362 General Monthhj Meeting. [March 4, 



It is an account of the progress of genius in an Apprentice, whose name I 

 am fully persuaded will be well known in a few years hence, should Providence 

 please to grant his safe return to His Parent, relatives and Friends in London. 



Michael Faraday, the second Sou of an industrious working Blacksmith ^of 

 Weymouth Street, Marylebone, (And where his Mother now lives in a respect- 

 able situation ; his Father died a little before he was out of his time) was bound 

 Apprentice Oct. 7, 1805, to learn the art of Bookbinding with Stationary and 

 Bookselling. In the early part of his time, after the regular hours of business, 

 he was chiefly employed in drawing and copying from the Artists Repository, a 

 work published in numbers which he took in weekly — also Electrical Machines 

 from the Dictys. of Arts and Sciences and other works which came in to bind, 

 this led him to make one himself and succeeding in that, he attended Mr. 

 Tatum's Lectures in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street, and on my advising him 

 to take down in Short Notes (for he was not acquainted with Shorthand) the 

 heads of the Lecture and when he came home to commit their recollections to 

 paper, the consequence of which he was soon able to write the whole lecture 

 and drew the various Apparatus used by the Lecturer, at other times he would 

 make the Philosophers tree in a large Vial, with Zink and Sugar of Lead — then 

 turn to the blow pipe and would meal or melt Glass to any form he wanted 

 for his purpose, converting in a very ingenious manner some broken things to 

 use — he also bought some volumes of Enfields Encyclopedea occasionally making 

 drawings of Engines, and figures of Machines to illustrate the subjects treated 

 of. Dr. Watt's Improvement of the Mind, was then read and frequent took in 

 his pocket, when he went an early walk in the morning, visiting always some 

 works of art, or searching for some Mineral or Vegetable curiosity — HoUoway 

 Water Works, Highgate Archway, W. Middlesex Water Works, Strand Bridge, 

 Junction Water Works &c &c sketching the Machinery, calculating the force 

 of Steam Engines &c his mind ever engaged, besides attending to Bookbinding 

 which he executed in a proper manner. 



Galvanism, Optics, Perspective, occasionally taking a portion of his time, 

 he now added the Vials, lining them with tin foil and cutting curious devices, 

 making an Electric Battery and other pleasing and useful amusements, the 

 ornaments of Head and Tail piece in French and other books which were of 

 novel kind he would copy in a very neat manner with pen a,ud ink as neat as 

 the original on copper plate — his mode of living temperate, seldom drinking 

 any other than pure clean water, and when done his day's work, would set him- 

 self down in the workshop regardless of his fellow Prentices or the Servants in 

 adjoining kitchen. If I had any curious book from my customers to bind, with 

 Plates, he would copy such as he thought singular or clever, which I advised 

 him to keep by him. Ireland's Hogarth, and other graphic works, he much 

 admired. Chemistry in 4 Vols he bought and interleaved great part of it occa- 

 sionally adding Notes with Drawings and Observations. At Mr. Tatums he 

 fell in company with some other young men and occasionally corresponded 

 with them on subjects of Chemistry several letters to and fro he showed me, 

 he had now written Four quarto vols of lectures with Drawings &c on different 

 subjects, these I occasionally showed to my Friends and Customers. I happened 

 one evening to show them to Mr Dance, Junr. of Manchester St. who thought 

 them very clever — and who in a short time returned and requested to let him 

 show them to his Father. I did so, and the next day Mr Dance very kindly 

 gave him an admission ticket to the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street. He 

 attended and took down Sir Humphry Davy's Lecture which he afterwards 

 wrote out and making drawings of the different apparatus used — this he took 

 also to the above Gentleman who was well pleased. His Apprenticeship being 

 now nearly expired he bound up his books with a Portfolio of extra Drawings 

 in October 1812. 



He then commenced Journeyman and received a ; luinea and half per week, 

 which I think very fair wages for a young man just out of his time — he would 

 occasionally caU on me and expressing a wish to bo introduced to Sir H. Davy, 

 I advised him to write a letter and take his Manuscript Books and Drawings, 



