12 Typed Letters Signed marine explorer Jacques Piccard to Arthur Bourne, including specifications of his 'new submarine (the PX-28)', with transcript of speech, booklet on the 'Ben Franklin', offprint, photograph, copies of Bourne's replies.

A collection of 26 items, consisting of 12 letters from Piccard to Bourne, copies of 9 of Bourne's replies, a copy of a letter from Piccard to D. F. Horrobin, an offprint article, a transcript of a speech by Piccard in 1972, a booklet on the 'Ben Franklin' and an undated publicity photograph. The first of Piccard's letters (5 November 1970) is repaired with tape, the other items in the collection are in good condition, lightly-aged, with a few staple and punch holes, and some of Piccard's letters carrying notes in pen and pencil by Bourne. Piccard's twelve letters, all signed 'Jacques Piccard', are each 1p., 8vo. The nine copies of letters by Bourne to Piccard (seven carbons, one photocopy and one copied out in autograph) total 14pp., 8vo. The correspondence is friendly, with later letters from Piccard addressed to 'Art'. Piccard refers to meetings in Brighton and Stockholm, invites Bourne to visit him in Lausanne, and comments on problems with the journal 'The Environment this Month', of which Piccard was on the editorial board, at Bourne's invitation. One letter (9 February 1976) contains a list of pictures and slides, and another (18 March 1976) gives the specifications for the PX-28: Pressure hull; Useful depth; Over-all length; Beam; Height; Total weight; Useful payload; Crew; Battery; Life support; Navigation and [e]quipment. On 2 November 1981 Piccard gives his response to Bourne's invitation to join the 'team of advisors' of his new company, with plans for 'a European submarine'. Bourne's replies, all written from England, are more lengthy, giving information about his activities and plans. (He begins, on 12 November 1971, by explaining his abandonment of a 'career in Government' for 'the dual appointment of Consultant and Research Fellow in Environmental Management' at Lancaster University, and ends, 21 October 1981, with a description of his 'difficult year'.) The printed booklet on the 'Ben Franklin' is issued by Grumman Ocean Systems Department. It is 6pp., 8vo, in black and white, on three leaves stapled together in one corner, and contains one external and one interior photograph of the submarine. It also contains a page carrying 'General Specification' and simple plans, and a section discussing 'Future Capabilities' (ecology, biology, geology, engineering, military). The offprint is 4pp., 8vo, on shiny paper, 'Reprinted from Oceanology International May/June 1968', is of an illustrated article titled 'Exploring the Gulf Stream by Dr. Jacques Piccard, developer of underwater explorer and the PX-15'. The copy typescript (10pp., 8vo) is of a speech by Piccard on the question of 'pollution, ecological problems, environmental disasters'. It is headed: 'PLEASE NOTE EMBARGO | Not for publication before Thursday, November 9, 1972, 7pm.' The press photograph is landscape, 20.5 x 25.5 cm, in black and white, presenting a side view of the heads and shoulders of a middle-aged Piccard, on the left, and Thor Heyerdahl, on the right, among those listening intently to a speaker to the left and out of shot.