Send-Brieven

Author: 
Leeuwenhoek, A. van
Publisher: 
Delft: Beman
Year: 
1718

Full title:

Send-Brieven, zoo aan de Hoog-edele Heeren van de Koninklijke Societeit te Londen, als aan andere Aansienelyke en Geleerde Lieden

Epistles, to the High-honored Gentlemen of the Royal Society in London, and to the other Distinguished and Learned People

The subtitle reads: "As to the high noble lords of the Royal Society of London, so to other distinguished and learned people about the various secrets of Nature, namely over the wonderful configuration of ..."

Dobell #19, containing 46 letters: AvL # I - XLVIfrontis piece

Pagination: xiv + 1-460 + xxviii

Front matter: pp. xiv

  • Title page (placed differently in Dobell #20)
  • Wilt poem
  • Goeree print
  • Dedication (opdragt)
  • Hoogvliet poem
  • Poot poem
  • Engraved title with portrait inset (right; click to enlarge)

Back matter: pp. xxviii

  • Index and errata (Register & Druk-fouten)
  • Register van woorden en zaaken (Index of words and topics) - 28 unnumbered pages

Between 1712 and 1717, Leeuwenhoek wrote these 46 letters to a variety of people, many of them public figures, politicians and academics. He addressed about a fifth of them to the Royal Society in spite of the fact that editor Edmond Halley was showing not the slightest interest in publishing them.

In 1718, Leeuwenhoek collected the 46, numbered them in Latin (second column in table below), and published them himself in Dutch as the fourth and final volume of his collected letters. In some bound collections, it is the fifth volume. As with the other volumes of his Brieven, a total of 165 letters, he had Hendrick van Rijn translate them into Latin and published in a separate and mostly parallel volume the following year.

Half of the letters had figures, copperplate made from drawings, probably of red chalk. These images are viewable as Leeuwenhoek's Cabinet of Wonders.

In the table below, the Dutch title is the first substantive phrase from van Leeuwenhoek's inhoudsopgave. The figure numbers are his but the titles are mine, taken from his text.

In 2017, the letters in Send-Brieven will be published for the first time in an English translation in volume XVII of Alle de Brieven / Collected Letters.

Send-Brieven
Date AvL
#
Addressee Dutch Title English Title #
fig
1712
Nov
8
I Antoni
Heinsius
Vlees van den walvis Whale flesh 7
Dec
17
II Antoni
Heinsius
Visdeelen van de garnaat Parts of a gurnet 6
1713
Feb
28
III Jan
Meerman
Hoe kleyn de vleesfibertjens zyn How small muscle fibers are 11
Mar
14
IV Jan
Meerman
Het oog van een walvis The eye of a whale  
Mar
25
V Adriaen van
Assendelft
Hairtjes van een muys Little hairs of a mouse 6
Mar
29
VI Antoni
Heinsius
Vleeschdeelen van een koe Flesh of a cow  
June
28
VII Royal
Society
Wonderlyk maakzel van zekere Dierkens Wonderful shape of certain animalcules  
June
30
VIII Antoni
Heinsius
De werking van kreeften oogen The working of lobster eyes  
Oct
24
IX Antoni
Cink
De saly beschouwd Sage considered  
1714
June
22
X Royal
Society
Het vleesch van een os, hoen en muys The flesh of an ox, hen, and mouse  
Aug
21
XI Royal
Society
Vleesch van een achtjarige koe Flesh of an 8-year-old cow 13
Oct
26
XII Royal
Society
Drie soorten van muggen Three types of gnats 6
Nov
4
XIII Adriaen van
Assendelft
Uytspanningen van een treklyn Stretching of a trek line  
Nov
9
XIV Royal
Society
Den trekker overdwars doorsneeden The puller cut transversely  
Nov
20
XV Royal
Society
Vleesdeelen in een kleyn diertje Flesh of small animals 4
1715
Mar
26
XVI Antoni
Cink
Vleeschfibertjes ook trekker genoemt Flesh fibers also called pullers 3
July
7
XVII Antoni
Cink
Muscul uytrekkende en inkrimpende Muscle stretched out and relaxed  
Sep
28
XVIII G W
Leibniz
Diertjens in de zaaden van de dieren Animalcules in the seed of animals  
Nov
18
XIX G W
Leibniz
Doorgesneede
zuyker-peer
Cross-section of sugar pear 4
1716
Mar
13
XX G W
Leibniz
Eenige zwaarigheden rakende de voortteelinge Some difficult problems of fertility  
May
10
XXI Hubert
Poot
Zaadhuysjes aan de maagde-palm Seed cases of the virgin palm  
May
16
XXII Gerard
van Loon
De Luyksche hop beeter als de onze Hops from Leige better than ours  
May
19
XXIII G W
Leibniz
Van de membranen die in de trekkers leggen The membranes that lie in pullers  
May
22
XXIV Cornelis
Spiering
De schobben van eenen karper Scrapings from a carp 4
June
12
XXV Cinck,
Narez, Rega
Stroo-halmen uyt een greyntje van gerst Straw stalks from a grain of barley 9
June
22
XXVI J G
Kerkherdere
De stoffe in de Tarwe, Gerst, enz The stuff in wheat, barley, etc. 14
Sep
17
XXVII Abraham van
Bleys-Wyk
Sterke braaking door het inneemen van warm water Violent vomiting from ingestion of warm water  
Sep
28
XXVIII Herman
Boerhaave
Waarneemingen op den cocos-boom Observations on a coco tree 18
Nov
5
XXIX Herman
Boerhaave
De diertjes van ’t mannelyk zaad The animalcues in male seed  
Nov
17
XXX G W
Leibniz
Het schrift van de heer Pauli wederlegt Writing of Mr. Pauli refuted 3
Nov
21
XXXI Herman
Boerhaave
Het zaad van eens rams bal gedrukt was Seed pressed from a ram's ball  
1717
Mar
2
XXXII Abraham van
Bleys-Wyk
De zenuwen uyt het ruggemerg van koeyen en schapen The nerves in the backbone of cows and sheep 5
Mar
6
XXXIII Hoog-Edele
Heeren
Parken in de trekkers Beds in pullers 3
Mar
6
XXXIV Hoog-Edele
Heeren
Hersenen van een varken Brains of a pig 11
May
6
XXXV Ewout
van Bleswyk
Het vlees van het vliegend diertje Rombout Flesh of the little flying animal Rombout  
May
26
XXXVI Abraham van
Bleys-Wyk
De zenuwen The nerves 2
June
15
XXXVII Royal
Society
Het vleesch van een vetten os Flesh of a fat ox 2
July
06
XXXVIII Cinck,
Narez, Rega
Sout van salpeter ingenomen Salt of salpeter ingested  
July
13
XXXIX J G
Kerkherdere
Het eeten van vet vleesch veroorzaakt afgangen  Eating fat flesh causes diarrhea  
Aug
19
XL Adriaan
Swalmius
De eyeren en eyerschalen The eyes and eye sockets  
Aug
26
XLI Herman
Boerhaave
Zaadballen van een ram Seed balls of a ram 5
Sep
10
XLII Frederik
Adriaan van Rhede
Menigte van schelvissen A multitude of shell fishes  
Sep
17
XLIII Royal
Society
De uytwazemingen uyt onze lichamen Transpiration from our bodies 5
Oct
8
XLIV Royal
Society
De wortel Pareira Brava The root Pareira Brava 3
Oct
22
XLV Royal
Society
Hersenen van een kabeljauw Brains of a cod  
Nov
20
XLVI Royal
Society
De trekker van een schaap The puller of a sheep  

The links below will display more information about each of these letters. For those marked above as having figures (right-hand column), I translated that letter's summary and included the plates with a caption for each figure. The captions are mine, taken from the text. The plates can also be viewed in larger original sizes.