Showing 32 results

Letter from Robert Bald of Edinburgh to Joseph Hume MP, 27 Apr 1826. Excusing his silence 'but ... I have been uncommonly pressed with mineral surveying and reporting thereon arising in a great degree from the conflicting elements which arise betwixt master and servant. Coals rise in price to an exorbitant rate, and the great manufacturing interests of Glasgow & chief consumers of coal there agreed to have the districts surveyed as to the means of supplying the City with abundance of coal at a moderate rate, and to lay rail ways into the coals fields which were the best'. He encloses "two copies of the treatise I wrote regarding the coal trade of Scotland and the slavish system of bearing coals by women. I have been attacked and run down for doing so: this I care nothing about ...'. Autograph, with signature.

The archive consists of historical and contemporary notes, statistics, press cuttings and correspondence on women's wages including specific classes of trades (1914-1919); printed reports on conditions of juvenile employment (1912), of the sub-committee of the Women's Industrial Council (1917), on women's employment in industry (c 1910-1915); press cuttings, articles and reviews, on women and their welfare (1912-1917); papers, reports and typescript of articles on women's wages and conditions (1912-1919); notes on the employment of women in the Civil Service (1914-1916); questionnaire of the Fabian Society's Women's Group and other organisations (undated).

Letter from Michel Chevalier of Lodeve Herault to Sir Edward Watkin MP [railway promoter], 7 Aug 1876. Concerning a project to construct the metropolitan railway in Paris after the International Exhibition [Exposition Universelle] has been held there [i.e. after Nov 1878]. 'Mr. Fenton, the general manager of the Metropolitan of London, has forwarded me a set of documents and notes which are of great interest. I will make use of them for some communications to the press'.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Richard Cobden to Dr W C Taylor, 2 Aug 1842. Thanking him for the gift of 'your little vol' [possibly Notes on a Tour in the Manufacturing Districts of Lancashire]. 'The best thing that could happen wd be to see it well abused in the Morning Post and Standard.'

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Sir Charles Cockerill of Sezincote, Gloucestershire to [Messrs Thwaites and Reed, clockmakers], 28 Jan [1800-1850]. In reply to their letter of 27 Jan, Cockerell 'will send to the clock maker at Stow[-on-the-Wold] to examine the clock with his own clerk of the works and to oil them, as suggested. The result of which shall be communicated to T. and R.'

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Jean-Baptiste Colbert of Versailles, [France] to M Daguesseau, 1 Jan 1683. Promoting the manufacturers of Saptes and Clermont in France, and their exports to the Levant.

With autograph signature.

Letter from J Cross of London to [Mr Oriel], 14 Apr 1794. 'I laid your proposal respecting the mill at Quemerford [near Calne, Wiltshire] before my Lord Lansdown [i.e. the Marquess of Lansdowne], in answer to which he had directed me to give you, in his own words, his opinion of the use of machinery in the cloathing manufacture - vizt "Nothing can be more mistaken than the prejudice conceived against machinery, nor could be more unfortunate for the country if suffer'd to prevail - for the consequence must be, the transfer of the manufacture either to the North of England, where the prejudice has been got the better of, and where they experience the advantage, or else to foreign countrys - or part to one and part to the other. Calne is calculated to be the seat of it, much better than either Chippenham or Devizes, or any town which I can immediately recollect, and independent of the great increase of trade, it would create a number of mechanists, and promote in consequence every sort of ingenuity, which would make up abundantly the loss sustain'd by the spinners; besides the navigations which are proposed [i.e. the Wilts and Berks Canal] will furnish a great deal of work; but rather than attempt any thing so arbitrary & absurd as to stop the progress of the machinery, I am very clear it would be better to come to a general rise of wage, especially if every person was compell'd at the same time to belong to some amicable society ...".'

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Thoomas Algernon Dorien-Smith of Tresco Abbey, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall to James Hooper, 28 Dec [1883-1884]. Intending to send flowers by the next mail. Discussing the demerits of the parcel post for the flower trade's deliveries. The islands are suitable for growing flowers, espcially narcissi, but strong winds prevent fruit-growing.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Peter Stephen DuPonceau of Phildelphia, [Pennsylvania] to J Vaughan, Esq, 19 Nov 1831. Asking him 'to send the enclosed [a copy of An Historical Review of the ... Silk Culture, Manufacture and Trade, etc (1831)] to your excellent nephew'.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Edward Backhouse Eastwick of 38 Thurloe Square, London to J Kempson Esq, May 1871. 'Mr. Lopez tells me that you know all about the once proposed railway from Exeter through Launceston to Truro and Falmouth. As I wish much to revive that project perhaps you would kindly give me an interview'. Written on House of Commons writing paper.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Charles Headach of Basingstoke, Hampshire to Messrs Hodding, Hodding and Co, Salisbury, 19 Oct 1840. Giving their agent permission to receive the interest due on the late Bishop of Salisbury's bonds of the Basingstoke Canal Company; giving details of the bonds and the method of authorizing payment; also mentioning a bond of Mr Hodding's. [Thomas Burgess, Bishop of Salisbury, died in 1837.]

Autograph, with signature. Postmarked at Basingstoke and Salisbury.

Letter from William Henry Hay of the Iron Founders' Society, New Kent Road, London to Professor H S Foxwell, 27 May 1887. Referring to Hey's statistical work in the Iron Founders' Annual Report.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Quintin Hogg of 5 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, London [replacing 23 Rood Lane, London which has been struck through] to Mr Parker, 26 Feb 1876. Detailing the final stages of the transfer of an estate called 'Industry' by Parker to Hogg; mentioning the shipping of sugar and rum.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter, May 1 1802 addressed to the Rt Hon William Wickham, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whitehall. 'Lord Sheffield has caused the tracts sent herewith relative to Ireland to be bound together with the wish they may be usefull (sic) in respect to reference to Mr. Wickham. The first gives details of the state, manufactures & commerce of Ireland to the year 1785. The speech on union continues those details to the present times and the observations on the export of wool to Ireland shews the state of the woollen manufacture in both countries'. Autograph, unsigned.

Manuscript volume containing papers relating to William Wood and the minting of halfpence and farthings for Ireland comprising transcripts of a report of the Committee of the Privy Council of 24 Jul 1724 and the ensuing Order in Council of 6 Aug 1724, both relating to Wood's Irish coinage, with a copy of 'Mr Wood's Proposals'.

Records of James Ince and Sons, umbrella makers (1871-2005), including: accounts and account books, 1925-1998; miscellaneous account books, including wages books, stocktaking, petty cash, share certificate, insurance and sales/purchase books, 1931-1997; order books, 1972-1990; miscellaneous photographs of James Ince umbrellas, displays at trade fairs, properties and Geoffrey Ince and Wilfred Sears Ince at professional engagements, c1950-1995; promotional material, price lists, catalogues, brochures and umbrella material samples for James Ince and Sons products and other manufacturers, 1900-1995; scrapbooks compiled by Geoffrey Ince concerning his chairmanship of the Bishopsgate Ward Club, the Ward Club's centenary, business history and self employment/tax issues, 1984-1993; Geoffrey Ince's engagement diaries, 1987-1994; papers and correspondence regarding business properties at 298/300 Bishopsgate, 9/10 The Oval and 37 Spital Square, 1946-1986; business leases, wills and property deeds, 1871-1972; private account book of James Ince, Brighton, 1883-1900; copper printing blocks and copper logo plates, n.d.

Letter from S C Lakeman of 25 Place Vendôme, Paris to Monsieur Legrand, Sous Secretaire d'État aux Travaux Publics à Paris, 12 Jan 1847. Wishing to submit observations on the floating breakwater to La Ciotat, [Bouches-du-Rhône] and requests an audience for this purpose.

Autograph, with signature. An additional note gives the time and date of the audience as 11 am, Saturday 16 Jan [1847].

Letter from William Henry Leatham of 45 St James Place, St James's, London to the Rt Hon Sir Stafford H Northcote, Bart, MP, HM Secretary of State for India, 9 Jul 1868. Stating that he will forward the offer of a collection of plates (for a price of £100) illustrating the textile manufactures of India, to the Industral and Fine Art Institution (and museum), at Wakefield; giving the names of three officials in Wakefield who might be concerned with the offer.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from John Lee of the Traffic Manager's Office, Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company, Old Hall Street, Liverpool to E Hailstone of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Office, Leeds, 17 Jan 1877. Thanking him for the loan of the Bridgewater Canal Acts 'which I have perused in conjunction with our Leigh Branch Act'. Discusses the matter of tolls leviable by the Bridgewater Canal Company: 'In the case of one of our boats they have charge a much higher rate of toll than I feel disposed to pay, and before settling with them I am desirous to know what their powers really are'.

Written in another hand and signed by Lee.

Drawing of Tring cutting in Hertfordshire, 1836, which was built as part of the London and Birmingham Railway.

Papers of the London College of Communication comprising administrative papers; teaching aids and posters.
The Administrative records include photographs of the College localities, examples of student work and prospectuses. The Teaching aids include items used to demonstrate techniques to students, these include printing blocks, lantern slides of printing equipment, Victorian Christmas cards and sample books. The Posters were used both for teaching and for display, they have been divided because of this dual purpose and the difficulty in defining the original use.

(1) Letter from William Manning of 14 New Street, Spring Gardens, [Westminster] to Thomas Tyrell, Esq, 29 Nov 1800. Concerning proposals for the regulation of a new coal market. Asking whether Tyrell sees any difficulty in it being managed by the Lord Mayor of London and whether the Corporation interferes with any market in the City. The building in Mark Lane is open to all on market days, but the Coal Exchange is open to subscribers only; the first buyers do not exceed about one hundred.

(2) Letter from William Manning of Totteridge, Hertfordshire to Thomas Tyrell, Esq, 4 Apr 1801. Discussing the fees to be incurred in passing the Coal Bill through the two Houses of Parliament [ordered Mar 1801; order for second reading discharged 12 May 1801], and the means of paying them. Asks Tyrell to show the letter to Mr Stracey, 19 Fludyer Street, and to confer with him about it.

Both letters are autograph, with signatures, and headed 'private'.

Papers of Max Lock, 1936-1988, produced and collected by Max Lock and the Max Lock Group, relate to Lock's career as a planner and architect and to wider issues in planning, particularly after World War Two, and comprise working papers (including survey papers) and finished material.

They include correspondence; notes and card indexes; photographs (some aerial), slides, drawings, maps and plans; Bills, Acts, white papers and other official publications; books, articles, reports and other publications (some annotated); typescripts; press cuttings; and conference papers. The bulk of the material dates from the 1940s to the early 1970s. Material relating to Lock's career and projects within the UK includes papers on his time as a Watford councillor and his architectural practice in the 1930s, including a timber house he designed at Stanmore, Middlesex; Hull, 1939-1957, including conflicts between Lock and his superiors; Scalby, 1940-1941; Middlesborough, 1943-1970; Hartlepool, 1946-1970; Portsmouth, 1948-1973; Salisbury, 1949-1969; Sutton Coldfield, 1950-1967; Bedford, 1950-1971; Sevenoaks, 1954-1965; Aberdare, 1957-1959; Stratford (West Ham), 1957-1962; Hackney and Shoreditch, 1960-1971; Woodley, 1962-1969; Oldham, 1962-1971; Covent Garden, 1963-1971; Battle, 1964; Brentford and Chiswick, 1964-1970; Torbay, 1968-1969; Dunstable, 1968-1972; Greater London Development Plan Inquiry, 1969-1971, and other material on GLC planning and transport; Beverley, 1969-1972. Material on projects and visits overseas includes papers on Scandinavia, 1937-1939, 1946-1949; India, Pakistan and Ceylon, 1946-1955; the Netherlands, including the Town Planning Institute Tour (1946), 1946-1957; the Americas, including Brazil, the West Indies and the USA, 1952-1969; Italy, 1952-1970; the Middle East, including Iraq and Jordan, 1954-1958; Australia, 1959-1960; Aden, 1960-1961; Kuwait, 1961; Nigeria, including Kaduna and Maiduguri, 1962-1975.

The collection includes a large volume of accumulated material, 1944-1987, largely printed material by other authors, including other planners, planning bodies and architects, some from architectural and planning journals and from the national and regional press, on planning and related issues both in the UK and overseas, such as planning law and procedures; central and local government and administration; public inquiries; housing; historic buildings; urban development; industry and retail; transport infrastructure, including roads and ports; traffic, noise, and the environment; social and economic issues including employment, labour, and social class; population levels and density; public amenities and utilities; land use and open space; and statistical data. Some papers relate to the affairs, including legal and financial matters, of the Max Lock Group; the architectural work of Max Lock and Partners; premises in Victoria Square, London; and the Max Lock Group Nigeria. Papers of or concerning Lock himself include his notebooks and other papers reflecting the development of his ideas; papers relating to publications and broadcasts; papers relating to professional bodies, including the TPI, RIBA, TCPA and UDAG; personal correspondence; photographs of him and his friends; papers on music and architecture, including lecture notes; articles about Lock, and his obituary in the Independent, 3 May 1988.

Letter from Robert Owen of Braxfield, [Lanarkshire] to 'the London Partners in the firm of Robert Owen and Co', 24 Oct 1814. Sending monthly accounts [missing]. Attributing poor trading in cotton to political instability in Europe; explains that unprofitable sales in Russia must continue until the market improves so that the mills [at New Lanark] can be kept working.

Papers of John Urpeth Rastrick, 1800-1855, comprising a miscellany of correspondence (including drafts of copies of outgoing letters), with notes, engineering drawings, etc. Many of the notes and calculations are written in Rastrick's private cipher. Major correspondents include the London shipping iron merchants Henckell and Du Buisson; the 2nd Earl of Powis; John (later Sir John) Gladstone [father of W E Gladstone]; the lawyer, estate manager and politician James Loch and [?his son] George Loch; and Rastrick's sons and employees. Topics covered include the canal and railway interests of Rastrick and the other correspondents, as well as the iron industry. Most of the letters were dispatched to or from London or the industrial areas of South Wales and the West Midlands.

Papers of John Urpeth Rastrick including memoranda, calculations and diagrams, including estimates for iron arch for Stratford-upon-Avon Railway Bridge; for a roof for William Foster; gasworks at Kidderminster; recipe for brass lacquer; lists of materials of six-horse Boulton and Watts engine, and of the contents of packing boxes, with diagrams of each item entered; notes, specifications and sketches for the Stratford and Moreton Railway; and detailed descriptions, statistics and sketches of bridges, railways and engines. Enclosing the following items: (i-ii) 2 sheets of rough calculations. (iii) Card bearing printed statistics of the Burnton and Shields Railway; annotated in MS and signed by Benjamin Thompson (23 January 1829). (iv) Printed wrapper sent from the Office of Ordnance to Messrs J Bradley and Co, [?at] Foster, Rastrick and Co Ironworks, Stourbridge; used for rough calculations and draft accounts in MS.

This collection comprises the minute books, articles of association, account ledgers, financial journals, wages books, cash books, newspaper cuttings and liquidation papers of Lawes Chemical Company (1872-1970), as well as records of subsidiary companies, including: Acides et Superphosphates Standairt Societe Anonyme (1929-1938), Gwalia Fertilisers (Briton Ferry) Limited (1934-1969), Jersey Trading Company (1948) Limited (1914-1963), Alfred Nightingale and Sons Ltd (1937-1963) and Thomas Fenn Limited (1947-1961).

Letter from Mr Rowcroft of Broad Street Buildings, [London] to Mr Tyrrell, Esq, Remembrancer, Guildhall, 4 Dec 1805. Stating that he will try to meet the Port Committee at the opening of the Blackwall Canal on the next Monday.

Autograph, unsigned.

A collection of letters, printed circulars, etc, mainly addressed to William Blackwood, of Messrs Stuart and Blackwood, Peebles, Scotland, 1859-1901. The topics covered reflect the firm's business activities: requests for legal advice or legal action; requests to act as agents or trustees; and legal advice or legal action on insurance, assurance and debts. A signficant proportion of the letters concern the Symington extension of the Caledonian Railway Company (1861).

This collection comprises the records of William Warne and Co Ltd, manufacture of rubber products, including a technical notebook (1882-1896), detailing the chemical additives and cost per pound weight for each product manufactured at the companies factory in Barking, together with minute books of the Directors and Annual General Meetings (1895-1932), balance sheets of income and expenditure (1897-1925), a valuation of India Rubber Mills (1944) and a printed copy of 'The India Rubber Journal' (1924). Accompanied by photographs, and some photographic negatives, of workers of different demographics and ethnicity on the factory floor in Barking (circa 1960-1970), as well as further photographs showing different products produced at William Warne and Co Ltd (circa 1950-1970).

2 letters to Owen Williams, 22-30 Nov 1806, relating to copper and timber production. Including 3 sheets of tables and calculations.

Letter from Sir Charles Wood, Chancellor of the Exchequer, of Hickleton, [near Doncaster] to an unspecified recipient, 19 Oct 1849. 'Dear Sir, It is unlucky that the D.G. [i.e. Dei Gratia (by the grace of God)] was left out [from the inscription on the new florin (2 shilling) coin] - people attach more importance to such matters now a days. Yours truly C. Wood'.

Autograph, with signature.