Edward Frankland to Faraday   18 November 1863

Royal Institution | Nov. 18th 1863.

My dear Mr. Faraday

To your inquiry respecting the Assistants necessary for the efficient working of the Chemical Laboratory of this Institution, I beg to reply as follows:- In every active chemical laboratory a great amount of labour is consumed in cleansing the vessels and other apparatus employed in research. This together with the maintenance of fires and other labourer’s work is quite sufficient to occupy the whole of the time of one uneducated Assistant. Such an Assistant would however be available for lighting fires in and carrying fuel to the Physical Laboratory; but, beyond this slight amount of additional work, I think it would be very desirable that his services should be exclusively devoted to the chemical laboratory. As regards the wages of such a man, I may mention that during the past two years I have had in my Laboratory at St. Bartholemews Hospital a thoroughly efficient man who has received 18 shillings per week. He came to me however without any previous knowledge of the work, and was therefore more valuable to me at the conclusion than at the commencement of his engagement, and I should therefore have advanced his wages to £1 per week had I retained him longer in my service.

In addition to this kind of work every chemical research requires the preparation of numerous substances of absolute purity, - a description of labour which occupies much time, and, if not performed by Assistants, renders the progress of any investigation extremely slow.

I have always had one and sometimes two trained and educated Assistants for this purpose, but the senior of the two alone need receive a salary as it is generally easy to obtain the services of a trained volunteer as junior Assistant, who, for the sake of the insight his position gives him into the methods of chemical research, and with some prospect of succeeding the Senior Assistant, is willing to give his services gratis for a year or two. At the present moment I have one such junior volunteer engaged in the chemical laboratory of the Institution. With regard to the salary paid to a senior trained Assistant I may mention that the amount varies in different London laboratories from £50 up to £100 per annum. My own senior Assistants have never received more than £60 per annum, and most of them have remained with me from three to four years. My present Senior Assistant Mr. John Broughton¹ receives £60 per annum, and if the Managers of the Royal Institution decide to grant an Assistant of this kind to the chemical laboratory, I should be glad if you would propose him for the appointment at his present salary.

The assistants which I beg to recommend as necessary for the efficient working of the chemical laboratory, as a laboratory of research; and also for all needful assistance at the chemical lectures, are therefore the following:-

One trained and educated Assistant at a salary of £60 per annum[.]

One uneducated laboratory man at £1 per week².

Believe me | My dear Mr. Faraday | Yours sincerely | E. Frankland.

Professor Faraday D.C.L., F.R.S., &c. &c. &c.