Anthonie Heinsius wrote Letter L-139 of 8 October 1683 to Leeuwenhoek that his work was making a positive impression in Paris and that some of his letters would be published in the new Journal de Médecine
This letter is known only by reference in other letters.
In this letter, Anthonie Heinsius writes from Paris that he and several of his colleagues are pleased by Leeuwenhoek’s observations. Some of Leeuwenhoek’s letters are being published in the new Journal de Médecine. For his presence in Paris, see Letter L-133 of 10 September 1683.
Heinsius is referring to Journal de médecine ou observations des plus fameux médecins, chirurgiens et anatomistes de l’Europe, tirées des Journaux des païs étrangers, et d’autres mémoires particuliers envoyez a Monsieur l’Abbé de la Roque (Medical journal of observations of the most famous doctors, surgeons and anatomists of Europe, from the journals of foreigners’ own country, and individual memoirs sent to Monsieur l’Abbé de la Roque). This journal was founded to publish summaries and excerpts in French of foreign scholars. It managed only six monthly issues in the first half of 1683, perhaps because Jean-Paul de La Roque was also editing Journal des Sçavans. The Journal de médecine was revived in 1686 under the direction of Jean Brunet.
In the March 1683 issue, La Roque published part of the Letter L-056 of 14 May 1677, on pp. 112-28 with no figures. A part of the letter was spread over three issues of the Journal des Sçavans in April, May, and June of 1679.
Two months later in the May 1683 issue of Journal de Médecine, La Roque published part of Letter L-116 of 3 March 1682, on pp. 203-219 with 4 of 7 figures (only 6 are in Philosophical Transactions). For this letter, Collected Letters vol. 3, p. 383, has the wrong page numbers.
Letter L-136 van 30 September 1683 to Anthonie Heinsius
At the end of Leeuwenhoek’s Letter L-136, Heinsius wrote: “Miss. Leeuwenhouck Delft 30 Sept 1683 R. 8 Octob.”
Letter 78 L-141 of 14 October 1683 to Anthonie Heinsius
I saw from Your Excellency’s very welcome letter of 8 October that my latest observations appeared remarkable to Your Excellency and to others to whom they were shown, and that my statements were highly appreciated there. Also that some of my observations were held in such high esteem in France that they were inserted in the Journal de Medecine, started this year, 1683, and that some of the others would soon follow. I was very happy to hear all this because it appears that the scientific world takes an interest in the labour spent on them.
