POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION,2 | (LIMITED), | 309 REGENT STREET.
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The Premises of this Institution having been materially Altered and Improved, rendered thoroughly Secure for the Use of the Public, Re-Decorated, and Supplied with Works of Art, Models of Machinery, Specimens of Manufacturers of the latest character, and new Apparatus, will be
RE-OPENED to the PUBLIC on MONDAY, the 12th of NOVEMBER, 1860.
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AN EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN FORMED,
with suitable class-rooms,
FOR THE STUDY OF ART, SCIENCE, AND LITERATURE,
For both male and female pupils.
Dear Hector
Would you and Mrs T.3 care about going to this?
J. T.
PROGRAMME – PRIVATE VIEW
Saturday Evening, November 10th, 1860.
Doors open at half-past seven o’clock.
Eight o’clock – OPENING ADDRESSES.
Half-past Eight – REVELATIONS of IMMENSITY, with a Particular Reference to EARL ROSSE’S DISCOVERIES. With fac-similies of Telescopic Views, executed on a new principle. By Mr Mackintosh.4 – In the Large Theatre.
Quarter to Nine – DESCRIPTIONS of COLLIN’S PATENT ELECTRO-PRINTING BLOCKS for ENLARGING and DIMINISHING at Pleasure, to any Extent, all kinds of DRAWINGS AND ENGRAVINGS. By Mr E.V. Gardiner,5 Professor of Chemistry – In the Front Theatre.
Quarter-past Nine – EXPLANATION of MODELS of NEW INVENTIONS, and DESCRIPTION of the ILLUMINATED CASCADE, Exhibited by DUBOSCO’S ELECTRIC LIGHT APPARATUS. by Mr. King.6 – In the Gallery.
Half-past Nine – EXPERIMENTS with RHUMKORF’S7 ELECTRIC COIL APPARTUS, Exhibiting GASSIOT’S CASCADE, *8TYNDALL’S GAS TUBES, &c &c. by Mr. E.V. Gardiner. – In the Front Theatre
Quarter to Ten – DESCENT of the DIVING BELL, and EXPERIMENTS under Water, with HEINKE’S PATENT DIVING DRESS and HELMET. Description by Mr King.
Ten o’clock – EXHIBITION of a NEW SERIES OF DISSOLVING VIEWS, by a much IMPROVED OPTICAL COMBINATION: SCENES in SICILY and ITALY, painted by Messrs Prout and Hine:9 the DESCRIPTIVE LECTURE written by the Rev. C.M. DAVIES,10 M.A. To be followed by a very beautiful Series of PHOTOGRAPHS of Greek and other SCULPTURE, supplied by Messrs Negretti and Kambra.11
The band, under the direction of Mr. V. Waud,12 of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, will play favourite selections during the evening.
RI MS JT/1/TYP/5/1630–1
LT Transcript Only
[late October or early November]: dated with reference to the meeting on 10 November.
POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION: Established in 1838 by the engineer Sir George Cayley (1773–1857), the Polytechnic Institution was created to instruct and entertain the public through popular science lectures, and demonstrations of new scientific inventions and technologies. The Institution provided public classes in science, music, history, geography, and languages. Its public attractions included science lectures, rides in a diving bell, photography demonstrations, and exhibitions of models and machines. In 1841 Prince Albert became Patron of the Institution, and the name was changed to the Royal Polytechnic Institution. Under new management in 1860, the Institution was reopened to the public following a brief closure.
Mrs T.: Julia Tyndale. In 1842 Hector had married Julia Nowlen (1823–97), the daughter of Carlow immigrants (see Tyndall Correspondence, vol. 5, letter 1052, n. 18). There is no evidence that Tyndall or the Tyndales went to this event.
Mr Mackintosh: John Mackintosh provided science lectures for the Polytechnic Institution, such as his ‘Properties of Matter’ (1860). He also presented at the BAAS in 1858 on ‘The Application of Combustible Compounds to be used in War’ and on ‘Constructing and Laying Telegraph Cables’.
Mr E.V. Gardiner: Professor E.V. Gardner was the Professor of Chemistry at the Polytechnic Institution during this period, and directed the experimental science department at the Polytechnic College in connection to the Institution. He was also a professor at the College of Experimental, Military, and Naval Sciences at Berners College of Chemistry, where he taught private pupils preparing for examinations. (Chemical News, (Sept 18, 1868), p. 139; (Oct 24, 1873), p. 217).
Mr. King: J. L. King of the Polytechnic Institution was one of the main lecturers on popular topics including astronomy, such as his ‘Starwatching, and The Transit of Venus’ (1860) and ‘The Worlds Above’ (1873). He also lectured in zoology, such as his ‘Muscle and Muscular Power’ (1871), and on the oxyhydrogen microscope which was one of the main exhibits at the Institution.
RHUMKORF’S: Heinrich Daniel Rhumkorff.
*: the asterisk was added by hand to the printed material, presumably by Tyndall.
Messrs Prout and Hine: Henry George Hine (1811–95), landscape painter, comic artist, and wood-engraver (DNB); John Skinner Prout (1806–76), watercolour painter (DNB).
Rev. C.M. DAVIES: Rev. Charles Maurice Davies (1828-1910), Anglican clergyman, journalist and author. Ordained deacon in 1851, and priest in 1852. He was also headmaster of West London Collegiate School (1861–8) (DNB).
Messrs Negretti and Kambra: The Anglo-Italians Henry Angelo Ludovico Negretti (1818–79) and Joseph Warren Zambra (1822–97) formed a partnership in 1850 as successful makers of scientific instruments. They were instrument makers to the queen, Greenwich Observatory, and the British Meteorological Society (DNB).
Mr. V. Waud: Mr. W. Waud of the Royal Italian Opera, renamed the Royal Opera House in 1892. He provided the musical arrangements for the Polytechnic Institution.
Please cite as “Tyndall1736,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on