Photographs and Photocopies

A photocopy of a formal letter by David Kinnebrook to his father, 23 June 1794. The letter was written less than a month after Kinnebrook arrived at Greenwich to become Nevil Maskelyne's assistant. He writes that he has observed the fixed stars, and that some of these observations were entered in the transit book at Maskelyne's request. He describes a series of late night and early morning observations that were marred by bad weather, and inserts entries from the transit and quadrant books for 16 June 1794. The next section of the letter comprises a detailed explanation of the method used for observations and calculations. The final section discusses Maskelyne personally.