Images Dated 17th October 2006

Letter from Benjamin Franklin to David Hartley MP, 14th April 1782.Artist: Benjamin Franklin

Letter from Benjamin Franklin to David Hartley MP, 14th April 1782. Letter written from Passy when Franklin was Minister from the United States to France suggesting that, if the new English Ministry (of Lord Rockingham) was disposed to treat for a general peace, Henry Laurens should be set at full liberty and should bring over propositions. Both Franklin and fellow American Laurens were included in a commission from Congress to conclude a peace, dated 15th June, 1781. The latter, when on a mission to the Netherlands to negotiate a loan, had been captured at sea and was a prisoner on parole in England. The Definitive Treaty between Great Britain and the United States was negotiated by Hartley with Franklin and the others, being signed at Paris, 3rd September, 1783. From the fifth series of Facsimiles of royal, historical, literary and other autographs in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum: Series I-V. (London, 1899)

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Letter from Napoleon Bonaparte to his brother Joseph, 25th July 1798.Artist: Napoleon Bonaparte I

Letter from Napoleon Bonaparte to his brother in Paris, 7 Thermidor (25th July 1798). Letter written from Cairo when in command of the French expedition to Egypt, on the condition of Egypt and his intended return, with expressions of disgust with the world and the desire for retirement. The letter was intercepted by an English vessel and is endorsed in the hand of Admiral Nelson, Found on the person of the Courier. The detached signature at the foot of the plate is taken from a letter to Marshal Massena, 17th May, 1807. From the second series of Facsimiles of royal, historical, literary and other autographs in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum: Series I-V. (London, 1899)

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Episcopal Declaration of Archbishop Crammer and seven other English bishops, c1537.Artist: Thomas Cranmer

Episcopal Declaration of Archbishop Crammer and seven other English bishops, c1537. Declaration recognizing the authority of Christian Princes in ecclesiastical matters, signed by: Thomas Crammer, Archbishop of Cantebury; Cuthbert (Tunstall), Bishop of Durham; John Stokesley, Bishop of London, John Clerk, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, Nicholas (Shaxton), Bishop of Salisbury; Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester; and John Hilsey, Bishop of Rochester. From the second series of Facsimiles of royal, historical, literary and other autographs in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum: Series I-V. (London, 1899)

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