Letters relating to Electrical Experiments & Observations by Edward Delaval - 1761

This item consists of two related papers. The first was written by Benjamin Wilson and transmits the second letter to the Secretary of the Royal Society. The second letter was written by Edward Delaval to describe his experiments, and their results, to investigate the electrical resistance of certain materials. The full title of this two-letter item is A Letter from Mr. Benjamin Wilson, F.R.S. to the Rev. Tho. Birch, D.D. Secret. R.S. and a second letter A Letter from Edward Delaval, M.A. and Fellow of Pembroke-Hall, Cambridge, to Mr. Benjamin Wilson, F.R.S. containing some Electrical Experiments and Observations.

The item, first read before the Royal Society on March 22, 1759, is a First Edition, extracted and disbound from The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 51, For the Years 1759 & 1760, pages 83-88. This volume was published in 1761. The pages of the paper are tanned, but the text is clear and easily read. The item is in good condition.

The illustrations accompanying this description show the first page and one other page of the item.

Benjamin Wilson (June 21, 1721 – June 6, 1788) was an English painter, printmaker and scientist (natural philosopher). As a scientist he opposed Benjamin Franklin's theory of positive and negative electricity. Instead, Wilson supported Isaac Newton's gravitational-optical ether, which he supposed to differ in density around bodies in accordance with their degrees of electrification. Wilson also opposed Franklin's theory of pointed lightning rods, holding that blunt conductors performed better than pointed ones. [Wikipedia]

Thomas BirchT (23 November 1705 – 9 January 1766) was an English historian. In 1735 he became a member of the Society of Antiquaries, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, of which he was secretary from 1752 to 1765. [Wikipedia]

Edward Hussey Delaval (born 1729; died 14 August 1814) was a scholar and scientist. He shared the 1766 Copley Medal where he was cited for his research on metals and glass. His interest in glass included its use in music. His performances on musical glasses became well-known, and may have inspired Benjamin Franklin's glass harmonica. [Wikipedia]