JAMAICA

[A Lancashire slaver and his coach.] Two itemised manuscript receipts for work on a coach from the London coachmaker Thomas Thorpe to the Lancashire slave trader William Atherton of Prescot Hall, one signed by Thorpe.

Author: 
Thomas Thorpe, London coachmaker [William Atherton (1742-1803) of Prescot Hall, St Helens, Lancashire, slave trader and owner of plantations in Jamaica]
Publication details: 
1799 and 1801. [Thorpe & Co., Coachmakers, 210 Holborn, London.]
£280.00

An indication of how slavers spent the fruits of their slaves’ labours. With the advent of slavery studies William Atherton has been the subject of a deal of interest, reflected on his Wikipedia page. Thorpe and Lee are listed as coachmakers at 210 Holborn in 1791; in 1803 the firm is named as Thorpe and Co at the same address. The two items are written out in a secretarial hand, each on a long strip made by cutting a folio leaf in half vertically. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Each with slight damage from the breaking open of the wafer.

[William Bullock, Secretary of the Island of Jamaica, Public Messenger, Island Storekeeper and notary public.] Manuscript Document Signed ('W Bullock | Not Pub'), in secretarial hand, regarding plan for 'conveying' a stream of water into Kingston.

Author: 
William Bullock of St Catherine, Jamaica, Island Storekeeper, Public Messenger, Secretary of the Island and Notary Public
Publication details: 
'Done and performed in my Office of Secretary of the said Island [of Jamaica] At Saint Jago de la Vega this 31 day of May annoque domini One thousand Eight hundred and nineteen [1819]'.
£120.00

In 1824 Bullock held the public offices of Island Storekeeper and Public Messenger. He was also Secretary of the Island and Notary Public. On one side of a 32 x 20 cm piece of laid paper, with Whatman watermark dated 1817. In good condition, lightly aged, with parts of the edges cut down. Seal under paper at bottom left. In a secretarial hand, with Bullock only supplying the date and his signature 'W Bullock | Not Pub'.

[ Slave Trade 1805; Thomas Bayly Howell ] The Report from A Committee of the HOuse of Assembly of Jamaica, [...] To Inquire into the Proceedings of The Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland relative to The Slave Trade, &c &c.

Author: 
[ Slave Trade 1805; Thomas Bayly Howell ]
Publication details: 
London: Printed and Published according to the Order of the House of Assembly, By Edmund Pusey Lyon, Esquire, Agent for Jamaica. 1805.
£150.00

40pp., 4to, disbound and defective, foxing, sl. frayed but main text complete, missing title/printed wraps (present as photocopy) with two folding Appendices (Tables) (one missing small section in middle with loss of some letters all the way down): Appendix No. 1. Statistics re. Raw and Refined Sugar up to 1804; No. 2 An Account of the Total Value of the Impor[t] into and Exports from Great Britain in 1801 and 1802, distinguishing the [Brit]ish Manufacturers from the Foreign Ones. INSCRIBED "T.B.H.

[ Edward Morrison, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. ] Autograph Signature ('Edw: Morrison Lt: Govr | Commr of the Forces at Jamaica <?>', on part of official letter concerning the court martial of Lieutenant Robert Irvine.

Author: 
Edward Morrison, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, 1811-1813
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ Jamaica, 1811. ]
£45.00

On both sides of a 13 x 20 cm piece of paper cut from an official letter. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. The recto reads: '[…] Having received the enclosed Papers since I wrote to you on the 27th inst transmitting the Proceedings of a General Court Martial on the Trial of Lieutt Irwine of the 55th Regt. I think it right to transmit them to you as they are documents relating to […]'. Reverse reads: 'I have the honour to be Sir | Your most obedient humble | Servant | Edw: Morrison Lt: Govr | Commr of the Forces at Jamaica <?>'.

[ Lord John Manners, Marquis of Granby, army officer after whom many English pubs are named. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('John Manners') regarding the broken health of one Lieutenant Hawkins, and his inability to rejoin his regiment in Jamaica.

Author: 
Lieutenant-General John Manners (1721-1770), Marquess of Granby, British army officer, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, son of the 3rd Duke of Rutland
Publication details: 
Parliament Street [ London ]. 23 August 1770.
£80.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, aged and worn, with fraying to edges, and loss at one corner from the opening of the seal. There is a faint pencil note on three lines in another hand at the foot of the letter. The letter reads: 'Having considerd Lt Hawkins situation, and the effect the Climate of Jamaica has had upon him – I am of opinion that He is totally unable to join his Regiment, and there is great reason to fear, his health will never be such as to enable him to do duty with it, in that Island | John Manners | Parliament St. | Augst. 23d. 1770'.

[ Sir Andrew Halliday, Scottish physician. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Andrew Halliday') to the Postmaster General the Duke of Manchester, giving details of his investigation into 'some system of individual plunder' involving franks.

Author: 
Sir Andrew Halliday (1782-1839), Scottish physician [ William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester (1771-1843), Governor of Jamaica, Postmaster General; Sir Horace Beauchamp Seymour (1791-1851) ]
Publication details: 
Hampton Court. 27 June 1829.
£220.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Docketed crosswise across the valediction, including the signature, but not in an overly-obtrusive fashion. An interesting letter, casting light on the franking system and fraud within the pre-Hill Post Office.

[ Sir George Nugent, Field Marshal and Governor of Jamaica. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('G. Nugent'), congratulating the botanist Nathaniel Wallich on gaining financial independence through the post of Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta

Author: 
Sir George Nugent, 1st Baronet (1757-1849), Field Marshal in the British Army and Governor of Jamaica [ Nathaniel Wallich [ born Nathanael Wulff Wallich ] (1785–1854), botanist of Danish extraction ]
Publication details: 
Westhorpe [ Westhorpe House, Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire ]. 23 June 1848.
£200.00

3pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, worn and creased. See both men's entries in the Oxford DNB.

[ Sir John Peter Grant, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal and as Governor of Jamaica. ] Autograph Signature ('J P Grant') on part of document.

Author: 
Sir John Peter Grant (1807-1893), Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, 1859-1862, and Governor of Jamaica, 1866-1874
Publication details: 
Without place. 1868.
£30.00

On 6 x 9.5 cm piece of paper. In good condition, laid down on slightly-larger piece of paper (part of leaf from an album). Grant's distinctive forward-sloping signature at centre. At top of paper: '<...> Reign, Annoque Domini 1868.' Beneath the signature, in a contemporary hand: 'Sir John Peter Grant Lieut-Governor of Central Provinces of India during Mutiny. [sic] Governor-General of Jamaica born 1807'.

[ Rev. Thomas Blanshard, Book-Steward, Methodist Book-Room, London. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Tho Blanshard') to Rev. George Johnstone in Jamaica, giving details and itemised account of 'Sums of Money due to the Book Room from Jamaica'.

Author: 
Rev. Thomas Blanshard, Book-Steward, Methodist Book Room, City Road, London [ Rev. George Johnstone (c.1765-1821), Methodist missionary in the West Indies ]
Publication details: 
[ Methodist Book Room, City Road ] London. 3 January 1820.
£150.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with slight loss to text from breaking open of seal, and some repair with archival tape, and a square of paper neatly cut away from second leaf. Addressed, with postmark, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Revd G Johnstone | Methodist Chapel | Kingstone | Jamaica'. Letter on one page and 'Mr G Johnstone Dr in account with T Blanshard'. Writing to his 'Dear Bro[th]er', he hopes that Johnstone will be able to settle the annexed account 'at your ensuing District Meeting'.

[ Rudolph de Cordova and Alicia Ramsay, playwrights and actors. ] Typescripts of three plays: 'The Earthquake', 'The Hand of Vengeance' and 'A Game of Nap' (the last by de Cordova alone), and of a short stoy by de Cordova, 'The Man in Mourning'.

Author: 
Rudolph de Cordova (1860-1941), Jamaican-born British writer, screenwriter of the silent era and actor, married to Alicia Ramsey [ born Alice Joanna Royston ] (1864-1933)
Publication details: 
'The Earthquake' performed at the Hippodrome, London, around 1914. 'The Man in Mourning' published in the Green Book Magazine, February 1916.
£1,200.00

De Cordova was a voluminous author (see his entry in Who Was Who). Several of the couple's works were adapted for the cinema during the silent era. Of the four items present here, 'The Man in Mourning' was published in the Green Book Magazine, February 1916, and de Cordova's entry in Who's Who 1914 lists 'The Earthquake' among 'seven sensational dramas for the London Hippodrome'. No record has been found of the other two pieces. Four duplicated typescripts. In fair condition, with some wear and aging. ONE: '"The Earthquake" A Dramatic Sketch by Alicia Ramsey and Rudolph de Cordova'. A play.

[The Legislative Council of Jamaica, 1855.] Packet of six manuscript documents regarding the rejection by the Council of 49 chairs ordered from Druce & Co. of London, damaged in transit from England.

Author: 
William R. Myers, Secretary, Executive Committee, Legislative Council of Jamaica [Thomson Hankey & Co, merchant bankers, London; Thomas Charles Druce; Druce & Co., upholsterers, Baker St, London]
Publication details: 
Items from the Executive Committee Office, Jamaica, and from Spanish Town, Jamaica, West Indies. All dating from 1855.
£280.00

Packet of six items, held together with a pin. Totalling 8pp., folio; 3pp., 8vo. In good overall condition, on aged and worn paper. ONE: Autograph Letter Signed from 'Wm: R: Myers | Secy' to Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co, London. Executive Committee Office; 26 December 1855. 2pp., folio. Giving details of five documents which he is forwarding, 'on the Chairs received from Messrs. Druce & Co'. He writes that he is 'directed to communicate through you, that the Chairs are not accepted and will not be paid for, but will be kept on the account and risk of Messrs.

[Katharine Villiers, Countess of Clarendon.] Four letters to the London merchant bankers Thomson Hankey & Co., all relating to the Mesopotamia Estate sugar plantation in Jamaica, two signed by both the Earl and the Countess.

Author: 
Katharine Villiers, Countess of Clarendon [née Grimston and previously Foster-Barham] (1810-1874), wife of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800-1870) [Messrs. Thomson Hankey & Co., bankers]
Publication details: 
Two letters from the Vice Regal Lodge, Dublin in 1851, one of them signed by the Earl and the Countess. The other two letters from London, 1845 and 1849.
£180.00

The Countess of Clarendon had inherited the Mesopotamia Estate from her previous husband John Foster Barham (1799-1838), who had died a certified lunatic year before her marriage to the Earl. The Estate had been in the hands of the Barham family for more than a century. The four items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. All four with notes by the recipients. ONE: Letter signed by George J. Nicholson of the London soliticitors Vizard & Leman, in secretarial hand, to Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co. Lincolns Inn Fields; 7 July 1845 ('Mesopotamia Estate'). 1p., 4to.

[The Chester Vale coffee plantation, Jamaica, owned by the Breon family.] Six sets of manuscript accounts, four for Edmund Breon; one for Thomas Cockburn, guardian of Miss Elizabeth Susanna Breon; and one for her husband Colin McLarty, MD.

Author: 
[The Chester Vale coffee plantation, Jamaica; Edmund Breon, proprietor; his daughter Elizabeth Susanna Breon; her husband Colin McLarty; Thomas Cockburn of Cockburn, Robertson & Vassall, solicitors]
Publication details: 
Kingston, Jamaica. 1785, 1787, 1789, 1791, 1792, 1795.
£580.00

Chester Vale, a substantial estate of 1420 acres, paid taxes on 124 slaves in 1801. McLarty (d.1844) was Physician-General for Surrey (Jamaica), and several letters written by him from the island are in the National Library of Scotland, and are quoted in Alan L Karras's 'Sojourners in the Sun: Scottish Migrants in Jamaica and the Chesapeake, 1740-1800' (Cornell, 1992). In 1794 he acquired Chester Vale on his marriage to Elizabeth Susanna Breon, whose father Edmund Breon had died in 1792, leaving her the ward of the solicitor Thomas Cockburn.

[Manuscripts] Partnership agreements, 1825-1929

Author: 
Thomson Hankey & Co. of 7 Mincing Lane, City of London, ('West India and General Merchants Bankers and Agents')
Publication details: 
1825-1929
£800.00

Fifteen partnership agreements (indentures, memoranda, articles of copartnership) relating to the London banking firm of Thomson Hankey & Co., dating from between 1825 and 1929.Having traded with Jamaica, Antigua and the Leeward Islands in partnership with John Houblon. Captain Samuel Hankey commenced in business as a City of London banker-goldsmith in 1685. The firm prospered to such an extent that his son Henry owned Jonathan's Coffee House in Exchange Alley, the precursor of the London Stock Exchange, and was knighted in 1732.

[Executive Committee of Jamaica.] Manuscript Letter Signed ('Wm: R[?]:') from Executive Committee Office to Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co., London bankers, regarding the payment of substantial sums towards the Bank of England Jamaica Guaranteed Loan.

Author: 
[Executive Committee of Jamaica; Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co.; Bank of England; Jamaica Guaranteed Loan]
Publication details: 
'Jamaica No 81'. Executive Committee Office. 26 January 1856.
£220.00

3pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. The letter begins: 'Gentlemen, | I am directed to inform you that a Bill of Exchange drawn by His Excellency the Governor and the Members of the Executive Committee, on the Lords of the Treasury, for the sum of £10.822 .. 9 ..

[Sugar plantations in Jamaica.] Two Manuscript Banker's Letters relating to the Duckenfield Hall, Meylersfield and Friendship Estates, made out for the London firm of Hankeys, and signed by partners Cyril Gurney, H. A. Trotter and L. M. Harvey.

Author: 
[Cyril Gurney (1868-1926); H. A. Trotter; L. M. Harvey; Duckenfield Hall Estate; Meylersfield Estate; Friendship Estate; Jamaica; Jamaican sugar plantations]
Publication details: 
Duckenfield Hall Estate letter: On [Hankey's] letterhead of 7 Mincing Lane, London, EC; 29 December 1915. Meylersfield and Friendship Estates letter: no place; dated 26 June 1917.
£220.00

The two items are in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Accompanying the two items is the envelope in which they were contained, docketted: 'Letters. | Duckinfield [sic] Hall Estate | { | Meylersfield Estate & Friendship Estate Trust'. Both items are signed 'Cyril Gurney | H. A. Trotter | L. M. Harvey'. ONE (Duckenfield Hall Estate letter): 1p., 4to.

[The Cornwall Estate, Jamaica.] Manuscript bill of loading of 'Supplies required for Cornwall Est[at]e. for the year 1838' to London bankers Messrs Hankeys, with letter from William Ridyard and estate manager Robert Locke, and copy letter from Locke.

Author: 
Lady Katherine Barham [Lady Katharine Foster-Barham (née Grimston)] (1810-1874) [Messrs. Hankeys, Plummer & Wilson, London bankers]
Publication details: 
Both letters from Westmoreland, Jamaica. Ridyard and Locke's letter dated 28 July 1837; Locke's 'Duplicate' letter dated 10 July 1837.
£950.00

The three items form a letter of 4pp., foolscap 8vo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf: 'Bill loading | Messrs. Hankeys Plummer & Wilson | Mincing Lane | London | Lady Kathe Barham'. Docketed '97 Robert Locke | 10 | 28 July 1837 | Received 20 September [1837]'. The bill of loading covers the whole of the first page, with two columns of closely written items, ranging from '2300 yds Osnabury 8lbs do thread' to quinine, opium and '1 Box Hydrometer proof Bubbles from 15 to 30'.

[William Beckford.] Manuscript copy by Fownes & White of 'Points stipulated for & agreed to with Messrs. Thompson Hankey & Co. on their taking the Consignments of the West India Estates of Wm. Beckford Esq: in succession to Messrs. Plummer & Wilson.

Author: 
[William Beckford (1760-1844), author and 'England's wealthiest son'; his London solicitors James Fownes and Richard Samuel White; Messrs Thompson Hankey & Co. and Messrs. Plummer & Wilson, bankers]
Publication details: 
[Messrs. Thompson Hankey & Co., 'at a meeting held at their Counting House in Fenchurch St. on the 24th Decr. 1830.' 27 January 1831.
£600.00

The connection between the two firms of London bankers Thompson Hankey & Co., and Plummer & Wilson & Co. is unclear, but after the bankruptcy of John Plummer and William Wilson of Fenchurch Street 1831, a new firm named Hankey, Plummer & Wilson was formed, Plummer & Wilson bringing to it a number of clients including Beckford. The source of Beckford's vast wealth was of course the family's sugar plantations in the West Indies, and this document dates from before the abolition of slavery. 3pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. Very good, on laid paper with Britannia watermark of 'E SMITH | 1828'.

Printed card of Richard Tuckey, Wine & Spirit Merchant, High Street, Fareham, advertising 'Wines' and 'Genuine Spirits'.

Author: 
[Richard Tuckey, Wine & Spirit Merchant, High Street, Fareham] [fine wines]
Publication details: 
[Richard Tuckey, Wine & Spirit Merchant, High Street, Fareham.] Undated [1820s].
£56.00

An attractive example of provincial printing, in letterpress on one side of piece of 9 x 6 cm card. Headed: 'RICHARD TUCKEY, | WINE & SPIRIT MERCHANT, | High Street, | FAREHAM.' Giving prices in shillings and pence for four Wines (Fine old Port; Sherry; Maderia [sic]; White Cape) and six 'Genuine Spirits' (Cognac, Fine old; Jamaica Rum, old and soft; English Geneva; Hollands ditto. pure white; Porter; Cyder). Printed in roman, with four words in black letter ('FAREHAM', 'Wines' and 'Genuine Spirits') and two words in italic ('High Street,').

Statement of Facts, illustrating the Administration of the Abolition Law, and the Sufferings of the Negro Apprentices in the Island of Jamaica.

Author: 
[Dr. A. L. Palmer, late Special Justice in Jamaica] [the abolition of the slave trade; West Indies; slavery]
Publication details: 
London: Printed by John Haddon, Castle Street, Finsbury. Sold by William Ball, Aldine Chambers, Paternoster Row. 1837.
£600.00

12mo: 36 pp. Stitched. In twentieth-century card wraps. Good, with a little light spotting, on aged paper. Note, dated 'December 30th, 1837.', on last page, attributes the work to Palmer. Scarce: half of the ten copies listed on COPAC are facsimile or microfilm editions.

Autograph Letter Signed to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Frank Cundall (1858-1937), English author, Secretary and Librarian to the Institute of Jamaica
Publication details: 
20 Feb 1916; on letterhead of the Institute of Jamaica.
£38.00

4to: 2 pp. Sixteen lines. Good, on lightly aged paper. Thanking Wood for his 'kindly notice of "Historic Jamaica"'. He hopes 'the good people of Jamaica will appreciate the book in time - I spoilt my 1914 holiday to produce it'. Wishes Wood could 'come out to Jamaica in these days of motor cars'. Cars 'make seeing the country very easy - the only drawback is that one goes too fast for seeing the country well'. The 'Examiner for the <?> Board' ('this year it is to be Dr Lloyd') is coming to the island the following month. 'I usually go with the Examiner, to keep him happy!

Copy of manuscript document 'To The Commissioners for Victualling His Majestys Navy' from 'R. M.'

Author: 
[Maritime History] [The West Indies] [Lord Hugh Seymour]
Publication details: 
His Majestys Ship Carnatio Port Royal Harbour Jamaica November 18. 1801'.
£200.00

4to. 4 pages. In poor condition: on paper creased, discoloured and frayed, with several closed tears, but with the text entirely legible. Apparently a copy, and docketed 'No. 1'. Seymour (1759-1801), the commander in chief at Jamaica, died of yellow fever on 11 September. 'R. M.' begins this unusually forthright document by informing the Commissioners that Seymour's death has caused their 'Letter relative to the public service' to pass under his inspection.

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