Add MS 42257-42496

THE STEVENS TRANSCR1PTS. Transcripts of letters and papers relating to the history of the American Colonies, [1664?]-1784, but mainly concerned with the period 1776-1784, collected by Benjamin Franklin Stevens (b. 1833; d. 1902); late 19th cent. On Stevens and his collections of transcripts, mostly acquired by the Library of Congress between 1898 and 1906, see G. Manville Fenn, Memoir of Benjamin Franklin Stevens, London, 1903, pp. 172-181, 195-304; Handbook of Manuscripts in the Library of Congress, 1918, PP. 395, 462-463; S. F. Bemis and G. G. Griffin, Guide to the Diplomatic History of the United States, 1775-1921, 1935, PP. 7, 919-920; G. G. Griffin, A Guide to Manuscripts relating to American History in British Depositories reproduced for the Division of Manuscripts of the Library of Congress, 1946, pp. v, vii. The present series of transcripts must be distinguished from other similar collections formed by Stevens, the principal of which are:-

(1) The 'Peace Transcripts', relating to the peace negotiations between Great Britain and America, 1782-1784, and covering some 1100 documents occupying 1O,928 pages; now in the Library of Congress.

(2) The 'French Alliance Transcripts' relating to the alliance between France and America, 1778-1784, covering about 820 documents in about 4680 folios; now in the Library of Congress.

(3) The 'Catalogue 1ndex' of manuscripts in European archives relating to America during the period 1763-1783, in 180 volumes containing titles and abstracts of 161,000 documents; now in the Library of Congress.

(4) The 'Stevens Facsimiles', a printed work comprising 24 volumes of photolithographic facsimiles (with one volume of indices) Of 2107 documents in European archives relating to American history, 1773-1783. This work was privately printed for subscribers by Stevens between 1889 and 1898; a set is in the Department of Printed Books, press-mark 9603. i. The present series of transcripts appears to represent some of the original materials on which the 'Catalogue 1ndex' (no. 3 above) was based. Though a few of the transcripts in the present series are printed or typewritten, the great majority are the work of professional copyists employed by Stevens. The transcripts are frequently accompanied by notes recording the existence of copies in other collections, together with collations, details of addresses, endorsements, etc., and references to publications in which they have been printed. Documents in languages other than English are normally

accompanied by an English translation and a précis. The source of each document is indicated by the impression of a rubber stamp in the top left-hand corner, giving the name of the collection, the volume and folio being added in manuscript. The principal stamps so used and the collections they denote are shown below, together with the abbreviations for the various collections used in collations and cross-references, both in the transcripts and on the indexslips. A list of most of these abbreviations (in some cases differing from those employed here) is printed by Stevens in his Clinton-Cornwallis Controversy, 1888, vol. i, p. vi. On the various collections of archives utilised by Stevens see also Fenn, op. cit., pp. 287-300. Stamp Collection Abbreviations Public Record Office; P.R.0., A. & W.1. PRO Colonial Office Records, A.W.1. A & W 1 America and West 1ndies E.R.A.

Public Record Office; E.R.F. PRO Foreign Office Records, France FRANCE France. Similar stamps for the Foreign Office records relating to other countries.

Public Record Office; PRO Board of Trade Records. B of T Public Record Office; ADM1RALTY Admiralty, Secretary's A D Department Records, Admirals' Despatches.

H.L. House of Lords H.C. House of Commons BM British Museum (Haldimand E.M.H. Papers, Add. MSS. 21661- 21881,24320)

Stamp Collection Abbreviations AUCKLAND Papers of William Eden, 1st Baron Auck. Auckland; formerly deposited in A. King's College, Cambridge. Bought by the British Museum in 1893 and now Add. MSS. 34412-34471 DARTMOUTH American papers of the Earl of Dartmouth; calendared by Stevens in Hist. MSS. Comm., 14th Report, App. x, 1895. Many Canadian documents now in the Public Archives, Ottawa, cf. Bull. 1nst. Hist. Research, ii, 1925, pp. 68-69

American papers of Lord George Germ. Sackville, afterwards (from 177o) G. known as Lord George Germain; E.D.G. calendared in Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the Manuscripts of Mrs Stopford-Sackville, vol. ii, igio. Purchased by William L. Clements in 1927 and now in the William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S.A.

American papers of the 2nd Earl of Lans. Shelburne, 1st Marquess of L. Lansdowne 1784; calendared in E.L.S. Hist. MSS. Comm., mainly in 5th Report, App., pp. 215-260. Purchased by William L. Clements in 1921 and now in the William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S.A., cf. C. W. Alvord, 'The Shelburne Manuscripts in America', Bull.

1nst. Hist. Research, i, 1923, PP. 77-80. Abstracts of these papers are in Add. MSS. 24131- 24133

Stamp Collection Abbreviations American papers of the Royal Roy. 1nst. ROYAL 1nstitution, London; calendared R.1.

1NST1TUT1ON by B. F. Stevens and H. J. Brown in Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on American Manuscripts in the Royal 1nstitution of Great Britain, 4 vols., 1904-1909. Now in the Public Record Office Paris, Archives du Ministère des F. (E.U., etc.) Affaires Éetrangères, particularly E.U. the sections États-Unis, Angle- Angre, Ang. terre, Hollande, Prusse, Espagne. Sections other than Éetats-Unis are frequently unstamped Paris, Archives du Ministère de la Guerre

Paris, Archives de la Marine F.M. MAR1NE Archivo General Central, Alcalá de S.A. ALCALA Henáres (now Archivo Histórico Nacional, Madrid) S1MANCAS Archivo General de Simancas Archivo General de 1ndias,

Seville SEV1LLE

Stamp Collection HOLLAND The Hague, Rijksarchief; preceded by letters H.A. it indicates Huis Archief (archives of the House of Orange); S.Res. or S.R. stands for Secrete Resolutien (of the States General); S.F. for Secrete, Frankrijk (the despatches of Berkenrode and Brantsen)

References to Stevens's Facsimiles (no. 4 above) are indicated throughout by a capital F in blue pencil, together with the number of the facsimile enclosed in a circle. Other abbreviations frequently used include the following (see also Memoir, pp. 2 1 1, 226):-

Force = Peter Force, American Archives, 9 vols. (numbered as 4th Series, vols. i-vi, 5th Ser., vols. i-iii), 1837-1853. d.c. = Jared Sparks, Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, 6 vols., 1857. G.W. = Jared Sparks, The Writings of George Washington, 12 vols., 1833- 1837. Sp., followed by volume and page number refers to Jared Sparks, The Works of Benjamin Franklin, 10 vols., 1836-1840. Sometimes, in the case of letters of Franklin, the initial Sp. is omitted. Circourt = Comte Adolphe de Circourt, Histoire de l'action commune de la France et de l'Amérique, pour l'indépendance des États-Unis, 3 vols., 1876. C-C. C = B. F. Stevens, Clinton-Cornwallis Controversy, 2 vols., 1888. Adams = C. F. Adams, The Works of John Adams, 10 vols., 1850-1856.

1n most cases the above abbreviations are preceded by the volume number and followed by the page reference, e.g. '3 d.c. 192'. The transcripts when received in the Museum were arranged in several different series according to collections; they have now, with the exception of two small groups (B and C below) been merged into a single chronological series. Undated material has been left in the position in which it was placed when the collection reached the Museum (normally at the end of the month or year to which it has been tentatively assigned). For the 1ndex to the collection see E below. The writers of the letters represented in these transcripts are not included in the 1ndex to this Catalogue. On the collecition see also Brit. Mus. Quart.' vi, 1931-1932, pp. 8-9. Paper. Late xix cent. Two hundred and forty volumes. Folio, except for the index. Presented by Henry John Brown, Esq., senior partner of the firm of B. F. Stevens and H. J. Brown, in memory of B. F. Stevens.