John Frederick William Herschel to Faraday   3 October 1838

Slough | October 3, 1838.

My dear Sir,

Looking over & arranging my books and papers which I am sorry to say are still in sad confusion, I find that I do not possess any copy of your valuable & truly precious "Experimental researches in Electricity" earlier than the 5th series¹ - beginning with, and after which, my set is complete as far as "Series 12 & 13"² which reached my hands since my arrival in England.

This has therefore a 2 fold object. 1st to thank you for your great kindness in transmitting me these - which if I have not done before, as they have come to hand you are not to attribute it to want of interest in your subject or of sympathy with the brilliant success which attended your researches, and rendered these papers for ever memorable in the history of Science - but rather to the circumstances under which they came to hand.

2ndly to request (if you still have copies of the first 4 Series³) that you will enable me to complete my set that I may have them bound together. I dare say, if you sent them to me while at the Cape - they have miscarried & may now be making the Grand Tour, as I know to have happened in two or 3 other cases.

Believe me my dear Sir | Yours very sincerely (sd) J.F.W.H.