NA TURE 



415 



THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1914. 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS. 

 A History of the Royal Society of Arts. By Sir 

 Henry- Trueman Wood. Pp. xvii + 558. 

 (London : John Murray, 1913.) Price 155. net. 



TO many who have attended meeting's and lec- 

 tures at the Royal Society of Arts during 

 the last quarter of a century, or have been con- 

 nected with its management, it will seem exceed- 

 ingly appropriate that this history of the society 

 since its inception in 1754 should have been written 

 by Sir Henry Trueman \\^ood, its secretary since 

 1879, who, during all these latter years has been 

 so intimately associated with all its activities that 

 the society can scarcely be thought of by anyone 

 without his well-known, tall, and spare figure 

 appearing simultaneously to the mental eye. 



To a large number of the public, and perhaps 

 also to not a few members of the society itself, 

 much of the information contained in this book 

 will be something of a revelation. Few can know 

 the early history of the society and the large 

 amount of work that it performed during the 

 latter half of the eighteenth century, while 

 but a small number of its present-day members 

 can be aware of its remarkable membership in 

 early times. This included, among numerous and 

 distinguished members of the peerage, a perfect 

 medley of famous personages in various walks of 

 life. For instance, we find among them Edward 

 Gibbon, the historian of "The DecHne and Fall"; 

 Thomas Chippendale, of furniture fame ; Benjamin 

 Franklin, the distinguished .American natural 

 philosopher and politician ; David Garrick, the 

 actor; OHver Goldsmith, the poet; Dr. John- 

 son, of dictionary fame; William Hogarth, the 

 painter; Robert Adam, one of the two brothers 

 who were the eminent architects who built the 

 existing somewhat quaint and old-fashioned build- 

 ing in which the society still has its offices and 

 holds its meetings ; Sir Joshua Reynolds, first pre- 

 sident of the Royal Academy ; William Pitt, after- 

 wards Earl of Chatham ; and the notorious John 

 Wilkes, to mention only a very few of those who 

 are best known. 



The society included in its membership all sorts 

 and conditions of men, and interested itself in an 

 extraordinary variety and multiplicity of matters. 

 There does not seem to be much connection be- 

 tween mangold-wurzels, which the society appears 

 to have mtroduced, harpoons, motive power, steel 

 and gem engraving, naval construction, leadless 

 glazes, medicinal plants, chimney sweeping or 

 fire escapes, to mention just a few subjects taken 

 at random from the long list that has been dealt 

 ^O. 2355, VOL. 94] 



I with by the society at various times. Evidently 

 ! the society, like Francis Bacon before it, took all 

 i knowledge for its province. 



Especially interesting is the account of the 

 large part played by the Society of Arts in the 

 foundation of the great exhibitions of 1851 and 

 1862, and through these, as the author states, 

 "of that long series of international exhibitions 

 I which have had such far-reaching influence on the 



arts, as well as on industry and trade." 

 I Of great interest, also, is the chapter devoted to 

 I the society's medals, many of which are well 

 i illustrated, and, having been designed by Flax- 

 ; man, the two Wyons, and other celebrated artists, 

 are in themselves objects of beaut}'. 



Some of the facts brought out as to various 

 inventions are somewhat astonishing, as, for in- 

 stance, that, until invented by Sturgeon — to whom 

 the society granted in 1825 both a medal and a 

 premium — the electromagnet, which to-day is so 

 enormously employed in telegraphy and telephony 

 and in almost every description of electrical plant, 

 was unknown. Without this instrument practi- 

 ! cally no modern electrical development could have 

 ] taken place. This is probably the most important 

 i invention that the society ever directly encour- 

 aged, for, as stated in the work under review, 

 ; it is disappointing that the names of Watt, 

 i Crompton, .Arkwright, and others are missing 

 } among those rewarded by the society. 



The author says : " The best reason that can 

 be suggested is that all these men were in advance 

 of their time. Like all great inventors, they had 

 to wait for recognition until they had overborne 

 the opposition of ignorance and of rival interests, 

 and it was then too late for prizes or contribu- 

 tions." Further, the society in its early years 

 excluded all patented inventions from those eli- 

 gible for premiums, continuing this practice up to 

 about 1844, when wiser counsels prevailed and 

 the rule was abandoned. 



Another electrical contrivance of value, namely, 

 the Smee galvanic battery, received in 1840 the 

 reward of a gold medal, while in 1841 Robert 

 Murray received a silver medal and loZ. for his 

 invention of the now universally used method of 

 obtaining a conducting surface for electro-deposi- 

 tion by means of plumbago. As recorded by Sir 

 Henrv Wood, however, perhaps in early days the 

 society effected less by means of its medals and 

 premiums than it did by its success in the start- 

 ing of new movements. Allusion has already been 

 made to its influence on the great exhibitions, but, 

 as Is pointed out by the author, the society also 

 play'ed a great part in regard to reform of the 

 Patents Acts ; in connection with artistic copy- 

 right; in the starting of mechanics' institutes 



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