ROCHDALE

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, and despite opposition from mill owners fearing a disruption to their water supply, began construction following the passing of an act of parliament in 1794. On completion (it was officially opened in 1804), and until the railway age, it constituted the main commercial route between Yorkshire and Lancashire. The present small collection provides an interesting sidelight into the legal and financial difficulties involved in the project, with several reference reflecting badly on Shuttleworth's professional capabilities.

5pp., 12mo. Unbound. With stamp, shelfmark and labels of the Board of Education Reference Library, otherwise in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Scarce: no copy at the British Library or on COPAC.

[8] + 74pp., 12mo. In grey printed wraps. In good condition, on aged paper, with wear to wraps. Shelfmarks, stamps and labels of the Board of Education Library. Five copies at COPAC, including one at the British Library.

Lower part of letter with ruled border, laid down on part of leaf from autograph album. Dimensions: 7.5 x 18.5 cm. Lightly aged and ruckled. Reads: '<...> your support at the approaching Election for the County of Durham - having for so long possessed the confidence of this County, it is his utmost ambition to have it continued and should he be honoured with yours, it will be considered the highest obligation | I am Sir | Your faithful Servant | [signed] Ju: Milbank | Seaham | Octr: 27. 1806.' Contemporary ink note reads: '[Lady Milbanke afterwards Lady Noel Milbanke, mother of Lady Byron.]'

4pp., 4to. On two loose leaves of Whatman paper, each watermarked 1827. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The document begins with the following note, dated and signed by Roby: 'The following ballad from my forthcoming "Traditions of Lancashire," though not of much value in itself, may yet acquire some, from its connexion with, and introduction into Mrs. Thelwall's elegant volume of Scraps.' (The implication that the two leaves have been removed from Mrs Thelwall's album is supported by pagination from 12 to 15.) Sixty-four lines, divided into sixteen four-line stanzas.

2 pp, 4to. Forty lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of mount adhering to blank areas of the reverse of the leaf. A playful, jaunty letter containing valuable personal and family information. He was pleased to learn from 'Mr Shaw of Lees (who desires his complimts)' that the recipient is 'not only in the land of the living, but in the business of the Excise, and still raps at the ends of Barrels, and takes dimensions of bungs & diameters as usual'. Asks after his wife, and 'how long you had been a Cheshire man'.

The front of the envelope (dimensions 8.5 x 14.5 cm) cut away. Previously laid down in an autograph album, and with traces of the leaf still adhering to the reverse. On aged and lightly-creased paper. In a firm, neat hand. Reads 'Mr John Ball | 31 Bloomsbury Place'. At the head, in a contemporary hand, 'The writing of Lady Noel Byron, wife of Lord Byron'.

One page, 12mo. Very good. He presents his correspondent with 'deux petits ouvrages sortis de ma plume'. The first was mentioned by 'Mr. Burgess' and the second is 'un petit traite qui a eu le bonheur il y a quelques ans de remporter le prix annuel dans l'Universite d'Oxford'. Signed 'Willm. Roberts'. In a postscript asks to be recommended to any acquaintances Van Santen may have 'a Rotterdam Anvers ou Bruxelles'. Address, with broken wafer, on second leaf of bifolium. Roberts is perhaps best remembered for the controversy brought on by a passage in Byron's 'Don Juan'.

Poet and miscellaneous writer (1817-90), called 'the Lancashire Burns'. The recipient Broadfield (1831-1913) was a Mancunian worthy. Two pages, 12mo. Very good, with four stubs from previous mounting adhering to blank verso of second leaf of bifoliate. He thanks Broadfield for his letter 'anent that quaint invader of the House of Lords. I will call at the office when I come to Manchester, and get the particulars of the story from Mr. Lang. | You mention our old friend, S. P. Robinson. I am glad to hear that he is still "to the fore." I had an impression, somehow, that he was laid up.

1st edition, 2nd issue. 8vo. In original plain grey wraps. Fly leaf and half-title. Pages: xi + 100 + 4 pages of publisher's advertisements (dated February 1814). Without the words 'THE END' or the publisher's imprint on the last page. In poor condition: grubby, frayed and stained, and with loss to one corner each of rear wrap and to last leaf of advertisements. Also lacking, as a result of the partial removal of an ownership inscription, a small strip along the top edge of the title-leaf, but with inscription 'Sophia F. Stewart - 1814'.