CHARLES LYELL Autograph letter Signed.

British (English) geologist. Considered to be the 'father' of the modern science of geology.

ALS.  2pp.  73 Harley Street.  July 7th 1868.  To Walter White (Assistant Secretary to the Royal Society).

"I want to borrow two memoirs from the Royal Society which I hope are in the Library.  1st - Revue Archeologique 1866 for Lenormand's paper on 'a buried village at Sautorin' p. 423.  This perhaps is not the exact title.  2nd - Comptes Rendues LXIII p. 642 for a paper by M. Cigalla on the same subject."  [etc.].

8vo. Approx 7 x 4.5 inches (18 x 11.5 cms).  Old folds and creases. Blank leaf of bifolium excised to  stub which has previously been used for mounting purposes.  Slight mounting traces to stub. All else fine.

Charles Lyell is seeking geological and archaeological information on the volcanic eruptions that occurred around Crete between 1866 and 1869, presumably in connection with a book or paper. De Cigalla was an amateur geologist, volcanologist and archaeologist who carried out excavations on Thera and Therasia in the early 19th Century and kept a diary of the volcanic eruptions. He had close contact with the French Academy of Sciences and frequently published papers in the Society's journal, 'Comptes-Rendues'.