The Royal Society

Founded in 1660, the Royal Society had expansive interests ranging from the new optics and astronomy to agriculture and new manufactures. The Society’s committees on mechanics and the history of trades produced reports on contemporary products, including luxury goods. They explicitly aimed to improve such industries by consulting foreign manufacturers and domestic artisans.

Between 1660 and 1670, papers in the Society’s Philosophical transactions addressed how to make silk, porcelain, varnishes, masonry, paper, leather, tapestry, parchment, enamels, engravings, and red glass. Many of these methods were observed while these men traveled across the globe securing trade agreements and importing new goods and were tweaked for the English market.

Henry and Charles Howard, grandsons of the earl of Arundel, were members of the Royal Society, helping to connect the new institution with networks of exchange in Europe, the New World, Africa, and India. In 1668, Henry Howard undertook a mission to Tangier for Charles II to negotiate a commercial treaty with the King of Morocco. For the Society, this mission was an opportunity to learn, explore, and bring back ancient manuscripts and new goods.