The Virginal Player
Philosophical Collections
Hooke, R.
Numbers 1 - 7
London: John Martyn and Richard Criswel
Containing an Account of Such Physical, Anatomical, Chymical, Mechanical, Astronomical, Optical, Or Other Mathematical and Philosophical Experiments and Observations as Have Lately Come to the Publishers Hands, as Also an Account of Some Books of this Kind Lately Published
A full text facscimile of the seven numbers collected in one volume is available online at Google Books.
Henry Oldenburg was the founding editor of the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions. He paid for its printing out of his own pocket, in numbered pamphlets and yearly volumes until he died in 1677, having published almost 136 numbers since 1665 and completing half of volume 12. Unfortunately, no other member of the Royal Society had Oldenburg's time, interest, financial resources, or international network of correspondents.
Robert Hooke, the Society's unofficial (until 1682, then officially until 1702) curator of experiments, replaced Oldenburg as one of the Society's secretaries. He was not interested in continuing Philosophical Transactions on his own, nor could he afford to pay for it himself. Fortunately, the Society's other secretary, Nehemiah Grew, was willing to finish the final six numbers (137 - 142) of volume 12. During 1678, he published the final six numbers of volume 12, including letters by Leeuwenhoek in number 140 and 142. After that, the journal did not resume until 1683 with volume 13.
The time between published letters in Philosophical Transactions was a little more than four years, from early 1679 to March 1683.
Meanwhile, in 1678 Hooke published two of Leeuwenhoek's letters in his Lectures and Collections of 1678, the second part of which, Microscopium, began with the Leeuwenhoek letters and Hooke's even longer response to Leeuwenhoek's experiments.
Letter 21 of 5 October 1677 to Henry Olderburg
Letter 23 of 14 January 1678 to Robert Hooke
In 1679, Hooke started his own journal, Philosophical Collections. In Birch's History of the Royal Society (vol. III, p. 491, 514, and 518), the minutes of the meeting of July 3, 1679 notes that:
Mr. Hooke be desired to publish (as he hath now declared he is ready to do) a sheet or two every fortnight of such philosophical matters, as he shall meet with from his correspondents; not making use of any thing contained in the Register-books of tbe Society without the leave of the council and author.
That November of 1679 , Hooke published the first number. At the meeting of December 8, the members spent some time trying to give some structure to their meetings.
It was resolved, that there shall be some one subject fixed upon for the Society to proceed upon for the ensuing time, as their main work, tell they are satisfied concerning that sugject:
That within some reasonable time, as a year, or as soon as they shall be satisfied, that it is brought to perfection, something concerning their progress shall be published:
Later that meeting, they turned to Hooke:
That the secretaries take care to have a small account of philosophical matters, such as were the Transactions of Mr. Oldenburg, and under the same title, published once a quarter at least: and that it be recommended to them to do it monthly, if it may well be; but at least that it be done quarterly.
Mr. Hooke being asked concerning the undertaking this matter, answered, that he would see what he could do in it, but could not as yet undertake it absolutely.
A week or so later, at the meeting of December 17, "Mr. Hooke was desired to continue the Philosophical Collections."
Hooke waited almost two years, then quickly in the winter/spring of 1681-1682, published seven numbers, not of the next volume of Philosophical Transactions, but of more numbers of Philosophical Collections. Five of them had letters by Leeuwenhoek, as shown on the table below. Hooke could not afford to pay for the printing of as many copies as Oldenburg had, so few libraries have a complete set.
The first of these letters, Leeuwenhoek's Letter 28 of 25 April 1679, was addressed to Nehemiah Grew. The rest were addressed to Robert Hooke. The manuscript versions of the letters have a total of 19 figures. Hooke published all except the one with the concentric circles to show proportion; he also omitted the calculations that it illustrated.
letter written
AvL #
# figures
1 1 November 1679, pp. 3-5 25 April 1679 28 the 1 figure
3 10 December 1681, pp. 51-58 12 November 1680 33 7 of 8 figures
4 10 January 1682, pp. 93-98 4 November 1681 34 all 4 figures
5 February 1682, pp. 152-160 3 March 1682 35 all 6 figures
7 April 1682, pp. 188-190 4 April 1682 36 none
Related sources:
1678 Hooke, R. Lectures and collections: Cometa, Microscopium
1679 Leeuwenhoek, A. van Mr. Leeuwenhoeck's Letter, containing his Observations of vast numbers of Animals in Semine Animalium.
1681 Leeuwenhoek, A. van Some Microscopical Observations made by Mr. Anthony Leuwenhoek, concerning the Globulous Particles in Liquors, and the Animals in Semine Masculino Insectorum
1682 Leeuwenhoek, A. van A Letter of Mr. Leuwenhoek, containing an account of several new discoveries by the Microscope
1682 Leeuwenhoek, A. van A Letter of Mr. Leeuwenhoeck about the Texture and shape of the Fibres of the Muscles s of Crabs, Lobsters, Prawns, &c.
1682 Leeuwenhoek, A. van An account of several curious Discoveries ... made by Mr. Anth. Leuwenhoek with Microscopes
1684 Leeuwenhoek, A. van Onsigtbare geschapene waarheden
1686 Leeuwenhoek, A. van Levende Dierkens
November 1, 1679 Philosophical Collections number 1 published in London, including Leeuwenhoek's Letter 28 of 1679-04-25 (AB 43) to Nehemiah Grew
December 10, 1681 Philosophical Collections number 3 published in London, including Leeuwenhoek's Letter 33 of 1680-11-12 (AB 65) to Robert Hooke
January 10, 1682 Philosophical Collections number 4 published in London, including Leeuwenhoek's Letter 34 of 1681-11-04 (AB 66) to Robert Hooke
February 1, 1682 Philosophical Collections number 5 published in London, including Leeuwenhoek's Letter 35 of 1682-03-03 (AB 67) to Robert Hooke
March 11, 1682 Robert Hooke read the first part of Letter 35 of 1682-03-03 to himself about striated muscle fibres of mammals and fishes
March 18, 1682 Robert Hooke read part of Letter 35 of 1682-03-03 to himself about muscle fibers
April 1, 1682 Philosophical Collections number 7 published in London, including Leeuwenhoek's Letter 36 of 1682-04-04 (AB 68) to Robert Hooke
April 15, 1682 Robert Hooke read his letter of 1682-03-10 and Leeuwenhoek's reply of 1682-04-04 about muscles of crabs, lobsters, and shrimp
1680: Member of the Royal Society
1681-82: Hooke's Philosophical Collections
Period 2 - 1679-1686
Related letters:
What Leeuwenhoek wrote ...
Wrote Letter 21 of 1677-10-05 (AB 33) to Henry Oldenburg
Wrote Letter 23 of 1678-01-14 (AB 37) to Robert Hooke about human blood, blood transfusions, flea larvae, and little animals in pepper water
Wrote Letter 28 of 1679-04-25 (AB 43) to Nehemiah Grew about living little animals in fish, hare, and dogs and his calculation that more than ten times as many living animals come from the milt of a cod as there are people living on the Earth
Wrote Letter 33 of 1680-11-12 (AB 65) to Robert Hooke about blood globules, lees of wine, globules in rain water, milk vessels, reproduction, little animals in the male seed of animals, and their incomprehensible smallness
Wrote Letter 34 of 1681-11-04 (AB 66) to Robert Hooke about hog bristles, shedding hair, blackheads; living little animals in excrement, horse urine, clay, and gout
Wrote Letter 35 of 1682-03-03 (AB 67) to Robert Hooke about muscle fibres, hair, the cell nucleus in the erythrocytes of fishes, the liver of salmons, beards of oysters, and the structure and growth of oyster shell
Wrote Letter 36 of 1682-04-04 (AB 68) to Robert Hooke
SecondaryPrint
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Why did Leeuwenhoek publish his own letters?
Works Part I
Works Part II
Works Part III
Works Part IV
Frontispieces
Philosophical Transactions
Journal des Sçavans
Lectures and collections: Cometa, Microscopium
Recueil d'experiences et observations
Acta eruditorum
Nouvelles de la republique des lettres
Journal de médecine
Bibliothèque universelle et historique
De Boekzaal van Europe
Anatomes publicae
Historia naturalis et medica latorum lumbricorum
Genees-kundig Verhaal
Collection académique
Genees- en heelkundige proeven en aanmerkingen
Abhandlungen zur Naturgeschichte, Physik und Oekonomie
Extrait Critique
Morning Toilet
The Doctor's Visit
Lady and Servant
Woman with Basket in Vegetable Garden