Dear Mr. Rossignol,
I was sorry to miss you when you called at the museum some
days ago, I was away sick and could not, unfortunately,
keep our appointment. I understand however, that Mt
Greenaway met you and showed you round the exhibition.
He tells me that you have some sealed tubes of the first
synthetic ammonia produced by the Haber process, which
you are willing to present to the museum. I much appreciate your kind interest and should like to know a little
more about them. Would they bear transport in the post?
If not, perhaps you would be up this way again and could
bring the specimens with you.
Yours sincerely,
A. BARCLAY
Keeper.
Shortly after the receipt of Barclay’s letter, Robert replied with the
(hand-written) letter below (30 November 1952) providing a description of
the tubes and enclosing a reprint of the paper he and Haber had published in
1913.
12 (The technical production of Ammonia from the elements, Z.
Elektrochem. 19, 53–72, (1913). This paper was in German, and although the
paper bore Haber’s name and his own, the letter hardly provided any further
clarification of his role alongside Haber;
Dear Mr. Barclay,
I must apologise for not writing before to thank you for arranging for Mr.
Greenaway to show me round the Ramsay Exhibition. I was laid up some days with
an unpleasant attack of ‘flu’.
The Exhibition interested me very much indeed, I recognised quite a number of the
old pieces of apparatus. I was very interested in the photographs of the Chemical and
Physical Society. I think I can help to correct the supposed date (1909) of the photo
where I am at the extreme right-hand end of one of the rows. This cannot be later
than July 1906, because I left at that time, as it also includes photos of two friends
of mine, E. W. Millar and C. T. Gimmingham who left about one year before me.
I think the correct date is 1905.
Now as to the samples of liquid synthetic ammonia which I mentioned to Mr.
Greenaway. I have two glass tubes about 3/8’ diameter and 6’ long about 2/3 full
of liquid ammonia. This ammonia was produced the first time the laboratory scale
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
463
I was sorry to miss you when you called at the museum some
days ago, I was away sick and could not, unfortunately,
keep our appointment. I understand however, that Mt
Greenaway met you and showed you round the exhibition.
He tells me that you have some sealed tubes of the first
synthetic ammonia produced by the Haber process, which
you are willing to present to the museum. I much appreciate your kind interest and should like to know a little
more about them. Would they bear transport in the post?
If not, perhaps you would be up this way again and could
bring the specimens with you.
Yours sincerely,
A. BARCLAY
Keeper.
Shortly after the receipt of Barclay’s letter, Robert replied with the
(hand-written) letter below (30 November 1952) providing a description of
the tubes and enclosing a reprint of the paper he and Haber had published in
1913.
12 (The technical production of Ammonia from the elements, Z.
Elektrochem. 19, 53–72, (1913). This paper was in German, and although the
paper bore Haber’s name and his own, the letter hardly provided any further
clarification of his role alongside Haber;
Dear Mr. Barclay,
I must apologise for not writing before to thank you for arranging for Mr.
Greenaway to show me round the Ramsay Exhibition. I was laid up some days with
an unpleasant attack of ‘flu’.
The Exhibition interested me very much indeed, I recognised quite a number of the
old pieces of apparatus. I was very interested in the photographs of the Chemical and
Physical Society. I think I can help to correct the supposed date (1909) of the photo
where I am at the extreme right-hand end of one of the rows. This cannot be later
than July 1906, because I left at that time, as it also includes photos of two friends
of mine, E. W. Millar and C. T. Gimmingham who left about one year before me.
I think the correct date is 1905.
Now as to the samples of liquid synthetic ammonia which I mentioned to Mr.
Greenaway. I have two glass tubes about 3/8’ diameter and 6’ long about 2/3 full
of liquid ammonia. This ammonia was produced the first time the laboratory scale
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
463