[ Benchara Branford (see ODNB) annotations; book ] Branford's copy of Cargill Gilston Knott's 'Life and Scientific Work of Peter Guthrie Tait', heavily annotated by him, mostly with references to 'this genius' James Clerk Maxwell.

4to: x + 379 pp. Frontispiece and plates. Tight copy on aged paper, in worn binding. Annotated throughout, with the endpapers and almost every page of the first 146 in particular crammed with notes by Branford in pencil and pen. On the front free endpaper Branford writes 'Finished (fairly thoroughly) on Feb. 26th 1934', and on the title-page, 'B. B. Sep. 3d. 1943'. On the same page he has added to the title 'and many notes (additional to those in text) on his intimate & great friend James Clerk Maxwell [...] the notes being taken from his Life by Campbell & Garnett'. As he notes on pp.17 and 46, Branford studied under Tait, and on p.146 he writes: 'I have without any strain & with joy taken about 1-2 hrs daily for two months to study & take these extracts from this fine Life & Letters of C. Maxwell by Prof. Lewis Campbell - & must now still more carefully from time to time digest, ruminate over, & apply such as [sic] wisdom as I can gather from this noble genius. | B B. | 1943. Oct 20th. (in my 77th. year)'. Other annotations refer to Branford's discontinuation of the use of glasses (p.38), on golf (p.54: 'I very often played (& often by myself with one club designed by myself)'), on James Lindsay (p.66), on James Dewar's opinion of his mother and his book 'Eros and Psyche' (p.79), on his marriage to p.79, references to 'Eros & Psyche' and to his parents, on his 'beloved wife Edith' (p.88), and on 'My discovery of "esl" & "celestial" prophesied by this genius (C-M)' (p.245).