Showing 53 results

Manuscript letter, dated 22 February, 1643, containing an Order of the Committee of Revenue to Thomas Fauconbridge, Receiver of Crown Revenues, to pay 'the poore Pewterers or Hammer men' of London the sum of £100, due to them by virtue of an Act of Parliament. The letter is signed by members of the Committee for Revenue, including Sir Henry Vane, Sir Henry Mildmay, Francis Rous, William Ashhurst, Thomas Hoyle and Dennis Bond. With a receipt dated 27 February 1643, bearing 56 signatures or marks and the signature of Robert Leeson, Warden of the Worshipful Company of Pewteres.

Letter from John Wood to Richard Oastler via the Post Office, Leeds, Yorkshire [redirected from Foxley Hall, Huddersfield], Nov 1830. 'I send you this as proof of the general disposition to meet the question. The signatures annexed include almost every Bradford Spinner ...'.

Autograph, with signature. Written on the dorse of a poster advertising a meeting of Bradford worsted spinners on 22 Nov 1830, with the aim of improving working conditions; the poster is folded in half, with the direction and postmarks on one leaf and the content of the letter on the other.

Letter from Dorothea Watson of Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire to an unknown female recipient, 24 Sep 1688. Has heard from Mrs Watson of Danby Wiske, [North Riding of Yorkshire], that a servant (a niece of Mrs Watson) was leaving the recipient's service at Martinmas (11 November); asks her 'to answer the queries on the [o]ther side ... and were Master and Mistresses to [be] upon honor, in their character of servants, there woud [so] on be an end of all complaints of bad ones'. Autograph, with signature. Some traces of the questions from the dorse are visible in reverse on the face of the letter.

Letter from Wililam Wallace to Rev George Peacock, Dean of Ely, [1833]. Describing Wallace's part in the introduction of foreign mathematical notation to England and 'the Reformation .... the the Mathematical science in Britain'.

Autograph, with signature. Headed 'First Copy'. Inscribed in another hand: 'Found among Mr Thomas Galloway's papers'.

Letter from John Taylor of London to Richard Taylor, Esq [probably the writer's son or brother], 5 Jul 1837. 'The bearers Messrs. [Gabriel] Daubrée and Sentis have studied at the Ecole des Mines at Paris and are strongly recommended by Messrs. [François] Arago and Combes. I have furnished them with introductions to some of our agents, but if you will give them further advice and assistance in Cornwall I shall be obliged to you.'

Autograph, with signature.

Papers of Brenda Elizabeth Spender, 1925-1947, fourteen letters written to Spender from Constance Holme (1 letter), Walter de la Mare (1 letter), Wilson Midgley (1 letter), George E B Saintsbury (6 letters and 4 cards) and Siegfried Sassoon (1 letter). Most items concern business carried out by Spender in her role at the literary editor of Country Life.

Letters of attorney given by holders of South Sea stock in Amsterdam, The Hague and Geneva to London merchants respecting their stock, 1731-1739.

Letter from Richard Smith of 'Bordeaux River', [France] to Seth Barton, merchant, Baltimore, [USA], 1794. Giving the terms of a charter party between James Swan and Co and Thomas Harris, on the London Packet (c 260 tons), which was to take on a cargo of wines and brandy at Bordeaux, to carry to Baltimore; discussing expenses and asks Barton to take out £400 insurance for him.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Adam Smith, 4 Apr 1760. Address: Glasgow. To his publisher, [William] Strahan. Refers to the 2nd edition of Smith's 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments' (1759), to the Act of Union (1707), and to [Nathaniel] Hooke's 'Secret History of Colonel Hooke's Negotiations in Scotland, in favour of the Pretender, in 1707, etc' (1760).

Autograph, with signature. A facsimile, printed for James Bonar's 'Catalogue of Adam Smith's Library' is filed with the original letter.

Letter from Robert Rawson of 84 Great Ducie Street, Manchester to Augustus De Morgan, [1845]. Covering note accompanying copies of a pamphlet On the summation of series ..., read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester on 12 Nov 1844. Describing his experiences working as a child coal miner. Proposes 'a new ... chymical theory'.

Autograph, with signature.

3 letter from Richard Pery of London to Richard and John Wisse (or Wise), merchants, of Totnes, Devon, 1621. Concerning the sale of wine and related payments.

All letters are autograph, with signatures and seals.

Letter from A Offley, c 1790. No address. To Mrs Walker. Supplies a character reference for a servant, Mrs Stent, who had among her recommendations that she 'stayd with ye dificall lady Manchester [Elizabeth Montagu, Duchess of Manchester] longer than most of her sarvents do but as to her [Mrs Stent's] temper it is warm and pashonat and she cant allways commande it ...'.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott to Messrs Chubb, 25 May 1857. Asking the firm to make 6 locks for miniature frames, exactly similar to those they made for him previously, and to send them to Mr Scott of Messrs Colnaghi.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from P Hubbersty of Milnes and Newbold solicitors of Matlock, [Derbyshire] to [William] Wyatt of Eyam, Bakewell, [Derbyshire], 27 Sep 1851. Covering note to a printed circular letter convening a meeting of miners, landowners and other interested parties on 6 Oct 1851.

Written and signed on behalf of the firm by P Hubbersty. The note is written on the blank inner pages of the circular letter Mineral laws and customs of the wapentake of Wirksworth.

Letter from John Stuart Mill of India House, [London] to an unidentified publisher, 30 Mar 1844. Referring to the publication of Essays on some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy.

Autograph, with signature.

(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'.

Extract 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'.

Decorated copy of a deed (13 January 1677) amalgamating two church societies of shoemakers and giving revised and clarified rules for the new Fraternities. Another deed (11 September 1731) gives further modifications and clarifications. The scribe gives the date of the folio as 1732.

Accounts of the fraternity of shoemakers (apparently the same organisation as reference MS336) for October 1729 and February 1818-March 1854.

'An Establishment of the Officers of his Majesties Customes in London and Outportes w[i]th such Salaries [as] they Receive Quarterly. Anno 1675', including:

1. 'Port of London. The names of the Severall Officers...', notably Patent Officers, watchmen, Coast Waiters, Weighing Porters, Surveyors, Landwaiters, Tidesmen, Landcarriagemen, Noontenders, and Watermen - in the margin of f.3 is written 'Midsomer 1675'.
2. A list of the establishment of the officers in the outports, with the names of the officers. There are no separate headings for different occupations, but the names are given with the occupation following, e.g. Pad stow (f.19), 'Gilbert Marshall collect[er] & waiter... Tho[mas] Castell wait[er] & searcher att ye Gunnell...' The totals of the salaries for each town are listed on f.29. (46 ports are listed, 47 including London.)
3. 'The names of Patent Officers in the Port of London', with their yearly salaries.
4. 'The names of the Patent Officers in the Outportes', with their yearly salaries.
   The total for the yearly salaries of all the officers for London and the out ports is given as £49,908.12s.2d. Separate totals are given at the foot of each page, and at the end of each section.

Letter from Edward Law (1st Earl of Ellenborough) of Grosvernor Place, [London] to Rev Henry Walter, 28 Feb 1839. Replying to a letter on the state of labourers in contemporary society.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Lady Quentin of Kew, [Surrey] to Mr Emanuel, [jeweller] of Bevis Marks, St Mary Axe, London, 27 Apr 1833. Stating that the payment of his account will have to be further postponed, as she has been disappointed in her expectations of receiving a large sum of money. Encloses a draft for £20 [missing] and requests a receipt.

Autograph, unsigned.

Letter from James Jardine of Hanover Street, [Edinburgh] to Robert Stephenson, Esq, civil engineer of Baxter Place, [Edinburgh], 25 Jun 1825. Replying to a note from Stephenson, agreeing to meet at 10 o'clock on Monday at Stockbridge on Lord Moray's ground; reminding Stephenson to give notices to the agents, and have the plan with the levels marked, ready to be inspected on the spot.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from William Ward Jackson of Normanby, [North Riding of Yorkshire] to George Brigham, near Hutton, Rudby, [North Riding of Yorkshire], 20 Mar 1822. Describing how a servant of Jackson's had been killed 'by an accident from a horse' that day and an early inquest is desired. Asks Brigham to tell the bearer of the letter what time he will arrive.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Thomas Harvey Hull of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights, Guildhall, London to Captain B J Watkins of the Royal Navy, 27 May 1930. Regretting that no company privileges are available to Watkins's friend, Mr Frederick Beetham, despite the fact that his great-grandfather was Master of the Company in 1835-1836. 'For your friend I cam enclosing a little history of the Company, printed and circulated ... in 1928'.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Leonard Horner of University Chambers to Augustus De Morgan, 25 Feb 1828. Enclosing a letter appointing a Professor of Mathematics in the University of London.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from James Hanley to Frank Hollings, bookseller, offering to sell manuscript of his first novel Drift and also the manuscript of Captain Bottele, 6 Nov 1933.

(i) Letters to Sir Graham Eden Hamond and Lady Hamond, 1850-1865. Mainly concerning references and testimonials for domestic servants, either formerly employed in or potentially to be engaged by the Hamond household. Including 1 receipt for £6 wages and a letter mentioning the 1852 general election.

(ii) Letter from Charles Scovell of Bembridge, Isle of Wight, to Mr Escount, 16 Feb 1865. Relating to the business affairs of Sir Andrew Hamond [Sir Graham Hamond's son and successor as baronet].

Letter from Joseph Gouge Greenwood of Owens College, Manchester to Augustus De Morgan, 1 Aug 1860. Thanking him for recommending Robert Bellamy Clifton for the professorship of Natural Philosophy at Owens College. '... I look forward to the gain of a very agreable [sic], as well as a very efficient Colleague in him.'

Autograph, with signature.

3 letters from John Thomas Graves of 29 Grosvenor Place, Cheltenham to Augustus De Morgan, 28 Jan, 4 Feb and 4 Jun 1853. Relating to the works of Simon Stevin and other mathematical literature.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from N Geary of Fareham, [Hampshire] to Mr Gunner, Waltham, Hampshire, 14 Jan 1815. Asking Gunner to remind the magistrates of the Droxford Bench that they were to inspect the public roads over the Forest of Bere, which Geary had made 'remarkably good'; but since 'the whole of the public money is expended, and the roads are getting bad', he asks the magistrates either to discharge him, or give 'assistance and support without which it will be impossible for me to proceed without much injury to the parishes, and disgrace to myself ...'.

Autograph, with signature. Some pencilled queries in another hand appear on the dorse, e.g. 'Does it lega[ll]y come before us?'

Manuscript volume containing 'An essay on the causes and cure of a redundant agricultural population', written in Glasgow, 1832-1833. Inscribed by Herbert Somerton Foxwell as written 'By a boy under 16 years of age'.

Letter from Thomas Hay Sweet Escott of 33 Sackville Road, Hove, Brighton, [Sussex] to John Collins Francis, 1 Apr 1916. Mentioning several writers for the Standard: 'During all my Standard time Alfred Austin the Poet Laureate was one of the chief writers. After my time I believe that Sidney Low, formerly under [Frederick] Greenwood of the Pall Mall, a certain [Samuel Henry] Jeyes and a certain Richardson Evans were considered important writers ...'.

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 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.

Manuscript volume, [1522-1566], containing a description of the offices of the King's Remembrancer's and Lord Chamberlain's Departments of the Upper Exchequer, and an account of their duties, with an enumeration of grudges and complaints and a suggestion of remedies for them. A second memorandum, possibly written between 1531 and 1533, discusses the problems of financial administration.

Papers of Augustus de Morgan, 1831, comprise a draft letter from De Morgan [to the University Council], resigning his professorship on account of the removal from his charis of Mr Pattison 'without any fault of his own. This being understood I should think it discreditable to hold a professorship under you one moment longer', 24 July 1831 and a reply from Coates on behalf of the Council, accepting the resignation, 27 July 1831.

Personal papers, correspondence, news-cuttings and pamphlets concerned mainly with various literary societies. This collection also comprises correspondence of the Daniel family, including that of George Daniel's son, Jesse Cato Daniel (1825-1876), Jesse's wife Elizabeth (1825-1900), and his grandson, George B. Daniel (1863-1897) who emigrated to Argentina. The Daniel papers include a letter from the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge to "my very dear Cottie" in 1797.

Letter from Thomas Dares to Mr Darmer, 7 May [1670]. Discussing employing a servant: 'Syr being destitute at this time of a servant your man made meanes yt I would intertaine him, wch (if it shall neither unfurnishe you and that upon your commendation I may have him [?...], I shall be willing therunto ... therfore unlesse it be yt he were to goe from you and you not to be unprovided youre slefe, and likewise yt by your paritcular letter ... I may asssure my slefe of an orderly servant free from excesse of drinking and disorder, I shall be unwilling to intertaine him, besides I am in want of one presently by reason yt I knew not of ye so soudaine departure of my owne man ...'.

Autograph, with signature. The hand suggests that a date of c1670 is plausible.

Letter from Matthew Collins of 40 Upper Pitt Street, Liverpool to Augustus De Morgan, 8 Apr 1853. Covering note, enclosing a pamphlet, On Clairaut's theorem ... (1853).

Autograph, with signature. A note in De Morgan's hand states that the content of the pamphlet, published in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal, new series vol IX (1854), were plagiarized from a lecture given by Mr James MacCullagh in 1846.

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 John Cartwright to Mr Chantry, 2 Nov 1817. Recommending Mr Gualter as 'a candidate for an expected vacancy of surgeon to the Westminster Hospital.'

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Thomas Campbell of 10 Upper Seymour Street West, [London] to Longmans and Co, Paternoster Row, 4 Apr 1823. Asking for copies of his works Pleasures of Hope and Gertrude of Wyoming.

Autograph, no signature. With seal.

Letter from Thomas Campbell to [? Henry Thomas, Lord] Cockburn, 22 Apr 1809. 'I have put to press my farrago [Gertrude of Wyoming (1809)] and if Bensley can print it fast enough I shall be out in a few weeks but they compose almost as slowly as myself - You will think it odd ... that I have not seen Marmion [published 1808] but in a random glance at some pages - When you come to town we shall settle every thing about its merits'. The 3 remaining lines of the letter have been scored out.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Thomas Campbel of Lincoln's Inn Fields, [London] to S Shoberle, Esq [for the publishing firm of Henry Colburn], 12 Marlborough Street, 10 Apr 1838. Acknowledging receipt of Coxe's manuscript Life of Petrarch; asking for other books on Petrarch and 'also a small copy (and a common one) of Petrarch's works'.

Autograph, 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].

Letter from John Bright of One Ash, Rochdale, Lancashire to Professor Blackie of Edinburgh, 13 Apr 1885. 'I found your volume [Scottish Highlanders and the Land Laws (c1885)] when I went to London ... The whole story of the past and present of the Crofter class is not a little one of as melancholy character and their future is not easily perceived.'

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Jean Joseph Louis Blanc of London, 10 Apr 1864. Asking for advice on behalf of a workman named Chatelier, who 'desire proposer dans un meeting d'ouvriers â un plan d'association destine, croit-il, a ameliorer la condition de la classe ouvriere.' Autograph, with signature.

6 letters from Richard Doddridge Blackmore of Gomer House, Teddington, [Middlesex] to Blackmore's publishers, Messrs Smith, Elder and Co of 15 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, London, 1876-1879. Mainly concerning the publication and sales of Blackmore's novel Erema (1877). All letters are autograph, with signatures (except the last, from which the signature appears to have been cut away).

3 letters from Mrs Bentham of Ryde, [Isle of Wight], 3 letters to Richard Wilson, Esq, of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, 1816-1818. Enquiring about payments of money to her as she has very little, and her rheumatism is the cause of heavy expenditure on doctors' bills; the doctor had charged 10s 6d a visit and had advised her to move to Bath rather than risk another winter on the Isle of Wight. She had received a quarterly payment of £25 from a Charles Bacon, withdrawn for the year 1817-1818. Enquiring about payment from Mr Bentham [?her husband], to be arranged through Sir James Graham, and about money owing to her from 3 shilling stock, for which she has apparently waited 10 years. Autograph, with signature.