From William Sullivan   19 April 1865

Department of Science and Art,

Museum of Irish Industry,

Stephen's Green, Dublin,

19th day of April 1865.

Dear Sir

I am very sorry to have to tell you that Professor Harvey is very ill indeed and has been obliged to go to Arcachon in the South of France. Your letter¹ has been [sent] to me with a request that I would answer it. I must in the first place tell you that I am not the Mr Sullivan whose [letter]² you received, nor is Prof. Kavanagh [a] colleague of Dr Harvey. If in the absence [of] a colleague you would permit me [to] offer a suggestion, which I have no [doubt] were he here and in sufficient heath [...] to you he would himself make I would recommend that your Australian collection be given to this place after the exhibition has terminated,³ with power to us of sending such portions of it to the botanical museum of the Royal Dublin Society at Glasnevin⁴ as we would deem more appropriate to that collection. As this Institution combines the advantages of a public Museum and a School of applied Science I do not know anywhere better for such a collection as yours is likely to be, or where it is more likely to be directly useful than here. Here [then] as I hopefully trust, it will serve to illustrate the lectures of Dr Harvey but if there be any articles upon which experiments to show their technical uses might be made, and from your letter I have no doubt many such will be [...] I have no doubt you shall hear more about them from Dublin than from London.

As I am a member of the Committee of the Exhibition for Raw Materials, as were also my colleagues Prof. Jukes ad Sir Robert Kane (our Director) I would be glad if any articles which you would send as objects worthy of investigation were intrusted to me. If authorized I would be glad to assist you in any way by looking after your collections generally.

In order that you may understand better the character of the Museum of Irish Industry I send you with this a copy [of] our provisional programme of [...] The School will be fully organized [...] year as a School of Mines & [...]

I remain Dear [...]

Your Obedt Servant

William K. Sullivan

F Mueller Esq