ALBUM-PAGE FRIENDLY 18th CENTURY COUNTY MAPS + c.1860 KELLY's P.O. MAP, PICTORIAL PAPER, ETC.; 1744-1787 quartet of small maps (up to album-page size; some folds); 1744 Cowley/Dodsley, 1753 Read/Roque, Bowles (c.1766; with fine contemporary hand colouring) and John Cary (1787; neatly hand-coloured & with mileages marked); plus c.1855 unused small sheet of writing paper with fine engraving (light toning) of "Curzon Street, Derby" (showing the building which was later to house the 'Derby Stamp Shop' - ex D.G. Manton's own collection), and cut-out hand-coloured matching print (toned) of "Royal Hotel, Post Office and Bank, DERBY" (both pub. by "P. Peal...Derby"), c.1860 Kelly's "POST OFFICE MAP OF DERBYSHIRE" (c.23.5x30.5cms) showing POs with Money Oder facilities and all rail/tramways). Plus a large reprint of a coloured Pollard print (central fold) of a racing stagecoach ("LEICESTER MANCHESTER DERBY" on the doors). Good group of scarce items. (5 maps + 3 others)Cross Reference: MAPS, PICTORIAL ENVELOPES - PRINTED, PICTORIALS, PRINTED (Image)

THE VERY DAY THAT BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE TURNED BACK FROM DERBY - CONTEMPORARY NEWS; 6 Dec. 1745 manuscript letter (some faults and creasing) written on the very day that the Scottish invasion army turned back from England – presumably written from Derby itself – with no address wrapper but clearly sent to a man of importance in London (probably by private Express messenger). It gives news of the Rebels’ retreat from Derby; “The Rebels are gone from Derby on their Road to Ashbourn; Horse, Foot, Artillery & all. The Duke of Cumberland was at Litchfield yesterday & sent his Artillery to Coventry, expecting the Rebels wou’d March South, and the reason he had for it was [that] the Rebels had secured, by a Strong Guard, Swar[ke]stone Bridge which is 3 miles from Derby in the road to Loughborow, so that from hence tis very plain the rebels’ scheme was to draw his Highness a sufficient way south in order to open a passage for themselves back [northwards] & consequently to slip both Armys, which tis feared by some will be executed….J. M.” [The writer "J.M." has yet to be identified...] The “Young Pretender”, Bonnie Prince Charlie, invaded England with his sizeable Scots Army (some 5,000 men) in Nov. 1745, reaching as far south as Derby (where his forces sacked the Post Office among other things!) at the start of December. He was then apparently unaware that his road to London (and the throne of England) lay open and more or less unopposed. Instead of pressing on, he turned his forces around on Friday 6 Dec. 1745 and retreated northwards. A rare contemporary account. [Ex Martin Willcocks; Sotheby's Manuscript auction, 1 Dec. 1994.] Cross Reference: MILITARY, SCOTLAND (Image)

THOMAS TELFORD (FAMOUS ROAD ENGINEER) - AUTOGRAPH LETTER REF. A "NEW ASHBOURNE ROAD"; 26 Nov. 1825 EL (filing folds) from London to a solicitor in Leek charged "10[d]" with a London cds backstamps. The contents are headed "Derby and Stockport Road", and were written and signed by the famous road engineer, "Thos. Telford", reporting on developments regarding the plans for an “Ashbourne New Road” (filing note). He reports that “the Post Master General... cannot pledge that Department to forward the Mails by any Varied Line, nor direct me to furnish Copies of the Maps of the Surveys…” but is not uncooperative. The great Scottish road-builder, Thomas Telford (1757-1834), was responsible for many new roads and bridges around Britain during the early 19th century, and in 1825 he was working towards a new Ashbourne route, under the auspices of the trustees of the “Derby and Stockport Road”. Part of the plan was to persuade the Post Office to change the route for the distribution of letters in the area. Rare autograph letter specifically concerning the Post Office mailcoach routes of Derbyshire. [Ex Cavendish Jan. 1998; lot 1704; realised £258.] Cross Reference: AUTOGRAPHS, CHESHIRE (Image)

SPECTACULAR PICTORIAL DERBY 1d BLACK "PEGG & CO." BILLHEAD COVER; Remarkable 29 July 1840 EL (one side-flap removed; some closed tears around but not affecting stamp) sent from Derby to Leicester with 1d Black (just 4m; TI - Plate 5) tied by a light orange-red Derby MX with a light matching "DERBY" cds alongside; the contents are a beautifully printed pictorial billhead for the paint manufacturers "Robert Pegg & Co." depicting their factory with smoking chimneys but also having a neat flower garden in the foreground. Quite an idealised view of industrial 1840 Derby! [With RPS 1984 clear certificate of genuineness. Ex Ron Vickers.]Cross Reference: 1840 1d BLACKS, ADVERTISING ENVELOPES, PICTORIALS, PRINTED, ADVERTISING COVERS (Image)

WATERCOLOUR LETTER-SHEET DEPICTING BONSALL SIGNED BY ARTIST "G.R. VAWSER"; Colourful 10 Feb. 1858 letter (no address-wrapper; overall light toning but with good colour) written and signed by Charlotte Vawser with a fine watercolour of Bonsall village and cross at the start signed by her brother "G[eorge] R[obert]. Vawser [junior]" offering to sell the recipient (unnamed) similar full-scale paintings by her late father (G.R. Vawser snr.) or her brother. This must have been an effective way of reminding potential customers of the quality of pictures that could be had. Miss Vawser admits that Matlock, though picturesque, “is the most inconvenient place to live in”! Charlotte, her father and her brother all successfully submitted paintings to the Royal Academy from the 1830s to the 1870s. The only example of the Victorian marketing of paintings using an example in a letter-sheet that we can recall having seen.Cross Reference: PICTORIAL ENVELOPES - HAND-DRAWN, PICTORIALS, HAND-DRAWN, ART AND ARTISTS (Image)