Letter written by George Forster and Johann Reinhold Forster to Johan Carl Spener, 2 April 1776, with transcription and translation, ca. 1944?

MLMSS 7906

fonds

2 April 1776, transcribed, ca. 1944?

872727

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder)

Johann Reinhold Forster, author and naturalist, was born on 22 October 1729 at Dirschau (Tschew), Polish Prussia. His writings on natural history made him known in scientific circles, where he won the acquaintanceship of Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1772. When Banks refused to sail on James Cook's second expedition, he was appointed the position of scientist and took along his son Georg Forster as his assistant. Because of J. R. Forster's quarrel with the Admiralty, A Voyage Round the World in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop Resolution … (1777) had to be written by Georg Foster.

Reference:
Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/ (accessed August 31, 2009)

The letter is written in German with Kurrent or Zutterlin script by Johann Reinhold Forster and George Forster to Berlin bookseller and publisher, Johan Carl Spener. The collection also contains two other documents, a typescript transcription in German and a English typescript translation by the Berlitz Translation Bureau (London). The letter describes the Forsters' dealings with their friend and publisher, Spener in acquiring new publications and maps on history and travel

Transferred from the Manuscripts Collection MLDOC 488, August 2009. Formerly from Uncat. Doc. file