 97/186/1-1/4/2 Envelope, envelope addressed to Charles Babbage from Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, paper/ink, c. 1840. Envelope addressed to Charles Babbage from Augusta Ada Item Number Item Title Box King, Countess of Lovelace. The envelope is addressed in black ink to 'C. Babbage Esqre/ 1. Dorset St/ Manchester Sqre'. On the back of the envelope the name 'Ada' has been written in black ink. The envelope contained a visiting card from the Countess of Lovelace. 97/186/1-1/5 Visiting cards, (4), Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of 1 Somerset, to Charles Babbage, paper/ink, c. 1860 Four printed visiting cards from Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of Somerset, to Charles Babbage. Each visiting card is on white card with black edging on all four sides. The printed text reads, 'Duchess Dowager of Somerset'. Each card also contains a hand written message in black ink. 97/186/1-1/5/1 Visiting card, Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of 1 Somerset, to Charles Babbage, paper/ink, c. 1860 Visiting card from Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of Somerset, to Charles Babbage. The white card has black border edging on all four sides. The printed text reads, 'Duchess Dowager of Somerset'. Hand written text in black ink has been added to the card so that the entire text reads, "To Mr Babbage/ with the Duchess Dowager of Somerset/ 2 Spring Chickens/ 2 Devonshire Pidgeons/ 1 doz new laid eggs". 97/186/1-1/5/2 Visiting card, Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of 1 Somerset, to Charles Babbage, paper/ink, c. 1860 Visiting card from Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of Somerset, to Charles Babbage. The white card has black border edging on all four sides. The printed text reads, 'Duchess Dowager of Somerset'. Hand written text in black ink has been added to the card so that the entire text reads, "To enquire particular/ for Mr Babbage/ Duchess Dowager of Somerset". 97/186/1-1/5/3 Visiting card, Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of 1 Somerset, to Charles Babbage, paper/ink, c. 1860 The printed text reads, 'Duchess Dowager of Somerset'. Hand written text in black ink has been added to the card so that the entire text reads, "To enquire particular/ for Mr Babbage/ With the Duchess Dowager of Somerset/ kind compliments/ I guinea fowl Devonshire/ 1- duckling - [indecipherable]/ 6- new laid eggs - ". 97/186/1-1/5/4 Visiting card, Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of 1 Somerset, to Charles Babbage, paper/ink/pencil, c. 1860 The printed text reads, 'Duchess Dowager of Somerset'. Hand written text in black ink has been added to the card so that the entire text reads, "With many kind wishes/ & regards/ Duchess Dowager of Somerset/ C. Babbage Esq." On the back of the card Babbages address has been written in black ink, '1. Dorset Street/ Manc Sq'. Item Number Item Title Box 97/186/1-1/6 Correspondence, letters (13), invitations and document, to 1 Charles Babbage, and 1 letter to Eden H Babbage, 1844 - 1894 Correspondants include scientist Sir Charles Wheatstone, Admiral Edward Codrington, politician Henry Bougham, heiress and philanthropist Baroness Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, and actor William McCready. 97/186/1-1/6/1 Letter, Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of Somerset, 1 to Charles Babbage, paper/ink/pencil, 1 August 1860 Two page hand written letter in black ink from the Margaret Seymour, the Duchess Dowager of Somerset, Park Lane, London, England, to Charles Babbage inviting him to dinner on Thursday 2 August 1860. Others attending the dinner would be the Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, "& a few very kind & old friends". The paper sheet (194 mm h x 325 mm w) was folded in half for the production of the letter then twice for postage. The letter is signed 'M Somerset'. The family's crest is printed in the upper left corner of the sheet. Various mathematical calculations in pencil are written on the sheet. 97/186/1-1/6/2 Letter, Sir Charles Wheatstone to Charles Babbage, 1 paper/ink/pencil, 25 November 1844 One page hand written letter in black ink from Sir Charles Wheatstone, 20 Conduit Street, London, England, to Charles Babbage informing him that he would be travelling to Paris, France on Monday and asking him if he could be of any service to him there. The paper sheet (178 mm h x 230 mm w) was folded in half for the production of the letter then twice for postage. The letter is signed 'C. Wheatstone'. 97/186/1-1/6/3 Letter, Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier to Charles Babbage, 1 paper/ink/pencil, 4 September 1826 One page hand written letter in French and in black ink from Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, Secretary of the Académie Royale des Sciences, Institut de France, Paris, France to Charles Babbage thanking him for sending three of his publications to the Academy: 'On the influence of signs in mathematical training', 1826; 'On electric and magnetic rotations', 1826; and 'On a method of expressing by signs the action of machinery'. The publications had been placed in the Institute's Library. The letter is on the letterhead of the Académie Royale des Sciences, Institut de France. On the other side of the folded sheet the letter is addressed to 'Monsieur/ Monsieur Charles Babbage/ member de la societe royale de Londres/ Rue Neuve des Augustins No. 6/ a Paris'. The paper sheet (248 mm h x 386 mm w) was folded in half for the production of the letter then four times for postage and sealed. The sheet contains residue from a red wax seal.