SOLANDER, Daniel

Copy of a letter to J. Ellis, Esq., of Gray's-inn, from Dr. Solander... [in], The Annual Register, or a View of the History, Politicks, and Literature for the Year 1769.

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Printed for J. Dodsley, London, 1770. Two volumes in one, octavo; contemporary ms. ownership and shelf marks on front pastedown; an excellent copy in contemporary calf. A little-known first voyage publication, in fact one of the first accounts of the voyage to be printed: a letter from Solander to John Ellis written from Rio de Janeiro, dated 1 December 1768. Solander writes of his and Banks' frustration at being refused permission by the viceroy to go ashore to study the abundant plant life but how, by 'fair means and foul', they had managed to acquire some 300 specimens, and identify a number of new species.

Although only a few pages long, the letter bristles with scientific comment on the flora and fauna they had managed to examine, and simultaneously shows Solander's eagerness for the voyage, commenting on how he has enlisted some of the brighter sailors to help identify and catalogue new species. He also recommends that visitors to Madeira seek out the assistance of one Dr Heberden who, Solander notes, contributed to their scientific study by procuring Banks and himself 'access to a nunnery' - given the ribald jokes later made at Banks' expense on the subject of his amorous adventures during the voyage, one wonders at the wisdom of this aside.

Solander, who trained with Linnaeus, moved to England in 1759 for what was meant to be a brief visit, but it became his permanent home. With introductions from his former tutor, he became firm friends with John Ellis, and made substantial contributions to many of his most important works, including the Natural History of Zoophytes. However, it is the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks which was the turning point in Solander's career, and which led to his joining Cook's first voyage. On their return, Solander became Banks' secretary and librarian, a portmanteau position that also meant that he was, in effect, the curator of the natural history collection.

Like Banks, Solander was very shy of taking credit for his work, and although he worked on some of the most important natural history projects of his generation, very few pieces were actually signed, and have only been attributed to him by later scholarship. Despite his many travels, Solander never returned to Sweden, and died at Soho Square in 1782.

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