(1) Letter from James Bridgnell to H W I Wood, 28 Apr 1857. Relating to the introduction of a gold currency into India. (2) Reply from H W I Wood to James Bridgnell, 4 Jun 1857. Both letters with signatures.
Sans titrePapers of Benjamin Sayer, 1832, comprise a letter to [John Wilson] Croker MP. Covering letter accompanying a copy of Sayer's volume of observations and suggestions regarding income and property taxes.
Sans titreLetter from William Henry Rowlestone Jessop of Grove House, St David's, Haverfordwest, [Pembrokeshire] to an unidentified correspondent, 17 Oct 1855. Accompanying a copy of his work on the decimal system: '... it is the first book which embraces the whole System of Money and Measures that has yet appeared ... You will perceive that this system is very superior to that in France [i.e. to the metric system]'.
Autograph, with signature.
Sans titreLetter from Charles Jones of 16 Whittall Street, Birmingham to Thomas Attwood, 12 Apr 1841. Covering letter to a copy of Jones's pamphlet Letter to Charles Wood, Esq. M.P. '... lately written on the currency'. He warns Attwood: 'I fear you will not find Birmingham either more happy or more prosperous than when you left it although it continues to increase in the external signs of both'.
Autograph, with signature.
Sans titreCorrespondence between Henry Hucks Gibbs and Edward Lucas Jenks Ridsdale (Chief Assayer of the Royal Mint), on bimetallism (i.e. the use of a monetary standard based on both silver and gold), 1876-1884. Including a letter from E Koch to Gibbs, thanking him for permission to translate a pamphlet on bimetallism into German.
Sans titreLetter from Richard Cobden of London to C E Macqueen, [Secretary of the Liverpool Financial Reform Association], 11 May 1863. '... I hope before the close of the session to be able to offer some remarks on finance, and to urge a reduction of taxation... In my opinion the only way of enforcing economy is by witholding the means of extravagance...'.
Autograph, with signature.
Sans titreHolograph drafts of speeches, 1765-1784, to be made in the House of Commons (but apparently not delivered) on subjects including American internal taxation, trade with Canada, the window tax and defence of the current administration.
Sans titreLetters and accounts, mostly concerned with the cloth and clothing trade, between 1755 and 1763. The material was created by both Benjamin Wilson and Jonathan Dickinson, who appear to have been business partners.
Sans titrePapers relating to the estate of John Appleton of Queen Square, Bristol, 1786-1791, including:
- An inventory of his goods and chattels taken at his lodgings in Queen Square, Bristol, 10 Oct 1786, including details of clothes, household goods, plate, and books and pamphlets, with a total value of £170 11s.
- An account of monies received and paid out by Thomas Rutter, executor of John Appleton, 1786-1790.
- Letter from Thomas Rutter to Patrick Buck explaining that, owing to bad debts, the effects left by Appleton are not sufficient to pay the legacies left by him, 1789.
- Receipt, 1791, signed by William and Hannah Reynolds for legacies left them by Appleton.
Financial abstract of the East India Company, entitled 'Abstract of the finances and disbursements for 1783-4, the estimate from the end of 1783'. The abstract is 'extracted from materials received from Bengal', and signed by John Annis 'Auditor of Indian Accounts' and endorsed by John Michie, Director of the Company. Other endorsements include the following: 'Deficiency 156 Lack 17 m[ohurs?]. Bond Debts 193 [Lack] 43 [mohurs?] or about £2,200,000'.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing sermons written in a mixture of shorthand and longhand, Aug 1727-Feb 1728; some sermons have a second date, such as 1735 and 1736. Many blank pages are stamped with the inscription 'R Porter, Ironmonger, Cutler & Brazier, Tin, Zinc, & Iron Plate Worker, nr. St Peter's Church, Northampton'. There is also a copy of an unaddressed letter, R Porter, Northampton, 22 Dec [18]51 (f.116 verso). The name of George Porter appears on some pages. Pages at the beginning and end of the book are taken up with accounts of the sale of ironmongery, dated 1822-1835.
Sans titreManuscript volume by Hopton Haynes relating to English recoinage, 1700-1702, entitled 'Briefe memoirs relating to the silver and gold coins of England; with an account of the corruption of the hammered moneys and of the reform by the late grand coynage at the Tower and the five county mints in the years 1696, 1697, 1698 and 1699'. On the back of the title page the following note has been added: 'These Papers being begun and almost perfected near 7 years since, several things and expressions in them are now out of Fashion, which upon a Review may be layd aside to make the performance as Unexeptionable as may be to the Publick'. An addendum, in a different hand, gives 'An account of Guinea Coins of Gold imported from Africa by the Royal Africa Company [from 1675-1725], taken from the Gazeteer 23 Jan 1755'. This valuable manuscript gives minute details of the recoinage of 1696.
Sans titrePrinted receipt form, completed in manuscript on 5 Apr 1816, for £1497 18s. 7d paid by Alexander Browne for a share or interest of £1657 9s 2d. in the capital of 'Navy Five per Century Annuities'. Signed by John Hewitt for Ellis, Laurence & Amory.
Sans titreBrief for the trial of John Hatch and David Boyce, dealers in foreign and British spirits at Averstoake in the county of Southampton, [1723], headed 'For the Attorney General...Information for the 10s. per gallon penalty for not keeping British spirits seperate [sic] from foreign brandy', and endorsed with the signatures of Sir Thomas Pengelly, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and J. White, solicitor, and with the words 'To attend Mr. Justice [Alexander] Denton upon the point reserved. Ellis Solicitor for the Excise. For Sir Thomas Pengelly'. The dealers had been accused of mixing foreign and British spirits to avoid the customs: '...the said dealers kept in their warehouses and storehouses great numbers of caskes both of foreign brandy and of British spirits, which they industriously laid and placed in the most confused and disorderly manner they could contrive, on purpose to perplex and confound the officers...'.
Sans titreManuscript volume, 1701-1704, containing the legal opinions of Sir Edward Northey, Attorney General, on cases submitted by the Treasury Board between 2 Oct 1701 and 29 Sep 1704 on matters including Customs and Excise, maritime law including the Navigation Act, prizes taken by Her Majesty's ships of war, the colonies, the Post Office, and the armed forces.
Sans titreExtract from records of proceedings before the Commissioners 'for hearing and determining appeals against the duties on male servants' at the Golden Lion Inn at Cheriton Bishop, Devon, on 3 Feb 1807, giving reasons for allowing an appeal against a surcharge on a domestic servant made by the Rev. Bryan Roberts, Rector of Drewsteignton. The appeal had been challenged by James Searle, surveyor, and the commissioners were Richard Holland, John Cann and Baldwin Huldford. The return made by Roberts in 1806 had included 1 four wheel carriage, 2 riding horses, 2 labour horses, 4 sporting dogs, 1 male servant, and 'one other occasionally employed in his garden'.
Sans titrePart of a copy of a letter, possibly a circular letter, dated at Whitehall, 9 Jul 1763, from the Secretary of State for the Southern Department to the Governor of an unidentified American colony, containing orders to execute the measures of the 'Act for the further improvement of his Majesty's Revenue of Customs and for the encouragement of officers making seizures and for the prevention of clandestine running of goods into any part of his Majesty's dominions' (3 Geo.III c.22). The writer enclosed copies - all wanting - of the act, of an order in council, and of a list of the ships stationed in America.
Sans titreManuscript volume, 1660-1702, containing transcripts of briefs, patents and commissions relating to the Exchequer, from the reign of King Charles II to the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne, with descriptions of offices within the Exchequer. There is a possibility that this manuscript was compiled by William Bromley.
Sans titreManuscripts relating to public finance, comprising:
- 'An account of the disposal of the one million granted last session of Parliament towards enabling his Majesty to augment his forces by sea and land and to take necessary measures for the security of his dominions... presented by Charles Lowndes [Chief Clerk of the Treasury]' 19 Jan 1756.
- 'An account shewing how the money given for the service of the year 1756 has been disposed of distinguished under the several heads (navy, ordnance, forces, deficience and one section of miscellaneous items) until the 4th day of March 1757 with the overplus thereupon...presented...by me Samuel Martin', 4 Mar 1757.
Printed receipt, completed in manuscript, for six month's tax on four fire hearths (4 shillings), paid by Dorothy Watson for her house at Cawood, Yorkshire, to John Palmer, collector, on 3 Jun 1675.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing an account of the public revenue of England, 1702-1710.
Sans titreAn account book, 1793-1800, belonging to Edward Lowe who owned land in Nottingham and Derbyshire. The account book includes details on servants' wages, business accounts and accounts with tradesmen. Also includes details of Lowe's marriage settlement with his wife Elizabeth.
Sans titreLeaf from a cancelled instrument recording the contract established before two notaries of the court of the Prévôté of Paris, by which Jean Baptiste Godin, of Rue St Denis, undertook to pay annually to Nicolas Avisse, of the Faubourg St Germain, the sum of 250 livres, being the interest on a loan of 5,000 livres. An inscription records the cancelling of the contract: 'Constitution du 8 Mai 1754 de 5,000 livres de Capital. Remboursé'.
Sans titreCollection of royal warrants directed to Richard Temple (afterwards Grenville-Temple), Earl Temple, as Lord Privy Seal, directing him to issue letters to the Commissioners of the Treasury under the Privy Seal for the payment of monies to the following persons. The warrants all have duty stamps and an impression of the Signet seals of George II and George III under paper. Some of the warrants have dockets signed by three Commissioners of the Treasury.
- 1758, 25 Feb. To William Davis, for salaries of former servants of Princess Louisa and Princess Mary of Hesse (names given), £500.
- 1758, 25 Feb. To Richard [Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron] Edgcumbe, an annuity of £1200.
- 1758, 22 Mar. To George Augustus Selwyn, as Paymaster of the Works, £40,000. With docket.
- 1758, 22 Mar. To George Grenville, as Treasurer of the Navy, £1,000,000.
- 1758, 20 Apr. To William Hall, Viscount Gage, as Paymaster of Pensions, £50,000.
- 1759, 21 Feb. To John [Hobart, 2nd] Earl of Buckinghamshire, as Comptroller of the Household, a gift of 1,000 ounces of 'white plate' worth £333/6/8.
- 1759, 12 May. To Francis Gashry, as Treasurer and Paymaster of the Office of Ordnance, £300,000. With docket.
- 1759, 15 May. To George Grenville, as Treasurer of the Navy, £1,000,000.
- 1759, 25 May. To William Hall, Viscount Gage, as Paymaster of Pensions, £50,000.
- 1760, 30 Apr. To George Grenville, as Treasurer of the Navy, £1,000,000.
- 1760, 13 Dec. To William Hall, Viscount Gage, as paymaster of Pensions, £50,000. With docket.
- 1761, 15 Jan. Docket of a Privy Seal warrant for the payment to George Grenville, as Treasurer of the Navy of £1,000,000.
- 1761, 20 Jan. To Henry [Fiennes Clinton, 9th] Earl Lincoln [later 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne], as Gentleman of the Bedchamber, a pension of £1,000 p.a.
- 1761, 22 Jan. To George Augustus Selwyn, as Paymaster of the Works, £40,000.
- 1761, 28 Feb. To John Shelley, as Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London, salary of £500 p.a. With docket.
- 1761, 7 Mar. To Henry [Herbert, 10th] Earl of Pembroke, as Gentleman of the Bedchamber, a pension of £1,000 p.a. With docket.
- 1761, 13 Mar. To Thomas [Osborne, 4th] Duke of Leeds, as Cofferer of the Household, £100,000.
- 1761, 28 Apr. To William Davis, for salaries of former servants of Princess Louisa and Princess Mary of Hesse (names given), £415 p.a. With docket.
- 1761, 30 Jun. To 'The Justices of Wales' (not named), salary for each of £400 p.a. With docket.
- 1761, 30 Jun. To Edward Cornwallis, Groom of the Bedchamber, pension of £500 p.a. With docket.
Manuscript volume containing a treatise on the organisation and management of Her Majesty's Customs, [1713-1748], giving details of the roles of officers. The manuscript was largely based on a draft by William Dickinson, formerly one of the Commissioners, which was updated, according to the Sotheby's sale catalogue, by Bryan Fairfax, Commissioner of Customs in the reigns of Kings George I and II.
Sans titreVolume mainly containing treatises on French financial administration, [1581-1610], namely a report by Maximilien de Béthune, Duc de Sully, Director of the Council of Finance, on the finances of France, [1607]; a paper on the Estates General of France, [1583]; a history of royal taxation in France up to the reign of King Henry III, ending with a statement of the revenue in 1581, [1581-1589]; and a paper giving instructions on the powers and authority of the officers of the French Chambre des Comptes (Chamber of Accounts), [1589-1610]. The manuscript also contains papers relating to diplomatic negotiations during the Thirty Years War, comprising a speech on a peace assembly at Cologne, Italy, [1636], and a letter from the Swedish Chancellor Count Axel Greve Oxenstierna to the English Ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, on the alliance between England and Sweden, 1638.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing a copy of a Parliamentary 'Act for Continuance of the Receipt of Excise until 29th Sept 1653', 1650.
Sans titreManuscript volume entitled 'Mémoire sur l'administration des Finances', 1787, signed by Séguy de Fontigny, giving an account of the financial reforms undertaken by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Torcy, and highlighting their present relevance. The manuscript is addressed to the Contrôleur Général des Finances.
Sans titreThe collection contains account books recording purchases made by Captain Patrick Lawson in London, Madras and Canton. Also contains memoranda and accounts regarding the administration of his estate on behalf of his creditors from 1777 to 1799.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing tables giving a statement of the [English] excise revenue from Michaelmas 1662 to [Jul 1875]. There is a possibility that this manuscript was created by Sir Grey Cooper, Secretary to the Treasury.
Sans titreManuscript 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).
Sans titreManuscript volume containing transcripts of directives issued by the Treasury Board and the Board of Customs, 1671-1678, including warrants petitions and legal documents relating to the customs. The documents are signed by statesmen including Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury; Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh; Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds; Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington; Sir John Coventry; and Charles Bertie.
Sans titreManuscript report entitled 'A State of the Coynage in Barcelona', [1714], with a note that 'This paper was attested upon oath before the Commissioners of Accounts the 14th day of May 1714 by Mr. [John] Mead'. The remainder of the volume comprises a printed copy of the answer of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope, to allegations concerning his financial administration as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in Catalonia during 1708, and contains manuscript annotations in Stanhope's hand.
Sans titreManuscript memoranda book, 1817-1824, relating to the issue of the new silver coinage in February 1817 when the Hon William Wellesley-Pole (later 1st Baron Maryborough and 3rd Earl of Mornington) was Master of the Mint. Full details are given of the administrative measures taken to collect the old silver coin of the realm and to replace it by the new issue. The operation began on 13 February and was completed in fourteen days. Enclosed is a draft of a letter dated 10 February 1824 to Mr. B. Barnard, banker, of 50 Cornhill, London, announcing the presentation to him, by officers of the Mint, on the occasion of the Master's retirement (1824), of a bronze medal 'for assisting in the arrangement for the exchange of the silver coin in 1817'.
Sans titreManuscript tract on taxation entitled 'Observations sur l'impôt territorial en nature proposé à l'assemblée des notables', written by Donat Vosgien at Épinal in 1787.
Sans titreA general and farm account books, 1749-1800, kept by William Phillips of Broadway, Worcestershire.
Sans titreCollection of papers concerned chiefly with Hewitt's work in the West Indies 1767-1771 and 1776-1781, financial papers and accounts, 1759-1781; a diary of his voyage to the West Indies, 1766; correspondence, 1772-1781, especially to the Treasury Board concerning his salary; documents concerning personal property, mainly bonds concerning payment for Crown lands in Dominica, 1767-1777, and papers relating to slaves owned by Hewitt, 1768-1781; legal papers, 1768-1781; official papers concerning land in Tobago, St Vincent and Dominica, 1764-1781, including commissioners' instructions, surveys, maps and correspondence; papers created following the death of William Hewitt, mainly relating to the settlement of his estate, 1781-1790.
Sans titreNotebook 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.
Sans titreAccount books, 1751-1799, kept by Charles Polhill while administering the family estates centred on Chipstead in the parish of Chevening, Kent.
Sans titreA collection, from 1659-1697, of twelve documents relating to Sir Robert Clayton and Alderman Morris concerning loans, good health, relatives and sales.
Sans titreRedeemed mortgage, 1849, of £1500 for seven years at 5%.
Sans titreAccounts and rental kept by John Humphries for the estates of Thomas Lodington Fairfax in Steeton, Bilbrough, Newton, Kyme, Aughton, 'Ruddings' and Ellerton, all in Yorkshire, and in Bracebridge, Cantley, Washingborough and Heighington, Lincolnshire, 1827-1840.
Sans titreA copy of the original Minute Book of the National Land Bank, 1695-1696.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing papers relating to coinage and the Royal Mint, 1722-1774, including a table of the gold and silver minted in the reigns of kings and queens of England from Queen Elizabeth I up to 1772, with a value in sterling for the total in each reign; a table of gold and silver minted from 20 Jul 1660-31 Dec 1751, with a value in sterling for the amount minted in each reign within this period; table of the weight of gold brought to the Mint for 20 years [1751-1770], with columns showing by whom it was brought and in what species it was coined; a table of 'gold at the Mint before the diminished guineas were sent', with a monthly account of gold coined from Aug 1773 to May 1774 and a statement of all gold coined from 1760-1774; an account of cut guineas imported into the Mint between 25 Aug 1773 and 9 Aug 1774, and delivered out between 13 Oct 1773 and 5 Oct 1774; tables giving the costs of coining various metals; a calculation table [for measuring fineness]; details of rises in salaries for officers of the Mint; details of salary scales for officers of the Mint, [Aug 1772].
Sans titreManuscript volume, [1729], containing an monthly account of the differences in exchange between London and Amsterdam from Mar 1697 to Dec 1728.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing transcripts of papers relating to the Royal Mint, [1732-1770], including a copy confirmation of the Charter of the Royal Mint, dated 24 Apr 1662, including the original grant of 1 May 1308 and successive confirmations and grants; a copy of the indenture dated 23 Aug 1732 appointing John Conduitt as Warden of the Mint, with corrections in red ink to form the basis of an indenture for the Hon Charles Sloane Cadogan, 23 Nov 1770; copy of a warrant dated 24 Jul 1729 for John Conduitt to coin British copper, with a note of a similar warrant dated 17 Aug 1738 for Richard Arundell, Master of the Irish Mint; copy of a warrant dated 20 Nov 1740 for Richard Arundell, Master of the Irish Mint, to coin copper for Ireland.
Sans titreAn essay on paper credit and banking, c1758.
Sans titreManuscript of a book on finance between England and Holland, c1770.
Sans titreManuscript volume containing a [transcript of a] report by Maximilien Lasowski on the state of English finances in 1784, addressed to his pupil François Alexandre Frédéric, Duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt (1747-1827), a French educator and social reformer. The report is written in the form of four letters, dated at Bury St. Edmunds, 10 Jun, 25 Jun, 14 Jul and 2 Aug, and includes a letter addressed to the Duc de Liancourt concerning the laws and principles surrounding parliamentary elections in England, and various impressions of political customs there, [1784]. The manuscript is written on the left half only of each page, and there are additions in pencil and ink in the right hand margin.
Sans titreManuscript volume, 1573, containing documents and tables relating to the Royal Mint, including papers on the prevention of counterfeiting and clipping of coins, and methods of replenishing the circulation of silver coins.
Sans titre