Folkes, Martin (1690-1754)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0117 MS 250
Held at	: Royal Society   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://royalsociety.org/collections/ ›
Full title	: Folkes, Martin (1690-1754)
Date(s)	: 1710-1754
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: Four volumes bound as one, and two boxes of unbound letters
Name of creator(s)	: Folkes | Martin | 1690-1754 | antiquary

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Eldest son of Martin Folkes, a solicitor, and Dorothy his wife; attended University of Saumur, France; entered Clare Hall Cambridge to study mathematics, 1706; matriculated, 1709; MA, 1717; interested in coins; Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, 1719; lost Presidency of Royal Society to Sir Hans Sloane, 1727; succeeded to the Presidency following Sloane's retirement, 1741; under his Presidency the Society's meetings became very 'literary', and the Society lost much of its professional character; Folkes's papers to the Philosophical Transactions concentrated on astronomy; despite the criticisms, Folkes was elected to the 'Academie des Sciences' in succession to Edmund Halley, 1742; following his publication Table of English Gold Coins published at his own expense, his Table of Silver Coins from the Conquest was published by the Society of Antiquaries, 1744; the Tables were much consulted by antiquaries; President of the Society of Antiquaries from 1750 until his death; his communications were on Roman antiquities and coins; when his health failed, he resigned from his office at the Royal Society; died, 1754.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Correspondence, mainly to Martin Folkes on a large variety of subjects, including administrative matters for the Royal Society.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Alphabetically by correspondent.

Conditions governing access:

Open.

Conditions governing reproduction:

No publication without written permission. Apply to Archivist in the first instance.

Finding aids:

Archive card catalogue.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Purchased by the Royal Society from Sothebys in 1932.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Special Collections and Western Manuscripts, Bodleian Library, Oxford University, holds journal while in Venice and Rome, 1733 (Ref: MS Eng misc c444); Norfolk Record Office holds memoranda book and rent roll; Manuscript Collections, British Library, holds correspondence and papers (Ref: Add MSS 1783-1835), and letters to Hans Sloane, 1726-1744; Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine holds papers (Ref: MSS 2391-2392); Society of Antiquaries of London holds account of the death of Henry Darnley, 1737; Centre for Kentish Studies holds correspondence with Lord Stanhope (Ref: U1590/C21).

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Description produced by the Royal Society and revised by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Created 22/04/2002, modified 27/05/2002, revised Sep 2002