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Letter from James Yates of Lauderdale House, Highgate, London to Samuel [A Thompson Yates], [1861-1871]. Mentioning 5s 6d paid to Mr Sackett for 'the engraving of Baskerville ... A person named Matthews in Birmingham has published a new edition of the view of the houses at Birmingham, which were destroyed at the Riots [of 1791 against Joseph Priestley and other non-conformists]. One of these is a view of Baskerville House. It [the house] was purchased and enlarged by Mr John Ryland, and in that state was destroyed by the mob ...'

Autograph, with signature.

Four wills, details as follows:

1. Probate copy of the will of William Batte of Shoreham, Kent, making 'my loving master John Baker' the overseer of his will, 27 Dec [1615]. Lacking letters of probate and seal.
2. Probate copy of the will of Joseph Wright of Maidstone, Kent, 'practitioner of physick', 12 May 1701. Lacking letters of probate and seal.
3. Copy of the will of John Streatfield of Maidstone, Kent, 12 Apr 1766, with a note of probate on 4 Nov 1768, 'Extracted from the registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The will mentions bequests to the Charity School of Maidstone and monies to be distributed to the poor of the parished of Maidstone, Hever, Mayfield (Sussex), Tonbridge and Penshurst.
4. Copy of the will dated 11 Oct 1777, with a codicil of 28 Mar 1781, of Robert Streatfield of Burwack [Burwash], Sussex, with a note of probate on 19 Mar 1782. The will was extracted from the registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

A contract to publish music from the opera Macbeth, 1847.

Copy of the will of Robert Thomas de Veil, 22 May 1747, addressed to Catherine, wife of Philip De La Port. Includes applied seal.

(1) Letter from William Ross of Charing Cross, [London] to David Thomson, Esq, of Edinburgh, 28 Apr 1840. (2) Letter from William Ross of Dibden, [Hampshire] to David Thomson, Esq, of Edinburgh, 27 May 1840.Both letters concern the claim of a brother and sister, Mr and Miss Wilkinshaw, to an estate occupied by a Mr Dow, whose own claim on the estate had not been satisfied. Autograph, with signature.

A copy of the will of Robert Rockwood, 1680, made after he had left the service of the Elector Palatine on the occasion of his contracting to marry Mary Coney, widow.

Letter from James Robertshaw of Colne, [Lancashire] to George Chapman, engineer of Whitby, [North Riding] Yorkshire, 29 Jan 1846. Reply on behalf of Mr Thornber of Vivary Bridge, [Colne], to a letter of 27 Jan 1846; referring Chapman to his letter of 8 Jan (copied on the third page of this letter) in reply to Chapman's of 5 Jan. Chapman had asked for £20 for use of 'the patent expansion gear', but Thornber had stopped using it, had given Chapman notice of doing so, and was prepared to appear to any process Chapman proposed to issue against him.

Autograph, with signature.

Manuscript 'Reasons for Mr. Hornblower's petitioning the Honourable House of Commons for an Act to extend the term of his patent', [24 Feb 1792]; the patent had been granted in 1781 for 14 years, permitting the use of his steam engine in the Cornish mines. The case of James Watt is cited: in 1774 he obtained an extension of a patent 'of a similar nature, for 25 years certain'.

Draft of an assignment of a patent for an unnamed invention, originally procured by B.E. Clark in 1878 as agent for Almet Reed of New York. Almet Reed assigned the patent to John van Dussen Reed of New York. Signed by B.E. Clark.

British and French patents, 1861-1862, for John Marshall's invention for 'the collection, concentration and transmission of sound, so as to facilitate the hearing.' Also includes a Belgian 'brevet d'importation.'

Papers of the Gordon family of Letterfourie, Banffshire, Scotland, relating to their merchant interests and financial matters, 1735-[1800], comprising, including a bond in £250 of 1735 discharged in 1751 by James Gordon and his son Patrick to John Gordon; two letters from Strauss & Schmidt, Lisbon, to James Gordon, 1763; an invoice and bill of lading, dated Oct 1770, for goods shipped on the Hambro Packet from Hamburg by order of Alexander Gordon & Co., Madeira; a letter from C. Grant, Edinburgh, to James Gordon, 7 Dec 1785; two receipts of 1799 for money paid by a Mrs. Gordon; and a letter from James and Alexander Gordon at school to their parents in Letterfourie, [1800].
The collection also contains material not apparently relating to the Gordon family: accounts of John Scott, vintner in Portsoy, 'for Letterfouries servants and horses when sundry times in Banff', 22 Dec 1798-3 Jun 1799; a 'Certificate of the term of payment of Lady Fraiser [of Durris]'s annuities, 19 Nov 1776, signed by the town clerk of Aberdeen; and a receipt of 1780 for payment for goods bought from E. Fielder, stationer, London, by a Mr. Ruddick. The connection between the Gordon items and the last two items is unknown.

Letter from Thomas A Cook of Newcastle upon Tyne to H B Jordan, Esq of the Alkali Works, Bristol, 8 Dec 1845. Acknowledging Jordan's letter of 4 Dec 1845. Discussing at length the relative efficiency of stone stills [for manufacturing alkalis] used by Cook [at Walker, Newcastle], by Jordan and by Lee and Co; advising Jordan to visit Lee and Co and copy their stills exactly. Mentioning a Mr Bell's patent, the surprising cheapness of coal, and a meeting of masters [i.e. factory owners] which he was unable to attend. Noting that the returns show an increase of stock.

Autograph, with signature. A note [in Jordan's hand] on page 3 states: 'Ansd. 5 Jany'.

Letter from John Chapman of 1 Albion Street, Hyde Park, [London] to George Grote, 17 Nov 1858. Regarding the copyright of the Westminster Review.

Autograph, with signature.

Certificate of burial in wool, 1738, for Mary Wilbey of the parish of St Benedict, Cambridge.

Facsimile of a letter from George Gordon Noel Byron of Venice to M [Giovanni Antonio] Galignani, editor of Galignani's Messenger, 18 rue Vivienne, Paris, 27 Apr 1819. Disclaims the authorship of The Vampire, which had been attributed to him in Galigniani's Messenger '... I desire the responsibility of nobody's dullness but my own ...'.

Facsimile copy of an autograph letter, with signature.

Letter from John Burn of Orton, [Westmorland] to Thomas Cadell [the elder] Esq, 'bookseller, Strand, London', 26 Mar 1792. 'I have by the coach this day sent you Barry's Justice [i.e. E Barry Present practice of a justice of the peace (1790)] & in the margin have marked the vs & pages in our Justice [i.e. R Burn The justice of the peace and parish officer (1755 and many susbequent editions)] from which he has copied. I may safely say there is not one hundred pages, put the whole together of his 4 volumes, which is not copied from my father...'.

Autograph, with signature. Franked: 'Appleby'[-in-Westmorland].