Catalogue Entry: ALCH00096

Draft letter or memo (1669?).

Author: Isaac Newton

Metadata: Not yet dated, in English , c. 200 words, 1 p.

Source: Ms. 433, The Babson College Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California, USA

Custodial History

The rest of SL28 is now divided between Babson Ms. 725, Keynes Ms. 91 (q.v. for the sale history) and Boston Medical Library B MS c 41 c. In 2006, following the closure of the Dibner Institute, the holdings of the Babson Collection were transferred on permanent loan to the Hungtington Library, San Marino, California.

Sotheby Lot

Part of SL28

Contents

Requests 'of Antimony about sixty pounds of Copper oare 12 or 16 pounds' and other metallic ores 'from [...] Bohemia or more especially from Hungary'. On reverse: a fragmentary medical recipe and some musings on the distinction between knowledge and wisdom, c. 100 words.

Possibly related to Newton's letter to Francis Aston, 18 May 1669 (Brewster (1855), 1: 387-9; NC, 1: 9-13), in which he advises him to make a number of chemical and metallurgical enquiries during his forthcoming European tour, Bohemia and Hungary (among other places) being specified.