Showing 13 results

Letter from Sir Benjamin Thompson of Munich to Lord Sheffield [John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield], 18 Nov 1791. Describing the condition and people of Bavaria. Speaking of the Elector's troops: '... I know of no Troops that are so well and so comfortably clothed as ours, both for Summer and Winter ...'. Giving details of the crops, minerals and commerce of Bavaria. 'It would be difficult,'he writes, 'to convey to your Lordship an adequate idea of the Ignorance, Superstition and corruption which pervade and darken every part of this neglected Country.' Says that the clergy and nobility hold a monopoly of the beer in Bavaria: '... which is the great source of their riches, and on that account Drunkenness must be encouraged.'

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Sir Robert Peel of Whitehall to Andrew Rankin, Esq of Glasgow, 10 May 1843. Acknowledging receipt of a letter regarding the removal of import duties on cotton wool.

Written in another hand and signed by Peel. With the original sealed envelope bearing Peel's coat of arms.

John Ayrton Paris' annotated copy of 'A memoir on the physiology of the egg', read before the Linnean Society of London, 21 Mar 1809' (London 1810), with two unpublished watercolour drawings by M C Noble interleaved.

W North collection, 1874-[1926], comprising a Leeds parliamentary election poster titled "Reaction versus Disunion", 1874; a report on potato disease by Robert Veitch and Son with sketches of vegetables, possibly by Veitch, 1892; and a children's poster titled "A Pageant of London", c 1926.

(1) Letter from John Mitchell of 35 Wimpole Street, [London], to W M Maude, 24 May 1820. 'The Pamphlet you were so obliging to send me, I have read with great attention; and I think the reasoning of it so sound that I intend to vote for Lord Sutton's motion ...' ; autograph, with signature.

(2) Covering note from [W M Maude] to John Mitchell, [c1820]. Accompanying a 3rd edition of James Bischoff's pamphlet Reasons for the immediate repeal of the tax on foreign wool (1820); note undated and unsigned.

Letter from Mordaunt Martin of 'Burnham' to Dr [John Coakley] Lettsom, Sambrook House, London, 8 Mar 1801. Stating that he has despatched to Lettsom a parcel of mangelwurzel seeds. Explaining that he was prevented from answering Lettsom's letter of 3 Jan by an attack of gallstones, since relieved by pills of soap and rhubarb. Discussing the 'Brown Bread Act' [probably 41 Geo.3.c.16] to which, he says, Lettsom was in some degree accessory; quoting Lettsom and Horne Tooke on the Act; Martin prefers brown bread for his breakfast, using his own wheat 'sifted in the coarsest hair sieve', but deprecates the 'indiscriminate use of it'. Attacking at length the Potato Premium Bill, which had just been rejected, according to 'the paper of this night'; claiming that such a bill would force by premiums an unnatural produce on land which the occupiers could use for more profitable crops. Adding that his and Lettsom's 'hearts will beat in unison' on reading pages 109-110 of the 2nd edition of [Robert] Fellowes's Christian Philosophy [1799].

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from James Mann of Linton Park, [Kent] to an unknown recipient, 23 Nov 1840. Discussing soup and coal subscriptions for the poor of Cranbrook, Kent, who were suffering from the failure of the hops; promising to continue the subscription given by his recently deceased [second] wife [died 3 Aug 1840].

Autograph, with signature. On mourning paper.

Three volumes of handwritten notebooks entitled, The London and Surburban Coffee-Houses, Taverns and Inns of the Eighteenth Century by J.Paul de Castro, listing the names of coffee-houses, taverns and inns with the book or newspaper in which they were referenced (n.d.); typescript list, Inns mentioned in the Journal of Martin Bere, from an article by Martin A.S.Hume in the Gentleman's Magazine, November 1891 (1p) (n.d.); typescript list, List of Taverns held by Members of the Company of Vintners, 1641 to Ambrose Head from C.W.F.Goss (10pp) (31 October 1932); letter from G.A.Tomlin regarding a letter in The Times about the signs for inns and shops (2pp) (28 August 1936).

Letter from John King of Whitehall to William Fawkener, Esq, 9 Nov 1799. Covering letter stating that the Duke of Portland [Home Secretary] had referred a petition on Irish oat and bean exports to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Charles Cornwallis]. Enclosing a copy [missing] of Cornwallis's letter on the subject, sent 'for the information of the Lords of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council'.

[Written in another hand and] signed by John King. Endorsed: 'Letter from Mr. King transmitting Copy Letter from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, upon the subject of the petition of the proprietors of mail coaches, praying that the exportation of oats and beans from Ireland may be allowed in favour of Great Britain only'; endorsement dated 20 Nov 1799.

From A P to John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield, 6 Apr 1791. Given Lord Sheffield's attention to national commercial interests, the writer (A P) 'takes the liberty of putting into your Lordship's hands a pamphlet, written some years ago by a country gentleman, on the effects of the bounties on exported corn, etc. It is true, your Lordship has paid more than common attention, to all regulation respecting trade, but more particularly to those relative to the article of corn'.

Autograph, with signature [initials 'A P', surname illegible].

Letter from William Eden of Farm, [Beckenham, Kent] to the Marquess of Buckingham, 22 Sep 1800. Discussing the possibility of a penny post.: 'I cannot pospone my thanks for your letter of the 14th. With respect to that part of it which relates to the Post Office I hope to obtain good information ... on the practicability of establishing a "sort of penny-post from all the great Towns to the Villages, etc" - We already have a regular penny post at Bath, Liverpool, Manchester, and, I believe, at Birmingham, for those palces and for their suburbs. And it is every year more productive to the Revenue, which is the surest proof of its being an accomodation to the Public. I am well satisfied ... that such a system would be useful; and even that it might be expedient to give a very general extension to it.' Much of the remainder of the letter concerns crops.

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.

Papers of socialist and academic John Dore (1930-2006), including: press cuttings regarding various aspects of Dore's career including the 1962 local election result, his (unsuccessful) 1964 parliamentary candidature for Heston and Isleworth, 1962-1964; copies of various newspapers covering details of Dore's political activities, including the Richmond and Barnes Clarion, Heston and Isleworth Clarion, Twickenham Courier, The Voice of Malta, Wembley South Citizen, Socialist Outlook and FACT Newspaper, 1935-1963; election ephemera, notes for speeches and papers relating to Richmond and Barnes CLP, Heston and Isleworth CLP, Labour League of Youth, Greater London Council and concerning early Labour Party membership, 1948-1981; correspondence regarding Dore's candidature in Heston and Isleworth, with Richmond and Barnes Labour Party, and the Fabian Society, 1956-1975; papers, press cuttings, reports and ephemera from Dore's employment by the Malayan Government concerning Malaya, its political and social conditions and rice production, 1954-1959.