Sir Joseph Banks was a great Georgian figure. He circumnavigated the world with Captain James Cook on the H.M.S. Endeavor (1768-1771). He took with him a team of naturalists, illustrators and assistants at a personal cost of pounds 10,000. They made unprecedented collections of flora and fauna in most of the places the H.M.S. Endeavor visited. Banks also led the first British scientific expedition to Iceland, in 1772. Later, he settled in London and assembled an enormous herbarium-cum-library. This was remarkable for its size and for the unique material gathered from the Pacific. Banks was elected President of the Royal Society in 1778, a position he held for 41 years -- the longest anyone has served in that capacity. He was also the Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, which flourished under his control and became greater than any other. He was also an influential privy councilor and advisor to George III and the government. Banks was therefore at the scientific and social centre ofGeorgian life for more than five decades of rapid change. Once established in this position, he developed an enormous, global network of correspondence, using letters to shape events, to further knowledge, and to build an empire. There was almost no aspect too insignificant for his attention: and on matters of importance, his opinion was frequently sought. He has been called the "Fathers of Australia" for his role in establishing and then actively supporting colonies on the continent he visited with Cook. On matters of trade or agriculture, botany or horticulture, exploration or navigation, coinage, drainage and science, his views could hardly be avoided. Yet, he was a warm, authoritativewriter, with a "roiling" prose style. His letters make interesting reading for their variety as well as their insight into both his public and private life. This selection is from the over 5,000 letters which he wrote, and will in

One of our greatest writers about the sea has written an engrossing story of one of history's most legendary maritime explorers. Patrick O'Brian's biography of naturalist, explorer and co-founder of Australia, Joseph Banks, is narrative history at its finest. Published to rave reviews, it reveals Banks to be a man of enduring importance, and establishes itself as a classic of exploration. "It is in his description of that arduous three-year voyage [on the ship Endeavor] that Mr. O'Brian is at his most brilliant. . . . He makes us understand what life within this wooden world was like, with its 94 male souls, two dogs, a cat and a goat."—Linda Colley, New York Times "An absorbing, finely written overview, meant for the general reader, of a major figure in the history of natural science."—Frank Stewart, Los Angeles Times "[This book is] the definitive biography of an extraordinary subject."—Robert Taylor, Boston Globe "His skill at narrative and his extensive knowledge of the maritime history . . . give him a definite leg up in telling this . . . story."—Tom Clark, San Francisco Chronicle

Collection of 6 autographed letters signed on miscellaneous topics including: 1. 1783 September 6: to E.A.J. Annisson thanking him for his gift to the Royal Society but also noting the resolution made some years ago regarding "not admitting any more members upon the foreign list till the number was reduced."--2. 1804 March 2: to Rev. Dr. Glasser thanking "Mons. Carnot, President of the National Institute of Paris for the liberation of Mr. Osbourne, member of the Royal Society." Banks also notes that "we are not in possession of any correct list as Prisoners of War." -- 3. 1807 April 7: to John Symmons, Esq. thanking him "for the gift of the monstrous Calculus ... I have never seen anything like it in size from the bladder of a dog." -- 4. 1807 December 21: to an unidentified correspondent noting "I told you it is well at the club that the jewelers have set little value on the ... sent home from New ... I am however not at all the more able to purchase them cheap ... I am reduced to the necessity of Returning [sic] them to the Viscount of Islington." -- 5. 1808 December 16: to Sam Lysons discussing the post-mortem handling of the affairs of Philip Marmion and H. Hilery among others. -- 6. 181? May 30: a letter of introduction for Dawson Turner to J.J.H. La Billardière.