Alfred Bonham-Carter to Faraday   5 July 18591

Office of Works, &c., 5 July 1859.

Sir,

In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 1st instant2, I am desired by Mr. Fitzroy to request that you will kindly inform him whether Ransome’s process3 for the preservation of stone is inferior to that of M. Szerelmey4.

Upon the personal inspection which you made in the company of the First Commissioner, the merits of the two processes appeared so equally balanced that Mr. Fitzroy trusts you will permit him to ask whether, having upon mature consideration decided in favour of the latter, it be by intention that you have omitted all mention of the former in your present communication.

In expressing to you Mr. Fitzroy’s regret for giving you further trouble in this matter,

I am, &c. | (signed) A. Bonham-Carter

Professor Faraday

1
Alfred Bonham-Carter (1825-1910, WWW1). Private Secretary to the First Commissioner of Works, 1859-1866.
2
Letter 3610 and note 1.
3
Ransome’s process (see his Patent 1856-2267) had also been used on the stone of the Houses of Parliament. See the report of on the decay of stone, Parliamentary Papers, 1861 (504) XXXV, question 196.
4
See note 2, letter 3610.

Please cite as “Faraday3613,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday3613