Letters

The correspondence listed here includes letters written by and to S. P. Thompson, and also items from his collection of manuscripts. Lady Wilson, daughter of Richard Phillips, gave Thompson the letters which Faraday wrote to her father.

The Professor also possessed autographs collected by his father and grandfather, which may have included the letters by Ampère and Volta, etc.

Unless described otherwise, all the letters are holograph letters, a note being given of typewritten letters. The description 'dictated' indicates the employment of an amanuensis. Some of the letters relating to the Kelvin biography are arranged in a book.

A reference is given for any letters which are printed or quoted in 'Silvanus Phillips Thompson. His life and letters' by J. S. and H. G. Thompson, published in 1920 by Fisher Unwin and referred to in this list as the 'Life'. Letters used in the biography of Lord Kelvin, published in 1910, are also noted.

The compiler is indebted to Mrs. Magda Whitrow and Dr. Umberto Ratti for their help in translating the letters.

The following abbreviations have been used:-

B.A. British Association for the Advancement of Science.

F.T.C. Finsbury Technical College.

I.E.E. Institution of Electrical Engineers.

P.M. Postmark.

P.R.S. President of the Royal Society.

R.S. Royal Society.