[Rarebooks] FS: Scarce AUTOGRAPH LETTER from 17-year-old John Ruskin submitting a paper to the British Meteorological Society

[Charles Agvent]

RUSKIN, John. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS). Hernehill, 4 January 1837. 
An early one-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED "J Ruskin," written when he 
was just 17 years old, on one panel of a 10" x 8" sheet folded in fours 
addressed to W. H. White, Secretary of the British Meteorological 
Society. In full: "I take the liberty of troubling you with the 
accompanying papers [not present], as I am not aware of the manner in 
which communications are usually presented to the Society. I shall be 
highly gratified of the members of the Meteorological Society consider 
these observations, for the accuracy of which I can answer, though of 
their utility I am doubtful, as in any degree interesting." In a letter 
to his father three days later, Ruskin wrote, "The Society would be much 
better employed, instead of listening to anticipations which never will 
be realised, and prophecies which the weather takes good care not to 
fulfil, in as certaining the causes and effects of phenomena which have 
actually taken place, or in perusing such scientific and interesting 
communications as one which I sent in to Mr. White, and which he says in 
a note he will have great pleasure in laying before the Society at their 
next meeting (to-morrow, Tuesday evening)" (THE LETTERS OF JOHN RUSKIN 
1827 - 1889, from THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN RUSKIN, Library Edition 
1909, Volume XXXVI, page 10). "[The paper was 'On the Formation and 
Colour of such Clouds as are caused by the Agency of Mountains.' It was 
not printed" (ibid). Ruskin, throughout his life, was interested in 
geology and meteorology, and in his writings he contributed to the 
environmental aspect of climate science, the moral concept that human 
beings should not pollute the environment, which could have consequences 
for local and even global climate. In an article Ruskin would write two 
years later for the Society (“Remarks on the Present State of 
Meteorological Science,” TRANSACTIONS OF THE METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY 
London 1 (1839): pages 56–59), he argued for universal cooperation: "The 
Meteorological Society ... has been formed, not for a city, nor for a 
kingdom, but for the world." Accompanied by a carte-de-visite photograph 
of Ruskin. As far as we can determine, this letter is unpublished. 
Creases from mailing; minor soiling. Very Good. (#020968)        $2,500

https://www.charlesagvent.com/pages/books/020968/john-ruskin/autograph-letter-signed-als

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