A handsome copy, finely bound, of the standard early history of the influential Royal Society. From its foundation in the seventeenth century to the present day it has been at the very centre of science in the widest sense. It is in fact the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

A handsome copy, finely bound, of the standard early history of the influential Royal Society. From its foundation in the seventeenth century to the present day it has been at the very centre of science in the widest sense. It is in fact the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

A remarkable line-up of inventions and discoveries was first announced in presentations to the society, early momentous announcements ranging from Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood, Wren's papers on the pendulum and Saturn, and Newton's telescope to Babbage's calculating machine. In fact the material on Babbage is significant enough for Jeremy Norman to have included Weld's book in his "Origins of Cyberspace" collection and bibliography.

Weld's book tells the story of the first two centuries of the Society's history; inevitably there is much on Sir Joseph Banks, its most famous early President, whose position at the head of the Society epitomised his role as the great disseminator and pollinator in the sciences. There is considerable material on Captain Cook, including of course Pringle's famous delivery of his paper on scurvy discoveries, and on other voyagers showing to what extent the Society was involved with geographical discovery and the attendant scientific enquiries.