‎Autographs‎

‎SAINT-LÔ (Michèle).‎

‎Le Coeur fou.‎

‎Édition originale sans grand papier. Envoi autographe et une lettre de l'auteur (avec son enveloppe et son adresse).‎

‎MICHELET (Edmond).‎

‎Contre la guerre civile.‎

‎Édition originale en Service de presse de cet ouvrage de réflexions sur la Guerre d'Algérie. Joint carte de visite de l'auteur avec cette dédicace : " Edmond Michelet Sénateur de la Seine ancien ministre : Vous soumet, en bien cordial hommage, ces réflexions de la plus brûlante actualité ! ". Bel exemplaire.‎

‎GUEHENNO (Jean)‎

‎L'évangile éternel (Etude sur Michelet).‎

‎In-8, 227p. Edition originale numérotée sur Alfa. Exemplaire truffé de 2 billets autographes signés de l'auteur.‎

‎LAURENT-PICHAT (Léon)‎

‎Avant le jour. Poésies.‎

‎In-8, 325p. Edition originale. Exemplaire enrichi d'un envoi autographe signé de l'auteur et truffé de 3 lettres autographes dans lesquelles Laurent-Pichat remercie un critique littéraire de l'accueil réservé à son volume. Rousseurs, autrement bon exemplaire.‎

‎BUCHAN John‎

‎T.L.s from John Buchan to Edmund Vale. SIGNED LETTER FROM JOHN BUCHAN TO FELLOW-AUTHOR EDMUND VALE‎

‎8vo., single sheet on the printed stationery of Thomas Nelson the publisher (Buchan was a director of this company among several others); dated 6 December 1927; addressed to Edmund Vale at his home address in Bethesda, North Wales; very lightly age-browned but a clear, crisp letter with strong signature 'John Buchan'. The letter is friendly if somewhat imperious in tone ('Dear Vale'). Buchan is glad that Vale's 'railway books are going on well' ands hopes that Vale will be successful in getting his collection of stories published (but evidently not by Nelson). Buchan likes the projected title 'Tapestry Tales' but declines to provide an introduction: 'it would do no good to the book and I really have not a moment to spare'. John Buchan (1875-1940), polymath, writer, statesman and businessman. Suffice it to say that letters signed by him are scarce. Henry Edmund Theodoric Vale ('Edmund Vale'; 1888-1969) was a prolific and successful author and topographer. He wrote many topographical titles for Henry Batsford including 'The Seas and Shores of England' (1936) in the well-known 'British Heritage' series. He produced at least one title for Nelson - the adventure story 'Porth Smuggler' (1926) - and his relationship with Buchan may well stem from this event. Vale's 'railway books' referred to in the letter are almost certainly his much-loved LMS Route Books which include 'The Track of the Irish Mail', 'The Track of the Twenty Fives' and 'The Track of the Royal Scot', all published in the late twenties. Curiously we have been unable to identify the collection of stories referred to by Buchan as 'Tapestry Tales', for there appears to be no book with this title among Vale's considerable and wide-ranging bibliography.‎

‎Peter Weiss, Playwright‎

‎Archive of documents concerning the publication and production of several notable literary works and theatrical plays by Peter Ulrich Weiss‎

‎New York City, Frankfurt, Stockholm, etc., 1961-1966. Substantial archive of documents concerning the publication and production of several notable literary works and theatrical plays by Peter Ulrich Weiss, including correspondence, draft agreements, contracts signed with leading publishers and producers, as well as some programmes and peer reviews, being the working files of his New York agent, Joan Daves. Together with 3 LP record box sets of the first and complete Broadway original cast music recording for the Marat/Sade play. Octavo and Folio documents and letters, ranging in size and number of pages, some signed in the original. Most are in English; some are in German; the lot neatly contained in four ring binders. The vast majority of the documents date to the 1960s, with a scant few being later including a letter regarding a special television production in 1979 with NBC. Occasional wear to extremities, otherwise in very good condition, beautifully preserved, clean and bright. A generous and comprehensive archive chronicling the work and partnership of a leading literary agent in the rise of German-American publishing, and one of her notable German writers. Provenance: From the desk of Weiss' literary agent for the US, Joan Daves. Joan Daves (1919-1997) was a leading literary agent with her own agency in New York, whose client list boasts six Nobel Prize winners including Martin Luther King, Jr. Daves had a profound effect on the very existence of German literature in America. Born Liselotte Davidson in Berlin, she escaped Nazi Germany by fleeing to Paris and England before emigrating to the United States in 1940. Her agency, established in 1948, handled the original works of several American authors. She handled Martin Luther King, Jr.'s literary property from 1957 until her death. Of great emphasis with her firm was the representation of several major German publishers, such as Suhrkamp, Piper, S. Fischer Verlag and others. It was the prime time of German writers such as Peter Weiss, Uwe Johnson, Max Frisch, Heinar Kipphardt, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, and Hermann Hesse. In the mid-1960s, communication with German publishers was quite different from today. A shipment of galleys was prepared with a 'by sea mail' label. When the New York Times printed the date and time the next ship would leave the harbor, delivery of the parcels of documents to that specific ship was requested. Peter Ulrich Weiss (1916-1982) was a German author, playwright, and experimental filmmaker, who gained celebrity fame on Broadway in the 1960s. He is particularly known for his plays "Marat/Sade" of 1963/65 which is largely represented in the present archive and which was enormously successful, for "The Investigation" of 1965, and for his later novel "The Aesthetics of Resistance" (1971-81). In the 1960s Weiss also embraced and promoted politically controversial groups, standing for revolutionary Cuba, standing against US intervention in Vietnam, and joining Sweden's eurocommunist party. Manuscript‎

‎PAYNE, John Howard‎

‎Unpublished Manuscript and Printed Materials by John Howard.‎

‎A collection of manuscript and printed materials by celebrated poet, playwright, lyricist and Consul John Howard Payne consisting of an unpublished, autograph poem, an autograph letter written from Tunis as the resident American Consul dealing with the matter of an insult to the American flag as well as an account of the repatriation of his remains to American home soil from Tunis in Africa to Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. A specially bound volume titled 'John Howard Payne - a Biographical Sketch' by Charles H. Brainard, Coolidge, Washington, DC 1885 providing an interesting Biography and dealing with the repatriation of Payne's remains to Washington 30 years after he died in Africa. The account is very detailed, leaves nothing to the imagination as far as the transportation of the remains are concerned and is accompanied by some photographic plates. Bound in a special full morocco presentation binding, all edges gilt, gilt inner dentelles, silk moire endpapers. A beautifully executed printed work and binding in fine condition. Manuscript‎

‎King William IV‎

‎Official Royal Navy document dated June 5th 1827, signed in the original hand of William IV, whom a short time later would become King of the United Kingdom.‎

‎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

‎Layard, Austen Henry‎

‎ALS Autograph Letter Signed Together with an Original Photograph‎

‎Original letter penned and signed by Layard after the Bulgarian uprising in the Balkans. The letter measures 7 x 9 inches dated February 23, 1878 while he was HBM Ambassador in Constantinople. The letter provides a reference for a James Long, MA who was a humanitarian. Long was about to go to Bazandjik on the Danube in Bulgaria which had recently been occupied by the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War. Together with the letter is an original portrait photograph of Layard measuring 8 x 10 inches as well as a contemporary bigraphical sketch from the 1880's. Letters from Layard while abroad are rare. Manuscript‎

‎Lord Holland‎

‎Original ALS on Salmon Fisheries by Avid Angler Baron Vassall Holland of England.‎

‎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.‎

‎Manuscript, California‎

‎German Manuscript, a Poetic or Theatrical Composition Dealing with California and Dedicated to Queen Marie.‎

‎8vo. 32 page German manuscript, a poetic or theatrical composition dealing with California and dedicated to Queen Marie, Consort of King George V of Hanover, during the California Gold Rush. Dedication page, written in French, signed and dated by 'Gontard' who was an affluent art collector and chairman of an elite German art museum, and whom had evidently just met the Queen in person at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Exquisite red morocco binding by Hof-buchbinders Wilhelm Ermold (binder to the Royal Hanover Court), beautifully finished in gilt with a crowned monogram 'M' for Marie, royal blue cloth endpapers, satin bow dividers. Evidence of an imbedded gift-wrapping ribbon to boards, slight foxing to first few leafs, otherwise very good condition, internally clean and bright, a pleasing work in an elegant binding fit for royalty. Title: Die Reise nach Californien. Nach dem französischen bearbeitet von Eduard Suhren. [A Voyage to California. From the French, edited by Edward Suhren.] The ambiguously titled manuscript may be a German rendition of the French theatrical opera by Dondey Dupré titled "Le voyage en Californie ou notice explicative du panorama" which concerned travels across the United States and explorations in the West - by John Charles Fremont, first explorer to cross the Sierra Nevada in winter, foremost US Senator, abolitionist, who prospered during the California Gold Rush. Content includes the explorer's sighting of pines in the Sierra Nevada oak forest at 3500 feet, melting gold, and so forth. Frémont's father was a native of France, who died only eight years after the French Revolution. As such, his gallant endeavours and accomplishments in the New World would certainly garner much attention in France, as with other European nations with colonies abroad. The French opera was first publicly performed 8 August 1850 in Paris, at the Théâtre des Variétés. Gontard, who met the queen, and dedicates this manuscript to her, may have been involved in a German production, performed for the House of Hanover. A full page dedication inscription, in French, is addressed to the Queen of Hanover, by Huguenot descendant Jakob Friedrich Moritz Gontard (1826-1886), chairman and administrator of the Städel art museum in Frankfurt, officially the Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie. Queen consort of Hanover from 1851 to 1878, née Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, recipient of this dedicated manuscript, was the wife of King George V of Hanover, the last monarch of the short-lived Kingdom of Hanover. In his dedication, dated Hanover, 12 July 1855, Gontard thanks the monarch for having come to see his panorama at the International Exhibition held on the Champs-Elysées, stating that her visit inspired the work which forms the volume, and which he humbly offers to her. He references materials which were given to her onsite, which would elucidate the obscure details of the creative piece. The date indicates that King George V and Queen Marie of the short-lived Kingdom of Hanover attended the event in its first eight weeks. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom paid a visit to the Parisian Exhibition in August. Unique manuscript volume, bound in the Royal Court of Hanover, written at the height of the California Gold Rush and featuring historic Americana content. Manuscript‎

‎Kirk, Sir John‎

‎Manuscript Signed Letter by Sir John Kirk Which Mentions Africa Explorers David Livingstone and Du Chaillu.‎

‎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

‎British Bengal Army‎

‎Signed Certificate of Appointment - Dr. John Campbell Bow, Surgeon to Our Forces.‎

‎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

‎MARKHAM, Admiral A.H.‎

‎ALS By Admiral Markham, naval officer and pioneering arctic explorer, addressed to S. C. J. Freeman-Mathews in Cape Town, South Africa.‎

‎London, 26 February 1900. Signed Manuscript Letter by Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham, naval officer and pioneering arctic explorer, addressed to S. C. J. Freeman-Mathews in Cape Town, South Africa. Small 8vo. Double-leaf measuring approximately 15 x 15cm. Together with original cover, opened on three sides, bearing three postal marks and one stamp, and measuring 11 x 8 cm. Both in very good condition, from the autograph collection of Seymour C.J. Freeman-Matthews. The addressee, Seymour C.J. Freeman-Matthews was a collector of autographs and amassed a sizeable treasure of signatures with solicitations such as which led to this letter and autograph being penned by a great Arctic navigator. The letter reads as follows: "Dear Sir, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 5th inst. and, in reply, have much pleasure in complying with your request, Believe me. Yrs. faithfully, A. Markham [signature] Vice Admiral." Manuscript‎

‎HARFORD, John S.‎

‎The Life of Michael Angelo Buonarroti‎

‎Octavo, xvii,347p; viii, 425p. 21 plates, includes foldout illustration of Sistine Chapel ceiling. Bound in original publisher's green cloth, very light foxing, a stellar example of this book. This a presentation copy to Samuel Gobat, Bishop of Jerusalem: "Presented to Bishop Gobat with the affectionate regards of the author, Blaise castle, Augt 19th 1861".‎

‎URE, Dr. Andrew‎

‎Manuscript Note Certifying a Shipment of "Perfectly Pure Cocoa" for the Royal Navy Together with a Printed Biography of Ure and an Orginal Photograph‎

‎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

‎AMIES, Hardy‎

‎SIGNED - Three Volumes From His Personal Library - Text in German‎

‎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

‎COLONIER, Anthonio‎

‎Manuscript - 16th Century Vellum Will & Testament - Catalan Village of Arenys De Munt - Text in Latin‎

‎Spain, 1512. Manuscript will and testament, in Latin, of Anthonio Colonier from the Catalan village of Arenys de Munt, dated Calella, 8 May 1512. Folio, 27 x 34 cm, written in a neat scribal hand on vellum. Some age-toning, otherwise in very good condition, a rare manuscript document surviving over 500 years. Latin Manuscript Will and Testament of Catalan Farmer from Arenys de Munt, 1512. The will and testament of Anthonio Colonier, a farmer from the Catalan village of Arenys de Munt in the outskirts of Calella (where the will was signed) and north of Barcelona. In it, Colonier names his daughter, Eulalie, as his legitimate heir. Arenys de Munt is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated inland from the coast, in the el Corredor range. It retains a textile industry and is also known for the production of strawberries, cherries and liqueurs. (Arenys is Catalan for "sands (of a seasonal creek)" and de Munt for "up hill"). Manuscript‎

‎Lord Ranelagh‎

‎Manuscript - Obituary & Photograph of Lord Ranelagh‎

‎London, circa 1865. Albumen Photograph of The Right Honourable Lord Ranelagh, dressed in uniform of the Volunteer Force, taken by Caldesi, Blanford and Co. of London. Together with an obituary notice printed in the Pall Mall Gazette on the day of his death, 21, November 1885, annotated in manuscript, and describing military funeral proceedings. Mounted together on a clipped cardstock leaf, measuring 19cm wide x 37 cm at its greatest height. Obituary measures approximately 11 x 11 cm. Photograph measures approximately 9 x 5,5 cm. Very good condition. Excerpt from the Pall Mall Gazette article: [This was an evening newspaper founded in London only twenty years earlier in 1865.] "This morning, soon after eight o'clock, the body of the late Viscount Ranelagh was removed from his residence, Albert Mansions [Victoria Street, London], to Beaufort House, Chelsea, the headquarters of the 2nd Middlesex Volunteers. The body was placed in the Masonic room, and covered with the Union Jack... preceded by the regiment, upwards of 500 strong, the body will be conveyed on a gun-carriage... as the body is lowered into the grave a military salute will be fired." Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh, KCB (1812-1885), Lieutenant Colonel, South Middlesex Rifle Volunteers was active in the volunteer movement to recruit amateur soldiers for the defence of Britain. [The Volunteer Force was founded in 1859 as a result of the threat of invasion from France.] He was also Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Middlesex and Norfolk. He was further known for his connections to glamorous women, notably the Pre-Raphaelite model Annie Miller and the actress Lillie Langtry. In 1868 he was a key witness in the trial of 'Madame Rachel', a notorious cause célèbre of the day. Heron Jones succeeded to the baronetcy becoming Viscount Ranelagh and Baron Jones of Navan in 1820 on the death of his father.‎

‎CAMPBELL, MARTIN & BOSWELL‎

‎Manuscript - Solicitors' Letter Book - 170 Draft Documents Pertaining to Dalquharran Castle and Kennedy Estate, Foreign Investments in Australia and a Fascinating Link to Poet Robert Burns‎

‎Edinburgh, 1893. Letter Book Archive of draft documents made by the law firm Campbell, Martin & Boswell, for private estates and business agreements, neatly preserved in a custom binding, featuring little known details relating to the Dalquharran Castle and Kennedy estate, Scottish investments and links to Australia, and a fascinating connection to the renowned poet Robert Burns by way of a lease made with his descendent for a mansion estate which he, too, had personally visited. 8vo. Approximately 170 documents, most in manuscript and some in typescript, 1166 pages combined, with a scant few integral blanks, plus unpaginated manuscript index listed alphabetically by document type. Very large volume measuring 23 x 35 x 9 cm (WxHxD) and weighing 10 pounds. Quarter calf over brown cloth boards labelled in gilt to spine, original marbled endpapers. Bookbinder's label to front pastedown (Caldwell Brothers of Edinburgh). Very good condition, an excellent depository volume of legal and historical interest. The firm Campbell, Martin & Boswell, consisted of three solicitors, each with the title and privileges of "Writers to the Signet", John Douglas Boswell, W.S.; Patrick William Campbell, W.S.; and Francis John Martin, W.S., the latter of whom became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1892. Their office was at 1 North Charlotte Street in Edinburgh, which was the same address as the Royal Bank of Scotland, and situated very near to Charlotte Square. Scots law and legal proceedings of the late nineteenth century, much of which differ today, are well illustrated in this archive of original working documents executed by accomplished patrician lawyers representing some discriminating and aristocratic clients. Many of the documents deal with property conveyance and estate matters, and represent traditions no longer observed, including the obsolete " Trust Disposition and Settlement" procedure for claiming an inheritance. Other documents include assignations, land conveyances, bond and disposition in security, deeds of assumption and discharges, estate inventories, a search for deeds with the Register of Sasines, leases, loan proposals for purchasing commercial space in Edinburgh, records of monetary investments in Highland Railway (HR), Jamaican plantations, property to let in Scotland, Australian banks, and so forth. So exclusive and intertwined were the upper class and wealthy, perhaps not large in number, but surely powerful in society, some interesting genealogical and business connections can be made from examining these papers. Many clients are also relations to the solicitors who often acted as trustees. In one case, we find a multi-generational connection between the Campbell and Burns families, beginning with the Jamaica sugar plantation owner Patrick Douglas and Scotland's celebrated national poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). In addition, these documents shed light on the leasing history of the Dalquharran Castle in South Ayrshire, which included hunting rights for at least one resident, as well as the Kennedy family's monetary investments in Australia. Interesting to note, one of the lawyers from this firm, Mr. Campbell, is related through marriage to the castle's then most recent owner, Mr. Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy (died in 1892). Some items of special interest: • A twenty page lease agreement was issued to a Glasgow coalmaster named Robert Burns (1844-1896), who was the great-great-grandson and namesake of the famous poet and lyricist Robert Burns (1759-1796) - who had visited the very same Mansion House of Garrallan in his day, being a friend of its proprietor at the time, Dr. Patrick Douglas. A fascinating and detailed document, the lessors were concerned with mining royalties, minerals specifically deemed as belonging to the Marquis of Bute, and minerals raised at the mansion house. [Garrallan was owned by the Campbell family until 1676. The Douglas family followed but it became extinct in the male line. Dr. Patrick Douglas, who died 1819, also owned property in Jamaica and in 1786 he offered Robert Burns a position as a bookkeeper in Port Antonio, but the poet declined. Burns was a visitor at Garrallan. Jane Douglas married Hamilton Boswell and this family retained it until 1914 when it was sold to the Stevenson family of Changue, who still own the property.] • Another fascinating document is headed "Notes on Titles of Charlotte Square," now a World Heritage Site situated in Edinburgh. In this we find reference to feudal tenancy and particulars of construction. Excerpts from the document: "Charter by the Magistrates & Town Council of Edinburgh in favour of Alexander Stevens dated 1st June 1803... no buildings are to be erected... on the foresaid back ground... that the area of the square within the line of the street ways was to become a common property for the accommodation pleasure health or other convenience of the several feuars round said square... For the lot of ground in Charlotte Square X the sum of £6. 18/4 3/12 and further paying the sum of £14. 18/4 3/12 upon the entry of each heir and singular successor or disponee to said Lot Houses or Tenements built thereon... For the foresaid piece of ground on Young Street the sum... Disposition of Sir George Hope to Margaret Kyle of Binghill dated 2nd April 1818. Disposition & assignation of the said Rev'd Dr. James Kyle in favour of Alexander Russell dated 8th January 1868. Disposition Settlement by the said George Bruce [Factor and Law Agent, W.S.] dated 10th July 1891 & recorded in the Books of Council Session 27th July 1892." • At least 8-10 documents pertain to Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy (1842-1892) and the Dalquharran Castle which he inherited in 1879 and immediately expanded. The castle, which was built for his grandfather and featured a round bastion tower with a drawing room, piano nobile, and a library above, and an exquisite top-lit spiral central staircase, was extended from 1880-81 by Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy, to accommodate his wife and bedrooms for their nine children. The work was completed at great expense, leaving the Kennedy family almost bankrupt. The family is known to have left Dalquharran for alternative lodgings, and by 1890 they had leased the castle and its lands as a hunting and fishing estate, as seen in this volume. Examples of the papers found herein include: An Agreement of Lease of the Dalquharran Castle as a furnished residence, "excepting the Strong Room retained by the proprietor", to James Paterson of Milton Lockhart, and includes surrounding lands with permission for shooting small game in accordance with the Ground Game Act of 1880. On 24 July 1893, the Scottish Union & National Insurance Company confirming notice of an "assignation" which transfers the estate of Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy, to his second son "John Campbell Kennedy of the Royal Navy." A two page document which itemizes and places monetary value on the "Additional Inventory of the Personal Estate... of the late Mr. Kennedy", including the surrender value of a life insurance of sorts, from which are deducted debts and funeral expenses. A list of debentures, borrowed from institutions in Australia, Canada, and Oregon, also documents relating to his investments with the British and Australasian Trust and Loan Company. Matters concerning his executrix and widow Eliza Barbara Colina (née Campbell) Kennedy. • An agreement permitting a John Ernest Orr to manufacture and sell a certain steam trap which was patented in 1892 by a millwright named John Mackie. As members of the elite society of Scottish solicitors, the Writers to the Signet, and thus holding special signing authorities and privileges, the firm of three attracted some notable clients, some of which were long-standing clients from generations past. A cursory gander through the volume finds these examples: • William Jardine Herries Maxwell (1852-1933), a Liberal Unionist politician in Scotland. Maxwell was elected at the 1892 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dumfriesshire in 1895, but lost it very narrowly when his Liberal Party opponent had a majority of only 13 votes. He regained his seat in 1900, but stood down at the 1906 general election. • William Caven Lockhart-Mure of Livingston in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, Lieutenant in the 4th Bombay Cavalry (Poona Horse), Indian Army, who later rose to the rank of Major, and died in died in 1913. [With a lease herein the lieutenant agreed to a term of five years, letting and maintaining the Livingstone House, gamekeeper's house, garden and orchard in Kirkcudbright. It was owned by Colonel John Stewart (died 1726), a Scottish professional soldier who served in the Scottish Army and, after the Union with England, in the British Army, who also held a seat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1715, and who had inherited the property from his father. • James Oswald (1779-1853), an influential merchant and Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow from 1832 to 1837 , who inherited the estate of his cousin Richard Alexander Oswald (1771-1841), a Scottish Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835. [Again a family connection, his son, also named Richard, married Lady Mary Kennedy.] • Alexander Oswald (1811-1868), a Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayrshire from 1843 to 1852, as well as his father Richard Alexander Oswald, a Glasgow merchant. • Robert Haldane Scott, a Scottish attorney in Jamaica who filed returns for slaves by plantation owners in Trelawny, and his daughter Eliza Scott who married Reverend Edward Holland of New South Wales and died intestate June 1890. [A detailed document assigns a woman named Margaret Jane Wakeford, resident of Falmouth, Jamaica, as Power of Attorney for the estate of the late Eliza Scott.] • William Hume, technical chemist and innovative instrument maker, who was very active in the 1880s and 1890s designing and manufacturing magic lanterns, glass lantern slides, oxy-hydrogen lime-light apparatuses, a cantilever enlarging apparatus, a half-plate camera, rapid rectilinear lenses, and other photographic equipment, from his shop at 1 Lothian Street in Edinburgh. [A loan proposal herein indicates that he also purchased the property of 31 Lothian Street.] • Annabella Alexandrina Campbell Boswell (1826-1914), gentlewoman, born at Yarrows, Bathurst Plains, New South Wales, having a maternal lineage linked to the Campbells. She was a prolific diarist, horsewoman, skilled watercolourist and pianist. In 1849 Annabella met Patrick Charles Douglas Boswell, a free settler from Ayrshire, Scotland, accountant for the Bank of New South Wales (later becoming manager), who was related to James Boswell the biographer, and presumably also Mr. Boswell of this firm. Together Annabella and Patrick returned to Scotland in 1865, where Patrick had inherited the family estate in Ayrshire. • The only actual "will" recorded here is that of Bengal Army Major General Robert Farquhar Webster's widow, Janetta Annan Webster (née Dewar), which bequeaths the estate to her son, and permits the trustee to invest funds and heritable securities into in stocks of Great Britain, any British Colony or Dependency, until such time as he reaches the age of maturity. [Her husband was educated at the Edinburgh Academy before joining the British Army in India in 1843. He retired in 1878 as a Major General in the Bengal Staff Corps.] • Major Archibald Hume of Auchendolly and Spitalside, born 27 Dec 1843, and recognized by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for having presented the museum with a bronze enamelled harness ornament of British Celtic origin. • William Fullarton of Fullarton (1754-1808), a Scottish soldier in the Bengal Staff Corps who participated in the Second Anglo-Mysore War, a statesman, agriculturalist, author, and son of a wealthy Ayrshire gentleman for whom he was named - William Fullarton of Fullarton. • Reverend Samuel Smith, attached to the church and parish of Borgue in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. • Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Maitland (176-1824), a British soldier who served in St. Domingue, and colonial Governor of British Ceylon. Historical Scottish minutiae through and through, with over 170 documents to explore, the opportunity of finding little-known information or unravelling early questions of lineage and heritable rights is indeed great! Dalquharran Castle: In the spring of 1819 Thomas Francis Kennedy (1788-1879) of Dalquharran Castle and Dunure, Ayr, (Whig aristocrat and commissioner of woods, forests, land revenues, works and buildings), succeeded his estranged father to the encumbered Ayrshire estates. The principal properties were the Dalquharran Castle near Dailly, and the coastal estate of Dunure, situated between Dalquharran and Ayr. He died at Dalquharran in 1879 and was succeeded by his only child, Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy (1842-1892). At great expense Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy made expansions to the mansion, leaving the Kennedy family almost bankrupt. Recent studies suggest that external construction work was finally finished in the summer of 1890, relating this to a note made by Kennedy on documents bearing this date, and existing records regarding the exterior paving and roofing work being completed. The family is known to have left Dalquharran for alternative lodgings, and by 1890 they had leased the castle and its lands as a hunting and fishing estate. The castle had several tenants over the next 45 years, whilst staying in the hands of the Kennedy family. Eventually, the castle and the estate were put up for auction. It was bought by a Timber Merchant from Troon, who set about stripping the timber from the estate and who leased the castle to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association. Dalquharran remained a youth hostel until the Second World War, when the Langside School for the Deaf, evacuated from Glasgow, moved in. During the war, the Castle and lands were sold to one John Stewart, a produce merchant from Girvan, who later moved into Dalquharran with his family, and farmed the estate. The Stewart family co-habited the house with friends, but still the house proved too large and expensive to maintain, and was abandoned. The castle was inhabited as recently as 1967, but was unroofed to allow the then owners to avoid payment of high tax rates. It is now a ruin, with only the masonry shell remaining intact. The Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of documents which required to be signeted, but these have since disappeared and the Society is now an independent, non-regulatory association of solicitors. The Society maintains the Category A listed Signet Library, part of the Parliament House complex in Edinburgh, and members of the Society are entitled to the postnominal letters, WS. Wills/Testaments and Inheritance (Scotland): Heritable property, also known as immoveable or 'heritage' property and real estate, included land and buildings. Up to 1868 real estate was automatically inherited by the eldest son (the law of primogeniture) or daughter if there was no son unless there had been a specific disposition or bequest. The law of primogeniture applied to heritage until 1964. This meant that an eldest son might not appear named in the will. Likewise, a wife, who would automatically get the widow's part, may not be mentioned. The right to inherit was established by Retours of Services of Heirs or by a Trust Disposition and Settlement ('deed of settlement'). The actual register of the transfer or other change in ownership was recorded in Sasines. Manuscript‎

‎OLIPHANT, Margaret‎

‎Manuscript - ALS - Scottish Novelist & Historical Writer‎

‎Scotland, circa 1850s. Manuscript signed note by Scottish novelist Margaret Oliphant (1828-1897), penned on her own stationery which bears a curious dragon and cross insignia incorporating her first name. The recipient may be the wife of Robert A. Purdie, publisher for The Scottish Minstrel issued in Edinburgh. Single leaf measuring approximately 8,5 x 13 cm, written recto only. Very good condition with original signature. The letter reads as follows: "Dear Mrs. Purdie Pardon me for not replying at once. I only returned yesterday afternoon from a short absence. Tired. It will give me great pleasure to dine with you on Monday. Very truly yours, [signed] M.O.W. Oliphant Thursday morning" Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant (1828-1897), was a Scottish novelist and historical writer. In 1849 she had her first novel published: "Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland". In 1851 she met publisher William Blackwood in Edinburgh and was invited to contribute to the famous Blackwood's Magazine. The connection was to last for her whole lifetime, during which she contributed well over 100 articles, including a critique of the character of Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". In 1852 she married, and by 1859 she had become a popular writer, working tirelessly to sustain her position. Unfortunately, her home life was full of sorrow, having been widowed and having lost three of her six children. In January 1864 her only remaining daughter Maggie died in Rome, leaving her with two sons. In 1866 she settled at Windsor to be near her sons who were being educated at Eton. From Windsor, she continued a varied literary career including works of supernatural fiction, and in the 1880s she became the mentor of the Irish novelist Emily Lawless.‎

‎SUMMERS, Capt.‎

‎Manuscript Letter - ALS American Merchant's Voyage From Peru to the Sandwich Islands‎

‎South Pacific Ocean, 20 May 1873. Manuscript signed letter written by an American merchant, Captain Summers of Honolulu, penned onboard a barque recently purchased by him, as he made his return voyage from Iquique (then part of the Viceroyalty of Peru) to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). 8vo. 4 pages. Double leaf letterhead measuring approximately 12,5 x 20 cm, with small embossed image of a colonial building. Mild age-toning and tearing at folds, otherwise in very good condition. In the July 1st 1873 issue of Honolulu's 'The Friend" magazine for mariners, this specific voyage was recorded as follows: "Liberian bark Clara Louise, Master Summers, Sailed from Iquiqui, Peru, May 4th, ... crossed the line... during three days had heavy winds and calms, took the NE trade... with fair weather, arrived on the 17th June." A letter of excellent content concerning one Honolulu ship owner's experience in the sea trade, Captain Summers describes his attempts to obtain cargo at Iquique (now in Chile, then part of Peru), mentioning saltpeter and copper, as well as the high price of fresh water. Finding little success in purchasing goods to resell on the Pacific coast of South America, he makes efforts to earn income by chartering cargo. He rightfully blames the introduction of the steamship for reduced opportunity available to independent merchants such as himself, still using sails to navigate large wooden vessels. Still, he remains optimistic of the opportunity to secure cargo in the Sandwich Islands, possibly owing to his Honolulu connections. Especially damaging to his endeavour and ambition is one unscrupulous character, referred to as 'Old Fearrington', from whom he purchased the barque Clara Louise. Upon trying to sell the vessel itself, in Callao, he found some of the vessel's wood to be rotten. His ship was therefore neither sellable, nor sea-worthy for cross-Atlantic voyages. Perhaps most disappointing, the captain could not afford the risk of transporting sugar, a lucrative and prolific commodity at the time, as the ship's hull could not be trusted with such weight. The recipient of this correspondence is the captain's brother Tom who appears to live in the San Francisco Bay area. The captain ends his letter with a request for his brother to write to San Francisco wholesaler and importer Cross & Co., most likely the captain's client. Excerpts from the letter: "My dear Tom, I have been down this way again and after a passage of 80 days anchored in Iquique itis one of the most desolate holes... not a spear of grass for 60 miles of the town, water 10 cents per gallon... 40 cents for washing a shirt." "... I discharged after 20 days delay what with holidays... I could get no cargo on this boat so I thought it best to try the Sandwich Islands... but 400 miles out of the way." "I might got some sugar if I had not been deceived in this vessel. I have had plenty of chance to sell but old Fearrington had the rotten wood all covered... had to trust his word but he did lie... I have sent him $2200 in gold of of this freight so you see that he has received $6000 from me in 15 months..." "... he deceived me, told me she was sound all through and I had not the money to spare to have her overhauled... if she had been a good sound vessel I could have sold her and made good a profit by it for both of us..." "When I wanted to sell it at Callao they overhalled and found some of her timbers rotten..." "I have not taken any wages since leaving and I think if I can get some more good charters I shall make myself whole and give him back his rotten old ship..." "... getting down to Iquique she commenced leaking... had to keep the pump going all the time... had to get caulked all over and now she is tite... " "I have been told by one of my best friends in Boston that old Fearrington will do me out of the profets & ship yet he has done so with several captains ruined them..." "... I don't know whether I will get any cargo at the Sandwich Islands but I am in hopes..." "... the business in both oceans is very dull the steamers take all the trade. If she was a sound vessel I would go to Japan or China and sell... she will not carry 300 tons with safety..." "I must now close... give my love to Sarah and all of your dear family. Write direct Cross & Co. California Strait S. Fran." "goodby from your affectionate Brother, Wm H Summers." End Excerpts. Further research is warranted to learn more about the Captain, although it appears from historical records that his home was in Honolulu. The present letter suggests that he was a man of integrity, and that he had family in San Francisco. The Annual Report of the Hawaiian Historical Society, Vol 5, mentions a Captain Summers of Honolulu who was involved in hunting seals in 1826 with a brig called Waverley. This may be the same Summers or a relation, possibly his father. A San Francisco Ship Passenger List names William Summers as making a voyage on a British schooner named Koh-i-noor in November 1851 from Lahaina to San Francisco, presumably to visit his brother. The ship had only a scant few passengers, but a substantial cargo of potatoes from Hobart Town, as well as potatoes and oranges from Hawaii. A book titled "History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania," edited by J.H. Battle; published by A. Warner & Co. in 1887, outlines genealogical connections and mentions, "Sir Richard Summers, from whom the Sandwich islands derived the name by which they were first known, as the Summers islands". This reference may lead to the lineage of Captain Summers who wrote the present letter. "The Friend" began as a monthly newspaper for seamen, which included news from both American and English newspapers, and gradually expanded to adding announcements of upcoming events, reprints of sermons, poetry, local news, editorials, ship arrivals and departures and a listing of marriages and deaths. Reverend Samuel Chenery Damon was sent by the American Seamen's Friend Society to be chaplain in Honolulu, where he began to edit and publish the periodical in 1843. Reverend Damon had published between a half million and a million copies of The Friend, most of which he personally distributed, by the time he retired in 1885. Manuscript‎

‎Manuscript Nautical Documents - Ceylon‎

‎Light Vessels at Ceylon: Two Manuscript Nautical Documents, being Memorandums Pertaining to the Temporary Light Houses at Great Basses Reef and Little Basses Rocks Off Southern Shores of the Island.‎

‎The light vessels being the predecessors of the two permanent lighthouses of Ceylon fame, situated some fourteen kilometers apart off the coast of Yala National Park. Two folio documents: April 1869 double leaf true copy of a memorandum on winds and currents at Little Basses; April 1870 single leaf notice to sea captains announcing the temporary lighthouse near the Great Basses, issued by Colonial Secretary Henry Turner Irving (later Governor) and penned in a secretarial hand; both on blindstamped stationery of the United States Commercial Agency of Ceylon measuring approximately 20 x 32 cm. Slight age-toning, otherwise in very good condition, rare documents connected to two offshore lighthouses which are among the most famous in Asia. This fascinating and detailed manuscript lighthouse report, was made prior to the actual lighthouses having been constructed, by a sea captain who lived on the light ship anchored off the Ceylon southern shore for at least seven years, making important observations and providing light for navigators. The first document is an annual report by John Buchanan, master of the light vessel at Little Basses, describing seasonal wind and weather conditions, sea currents, tides, monsoons and storms, over the period of one year. The captain also describes steamships having difficulties making the passage to shore. This document being a true copy of the original made in April 1869 by Thomas Steele, Assistant Government Agent at Hambantota, who took a noteworthy interest in local antiquities and Sinhalese literature. [An admiralty notice based on Buchanan's memorandum, though slightly edited, was published in the London and China Telegraph, Vol. 12, May 16, 1870, and also in The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1870]. Excerpts from Buchanan's lightship memorandum: ".... at Little Basses Rocks, Ceylon, during 13 months as observed from the Light Ship." "January [1869]... It would not be inaccurate to say that a strong current continues throughout January coming from the NNE from the Bay of Bengal setting S.S.W. Sea crossing very rough all the month.... both wind and tide against them...difficult for ships to get to the Northeast. It would be well not to attempt to do so." "February... towards the end of the month the wind becomes much lighter. The northerly current also slacken. Occasionally in the month the Light Vessel swings. In 1868, however, she did not swing until April, while in the current year (1869) she swings in February. During the seven years I have been here, the SW monsoon has not hitherto set in regularly until from the 4th to the 10th of May. This year it has been steady at SW since April 6th. The present year is accordingly an exception to the rule..." "I consider March one of our finest months at the Little Basses... 87º in the shade... Shipmasters going to any part of Burmah need have no cause for hesitation... " "May... the monsoon sets in strong and steady... much rain falls, and thunder and lightning... until about the 20th October..." "June, July, August and September... the S.W. monsoon blows strong and steady... Notwithstanding the extreme difficulty I have been enabled (occasionally at much risk of life and property) to keep up a monthly communication with Pottana Bay [Pothana Bay], and thence by land with Galle." "November... much thunder and lightning... Floating bodies invariably I have observed, set right out to sea, S.S.W. ..." "Summary... There are no regular tides... the N.E. monsoon... during five months without variation. Thus a steamer steering N.N.E., has not only to oppose a three-knot tide opposed to her, but the wind dead against her... some steamers barely make two miles an hour going to the north... When the sun goes to the northward of the Light Ship, there is no more N.E. monsoon... in the event of a vessel making Dondra Head when bound to Galle, which is not uncommon the Master should never attempt to beat to Galle, but recross the line." End Excerpts. "Notice to Mariners, Bay of Bengal. Temporary Lighthouse near the Great Basses" heads the second document, which was issued by Colonial Secretary Henry T. Irving at Colombo in April 1870. Irving became a colonial governor not long after. Here too, prior to construction of a permanent structure, the admiralty anchored a temporary light-vessel upon which was mounted a revolving signal. This announcement came approximately one year before placement of the first stone for the lighthouse, and four years before it would begin operation. Excerpt from Irving's notice to mariners: "... it is hereby notified... that a light-vessel, exhibiting at an elevation of 38 feet above the sea, a red revolving light at intervals of 45 seconds, has been placed... at a distance of 3/4 of a mile from the N.E. rock of the Great Basses Reef... The vessel carries two balls vertical at the Mast Head." End Excerpt. Sir Henry Turner Irving, GCMG (1833-1923) was a British Civil Servant and Colonial Administrator. He first served as acting Governor of British Ceylon. In 1873-1874, he served as Governor of the Leeward Islands. In 1874-1880, he served as Governor of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1882-1887, he served as Governor of British Guiana. He was the first Governor of Trinidad to occupy the Government House, now known as the President's House. Notes on the lighthouses that subsequently replaced the "light-ships" described above: Great Basses Reef Lighthouse is an offshore lighthouse in the south of Sri Lanka. Accessible only by boat, it is located on a reef 13 km off the coast of Yala National Park, near Little Basses Reef Lighthouse. The necessity of a lighthouse at this location was acknowledged in 1856, a design of an iron tower on a granite base was suggested and costs began to be incurred without fruition. A new design by Alexander Gordon and Sir James Nicholas Douglass was approved in 1867. The executive engineer in charge was James' brother William Douglass. Two steam vessels were used, each capable of carrying 120 tonnes of stone, and each equipped with the appropriate lifting gear. Each support block weighed 2 to 3 tons. The first stone was laid in December 1870, the last in late 1872 and the light was lit in March 1873. The cost had been £63,000, of which £40,000 had been expended to no effect before Trinity House and William Douglass were involved. Little Basses Reef Lighthouse is an active offshore lighthouse at the southern end of Sri Lanka. It is located on a reef called Kuda Ravana Kotuwa (Fort of Little Ravana), formerly called Little Basses by the British when they invaded Ceylon. It is fourteen km off the coast of Yala National Park and north east of the Great Basses Reef Lighthouse. It was completed in 1878, built by William Douglass using the same steam ships, crew and workers as the Great Basses Reef Lighthouse. Designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, Little Basses lighthouse was one of a limited number of lighthouses that were designed to house the large Hyperradiant Fresnel lenses that became available at the end of the 19th century. Four of these lenses were used in Sri Lankan lights, all made by Chance Brothers in England. The lighthouse is close to Daedalus Rock, site of the sinking of HMS Daedalus (1811). The two Basses lighthouses are among the most famous offshore lighthouses of Asia. Manuscript‎

‎Manuscript Ledger, Merchant Ship‎

‎Manuscript Ledger from an Eighteent Century Merchant Ship Called 'Dublin', Dated 1-29 January 1755, Naming British Firms Dealing in Fine French Linens and Wine.‎

‎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

‎Scottish Interest‎

‎Rare Broadside for the Auction Sale of Glasgow Schooner Called 'London Packet', Stranded at Treacherous Beamer Rock.‎

‎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.‎