Autograph letter signed to John Brett, with Brett's autograph reply

1849. Very Good. Moigno, François Napoléon Marie (1804-84). A.L.s. to [John] Brett (1805-63), addressed to "Monsieur Brett Esq. inventeur du télégraph imprémant" (Mr. Brett Esq. inventor of the printing telegraph), with Brett's autograph reply on the recto of the address leaf. N.p., "22 dimanche," 1849. Brett's reply dated Paris, April 30, 1849. 2pp. 210 x 135 mm. Small hole where seal was broken, light soiling along folds. Provenance: Latimer Clark. The Abbé Moigno, an eminent mathematician, physicist and science writer, authored several works on telegraphy. His correspondent, John Brett, laid the first submarine telegraph cable (between England and (truncated) France) in 1850, and was one of the founders of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Moigno's letter to Brett, written the year before Brett laid his first submarine cable, asks Brett for news of his current researches ("N'avez-vous rien de nouveau à m'apprendre? Quand ferez-vous une nouvelle expérience?") and asks Brett to supply him with an electric battery for a M. Soleil ("M. Soleil n'ose pas me dire qu'il a absolument besoin de la pile, mais je m'en aperçois chaque jour. Pourriez vous fixer à peu près l'époque à laquelle vous pourrez la rendre"). Brett's response, written on the blank recto of the address leaf, says that he will be in Lille shortly and will meet with Moigno in person. Origins of Cyberspace 177. . (Inventory #: 40784)