M. Faraday ALS Requesting "Models of the Block Machinery"

A 1p autograph letter signed by British chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), as "M Faraday" at lower right. Written at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London, England, on May 6, 1829 on a leaf of cream bifold paper. The inner and last pages are blank. Expected flattened paper folds and light even toning. A few scattered yellow stains mostly confined to the edges of the first page and to the last page. Isolated edge darkening and chipping. Minor paper loss to the top of the last page has been taped but is not immediately visible. Else very good to near fine. 4.375" x 7.25."

Michael Faraday wrote this letter to John Knowles (1781-1841), the Chief Clerk of the Surveyor's Office of the Royal Navy.

In full, with original spelling and punctuation:

"Royal Institution
May 6th. 1829

Dear Sir

Will you favour me by allowing the bearer to have the Models of the Block Machinery for the Royal Institution

I am dear Sir
faithfully yours

M Faraday

John Knowles Esqr

+c +c."

The Royal Institution was a preeminent British center of scientific research established in 1799. It regularly engaged with the public by hosting enrichment lectures. Faraday had developed two extremely popular educational programs, his Christmas Lecture Series, and his Friday Evening Discourses, a few years earlier, in the mid-1820s. It was in his capacity as a Friday Evening Discourse oversight committee member that Faraday had written Knowles's superiors at the Navy Office a few months earlier, in mid-February 1829, to inquire if they would loan to the Royal Institution certain models of block machinery used at Plymouth dockyard. Navy Office personnel had accepted Faraday's proposal, and now, some three months later, Faraday was writing to John Knowles to see if he could pick up the models.

The "Models of Block Machinery" referred to in Faraday's letter were prototypes of the all-metal, steam-powered machine tools developed by French émigré inventor Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849) to mass produce wooden pulley blocks used by the Royal Navy. Brunel invented a total of 45 different machines, each responsible for a different part of the pulley block making process. The new machinery was gradually rolled out at Portsmouth dockyard between 1803-1805. Brunel's invention saved the Royal Navy inestimable time and money. Every year, the Royal Navy required about 100,000 wooden pulley blocks for use in all the ships of its impressive naval fleet. Wooden pulley blocks had previously been made by hand by skilled tradesmen. With Brunel's block machinery, however, one tenth of the amount of labor was required, and unskilled labor at that. By 1808, Brunel's block machinery was mass producing 130,000 wooden pulley blocks with ease.

Brunel's block machinery created universal excitement, so much so that even 20 years after the first demonstrations of its use, the public was still very interested in the technology. We know that Knowles complied with Faraday's request in this letter to forward models of Brunel's block machinery. This is because Faraday presented his lecture "On Brunel's Block Machinery" two days later, on May 8, 1829. During this time period, between 1826-1829, Faraday also delivered lectures at the Royal Institution on such topics as using glass in optics and studying the effects of weather on building stone.

This letter reminds us that, in addition to theorizing and proving the existence of numerous foundational ideas relating to electricity and magnetism, Michael Faraday was a dedicated lecturer and teacher. Faraday was long associated with the Royal Institution. He maintained a flat, study, and laboratory there, and conducted many of his most important experiments there. At the Royal Institution, Faraday had attended lectures as a student; served as a Chemical Assistant after 1813; was appointed a Director of Laboratory after 1825; and accepted the position of Fullerian Professor of Chemistry after 1833.

John Knowles served as the Chief Clerk of the Surveyor's Office of the Royal Navy between 1806-1832. The author of several books including "The Elements and Practice of Naval Architecture" (1822), Knowles was elected to the Royal Society.

Marc Isambard Brunel's pulley block machinery proved to be the most successful of his engineering designs. Brunel was struggling to complete extremely costly, difficult, and dangerous bridge and tunnel building projects in Britain in the mid-to-late-1820s, when this letter was written.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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