Groundbreaking Scientist Joseph Priestley's Family Letters to Auction

A historically significant archive of letters relating to the family life of Yorkshire-born chemist, natural philosopher, theologian and political thinker Joseph Priestley come up for sale at in Tennants Auctioneers’ Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale on April 15.

Priestley (1733-1804) is best known for discovering oxygen in 1774 which he called “dephlogisticated air” and advancing the study of gases. A dissenting minister, Priestley supported religious freedom and controversial political reforms, bringing him into conflict with authorities. After riots destroyed his home in Birmingham, he emigrated to the United States.

The letters (estimate: £3,000-£5,000) were written by Joseph’s brother Timothy and are all addressed to their sister Martha Crouch. They reveal that religion and theology were central to the Priestley family’s life, although money is another frequently discussed subject along with concern for Joseph. Timothy, like his brother, was primarily focused on religion and science; an independent minister, he also constructed ‘electrifying machines’. 

Other highlights of the sale include:

• a good first edition of An Account of the first Aerial Voyage in England by pioneering balloonist Vincenzo Lunardi (estimate: £600-£900) comprising a series of letters to his guardian, recording the landmark first aerial voyage in England that took place in September 1784
• an extensive collection of Underwood & Underwood stereoscopic cards dating from circa 1898 to 1918 and including hundreds of cards of countries such as Palestine, Australia Congo, Russia, and Norway alongside images of the Second Boer War and the First World War, plus images of the Battle of Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion and the ‘Lama Temple’ in Beijing.  (estimate: £800-£1,200)
• a small section of polar exploration books which include British Royal Naval Officer and Arctic explorer Sir William Edward Parry’s three books detailing his three early 19th century voyages looking for the North-West Passage (estimate: £400-£600)
• Alexander Mackenzie’s Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, published in 1801 (estimate: £600-£900)
• a first edition of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau published in 1896 (estimate: £300-£500)