[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from William Francis],
Title
[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from William Francis],
Creator
Date
Identifier
GFF 7/76
Description
Handwritten letter from William Francis, The Manor House, Richmond S. W., to George F. Fitzgerald. dated 29th January 1894. Francis asks for Fitzgerald's permission to discuss a private letter with friends, and regrets putting Dr. Gore's paper into type. 3pp.
Transcription:
"Dear Prof. Fitzgerald,
I send these few lines merely to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th. The subject will require serious consideration, and I must also be allowed to consult some friends, which, your letter being headed private, I shall not do until I receive your permission.
Supposing I were inclined to sell and the Physical Society in a position to buy, I do not think it would result in any advantage to the Society, but the reverse. The idea of creating a monopoly seems to me purely chimerical, as proved by the continual increase in the number of journals devoted to Physics in Germany, France, the United States and elsewhere. However I will go carefully into the matter and let you know the result.
I received Dr. Gore's paper, and although not first rate, gave orders for it to be put into type - Had I known that it had been communicated to the Birmingham Society (as appears from your notice in "Nature") I should have declined it, as I have more original communications in hand than I know how to make room for -
Yours sincerely
William Francis"
Transcription:
"Dear Prof. Fitzgerald,
I send these few lines merely to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th. The subject will require serious consideration, and I must also be allowed to consult some friends, which, your letter being headed private, I shall not do until I receive your permission.
Supposing I were inclined to sell and the Physical Society in a position to buy, I do not think it would result in any advantage to the Society, but the reverse. The idea of creating a monopoly seems to me purely chimerical, as proved by the continual increase in the number of journals devoted to Physics in Germany, France, the United States and elsewhere. However I will go carefully into the matter and let you know the result.
I received Dr. Gore's paper, and although not first rate, gave orders for it to be put into type - Had I known that it had been communicated to the Birmingham Society (as appears from your notice in "Nature") I should have declined it, as I have more original communications in hand than I know how to make room for -
Yours sincerely
William Francis"
Source
RDS Library & Archives GFF collection of letters
Contributor
Rights
Copyright RDS Library & Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library & Archives.
Relation
RDS Science Archive
Format
Manuscript
Language
English
Type
Coverage
1870-1901
Collection
Citation
Francis, William, 1817-1904, “[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from William Francis],,” RDS Digital Archive, accessed December 5, 2025, https://digitalarchive.rds.ie/items/show/2196.