Description:

Charles Babbage
[London, England], December 1, 1832
Charles Babbage, "Father of the Computer" - Fascinating!
ALS

A 2pp autograph letter signed by British scientist and inventor Charles Babbage (1791-1871) as "C Babbage" near the center of the second page. "Com[mitte]e Room … Holborn Hill." December 1, 1832. Inscribed on watermarked bifold paper with a deckled bottom edge. The third page is blank and the outer leaf is an integral address leaf inscribed "W. Venning Esqr." Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds. Isolated loss to the upper right corner of the third page not affecting any text. Mounting traces on the top and bottom edges of the integral address leaf. Else near fine. 4.875" x 8."

Much is known about Charles Babbage's stellar mathematical and scientific career, and his philosophical ideas are also well-documented. This fascinating letter explores one of Babbage's lesser known interests: British politics. Babbage ran as a Liberal or Whig candidate in two Parliamentary elections in the early 1830s, and lost both. The great political content of this letter relates to Babbage's first foray into British politics, when he ran for one of two seats in the House of Commons representing the borough of Finsbury. This letter dates just one week before the 1832 General Elections began on December 8, 1832 (they concluded on January 8, 1833).

The borough of Finsbury was one of the so-called "metropolis boroughs" created in 1832 to better represent constituents from London's sprawling environs. Finsbury included northern London neighborhoods like Holborn and Islington, both mentioned in this letter. In the 1832 General Election, Babbage finished third place behind two fellow Whig candidates; he secured a respectable 2,300 votes with 60% election turnout. Although Babbage lost the race, his political party became ascendant in the British Parliament. Babbage discusses his run at Finsbury in his memoirs, "Passages From the Life of a Philosopher" (London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, 1864), specifically in Chapter XXI: "Electioneering Experience," pp. 273-275.

A week before the start of the 1832 General Election, Babbage wrote an unidentified correspondent named W. Venning about where to hold political meetings. In full, with unchanged spelling and punctuation:

"My dear Sir,

I regret exceedingly that on consulting my committee they advise me not to have a meeting at Holloway on account of the shortness of the time previous to the election, and the engagements of the kind which are already nearly arranged - I am extremely sorry to be compelled to admit the force of these reasons and hope that my sentiments will be made known to the Electors of that district by means of my private address and by the report of those of my friends who attended the Islington Meeting. I feel particularly indebted to you for your kind attention to this subject and remain My dear Sir

Very faithfully yours

C Babbage

Com.e. Room
106 (?) Holborn Hill
1 Dec. 1832

P.S. Had it been in my power to have attended at such a Meeting as the one proposed it would have given me great pleasure to have accepted your kind invitation which I am now reluctantly obliged to decline."

By all accounts, Babbage was a mediocre political candidate: his political platform seemed haphazard and contradictory, and he was a nervous and aimless public speaker. Perhaps the best take-away from this letter is how different history would have been had Babbage won the Finsbury seat. No doubt his political obligations would have competed with his other academic pursuits.

At the time of this letter, Babbage was one of the most influential of the younger generation of British scientists (titans of the preceding generation, Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy, and William Herschel, had all died in the 1820s). Babbage was expecting to propel and advance the previous generation's work, now threatened by competition from scientists in France and Germany. Between 1823-1839, Babbage was a math professor at the University of Cambridge, his alma mater. Babbage was also hard at work on his famous treatise "Difference Engine No. 1," a prototype computer which would prove to be one of the greatest feats of Victorian science.

Babbage was a prolific polymath. In addition to mathematics, engineering, physics, computing, and advanced calculus, the insatiable intellectual also dabbled in economics, publishing, insurance, the railroads, and the postal system. It is thus no surprise, then, that he also took an interest in contemporary politics.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 4.875" x 8"
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