Joan Salvador and James Petiver: a scientific correspondence (1706–1714) in time of war

Abstract

At the time of the war of the Spanish Succession (1705–1714), Joan Salvador and James Petiver, two apothecaries with an impassioned interest in understanding nature, began a long and fruitful correspondence that would only come to an end with Petiver's death. When this exchange of letters began, Salvador was a 20-year old Catalan apothecary who had just spent two years travelling through France and Italy learning about botany and natural history with some of the best teachers at that time. Petiver, who was 20 years older, was a member of the Royal Society, director of the Chelsea Physic Garden and a well-known figure in London. This paper sets out and discusses the correspondence (which is quite exceptionally complete) between these two naturalists during the wartime period between the end of 1706 and the fall of Barcelona on 11 September 1714. Their letters reflect the obstacles they had to face as a result of war and how they overcame them, and they also explain the reciprocal role played by both correspondents in their respective collections and libraries.

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