Louis Napoleon1 to Faraday   18402

The Prince Napoleon presents his compliments to Mr. Faraday and begs him to have the kindness to answer to a metallurgique question which is for the P[rin]ce of rather great importance.

The Prince should be very anxious to find one alloy which would be less fusible than lead and at the same time nearly as soft.

The Pr[ince] thinks that Lead and Zinc might together would perhaps answer the purpose but having no means to make experiment the Pr[ince] would be extremely obliged to Mr Faraday if he could appoint any person to make these trials; the Pr[ince] would with pleasure pay all expenses3.

The Pr[ince] is very sorry to give so much trouble to Mr. Faraday but he relies upon his kindness[.]

1
Louis Napoleon (1808-1873, NBU). Nephew of Napoleon I and French politician.
2
Dated on the basis of the 1839 watermark and that Napoleon was an exile in England from October 1838 to August 1840. Guest (1952), chapter 4, especially p.41.
3
Possibly Napoleon wanted this information for a second edition of Napoleon (1836) which he contemplated writing but never completed. See Guest (1952), 60.

Bibliography

GUEST, Ivor (1952): Napoleon III in England, London.

NAPOLEON, Louis (1836): Manuel d'artillerie, Zurich.

Please cite as “Faraday1228,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 23 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday1228