CURIE, Marie.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Autograph letter signed, to her friend and fellow scientist Margaret Lindsay Huggins. An effusive letter wherein two women discuss the results of their latest scientific research at the turn of the 20th century. By 1903, the Curies were internationally renowned as the discoverers of radium, and less than a month after Marie wrote this letter, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.Her correspondent is the astronomer and spectroscopist Margaret Lindsay Huggins (1848-1915). Margaret and her husband/co-astronomer William (1824-1910) hosted the Curies during their visit to London in June 1903, and at least one scholar has noted the parallels between the two couples. Margaret Huggins shaped the research programme, methodology, and instrument design of her husband's work, and as early as the 1880s they were jointly signing the papers they submitted to the Royal Society. Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie observed that "Marie was very impressed by the way Margaret and William worked together" (p. 82). Immediately after the Curies' visit, the English couple applied their expertise to photograph the spectrum of radium.In the first part of the letter, Marie discusses her recent work and thanks the couple repeatedly for their support: "I greatly value the kindness with which you speak of our work and I am pleased that it interests you" (original French: "J'attache un très grand prix à la bienveillance avec laquelle vous parlez de nos traveaux, et je suis heureuse que ces traveaux vous intéres

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