Autograph letter signed.
Autograph letter signed on the production of the Royal Society Medal in Honour of Captain Cook.

Soho Square: 4 March 1784.

Single leaf, 23 x 18.5 cm., on laid paper, holographic letter signed in hand of Banks, later attribution 'Sr. Joseph Banks, Bart. 4th March 1784' in a different hand.

Joseph Banks acknowledges Pingo's work on the Royal Society medal

An exceptional letter from Sir Joseph Banks, entirely in his hand, regarding the minting of the Royal Society Medal in honour of Captain Cook. First recorded in the 1930s, and noted, albeit incorrectly, in Dawson's calendar of the correspondence of Banks, this letter was for many years in private hands, and had only recently been rediscovered when we last handled its sale in 2009.

An exceptional letter from Sir Joseph Banks, entirely in his hand, regarding the minting of the Royal Society Medal in honour of Captain Cook. First recorded in the 1930s, and noted, albeit incorrectly, in Dawson's calendar of the correspondence of Banks, this letter was for many years in private hands, and had only recently been rediscovered when we last handled its sale in 2009.

Banks was instrumental in organising the production of the medal in memory of his friend and former colleague from the Endeavour voyage. The letter, in Banks' characteristic and difficult hand, notes that "Mr. Pingo has executed the Commission which at your desire he undertook very much to my satisfaction. I should be obliged to you if you could take the trouble of informing me what sort of a Present you think should be made to him by the Society".

The recipient of the letter is not named here, but can be inferred from Banks' note regarding Pingo being commissioned "at your desire". This strongly implies - effectively confirms - that the letter is addressed to one of the two secretaries of the Royal Society who, as the historian of the medal's production L. Richard Smith has commented, had given Pingo the job. The recipient, then, would have been either Paul Henry Maty or Joseph Planta. If Maty, it must have been written at an awkward time, as the first months of 1784 saw Maty and Banks locked in a sometimes vicious fight over the direction of the Royal Society, a fight that culminated in Maty being replaced with Banks' man, Charles Blagden. Maty resigned on 25 March 1784. Of course, the letter may just as well have been sent to Planta, an important antiquary and librarian at the British Museum. Perhaps the references in the letter to the church in Lincoln and one Dr Dacre might ultimately allow someone to unlock the riddle.

---

Although known since the 1930s, the recorded history of this letter has been very confused. The letter is listed in Dawson's important calendar of Banks' correspondence, where it is suggested that it was addressed to Pingo himself (see Warren R. Dawson, The Banks Letters, p. 672). However, it is now clear that Dawson erred in suggesting that Pingo was the recipient (after all, it is scarcely likely that Banks would write to Pingo asking what he would like as a present). This, then, is the very same letter noted by the Australian collector George Mackaness as one of the highlights of his collection, and purchased by him in an 'English provincial bookseller's catalogue' in the 1930s (Mackaness, The Art of Book-Collecting in Australia, p. 12).

The letter reads:

Dear Sir

Enclosed you receive a Copy of the Church notes you desired. I find the Arms of Bowet among many quarterings on the tomb of a Grantham in St. Martin's Church Lincoln.

Mr. Pingo has executed the Commission which at your desire he undertook very much to my satisfaction. I should be obliged to you if you could take the trouble of informing me what sort of a Present you think should be made to him by the Society.

Your faithfully

Jos. Banks

As you have communicated to Dr Dacre your knowledge of the Bowet family I have no longer any occasion to trouble you on that head.

::

Provenance: George Mackaness (Australian collector, purchased from an 'English provincial bookseller's catalogue' in the 1930s); whereabouts subsequently unknown until the letter's reappearance at an Australian Book Auctions sale in 2008; Hordern House (catalogue "The Death of Captain Cook", 2009); private collection (Australia).

Dawson, 'The Banks Letters', p. 672 (incorrectly described as addressed to Lewis Pingo).

Condition Report: A little dusted, old folds.

Please Enquire

Condition Report