Collyer - FarmingMareMagnum
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Manuscript accounts ledger kept by Scottish farmer Daniel Collyer, Esq., (1776-1824), and subsequently continued by his widow Elizabeth, concerning a sizeable historical farming estate upon which today stands the old Cormiston Farm Cottage, providing a very detailed record of the setup, daily undertakings, and commerce of an early nineteenth century farmstead. Folio. 317 pages in manuscript, watermarked leafs, with a rough manuscript plan of the farm drawn on the front endpaper, and a second more detailed plan drawn on a separate leaf loosely placed within. Green boards representative, simple red label to spine, original marbled endpapers. In a patented account book made by John Williams of London, stationer to the Royal family, with original bookbinder's label to front pastedown, dated 1806. Front board bowing, partial separation at front hinge, otherwise in very good condition, binding remaining firm, interior crisp and clean, a very thorough record of early Scottish farming practices and rural life. This volume is replete with detail, a treasury of information, not only about the Collyer family connection to historic Cormiston, but also about local activities including trade, market fairs, social interests, nineteenth century households and the workings of Scottish farming practices. On the lands described herein, there still stands today an old farmhouse, now operating as a family run bed and breakfast called "Cormiston Farm Cottage" [Biggar ML12 6NS, some 2 miles from the town of Biggar]. The farmhouse was built in the 1790's and is still retains many of the original Georgian and Victorian features. The house and large Georgian steading to the rear are B Listed (Grade II) by Historic Scotland, identified by the Canmore National Record of Historic Environment as "Cormiston Towers Farm" ID number 47484, site number NS93NE 29. Manuscript
Reading (Berkshire, England), 1901-1923. Manuscript minute book for the Reading Rifle Club, established in 1900, containing all particulars of its growing membership, annual shooting programs and competitions, rules and regulations, financial statements, and the like, recorded in various hands over the years and containing several original signatures. A few of the club's printed documents, some manuscript letters from members, and newspaper clippings are tipped in. Together with a printed pocketsize 9 page handbook of the club's rules. 8vo. 218 pages on watermarked lined paper. Half calf over dark teal cloth boards titled in gilt to spine, original marbled endpapers, bookbinder's label to front pastedown. Endpapers reinforced at seam, otherwise in very good condition, a most interesting volume dealing with shooting as a sanctioned pastime. A fine example of a pre-war shooting club, nineteenth century firearms etiquette, and freedom to enjoy skilled gunnery competition. Gaining popularity and new members every year from its opening season, the Reading Rifle Club appears to have been most diligently managed, every one of its meetings being recorded in this manuscript minute book. Entries are wide-ranging in subject matter, some topics up for discussion being entrance fees and prizes, monthly competitions, an annual challenge cup, subscriptions, nominations and elections for leadership and administrative posts, expenses and receipts, ammunition purchases, firearms kept onsite, new members, annual shooting programs and competitions, rules and protocol, scoring, handicapping, dividing competitors into classes, the daily pay rate for the range warden, special use of the firing range, and so forth. Meetings were very regular from the turn of the century until 1914, then reduced rather abruptly owing to the Great War, during which time most of the members would have been in service, putting their shooting skills to practical use. Many captains are named as members, being of the British Army or the Royal Navy, many surely being attached to the pre-First World War Berkshire Yeomanry. Further research may find some notable persons. Being a legitimate and accredited pastime promoting honest and skilful competition, the member roll also included reverends. [In 2009 the National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom celebrated its 150th Anniversary. Today the association is primarily concerned with civilian full-bore target rifle shooting, although retaining its military heritage and close links with the British Armed Forces. Similarly, the Reading Rifle Club would have attracted Captains and Colonels of the Royal Armed Forces.] Incidences of special interest include experimentation with a patent target machine, a disconcerting matter of irregular entries on a score card, possible embezzlement of subscription money, a shooter having an epileptic seizure, and a proposal for establishing a summer camp at Clacton-on-Sea together with the Colchester Rifle Club. We also find occasional mention of Churn Camp, which was at the time in Berkshire, and another popular place for men of the Berkshire Yeomanry. Indeed a pastime requiring fastidious safety monitoring and honorable sportsmanship, frequent mention is made of the governing body of full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports, the National Rifle Association (NRA), which had been founded only forty years earlier in 1859. The Reading Rifle Club was affiliated to it. [The National Rifle Association was based at Putney Heath & Wimbledon Common, in south-west London, 12 years before its better known American cousin.] Manuscript
Canterbury, October 1880. Calendar of Prisoners tried, charged, and imprisoned at Her Majesty's Prison at Canterbury. Original court document, with manuscript annotations by the clerk, listing nine convicts and three persons on bail. Folio. 3 pages, printed at the Kentish Observer Steam Printing Office in Canterbury. Double leaf measuring approximately 27 x 42 cm. Chips to margins, otherwise in very good condition. "Calendar of Prisoners for Trial at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, to be holden at St. Augustine's, near Canterbury, on Tuesday, the 19th day of October, 1880." Felonies herein recorded consisted mainly of thievery and fraud having taken place in East Kent, although two deal with the crime of "unlawfully wounding" a person. Presented in a succinct chart, the location and date of each crime, the date of warrant and arrest, and specific charges are outlined. The victims are named, as is each felon and his occupation. Items stolen include a handkerchief, watches, coats, a shovel, cash currency, wool, 20 feet of a leather band, and in one instance a sail and a yard for navigation, which certainly draws attention to the drastically different crimes occupying the early court system. As well as the criminals, the title page names the High Ssheriff of Kent, the under-sheriff, the clerk of the peace, and the Chairman of the East Kent Division - Right Honourable Lord Brabourne. [Edward Hugessen Knatchbull-Hugessen, 1st Baron Brabourne, PC, a British Liberal politician who served as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department under Lord Russell in 1866, and under William Ewart Gladstone from 1868 to 1871. He was also Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies under Gladstone from 1871 to 1874. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1873 and raised to the peerage as Baron Brabourne, of Brabourne in the County of Kent, in 1880.] [The High Sheriff of Kent was at the time Sir David Salomons, 1st Baronet, a leading figure in the 19th century struggle for Jewish emancipation in the United Kingdom, the first Jewish Sheriff of the City of London and Lord Mayor of London. Originating as a county gaol in 1808, Her Majesty's (HM) Prison Canterbury, in Kent, served as a Home Office archive during the First World War, as a Naval Detention Centre during the Second World War, and reopened in 1946 as a local prison to serve the courts of Kent. The prison formally closed on 31 March 2013, and was bought by Canterbury Christ Church University in April 2014.
Manuscript commonplace book created at the York House - where Charles Dickens reputedly wrote some of his novels - by a woman called Laura Simpson, daughter of Malton solicitor Alfred Simpson, Esq., who was also appointed Bailiff of the Borough of Malton in 1856 by 6th Earl Fitzwilliam, owner of the York House, the most important historic house in Malton. Miss Laura signs and dates the front endpaper on 30 August 1872, and again to its verso on 2 February 1873, though dated entries range from 1870 to 1875. 8vo. 68 pages featuring manuscript entries and newspaper clippings of various subject matters. Quarter calf over brown and yellow marbled boards. Volume measures approximately 16,5 x 19,5 cm. Very good condition. The volume was created by a young woman who evidently lived at York House in Malton which has an interesting connection to Charles Dickens from only twenty-five years earlier. Her father having close ties with the owner of the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate, it is quite conceivable that he met or knew the great author personally. Laura Simpson is the daughter of Alfred Simpson, Esq., a solicitor, Chairman of the Malton Burial Board, and Bailiff of the Borough of Malton, whose residence was at Yorkersgate, presumably being a tenant of the York House owing to the Simpson-Fitzwilliam family connection through an earlier marriage. York House is an impressive 17th century home in Malton where Charles Dickens reputedly wrote many of his novels, where he certainly found inspiration for some of his characters. The reason for Charles Dickens' association with Malton, and York House in particular, was his long friendship with Charles Simpson, solicitor. The Smithson family had their offices on Chancery Lane in Malton and they also shared a practice in London. The death of Charles Simpson's father in 1829, had necessitated his brother Henry to return to Malton and take over the family business, whereas Charles remained in London. It is whilst residing in London that Smithson & Dickens met. Thomas Mitton, a friend of Dickens had persuaded him to act as surety on a loan to purchase a one-third stake of Smithson & Dunn. In 1840, Henry followed his father and brother John to his grave. Charles was compelled to leave London and take over both the Chancery Lane practice and the duties of the town Bailiff previously carried out by his father and brother. Dickens visited Malton often in the 1840s. He delighted audiences with his readings wherever he went. He read in Malton, in what was said to be a theatre, on one of his visits. Manuscript
Four manuscript court documents pertaining to an American merchant ship captured in 1801 by a Spanish Privateer while on a voyage to Barcelona and Malaga with valuable cargo, the subsequent recapture by the American crew, and claim for compensation from the salvage of her cargo. Three folio, one octavo, all single-leafs. Two documents are split at folds, one of which has very minor loss to text, otherwise the lot in very good condition, clean and legible, a most interesting record of the event and proceedings in the Admiralty Court. The American Brig Eliza, formerly Schooner Maria, whose homeport was Charleston and master was Captain Joseph Michael, was destined for Barcelona and Malaga in June 1801, with a cargo belonging to an American merchant named John Seamy. Near Tarifa, in Cádiz Province, on 10 July she was seized by Spanish privateers and ordered to the Port of Algeciras. While at anchor there, Captain Michael, with the help of his crew, in particular a Benjamin Hubble, managed to re-take the ship from the Spanish. They immediately proceeded across the Bay to Gibraltar with the intention of selling the ship and cargo for personal gain. Refusal to acquiesce to the Spanish privateers would have resulted in extreme retribution for the American captain and crew if they had not succeeded in their escape, as mentioned in the documents as a reason to disallow the captain of any monetary gains for the recovered vessel. There was also intense fighting around Gibraltar, involving the French, Spanish, and British, therefore the Spanish were well-positioned and well-armed. It was the Battle of Algeciras Bay taking place, having begun only 4 days earlier on 6 July 1801. (It would end on the 12th). Adding to the eminent danger for the Americans, when the United States had declared independence, British diplomats were quick to inform the Barbary States that U.S. ships were open to attack. In May 1801, some 6 weeks before the incident described in the present documents, the First Barbary War had begun, a war between the alliance of the United States and several European countries, against the Northwest African Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States. Prior to independence, American colonists had enjoyed the protection of the British Navy. The British no longer offered protection. The Mediterranean Sea was now a precarious place for Americans to sail. On 4 December 1801, four members of the crew, Benjamin Huddle, Robert Sherington, Thomas William, William Sesten, engaged a proctor to recover the ship and her cargo. His compensation would be half of the value of the salvage. Following the recovery voyage, accusations flowed freely and, a few months later, in December 1801, a trial in the Admiralty Court ensued. The proctor presented his case for the claimants. The result of the trial is not identified herein, but can be assumed in favour of the claimants, based on the final document, which is a "release of all claims" by the ship's new captain, Nathan Ells, who was a mate under Captain Michael, employed on the ship during the event in question.
London, 1736. Official Act of Parliament issued by the British Government, to explain and amend a previous act for the repairing and enlarging of county roads in the environs of Rochester in Medway and Maidstone in Kent. Folio. 5 pages, with two woodcuts engravings, one being the national arms of King George II. Printed in 1736 by John Baskett, Printer to the King, on three leafs, laid paper, measuring approximately 19 x 28,5 cm. Minor loss to bottom left margin, unobtrusive to text, otherwise in very good condition, beautifully preserved, clean and bright. The present document suggests the government's plans and support toward the development of the town of Maidstone, exempting road builders, farmers, gardeners and town residents of road tolls and carriage duties previously payable, and presumably, still applicable elsewhere. At the Westminster Parliament 14 January 1734, King George II instituted "An Act for repairing and enlarging the Road" from Rochester to Maidstone, and others in Kent, by charging tolls and cargo taxes. The act was extended on 15 January 1735, and amended in 1736, the details of which are described herein. [During the English Civil War, the Battle of Maidstone took place in 1648, resulting in a victory for the Parliamentarians. Andrew Broughton, who was Mayor of Maidstone in 1649 declared the death sentence on Charles I, and today a plaque in Maidstone Town Centre memorialises Broughton as "Mayor and Regicide". Paper mills, stone quarrying, brewing and the cloth industry have all flourished here. The paper maker James Whatman and his son invented wove paper (Whatman paper) at Turkey Mill from 1740, an important development in the history of printing which took place only four years after the making of this document.] Excerpts from the document: "An act to explain and amend an Act passed in the first year of the Reign of His present Majesty...for repairing and enlarging the road leading from the House called The Sign of the Bells, in the Parish of St. Margaret un Rochester, to Maidstone, and other Roads therein mentioned in the County of Kent." "... several persons, carriages, matters, and things are exempted and discharged from the payment of the several Tolls and Duties to be taken at the several Gates and Turnpikes to be erected by virtue of the said Act..." "... after the twenty fifth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and thirty six, no person or persons shall be charged... any tolls or duties... who shall pass... with any Carriage carrying any stones, gravel, or other materials, for repairing roads or highways, or any dung, sand, grit or mould for manuring of lands or gardens, nor any horses, waggons, wasns, carts or other carriages carrying undried hops from the hop-grounds to the kilns... in or about Maidstone... nor for carriages carrying hay or fodder to be laid up in the houses, hut-houses, barns or stables of the several inhabitants..." "And it be further enacted... so much of the highway or pass-road leading from Rochester to the town of Maidstone, as lies between a place called The Lady Taylor's White Gate... and the way-post now standing at the north end of the said town..." End excerpts.
Manuscript of religious interest, concerning the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland and drawing strictly from the work of reformer and author Johann Zschokke. Manuscript entitled, "Neuere Geschichte vom Beginn der kirchlichen Trennung 1519 bis auf die heutigen Tage. Auszug aus Zschokke. 1833-34." [Recent History from the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Separation 1519 to the Present Day. Short Excerpt from Zschokke. 1833-1834.] The writer only identifies himself as "Bernhard" on the title page. Text is in German, in a fine hand. 8vo. 129 pages, plus title page. Brown continental boards. Volume measures approximately 12 x 18 cm. Slight wear to boards at extremities, otherwise in very good condition, internally very crisp and bright, a beautifully preserved document. Zschokke is widely remembered for writings of history and fiction. As the present volume transcribes from a religious treatise, it preserves parts of a little-known and more scarce work, while also providing insight into his perspective as a religious reformer. The present volume contains highlights from Zschokke's history of Switzerland during the religious reformation era, a subject of great importance to him as a Protestant reformer himself. Manuscript
"Histoire Ancienne. Histoire du Moyen Age." [Ancient History. Middle Ages.] Manuscript history of the world from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, being lecture notes written by Maurice de Vernouillet, at the time a pupil of history professor Marc Petit de Baroncourt at the Collège de Bourbon, on the island of Réunion, east of Madagascar. Text is in French. 8vo. 2 volumes, 274, 294 pages, plus title pages to each volume. Bound uniformly in black calf over blue marbles boards, gilt title and tooling to spines. Volumes vary slightly in size, the first measuring approximately 17,5 x 21,5 cm, the second 15,5 x 19,5 cm. Minor wear to boards, otherwise in very good condition, a content-rich work in a fine hand. The origin of these works, Réunion Island, is revealed on the title pages of the second volume, by noting the professor's name, Monsieur [Marc] Petit de Baroncourt, who in 1841 became Professeur agrégé d'histoire au collège de Bourbon [Associate Professor of History at Bourbon College (in 1841)]. Born in Étain, Meuse, De Baroncourt was also a historical writer, beginning with an abridged history of the Middle Ages. The National Library of France holds at least one letter and one book by him. The student and writer is presumably Augustin "Maurice" Marchant de Vernouillet, born 18 April 1829 in Paris, who would later become a Resident Secretary in Madrid, holding the title of "Ministre plénipotentiaire de 1° classe" [a diplomat of ambassador usually with full power over a foreign land]. These volumes provide a rare opportunity to possess and examine the teachings of a notable French professor of the Collège Bourbon, on Isle Bourbon, today called La Réunion, where slavery was still ongoing, as was French colonisation. Manuscript
8vo. 2 pages of text written recto and verso on a single leaf watermarked with a fleur-de-lis, measuring approximately 22 x 23 cm. Age-toned, small chips to extremities, otherwise in very good condition for its age and origin. Trading merchandise such as fine Bordeaux wine known as claret, and French linen cloth, to affluent British clients and brokers, the merchant and his vessel have yet to be identified, although this simple document attests to the interests of both middle and upper classes of Great Britain in the eighteenth century. In this period, fine claret was a symbol of wealth and power in England, both in political and religious sectors, subsequently creating a significant revenue source for the Crown. The Bordeaux wine was prominent in both court and church, consumed heavily by high society aristocrats, while playing a central role in the Eucharist. During the 1750s, the French were favouring cotton, calico, and some silk over the traditional wool and linen textiles. French style was defined by elaborate court dress, colourful and rich in decoration, worn by such iconic fashion figures as Marie Antoinette. Britain, however was characterized by a propensity for practicality. Simple and modest, durable and inexpensive fabrics were best suited for the popular outdoor lifestyle and portraiture. The shift in styles in France provided an excellent purchasing opportunity for the English to purchase linen at a desirable cost. The merchant/captain's document begins on January 1st 1755, presumably at the onset of a world voyage, with "Cash to Stock £2000 Received from my Father to Begin the World... [Trade/Voyage?]" Ports of call include Roan [Roan, County Tyrone, Ulster, Northern Ireland], and Nanz [Nantes, France]. Claret and linen are purchased from France, and pure Irish butter brought for trade on consignment. Barrels of beef are also sold on consignment. Sundries and repairs to the ship are further noted. Transactions are dated at the center top of each entry, and tallied in Pounds Sterling to the right. This early document appears to have an interesting American connection as well, as two of the transactions involve Swift & Company, one of these being a purchase of beef. The captain first takes a deposit of £1000 on January 2nd, then charges the company on the 29th for 125 barrels of beef consigned by a Charles Curry. Manuscript
Manuscript Memoire entitled: "Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.B.G. Gaspard Belhomme, Conservateur des Archives Départementales de la Hte. Garonne, Membre de l'Académie des Sciences et de la Société Archéologique de Toulouse; Correspondant du Ministre de l'Instruction Publique; par l'abbé Henri Reynis." [Notice on the life and works of J.B.G. Gaspard Belhomme, Curator of the Departmental Archives of Haute Garonne, Member of the Academy of Sciences and the Archaeological Society of Toulouse; Correspondent of the Minister of Public Instruction; by Henry Reynis] 8vo. 69 pages in manuscript, plus title page, half title, dedication to Belhomme's widow, and a preface signed by the author. All text is in French. Original brown cloth boards, gilt title and four raised bands to spine, white satin endpapers, gilt tooled turn-ins. Volume measures approximately 14 x 21,5 cm. Very slight wear to boards mainly at extremities, otherwise in very good condition, clean and bright internally, a lovely memoire in a fine hand. Manuscript
London, 28 November 1849. Manuscript Signed Letter to approbate the cocoa served by the Royal Navy to its nearly 200,000 mariners, written by important Scottish chemist Andrew Ure. 8vo. Double-leaf measuring approximately 18.5 x 17 cm. Very good, original condition. A most unusual document of unexpected consequence. Together with a privately printed biography published in London 1874, featuring an original albumen portrait photograph frontis of Dr. Ure. Small 8vo. measuring 10.5 x 14.5 cm. 18, [3] pages, giltedged leafs, gilt tooled and titled green leather boards, minor wear to corners, otherwise in Very Good condition. The favourable result from a formal investigation of a specific company's cocoa purchased and consumed by the British Navy at 400 tonnes per year, Dr. Ure suggests that many English producers were at the time compromising quality during production, however, he confirms the purity of Graham & Hedley's Genuine Roll Cocoa which was manufactured in Liverpool. A new product, the cacao was moulded into rolls and stamped. For a fee of £10.10 and commissioned by the Lords of the Admiralty [Sir James Whitley Deans Dundas, &c.], this analysis may very well have secured enormous profitability and longevity for the chocolate company. Competitors immediately denounced the assessment, such as Taylor Brothers for example, whom stated that public preference or 'taste test' was all that truly mattered. Evidently significant not only to the Navy, but also to the public as a whole, Ure's letter was published in the "Law Times" volume 15, 1850. Subsequently, numerous publications touted Graham & Hedley's product as "the best preparation of cocoa for morning and evening meals.... advantageous for invalids to whom it is essential to have the article genuine... the most economical substance offered to the public... superior homeopathic cocoa..." and so on. Excerpt from the letter: "Having been employed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to analyze and improve the Cocoa and Chocolate of which 400 tonnes are annually manufactured for Navy at the Deptford Victualling Yard... " "I take pleasure in testifying that the Roll Cocoa of Messrs Graham & Hedley of Liverpool is perfectly pure, and so well prepared as to afford with hot water or milk, a bland, aromatic, salubrious, and highly nutritious an article of diet." End Excerpts. The letter is accompanied by a rare biographical sketch which commemorates Dr. Ure's important works, a lovely volume printed for private distribution only. Excerpts from the book: "... To Dr. Ure belongs the honour of having taken the lead in a movement which has had incalculable power in developing national wealth... In 1809, when the Glasgow Observatory was about to be established, Dr. Ure came to London, commissioned to make the scientific arrangements. Here he met, and acquired the friendship of Maskelyne, Pond, Groombridge, and other Astronomers, and also of Davy, Wollaston, Henry, and other distinguished chemists of that day... in London... appointed in 1834, Chemist to the Board of Customs... important researches on sugar refining... his skill and accuracy as an analytic chemist were well known, as well as the ingenuity of the means employed in his researches..." Dr. Andrew Ure (1778-1857) was a Scottish physician, analytical chemist, and a highly respected professor of chemistry. A foremost (possibly the first) consulting chemist in Britain, doing much work in London where he settled in 1830, his work entailed investigative tours of several industries in England, Belgium and France, various government commissions such as the one outlined above, and speaking as an expert witness. His visits to English textile mills led to his famous publications of "The Philosophy of Manufactures" (1835) and "The Cotton Manufactures of Great Britain" (1836). His exposure to factory conditions led him to consider methods of heating and ventilation, and he is credited with being the first to describe a bi-metallic thermostat. "The Great Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines" (1837), was Ure's chief and most encyclopaedic work. In 1840 he helped found the Pharmaceutical Society. The Board of Commissioners for the Victualling of the Navy, often called the Victualling Commissioners or Victualling Board, was for 150 years the body responsible under the Navy Board for victualling ships of the British Royal Navy. It oversaw the vast operation of providing serving naval personnel (140,000 men in 1810) with enough food, drink and supplies to keep them fighting fit, sometimes for months at a time, in whatever part of the globe they might be stationed. It was in 1795 that Dr. Joseph Fry of Bristol employed a steam engine to grind cocoa beans, which led to the manufacture of chocolate on a large scale. By 1825 the Royal Navy purchased more cocoa than for the rest of Britain. It was considered perfectly nutritious beverage for sailors on watch duty, being hot and non-alcoholic was of further benefit. Sailors in the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea coined the term "chocolate gale" in reference to the cold wind from the northwest, which ultimately granted them the comforting treat. By the nineteenth century chocolate was being tested for commercial distribution as a "homeopathic" and "dietetic" product. According to Hassall's survey of British made chocolate, producers of homeopathic chocolates included Graham & Hedley, Taylor Brothers, Leaths, J.S. Fry & Sons, Cadbury, Barry and Company, Epps' and others. Manuscript
Northamptonshire, circa 1827-1828. Manuscript plan of Wadenhoe Wood, Bearshank Wood, showing a single building, perhaps an estate or farmhouse in the making. Drawn on gilt-edged paper watermarked 'Brocklesbey & Iorbey 1827.' Small 8vo. 4+ pages. Original ink drawings on 3 double-leafs, string-tied into paper wrappers inversely titled in manuscript, and placed into marbled paper covers. Item measuring approximately 20 x 33 cm, string-tied to margin, Fold at center, otherwise in Very Good condition. These charming hand drawn maps of Wadenhoe Wood, Bearshank Wood, and the grassy regions in between, show roads, the River Nene and some tributaries, and even foot bridges. Roughly within 5 miles of Little Wadenhoe Wood, on the map which shows the broadest scope of the region, is drawn a square indicative of an estate or farmhouse. The chart of Bearshank Wood draws a country road from Pilton to Benefield (which today connects Pilton Road to Harley Way), near which the home would be situated. A partial road also begins at Pilton and terminates between the forest and field regions. Wadenhoe is a village and civil parish in East Northamptonshire. It is best known for Wadenhoe House, a magnificent Jacobean manor built circa 1617, whose early residents include the Delacy family who were actively involved in the Gunpowder Plot, and George Ward Hunt - Chancellor of the Exchequer in the first Disraeli government later First Lord of the Admiralty (1874). The latter made some renovations to create a classical House of the period. Bearshank Wood was once a famous butterfly site; in the 1920s butterfly collectors would descend from far and wide to capture rarities such as chequered skippers and Duke of Burgundy fritillaries. Closed, dense woodland and conifer plantations are poor habitats for fussy butterflies, thus these and other remarkable butterflies disappeared from here decades ago. Manuscript
30 January 1868. Manuscript Signed Letter by Sir John Kirk, British administrator in Zanzibar and co-explorer with David Livingstone, in which leading explorers of the Dark Continent are mentioned. 8vo. Double-leaf mourning stationery, measures approximately 18cm x 11cm. Creased, otherwise in very good condition, interesting correspondence on the procurement of significant autographs. The letter reads as follows: "Dear Mrs. Carnegie, Please give to Mrs. Baradaille the enclosed autographs of Livingstone and Du Chaillu. Of Murchison I have not one now but so frequently am in correspondence with him that it cannot be long time before I can add it also. Give her my best regards and believe me I am Yours sincerely. John Kirk" Manuscript
The original joint manuscript travel diary, from 1835 to1840, of Mr. and Mrs. Hermann and Adelheid Garlichs, who settled in America and became founders of the Evangelical congregations. 8vo. 50 pages in manuscript. In addition, inversely there are 18 pages in manuscript by the same two writers, the first entry with a date as early as 1796 and possibly made by Adelheid's mother. The center of the volume contains 6 pages of recipes written by a family member in 1873, the year of Adelheid's death. All text is in German. Black paper boards, with floral cameo surrounding Adelheid's initials A.v.B. and the year 1835 tooled in gilt to front. With the stamp of the Steinlacke von Borries family library to front pastedown. Volume measures approximately 20 x 17,5 x 1 cm. Some wear to boards, otherwise in very good condition, an important primary source account of emigration to Missouri. Hermann Garlichs (1807-1865) was a German theologian and pastor, first arriving in America in 1833. He founded the first Protestant congregations west of the Mississippi and was the first president of the "German Evangelical Church Association of the West" in the USA. He was married to Adelheid von Borries. The couple's life became the subject of emigration research. In Anglo-Saxon literature, his name is sometimes seen as to Herman Garlichs, or Garlich. He grew up in Bremen in a wealthy Protestant family home, his father being a merchant. After completing his doctorate in philosophy, he was employed as an educator on the Steinlake estate of the district administrator C. L. Philip of Borries, and fell in love the administrator's daughter of the house, Adelheid von Borries (1815-1873). In 1833, when Garlichs was invited to go to America, miss Borries was only 16. As such, he emigrated there without her, but with Meller and Westerkappelner emigrants. Garlichs was inspired by Gottfried Duden's well-known descriptions of the good conditions in Missouri at that time. Duden was a Prussian lawyer who visited St. Louis, Missouri, in 1824 in search of land tracts for German settlements. Both Duden and his traveling companion, Ludwig Eversmann, purchased farms about fifty miles west of St. Louis. Duden spent nearly three years in the United States, reading, exploring the country, and writing letters while the Americans that he hired cleared his land and ran his farm. Duden returned to Germany in 1827. The result of this experiment was Report on a Journey to the Western States of North America [Bericht u¨ber eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerika's], which was published in Germany in 1829 to convince Germans to immigrate to Missouri. Duden described the advantages of moving to Missouri, and further provided advice on how to successfully create a new life in the United States. Duden's book was one of a large number of German books about America, but his was one of the most widely read. Germans faced many problems at home, including corrupt rulers, high taxes, and a lack of available land, thus Duden's account of the spacious expanse of Missouri plains sound very enticing to his fellow countrymen. Together with a few other missionaries who would become notable in the history in America, he made the voyage and settled in Missouri. Garlichs founded the first Protestant congregations west of the Mississippi in 1833 before he was ordained, i.e. as a lay preacher, in the small towns of Femme Osage and St. Charles. Originally known as the Deutsche Evangelische Kirchegemeinde, it was the first Evangelical congregation west of the Mississippi River. It still stands today, and has two church cemeteries, the first dating back to the 1830's and located next to the present-day school. Femme Osage was the mother-church for six other congregations: Friedens (St. Charles, 1834), Harmonie (Warrenton, 1842), St. Peter (Washington, 1844), Immanuel (Holstein, 1839), St. John (Cappeln, 1857), and Bethany (Schluersburg, 1844). In 1835 Hermann Garlich returned to Westphalia, married Adelheid von Borries, and was ordained a priest in Bielefeld. He subsequently went back to Femme Osage with his new wife. Unlike most immigrants to Missouri at the time, in 1835 the Garlichs travelled to America as privileged passengers. Apart from the expected rough seas now and again, and Adelheid missing her family, the voyage was a pleasant one. The newlywed couple had a first class room, and dined with the captain. The ship carried only 119 passengers. They reported that the ship was supplied with 100 chickens, 2 pigs, 2 geese, pigeons and ducks for fresh meat. Adelheid studied English and discussed theology with her husband. Hermann entertained the other passengers by playing the violin. Their joint diary records a theatrical performance by the steerage passengers. Initially, the couple, like the other settlers, lived in very simple conditions in a wooden hut five miles from the town. The more elaborate Garlichs house, at Femme Osage, St. Charles County, MO, is now listed as a Historic American Building. Hermann Garlichs is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Kings County, Brooklyn, New York. He died at the young age of 58. The famed but elusive original volume - this is the joint diary of Hermann Garlichs and his wife Adelheid, made in their original hands, describing the voyage overseas, their arrival in America, settling in the unmissionized wilds of Missouri in hopes of a better life, and glimpses of daily life as it was for their first five years as founding evangelists in this vast land of opportunity and hope.
Manuscript letter by Sir Richard Croft, Physician to King George III and the Royal Family, accoucheur (obstetrician), and British peer, describes complications of a pregnancy four years before the "triple obstetrical tragedy" Princess Charlotte which has become his unfortunate infamy. 8vo. 2 pages in manuscript. Double leaf measuring approximately 12 x 18,5 cm, watermarked with the year 1811, with integral address, two postal ink stamps and a lovely red wax seal. Very faint age-toning only to sections of the leaf exposed for mailing, otherwise in very good condition, beautifully preserved and highly relevant to the writer's occupation as a manmidwife and the complications of pregnancy and birthing in the early nineteenth century. "Sir Richard Croft (1762-1818) physician and man-midwife gained notoriety after his involvement in the labor of Princess Charlotte, which resulted in her death. He never shook off the shame of the tragedy, and shot himself three months later." (Oxford DNB). Manuscript signed letter from the Royal Physician and Male Midwife to the late Princess Charlotte, Sir Richard Croft, who is remembered for causing the "Triple Obstetrical Tragedy" of 1817, in which is a primary source account of early nineteenth century complications and precepts surrounding pregnancy and child deliveries. The writer is Sir Richard Croft, 6th Baronet (9 January 1762 - 13 February 1818), English physician to the British Royal Family and the obstetrician to Princess Charlotte, who is famed for his role in "the triple obstetrical tragedy" of her death in 1817. He received his medical training from, among others, his father-in-law, Dr. Thomas Denman, a preeminent obstetrician in London whose textbook on childbirth had been first published in 1788. He graduated with his MD from the University of Oxford in 1789. Croft was appointed the personal physician of King George III. He was also a member of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, and Physician to the Lying-in Charity on Old Burlington Street. He was the primary accoucheur or midwife to Princess Charlotte, granddaughter of the reigning King George III. Manuscript
Folio, signed and inscribed document on laid, watermarked paper. Printed to one side, completed in manuscript by William IV of the United Kingdom when he was Lord High Admiral. The official warrant, by the Royal Navy, commissioning Charles Sharp to serve on His Majesty's ship 'Herald.' Single leaf measuring approximately 32cm x 20cm. Small tears to lower margin, unobtrusive to the text, otherwise in very good and original condition. Scarce signed royal personalia item. Manuscript
Original Signed Letter by Lord Holland. 8vo. 4 pages on a double-leaf measuring approximately 11cm x 17cm. Very good condition. An interesting letter between English upper class aristocrats, pertaining to the natural history of fresh water fish, and the sport of angling, with reference to reports by respected angler and author on the subject, Sir Humphrey Davy, as well as Lord Kinnaird of Scotland. The recipient is unidentified, but could be MP Thomas Creevey, or Samuel Rogers the famous author and banker, both of whom the Baron was frequently communicating with at the time. Dated, Holland House, 17 July 1826, and signed Vassall Holland, the letter was originally sent with two reports from the Select Committee on the Salmon Fisheries of the United Kingdom, published for the Great Britain Parliament, House of Commons, in 1825. Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829), English Baron, was highly respected for his study and skill as an angler. In 1828, two years later than this letter which refers to his expertise, the baron published a book on the subject, titled "Salmonia or Days of Fly Fishing." Very well received, it was a few editions, and an American edition followed four years later. In it he compares the habits and physiological attributes of river and lake fish throughout Europe, including numerous rivers in England, the Danube, Glommen river in Norway, Lake Morat in Switzerland, the Rhine, and so forth. Naturally, the self-touted philosophical angler, also contemplates various fishing strategies.
Broadside preventing the Export of Horses to Foreign Lands........ [Christiansburg 1 October 1788]. Folio (22 x 32cm), 1 leaf folded, uncut and unbound as issued, very strong impression, light discoloration at bottom margin, otherwise in very good condition. Text in German. An interesting broadside issued by the King of Denmark in 1788 who at the time ruled over the Province of Schleswig Holstein (today part of Germany) and the City of Altona (today part of Hamburg) attempting to prevent the export of horses…"by land or sea…" This edict was most likely issued as a result of the 'Theatre War' which had started just a week prior on 24 September. Any available horses were most likely needed for the war effort. Rare and Unusual. No Copies in KVK.
Manuscript telegraph letter sent from Governor of Hong Kong Sir George William Des Voeux, in cipher, to Colonial Administrator Sir William MacGregor, which offers to the post of Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, on the same day which Colonial Secretary Frederick Stewart died. Together with a manuscript decipherment, and a signed letter from the decipherer of the message, Sir Henry Wylie Norman, Governor of Queensland. 8vo. Single-leaf telegraph on the stationery of the Telegraph Office Queensland completed in manuscript and dated 29 September 1889; Double leaf manuscript letter on the stationery of the Queensland Government House Brisbane dated 1 October 1889; hand trimmed manuscript note measuring approximately 17,5 x 11,5 cm. All three documents fastened together with a brass pin. Some creasing, minor wear at folds, otherwise in very good condition, a fascinating disclosure of of Hong Kong administrative history perhaps previously unknown to anyone but the parties involved. This is a little-known and private correspondence, concealed for delivery with a colonial cipher language, between two important colonial administrators, concerning the title of Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong. A telegraph from Hong Kong reveals that an offer was made to MacGregor to work in China in 1889. The sender does not reveal himself, and the message in written in code, however a contemporary manuscript decipherment fastened with a brass brad discloses the contents. Sir George William Des Voeux, Governor of Hong Kong is the sender. Des Voeux knew MacGregor well from his time as Governor of Fiji from 1880-1885, during which period he worked with MacGregor who was Treasurer then Colonial Secretary of Fiji. Manuscript
Packet ship broadside for the auction sale of Glasgow schooner called 'London Packet' to take place six days after this announcement, on 7 November 1851, in the harbour of the historic seaport village of St. David's situated very near to Inverkeithing, Fife. 8vo. Single leaf printed document, watermarked, measuring approximately 28 x 20 cm. Slight creasing, one unobtrusive small chip to lower margin, otherwise in Very Good condition, presenting an exceptionally rare example of an in-situ auction for a vessel. Lovely and rare broadside from Scotland during the Golden Age of Sail to announce the sale of a Scottish packet ship which had then been recently stranded on the notorious Beamer Rock. The public auction was to begin at noon, 7 November 1851, in the harbour where the vessel sat in situ, in the historic village of St. David's. The vessel was part of the early sailing fleet of William Sloan & Co., a notable Scottish firm established in 1825 and operating the largest fleet in Glasgow by 1848.
Exceedingly rare and historically significant manuscript complete with manuscript drawings, made circa 1792, transcribing the banned controversial work by Hayashi Shihei which attributed coveted geographical regions to non-Japanese sovereigns, and which led the author to house arrest and his works destroyed by the Shogun. This work centers largely around the indigenous Ainu people and the people living in the Joseon Dynasty (Korea), thus being a very early account of Korea. All text is in Japanese. Author-published. 89 pages in manuscript including title page and end leaf. Indication of once being string-stitched at spine, opening from left to right. Leafs measure approximately 19 x 26 cm. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORM BURROWING, some leaves lightly fused together as a result, MAPS NOT PRESENT, nonetheless a valuable historic addition for any library, being an exceedingly scarce surviving manuscript of the famous "Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu" by Hayashi Shihei. One of the earliest attempts to define Japan's outer boundaries, and distinguish it from the neighboring nations, the book deals with Joseon Dynasty (Korea) and the Kingdom of Ryukyu (Okinawa), and Ezo (Hokkaido) and the Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands). The content of this work is as controversial today as it was when it was released by the author 235 years ago. A statue of Hayashi Shihei stands in his honour, however, in Kotodai Park, Sendai. This work was emphatically criticized, immediately banned, and destroyed by the shogunate, all but a very scant few copies, that is, which were kept in hiding by scholars who took it upon themselves to secretly transcribe the important writings, with the original in hand. This is one of those surviving secret manuscripts, which were so very few in number and are exceedingly scarce. Hayashi Shihei (1738-1793) was a Japanese military scholar, political theorist, military strategist, writer, and a retainer of the Sendai Domain. He was a samurai of the Sendai clan issued in 1785 (Tenmei 5). His name is sometimes transliterated, according to the Sino-Japanese reading, as Rin Shihei’'. Hayashi is known as one of the "Three Excelling Men of the Kansei Period" (Kansei no san-kijin). Circa 1785 he wrote the highly controversial "Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu" [Illustrated General Survey of the Three Countries] which consisted of five maps and one text volume which detailed the customs of Korea, Ryukyu Kingdom, and Ezo country (Hokkaido), recounting an exploratory geographical survey of the regions that were then the frontiers of Japan, including Korea, Hokkaido, and the Ryukyu Islands, also providing descriptions of the inhabitants, including the Ainu. It contained, among other repugnant content in the eyes of the shogun, the attribution of Korean sovereignty over the Dokdo / Takeshima / Liancourt archipelago, and secondly, Chinese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands [Diaoyu Islands] instead of recognizing it as part of the Ryukyu Kingdom (which had been a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain of Japan with 'de jure' status since 1609). Not a single publisher dared to put their name on the work, for fear of retribution, and thus, Hayashi released it independently in the years of 1787-1791, at his own expense. In 1792 [Kansei 4], the Tokugawa shogunate evaluated the content of this book, declared it a delusion, and banned it. The printings of Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu also became collateral victim of this banning. Almost all the original woodblock-printed versions of Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu were collected and destroyed. In 1787, he had published a second work of enlightened perspective and concern, titled ???? "Kaikoku Heidan" [Military Defense of a Maritime Nation]. This was a 16-volume work which brought to light the potential inadequacy in the military defense of Japan during the Edo period, specifically highlighting the island's vulnerability from the sea, as well as the need for Japan to adopt Western military science for improved defenses along Japanese frontiers, and the re-education of the samurai. Hayashi believed the nation's crisis was due to the repeated arrivals of foreign ships. He complained of a lack of organized drill exercises, and stressed the importance of choren, or teamwork drill, rather than mere individual martial training. He gave technical descriptions about shipbuilding, cannons and other military designs. He was especially critical of the Shogunate's sakoku national isolation policy. The work generated great interest, but it too, was banned in May 1792, on the grounds that national security matters were being discussed without official consent. This work having been published a few years prior, it was impossible to locate and destroy all printed copies, but the woodblocks were seized and destroyed with those of Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu. Simultaneously, as his two works were banned and destroyed, Hayashi was placed under house arrest. He died the following year, 28 July 1783, at the young age of 54. There were rumours of suicide and speculations of decapitation by authorities, but no evidence for either has surfaced. Ironically, shortly after Hayashi was punished, a Russian ship arrived in Nemuro, and the shogunate was forced to take measures to protect the coast, as had been suggested in Hayashi's "Kaikoku Heidan". In spite of the shogunate's best efforts, a scant few of 'Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu' survived, thanks to a handful of audacious erudite men, and manuscript transcripts of his maps began to circulate covertly in learned Japanese circles. This book also went from Nagasaki to Holland and Germany through Katsuragawa Hoshu (1751-1809), who was a physician to the Shogun from 1777 and an Edan scholar in Edo; it was subsequently translated into European languages in Russia. In 1872, it was translated into French by the German Oriental scholar Heinrich Klaproth. Shugun Tokugawa Ienari, who suppressed and destroyed these works, and who exiled the author to his home, reigned from 1787-1837. In the first year of his reign there were rice riots in Edo and Osaka. Later tragedy, the Great Fire of Kyoto and the Tenpo famine took place. And in his strict fashion, in 1817 he ordered the expulsion of Titia Bergsma, the first European woman to visit Japan. The Dutch and Chinese were allowed to visit the country, but only for trade, and no women were permitted. Bergsma never saw her husband again. Credit to Pierre Joppen of Paulus Swaen Gallery, whose research on the subject is exhaustive and from whom some of the above content has been copied.
Manuscript record of the unexpected arrival of the British HMS Mariner led by Commander Charles Mitchell Mathison in Japan, in 1849, with interest in making surveys around Edo (Tokyo), four years prior to Commodore Perry's arrival, and during Japan's period of isolation (Sakoku) during which most foreigners were prohibited entry in to the country and locals prohibited exit; containing also a description of Japanese castaway Otokichi who was on the British vessel, disguised as a Chinese to evade capital punishment, who later assisted Admiral James Stirling in establishing the 1854 Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty. Text is in Japanese. 8vo. 44 pages in manuscript, plus title page, on 23 unpaginated double leaves. Traditional karitoji binding ("semi-bound" meaning title page and contents without a book cover) string-stitched at spine, fukurotoji style ("bound-pocket" with folded leafs bound into spine), and opening from left to right. Complete in a single volume, measuring approximately 24 x 17 cm. A scant few ink marks to rear leaf margin, indication of some burrowing, unobtrusive to legibility, otherwise in very good condition, beautifully preserved, clean and bright, an exceedingly scarce work. Certainly an assertive manoeuvre, for the British to show up unannounced in the harbour of Edo, Japan was in the state of Sakoku ("locked country"), the isolationist foreign policy of the Tokugawa shogunate under which relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and nearly all foreign nationals were barred from entering Japan, while common Japanese people were kept from leaving the country. The long-standing policy had been in place for over two centuries, since 1603, and would last a few more years after the departure of HMS Mariner. It was Commodore Perry in 1853, and his equally brazen arrival with his American Black Ships, that would force the opening of Japan to American trade through a series of treaties called the Convention of Kanagawa, ultimately ending the island's declaration of Sakoku, and facilitating other trade relations with Western nations. On 14 October, 1854, the first limited Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty was signed by Admiral Sir James Stirling and representatives of the Tokugawa shogunate (Bakufu). Yamamoto Otokichi (1818-1867), who was onboard HMS Mariner disguised as a Chinese interpreter during the ship's attempted entry in Japan, later played an instrumental role in establishing this treaty, providing Stirling with intel on language and culture during the negotiations. On 26 August 1858, the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed by the Scotsman Lord Elgin and representatives of the Tokugawa shogunate for Japan, after the Harris Treaty was concluded. Britain obtained extraterritorial rights on Japanese with the British Supreme Court for China and Japan, in Shanghai. A British iron paddle schooner named Enpiroru was presented to the Tokugawa administration by Bruce as a present for the Emperor from Queen Victoria. A scarce compilation of records from the Japanese perspective on a pre-Perry interaction between Bakufu authorities and a British ship, with references to Otokichi. This manuscript collates four Japanese reports of the British ship the HMS Mariner, which arrived in Japan from Shanghai in May of 1849 to make a topographical survey of the area around Edo (modern-day Tokyo), led by Commander Charles Mitchell Mathison, who had entered the Royal Navy on 5 August 1819. The event marks a very early British appearance at Japan, also pre-dating by four years the imposing arrival of Commodore Perry and his American Black ships also intent on making surveys. The first record briefly describes the layout of the Mariner and the aim of its visit to Japan. It also mentions the considerable Japanese language abilities of the Chinese interpreter on board who explained things in a way that is easy to understand, he in fact being the Japanese castaway Yamamoto Otokichi (1818-1867). The second section records foreign ship sightings from daimyo with guardhouses on the Miura Peninsula. [daimto were the most powerful landholding magnates holding the largest sections of land] The third report describes the meeting of Commander Mathison and the Bakufu intendant Egawa Tarozaemon (1801-1855), a dispute over a map of Japan, and Japanese observations of the ship and the crew. The last report is a copy of Isenokami Abe's (Masahiro Abe: 1819-1857) message to the bugyo (magistrates) and metsuke (censors/inspectors) in which, with HMS Mariner in mind, he expresses concern about the increase in the number of foreign ship arrivals in recent years and the abandoning of the Edict to Repel Foreign Ships. Abe notes that if the edict is enforced again, while there is no illegality on the part of the foreign ships, a dispute could arise, thus cautioning the noble families on the coast to prepare defenses. [Only a few years after the arrival of HMS Mariner, Isenokami would play a major role in the signing of the Convention of Kanagawa, as a result of pressure from the Perry Expedition.]
A numbered (278) and printed document granting financial compensation to a slave owner in Suriname, by the Dutch government, signed in the original by numerous parties including the Gouverneur de Kolonie Suriname [Governor of Suriname] Van Lansberge, the Administrateur van Financienvan Het Ministerie van Kolonien te s-Gravenhague [Finance Administrator for the Ministry of the Colonies, at The Hague], and the recipient of the funds who is not only a slave owner but well-known chirurgeon A.D. Charlouis. Text is in Dutch. With steel engraved colonial coat of arms, official ink stamps, the embossed stamp of the "Klein Kolonie Suriname" government. Single leaf measuring approximately 26,5 x 13 cm. Very good condition, beautifully preserved, a scarce and historical slavery document with notable signature. The present document is interesting, as is was made almost two years after the official abolition of slave ownership in Suriname, which reveals the lengthy time period over which this process was stretched. The government's primary concern was not the freedom of the enslaved people; it was the preservation of the plantation economy, lest there be a mass exodus of workers leaving the plantations. The latter was cited as the reason and justification for the mandatory employment contract which accompanied 'free status' of a slave. Chirurgeon Andries Daniel Charlouis (Emden, Lower Saxony 1820 - Paramaribo, Suriname 1880) is the recipient of this compensation. Historical evidence reveals that he had more slaves than what is represented with this document, and that he released them gradually. He was well-known in the field of medical science, particularly for his studies on medicinal matters and the indigenous people of South America; his name appears in numerous medical journals of the period. Reinhart Frans Cornelius van Lansberge (1804-1873), whose signature authorizes this document, was the Governor-General of Suriname from 1 August 1859 to 29 June 1867. Slavery was abolished in the Dutch West Indies during his governorship. Previous to this post, he was Governor of Curacao from 1855 to 1859, and formerly Dutch Consul-General Venezuela. Doctor Charlouis, whose original signature is found to verso, received 1935 guilders with this promissory note effective 15 August 1865. This figure represents the release of approximately 6 slaves. A manuscript annotation to upper left margin, penned in a West Germanic language, refers to the abolition act: "Opheffing der slavernij... 1863" [Elimination of slavery... 1863]. Red ink annotations reveal that this document was registered on 16 September 1865, and signed by a Geregistreerde referendaris J.C. Jaunen [registered secretary]. Additional annotations to the upper margin suggest that the funds were cashed in on 16 October 1865 "Betaalbaar te Amsterdam" [paybale to Amsterdam]. Also interesting to note, two of the signed annotations to verso, those of Charlouis and a witness, make reference to German plantation owner, banker Wilhelm Eduard Ruhmann at Paramaribo. As such, this transaction was most likely transacted at Surinaamsche Bank which had been founded earlier the same year, and the funds dispatched from there to the Dutch government in The Netherlands. The Netherlands abolished the Atlantic slave-trade in 1814. However, localized slavery continued for over half a decade. Slavery was finally abolished in Suriname and the Dutch West Antilles on 1 July 1863 with the Emancipation Act. On that day, about 35,000 slaves in Suriname and 12,000 slaves on the Dutch islands in the Caribbean were given their freedom, or rather a modified version of freedom. Freed men in Suriname come under state supervision for ten years with a mandatory employment contract on the plantations. The slave owners received financial compensation from the government upon releasing their slaves to this system. The Dutch government paid 300 guilders per slave to the owner for the "lost property". (In the Dutch East Indies, payments were far lower, 50 to 350 guilders depending on the age of the slave). The abolition of slavery was referred to as 'emancipation'. Parties were organized in which King William III was presented as a key figure and benefactor of the freed slaves.
Three (3) original signatures of Hardy Amies, the couturier for Queen Elizabeth for some thirty-nine years, contained in three books from his personal library, and each also containing his bookplate. 8vo. Three volumes each signed and dated by Amies to front endpaper, very slight wear to boards, otherwise in Very Good condition, signed on crisp, clean leafs. Sir Edwin Hardy Amies, KCVO (1909-2003), was a British fashion designer, best known for being the dress designer for HM Queen Elizabeth II for thirty-nine years. In the 1930s Amies rose to become one of Britain's leading couturiers and his salon was one of the few to rival the great dress houses of Paris. After a successful pre-war career as a designer in other people’s fashion houses, Amies opened his own establishment at 14 Savile Row in 1946. In 1950 Amies made several outfits for Elizabeth's royal tour to Canada (then Princess Elizabeth). He received the award of a Royal Warrant as official dressmaker in 1955. One of his best known creations is the gown he designed in 1977 for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee portrait. Knighted in 1989, Amies held the warrant until 1990, when he gave it up so that younger designers could create for the Queen. He was also the couturier for Lady Alice Egerton, who was appointed as lady-in-waiting to the young Princess Elizabeth in 1949, and who would go on to become Woman of the Bedchamber when Elizabeth became queen in 1953. For three years he travelled and worked in France and Germany; becoming fluent in both countries' languages. Amies worked for a customs agent and then as an English tutor in Antibes, and later in Bendorf, Germany where in 1928 he acquired one of these volumes for his library. Around the same time, another of the volumes was acquired in a village on the Mosel River. He returned to England in 1930. The third volume is signed by him in 1933 and appears to have been gifted to him by famous Austrian writer Karl Heinrich Waggerl. Manuscript
17 August 1862. Official certificate of appointment issued by the British Armed Forces to Dr. John Campbell Bow, Esq. as "Surgeon to Our Forces." Document measures approximately 16 x 12 inches, completed in manuscript, signed by an officer of the War Office, witnessed in the hand of a Field Marshall, and bearing the paper seal of Queen Victoria. Filing annotations to verso are dated Bengal, 17 April 1863. Stamped at the War office in London 11.5.1866 together with a ten shilling embossed revenue stamp. Fascinating document, assigning a new surgeon to the Bengal Army subsequent to the Indian Mutiny of 1857, during the British Crown's re-structuring of administration and rule over the Indian subcontinent, and implementation of the British Raj The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of the British Raj within the British Empire. The Sepoy rebellion was a result of various grievances, and ultimately led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858. It also led the British to reorganize the army, the financial system and the administration in India. Manuscript