A lot of two related handwritten letters, including: (1) A signed three page letter by Sir Joseph Banks to Sir James Lake dated November 24, 1786, and (2) A signed four page letter to Sir Joseph Banks from Sir John Gordon dated September 24, 1786.

These rare letters appear to have content relating to a monument belonging to ancestors of Joseph Banks that was put up in Lincoln Cathedral and the architecture of the Cathedral as it relates to them.

SIZE (of each, folded, approx.): 7" x 9" (18 cm x 23 cm)

PROVENANCE : From the estate of a San Francisco document and autograph collection.<

NOTES / REFERENCES: Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage (1768–1771), visiting Brazil, Tahiti, and after 6 months in New Zealand, Australia, returning to immediate fame. He held the position of president of the Royal Society for over 41 years. He advised King George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and by sending botanists around the world to collect plants, he made Kew the world's leading botanical garden. He is credited for bringing 30,000 plant specimens home with him; amongst them, he was the first European to document 1,400. Banks advocated British settlement in New South Wales and the colonization of Australia, as well as the establishment of Botany Bay as a place for the reception of convicts, and advised the British government on all Australian matters. He is sometimes called "the father of Australia".

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Good condition, as shown in the photos. Please see description and photographs.