Fragment of a leaf from an antiphoner, formerly a fly-leaf in a binding, containing part of the common of a martyr. The fragment was written in north-east France in the 13th or 14th century.
UnknownLeaf, foliated LXX in a late 16th century hand, from an Antiphoner, containing part of the office for the Commemoration of St Paul (30 Jun). Written in Spain (or possibly Italy) in the late 16th century.
UnknownThe manuscript is entitled Memoranda on the State and Resources of Great Britain., 1751.
Antonie , familyPrinted indenture of apprenticeship, completed in manuscript, 5 Oct 1798, between James Rudge, son of James Rudge of Gloucester, upholsterer, and George Holder of Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, apothecary, for a term of 7 years, with Holder to provide meat, drink and bedding. The consideration is £10 paid by the Mayor and burgesses of Gloucester out of public charity money given by Mrs Jane Hunter, deceased. Signed and sealed by Holder and James Rudge, witnessed by William Birt. On the dorse is a note of the enrolment at the Tolsey in Gloucester, signed by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, mayor, and two others.
UnknownCopy of an indenture of apprenticeship, 11 Feb, 1837, between Joseph Gordon Low, aged fourteen years, of the parish of St. John, Hampstead, (with the consent of his father, James Low, gardener, of Hampstead), and James Dowse, tailor, of Hampstead, for a term of 7 years. Consideration - £10 from the trustees of the Well Charity, Hampstead. Endorsed: 'Received of Mr. Toller the original indenture of apprenticeship this fifteenth day of August 1843'. Signed: 'Mary Ann Low'.
UnknownIndenture of apprenticeship, 22 Aug 1780, between Samuel Thompson, son of William Thompson, sailmaker, of Liverpool, (with his father's consent), and Richard Heywood, banker, of Liverpool, for a term of 5 years at a wage of £15 a year, with William Thompson providing 'good and sufficient meat drink washing lodging and wearing apparel of all sorts' for his son. Signed and sealed by all parties, with James Greaves as witness.
UnknownIndenture of apprenticeship, 27 Apr 1663, between Thomas Rickard, 'a poore child' of East Bergholt, Suffolk, and Thomas West, broadcloth weaver, mentioning the consent of John Maxley and Richard Mitchell (churchwardens), William Marlow, Robert Fen and John Piddington (overseers of the poor), and of two justices of the peace, to be enforced until Rickard reaches the age of twenty-four. Signed with the mark of Thomas West and sealed. A marginal note states 'Allowed by us Henry Parker'. Witnessed by John Ellyatt, clerk, and George Barnes.
UnknownManuscript volume containing a list of papers concerning the financial administration of Argenta in the province of Ferrara, Italy, 1624-1667, notably the farming of the revenues of the chamberlain of Argenta for a year from Jan 1667, and various exemptions from tolls. This manuscript is a copy of an extract made by the public notary Guieseppe Girollo Beccari from a printed book entitled Instrumento d'affitte sopra l'appalto delle dogane, macinato, augmento del sale, e delle can cellarie de Ferrara, e suo stato...(Ferrara 1667).
UnknownAristotle, Italy papers, 15th century, comprise fragments of a single leaf containing part of Leonardo Bruni's translation into Latin of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, printed in Decem Librorum Moralium Aristotelis Tres Conversationes(Paris, 1535-1537).
UnknownDraft proposals for altering the strengths of the regiments at Gibraltar and Minorca, in order to effect a saving of £99, 670, with marginal notes in a different hand (possibly that of Henry Pelham, Secretary at War 1724, and Paymaster of the Forces 1730) forming a draft address on the subject to the king. From internal evidence, the document appears to have been written between 1715 and 1733.
UnknownArmorials relating to Hernan Perez de Guzman, Pedro de Graciadei and others, [1500-1600].
UnknownManuscript volume, 1683-1702, containing transcripts of orders, warrants and commissions relating to the offices of Paymaster-General of the Forces in Great Britain, Ireland and Flanders, and of the Secretary of War, the administration of musters, the Chelsea Royal Hospital, and the Ordnance Board with details of offices within it after 1683. There is also a printed copy of His Majesties orders for regulation of the musters, (Charles Bill, Henry Hills and Thomas Newcomb, London, 1687). There is a possibility that this manuscript was compiled by William Bromley.
UnknownLetter from Matthew Arnold of Cobham, Surrey to John Churton Collins, 24 Oct 1886. Relating to the teaching of modern literature and modern languages at the universities. Autograph, with signature.
Arnold , Matthew , 1822-1888 , poet and criticIncomplete manuscript article on Thomas Lovell Beddoes containing '...a short review of the...works of Beddoes [other than Death's Jest Book] together with a selection from some of their finest passages'. It was written, by an author unknown, as a supplement to Thomas Forbes Kelsall's article on Beddoes in the Fortnightly Review of 1872, Vol 18, pp.51-75. Although intended for the same journal it appears not to have been published either there or elsewhere.
UnknownTranscript of a series of articles that appeared in the Athenaeum, 1842-1843, giving itineraries and descriptions of monuments that could be visited in day excursions by railway from London, the first headed 'The Bye Paths of England' and signed 'M' (Athenaeum, 1842, pp.634-5), the others headed 'Days' Excursions out of London' (Athenaeum, 1843, pp.715-7, 736-7, 754-6, 819-20, 882-4, 904-6).
UnknownCopies of articles written in the 18th century:
- 'The Natural History of Tea', beginning: 'Tea, which throws some people into vapours, affects their complexion...'. The article cites as authorities 'Dr. Waldsmith' [Johannes Waldschmid?], and 'Dr. Hermenane', and refers to directions for making tea 'on pp.123, 124, and 161 on the first volume of this magazine'.
- 'Historical and Medical Observations on Sugar', beginning: 'Sugar was originally the product of the East Indies'.
Manuscript volume containing a memorandum by John Ashley, [1745-1747], headed 'A Proposal to support the British Nation against the ambitious views of France. Humbly offered to the consideration of the Right Honourable Henry Pelham', and suggesting the substitution of a capitation tax on sugar and salt for duties on the products of West Indian plantations as a means of undermining French commercial competitiveness.
Ashley , John , d 1751 , Barbados planterManuscript volume containing a translation from the Flemish of an account of the travels of Mr S van Döelvelt in Asia during 1674, including details of the government, religion and customs of the area. The manuscript is dated 4 Dec 1682.
UnknownIncomplete copy of instructions to sheriffs of counties and mayors of corporate towns to fix tax assessments, dated 12 August, 1634. The sheriffs are to divide the whole charge laid upon the county into hundreds, lathes and other divisions, and those into parishes and towns, which are to be rated by houses and lands 'saveing that it is his Majestie's pleasure that where there shall happen to be any men of ability, by reason of gainfull trades, great stockes of money or personall estate, who perchance have either none or little land and consequently in an ordinary landscott, would pay nothing or very little such men be rated and assessed according to their worth and ability, and that the moneys that shall bee levyed upon such may be applied to the spareing and easing of such as being either of weake estate, or charged with many children or great debts are unable to beare soe great a chardge as the lands in their occupation might require in an usuall and ordinary proportion...'. The clergy are to be taxed and assessed in the same way as the rest of the king's subjects. Transcript of the signatures of 18 persons, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Coventry, and the Earls of Arundel, Bridgewater and Dorset.
UnknownIndenture quadripartite of 11 Feb 1761 by which George Lane, of Bramham Park, Yorkshire (West Riding), with the consent of Ralph Bourchier, 'doctor in physick', of Great Ormond Street in the parish of St.George the Martyr, London, and his daughter and heir Margaret Bourchier, assigned to the Hon William Chetwynd, of Dover Street, London, the manors or lordships of Benningborough [Beningbrough], Overton [Ovington], Barforth and Newton-upon-Ouse, all in the North Riding of Yorkshire, formerly the estate of John Bourchier, deceased, for the remainder of a term of 500 years. Signed and sealed by the four parties. Ralph Bourchier inherited the estates on the death of his great-niece Mildred, wife of the Hon Robert Lane, in 1760.
UnknownLetter from David Astor of 9 Cavendish Avenue, London to the Librarian, Acquisitions Section, University of London Library, 9 Oct 1981. Concerning the gift of a copy of Henry Ozelle Malone's PhD thesis Adam von Trott zu Solz: the Road to Conspiracy against Hitler(1980).
Astor , Francis David Langhorne , b 1912 , journalist x Astor , DavidA school note book, 1668-96, used by various members of the Atkinson family. As well as notes on mainly classical studies the book contains accounts that appear to have been inccurred during the years of 1668-9 at Glasgow College.
Atkinson , family , fl 1668-96Attornment by Sarah [Sare], widow of Jankyn Elys, at the request of Anneys, his younger daughter, to John Horder and Henry Stanleigh, on payment of 1d., of all lands and tenements which she held in inheritance for life as in dower. In the presence of Robert Sampson. Richard Harryes, John Guderych, James Smyth, Robert Whithorn, Richard Elyot, John Geffray, Robert Maisteres, John Cokerel and others. Dated at Babeton 'Thursday after Martinmas, 12 Richard II', or 12 November 1388.
Elys , Sarah , fl 1388 , widow of Jankyn ElysTranscripts of two authorizations given to Christian Frederick Post by William Denny, 'Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania and counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware', originally written at Philadelphia, 1759.
- Licence to Post, as a deacon in the church of the Unitas Fratrum, to pass into Indian country 'to preach the gospel amongst any of the Indian nations in alliance with His Majesty...to whom he is hereby heartily recommended for a kind reception and good treatment', 5 Nov 1759.
- Letter of protection addressed to the governors and magistrates of the provinces through which Post may have occasion to pass, commending him as 'a person who has been of great service to his Majesty and these colonies', 4 Jun 1759.
Agreement, dated 23 Oct 1868, between Albert Rumball, Thomas Rumball, Joseph Rivolta, John Septimo Rivolta and Vincent Wanostrocth to share the expenses of a journey to be made to St Petersburg by Albert Rumball, and the profits should licences be obtained to form the 'Azoff [Azov] and Don Gas Company'. Signatures of parties and witnesses.
UnknownLetter from Charles Babbage of Dorset Street, Manchester Square, [London] to M Sylvain van de Weyer [Belgian ambassador in London], 29 May 1837. Presenting a copy of his book 'The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise'. Autograph, with signature.
Babbage , Charles , 1792-1871 , mathematicianLetter from Charles Babbage of Dorset Street, Manchester Square, [London] to an unknown recipient, 8 Nov 1850. Giving directions for meeting Babbage on Wednesday at 7 o'clock. Autograph, with signature. Last leaf only of a letter written on several sheets.
Babbage , Charles , 1792-1871 , mathematicianLetter from Philip James Bailey of 59 Netherwood Road, West Kensington Park, London to an unknown recipient, 21 Sep 1877. 'The publishers of my new edition [10th edition] of Festus are Longmans and Compy. I have nothing now in the hands of Mr Bell. You are quite welcome to extract the songs named.' Autograph, with signature.
Bailey , Philip James , 1816-1902 , poetLetter from Henry Carey Baird of H C Baird and Co, Philadelphia, USA to [Herbert Somerton] Foxwell, 4 Dec 1908. Enclosing a list of pamphlets by Mathew Carey [Baird's great uncle] and discussing the political economist Henry C Carey [Baird's uncle]. Typescript, signed by Baird.
Baird , Henry Carey , 1825-1912 , writer and publisherNotebook compiled by Jonathan Baker containing mathematical problems and tables, dated 29 July 1765. The notebook was also used for entering his accounts between 1782 and 1796, with some later, more general, additions to 1800, mostly relating to his work as a cobbler, but also accounts of household expenses and rents received. The accounts mention places between Cirencester and Newnham.
Baker , Jonathan , fl 1765-1800 , cobblerLetter 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.
Bald , Robert , 1776-1861 , mining engineerLetter from George Balfour of the House of Commons (embossed heading) to C G Williams, Leigh House, Lower Heath, Hampstead, London, 16 Nov 1934. Replying to a query about Public Acts [of Parliament] passed since the National Government came in [in 1931]: 'There are some 170 Acts ... But in over fifty Acts where some distinct question of political principle enters I can find some half-dozen Conservative Acts, three times as many Socialist Acts, while the remainder are a mixture of the two with Socialism predominant ... As I have frequently said ... it is time for Conservatives to consider in what direction we are going.'
Signed by Balfour. Marked: 'Personal and Confidential' in MS.
Balfour , George , 1872-1941 , MP and electrical engineerManuscript copy of The Noblenesse of the Asse. A worke rare, learned, and excellent, written by Adriano Banchieri and originally printed in London in 1595 by Thomas Creede and sold by William Barley. Under the signature of 'J[ohn] Payne Collier' on the front page is a note in his hand, 'For an intended reprint which was never made: not yet collated'. The manuscript copy is written in a nineteenth-century copper-plate hand and contains passim instructions for the printers. The title-page carries the picture of a garlanded ass copied from the woodcut of the original edition. This copy was not made by Collier.
UnknownContains details concerning the bank's constitution and rates, c1683.
Bank of CreditPapers relating to banking, comprising:
- A legal opinion concerning the Bank of England monopoly and the exclusion of Scottish banks, with particular reference to the act of 1833 (3 & 4 Will.IV c.98), [1874]. A partially erased endorsement in pencil appears to read 'Mr.Backhouse - Please table this corrected copy... J.S.'
- Printed circular with manuscript additions from John Dun of Warrington to Edmund Backhouse, 25 Nov 1875. The circular contains tables of the assets and liabilities of the banks of the United Kingdom, with an explanation of the methods used in obtaining the results. The writer hopes for information from Backhouse.
- Manuscript lists of failed private banks, with names of their owners; Joint Stock Banks that had closed; and private banks, with names of their owners, that had 'ceased to issue through amalgamation or otherwise'. Each entry has a figure beside it, possibly showing assets at time of closure. Each leaf is initialled 'E.B.' (Edmund Backhouse).
- 'Speeches made in the debate on the renewal of the Bank of England Charter, 1833', reprinted from Hansard, 3rd series, vol.20, pp.469, 496-7, 499.
Letter from Sir Joseph Banks of Soho Square, London to Lord [?Sheffield], 10 Feb 1815. In favour of a Corn Law. 'We ought, however, to consider that by purchasing foreign Corn, we ... hazard the horrors of Famine by becoming dependant [sic] on our natural enemies for our food ...'. The first paragraph appears to be in Banks's own hand and the remainder in that of an amanuensis or copyist.
Banks , Sir , Joseph , 1743-1820 , 1st Baronet , naturalist and patron of scienceLetter from Sir Joseph Banks of Soho Square, London to an unknown recipient, 12 Aug 1815. Relating to 'the undertaking now in hand for exploring the rapid Currents of the Zaira'. Reference is made to the mutiny of the Bounty, 'which began by turning the Commander adrift and ended in the Peopling of Pitcairn's Island. A less economical Outfit succeeded and the business was happily effected. Hence I deduce that in all matters of Naval Equipment it is better to adopt a Plan of sufficient extent at first than to do it after a failure, which if attributable to parsimony will in a Country like this meet with censure.' He advocates the use of a steamboat, 'a Fort impregnable to Native Armies and capable of sending out a subordinate Expedition'. This letter appears to be either a copy or a draft letter made by an amanuensis.
Banks , Sir , Joseph , 1743-1820 , 1st Baronet , naturalist and patron of scienceLetter from Sir Joseph Banks of Overton to Sir Stephen [?], 14 Sep 1804. Relating to the Royal Mint and coinage.
Banks , Sir , Joseph , 1743-1820 , 1st Baronet , naturalist and patron of scienceManuscript correspondence and other papers relating to the financial administration of Barbados and the Leeward Islands, 1669-1682, mostly concerned with the auditing of the accounts for the farm of the 4½% duty collected during the years 1670-77. The correspondents include: two farmers of the 4½% duty, Sir Charles Wheler and Colonel John Strode; [William Blathwayt], Auditor General of H.M. revenues in America; [Henry Guy], Secretary to the Treasury; and the governors of the Leeward Islands and Barbados.
Unknown.Will of James Dotin, 1745; inventory of Mount Edge plantation, Barbados; indenture regarding sale of Baxter Valley by John and Elizabeth Dotin to William Duke, 1749; disposition by Edward Hay regarding authenticity of these documents, 1773.
Hay , Edward , 1722-1779Dotin , James , fl 1733-1742
Indenture of bargain and sale of 17 Jun 1602 by Henry Newdegate of Hampton, Middlesex, to George Cole of Petersham, Surrey, of the manor of Ashstead, otherwise called Little Ashstead or the Pryor's Farm, Surrey. Consideration £500. Signed by Henry Newdegate; seal wanting.
UnknownIndenture of bargain and sale by the Wardens and Commonalty of the Mercers' Company of London to William Allen, Alderman of London, of six messuages in 'Towerstrete', now Great Tower Street in the parish of St Dunstan in the East, for a consideration of £133 6s. 8d. Abuttals given; names of present and former tenants and rents also given. Warranty. Leofric Foster, citizen and mercer, attorney to deliver seisin. Signed by Richard Malorye, Richard Carill, Thomas Revett, and Thomas More, endorsed 'livery of seisin', and dated 1 Mar 1565.
UnknownA letter to Dr. Charles Barham from F. Thrale, on behalf of Constantine Henry Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby, the Home Secretary appointing him sub-commissioner to the Commission on the Employment of Children.
Barham , Charles , 1804-1884 , physicianCorrespondence and a typescript of the Greek poet Moschus' Europa, 1911, translated by Baring.
Baring , Evelyn , 1841-1917 , 1st Earl of Cromer , diplomatic administrator and writerLetter from Percy Mordaunt Barnard of 10 Dudley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent to [Herbert Somerton] Foxwell, 15 May 1911. Covering note to the 'treaty of Oct. 7 1413', a diplomatic agreement between England and Flanders, and giving details of its provenance. Autograph, unsigned.
Barnard , Percy Mordaunt , 1868-1941 , antiquarian bookseller and clergymanPapers of Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett, 1930, comprise a letter to Mrs [?Helena] Normanton. Discussing the speech Mrs Normanton was to make at the annual meeting of the State Children's Association on 12 November 1930.
Barnett , Dame , Henrietta Octavia Weston , 1851-1936 , social reformer and authorIncomplete thesis on the French writer Stephane Servant, 1869-1916. Includes a transcript of Servant's manuscript entitled Traite de l'Art Poetique.
Barrett , W. E. D. , fl 1931SL V 37 is a typescript, with corrections made by Barrie of the play and correspondence relating to the production of Alice Sit By the Fire (1906); SL V 38 is the original manuscript of Hsiung's translation into Chinese of the play Shall We Join the Ladies (1921) and the book Barrie and His Work.
Barrie , Sir , James Matthew , 1860-1937 , Knight , author and playwrightManuscript transcript by Richard Bateman, 1612, of a work by Benedictus Victorius Faventius containing a calculator or computer for increasing or diminishing figures, which was printed by Benedict Hector, bookseller of Bologna, in 1512. The text was copied by Bateman from a treatise of a revised edition by Dom. Gaetanus, Doctor of Medicine.
Bateman , Richard , fl 1612A manuscript draft, 1926, of the novel, The Two Sisters, by Herbert Ernest Bates.
Bates , Herbert Ernest , 1905-1974 , author , also known as H E Bates