Description

Description: In this four page autograph letter signed , Lionel Beale whole-heartedly congratulates and shows support to the recipient (possibly George Busk of “The Natural History Review” and “The Quarterly Journal of Science”) about editing a much-needed science review. He also expresses his inability to make regular quarterly contributions and explains his reluctance to write anonymous reviews.

“My dear Sir,

I am rejoiced to find that you are going to edit a science review. It is very much wanted & sure to succeed–I will gladly do anything I can but regular quarterly articles are impossible for me.  I cannot possibly undertake the article you propose on microscopical science or would gladly do so.

I shall be glad to write a review now and then if I may put my name or initials at the tail of it, but I have never written an anonymous review & cannot make up my mind to do so now– Surely there could be no objection to some writers putting their names or initials anonymously–For example I might write an article on ‘Life’ but as my views are different to those now generally entertained I must if I wrote anonymously refer to my own productions in a most disagreeable manner–in fact puff myself, or simply state the facts as my own & place my name at the end of the review. Heartily wishing you success,

I remain/My dear Sir/Yours faithfully/ Lionel S Beale”

Written on a folded  6 ¼” x 8” sheet of  ivory paper, dated  October 8th, 1863 from 6, Grosvenor St. Item #A01824

Lionel Smith Beale (1828-1906) was a British physician, microscopist, and Professor of Medicine at King’s College and authored several books. He was a prominent advocate for the scientific investigations of diseases and for the clinical application of the microscope. He published The Microscope and its Application to Clinical Medicine (1854) and was the founding editor of the Archives of Medicine (1857).

Condition: ¾” paper loss at upper left corner impacting several letters of interior text, still quite readable and in otherwise good condition.