Lot 122: HUGHES, David Edward (1830-1900). Autograph letter signed to Latimer Clark. London, May 18, n.d.

HUGHES, David Edward (1830-1900). Autograph letter signed to Latimer Clark. London, May 18, n.d. [between 1879 and 1886]. 3 1/4 pages. Provenance: Latimer Clark.

Between 1879 and 1886 Hughes appears to have performed a series of experiments on wireless telegraphy that led to his discovery of the existence of electric waves in the air surrounding an electric spark (anticipating Hertz), and to his invention of an instrument for detecting them (anticipating Branly and Marconi). "In 1880 he [Hughes] gave a demonstration lasting three hours before the President, Spottiswood, and the Honorary Secretaries for the Royal Society, Huxley and Stokes; but they were unable to accept his contention that the results were to due to wave action and discouraged him from contributing a paper to the Society" (PMM 377). Perhaps as a result of this unfortunate demonstration, Hughes did not make his investigations public, and the only remaining evidence of them is in the letters he wrote during this period, including the present letter to Clark, which ends with the following postscript: "When you find time I will show you (in confidence) some experiments on aerial transmission which forces me to believe that induction is simply the result of polarization or rather a previous conduction--my time would be between 3 and 5 P.M.--but as I might be absent or engaged in some other experiment you had better name a day in advance so that I would be free--we can talk over this when we meet."

The main body of Hughes's letter is concerned with an electrical experiment that Hughes had suggested Clark might perform before the Royal Society. The experiment was both costly and dangerous--Hughes described it as "an 'Electric Elephant' only to be done by a government grant--but a government grant would fail to do the work--it would fall into the hands of a committee and from this into a clique--and the clique would pocket the funds and do no real work..." OOC 162.