More English Verse 1751-1800 from Justin Croft and Simon Beattie
- by Michael Stillman
Image from the title page of Matthews' Sketch.
This might have been the first published verse written in Australia if it were what it purports to be: The Telegraph: a consolatory Epistle from Thomas Muir, Esq. of Botany Bay, to the Hon. Henry Erskine, late Dean of Faculty, published in 1796. Those who recognize the time and place will realize Botany Bay in 1796 was not a place for tourists, but rather English prisoners transported to the penal colony in Australia. That was precisely Muir's fate. A radical reformer and promoter of Scottish rights, he was convicted of seditious speech, being too supportive of the French Revolution, and various other offenses an anathema to England's landed interests. Erskine was a fellow reformer who had been relieved of his faculty position. He was not so radical as Muir and the two had disagreements, with Erskine failing to defend Muir at his trial. However, by the time this piece was published, Muir was about to make his escape from Botany Bay, on a long, arduous journey that would take him to Mexico, Cuba, Spain (as a prisoner) and finally France, where he arrived in broken health, but to a hero's welcome. He died there is 1799. This work was evidently written by George Hamilton, a clergyman who would not have been supportive of Muir. Muir could not have known of certain events described in this satirical piece as he would have been gone from Australia before the news reached that colony, not that he would have written these words anyway. As for the message arriving by “telegraph,” obviously this was not Samuel Morse's 1830s wired invention, but a more primitive device that hardly could have relayed information from Australia to England in 1796. Item 6. £750 (US $1,145).
Item 172 is A Sketch from the Landscape, a didactic Poem, by Colonel John Matthews, published in 1794. The contemporary review from the Monthly Review describes this as a “playful little poem,” but saves most of its words to describe vignette on the title page, which obviously was far more interesting to the reviewer. In honor of this review, we present this image at the top of the page (scroll over or right click to enlarge). £2,500 (US $3,818).
Simon Beattie may be reached at +44 (0) 1494 784954 or
Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: McCartney (Paul, b. 1942). ‘Standing Stone story, 1994’, signed reproduction. £300-500.
Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: Woolf (Virginia). Autograph Letter Signed, 21 April [1938]. £800-1,200.
Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: Walton (William). Part-autograph manuscript full score for Belshazzar’s Feast, [1930-31]. £70,000-100,000.
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books October 8, 2025
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books October 8, 2025
University Archives, Oct. 8: Wilson Declares War on Germany! 1917 Original Government Printed Joint Resolution Signed by the President, VP & House Speaker
University Archives, Oct. 8: Thomas Jefferson Certifies 3 Acts with 3 Sigs, Securing the Coasts with Lighthouses, Injured Battle Monmouth Soldier, Hugh Mercer - Fantastic!
University Archives, Oct. 8: George Washington 1781 LS Re: PA Line Mutiny Aftermath: "the continuance of this unhappy affair"
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books October 8, 2025
University Archives, Oct. 8: Mary, Queen of Scots Signed Letter, 1565
University Archives, Oct. 8: Best Gandhi ALS “Don’t worry about my fast, God will fill that... Don't lose the hope”
University Archives, Oct. 8: Albert Einstein Signed Booklet Exploring Relativity! "On the Special and General Theory of Relativity" Issued Shortly Before Nobel Prize Win
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books October 8, 2025
University Archives, Oct. 8: Benjamin Franklin Signed 1787 Land Grant as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
University Archives, Oct. 8: Treaty of Amity & Commerce: Incredible Archive, 1778-1783, Nearly 200 Pages!
University Archives, Oct. 8: Rare Herman Melville ALS Dating From 1867, His "Annus Horribilis" According to One Biographer
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books October 8, 2025
University Archives, Oct. 8: Stonewall Jackson ALS to Fellow John Brown Execution Witness, Re: Hypnosis
University Archives, Oct. 8: A. Lincoln 1864 Appointment of William H. Parkhurst to Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers
University Archives, Oct. 8: Apollo 11 Crew Signed Type 3 Insurance Cover, Armstrong, Aldrin & Collins
Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair 17 and 18 Oct
Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair 17 and 18 Oct
Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair 17 and 18 Oct
Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair 17 and 18 Oct
Sotheby’s By a Lady 1-15 October 2025
Sotheby’s By a Lady 1-15 October 2025
Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Queen Elizabeth I. A queen’s defense of the realm, and the birth of the British Empire. $500,000 to $700,000.
Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Vanessa Bell — [Virginia Woolf]. An exceptional encapsulation of the Bloomsbury Group. A striking tile created by Vanesa Bell for her sister, Virginia Woolf, ca. Christmas 1926. $25,000 to $35,000.
Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Austen, Jane. A long and intimate autograph letter signed ("JA"), to Cassandra Austen. $300,000 to $400,000.
Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Austen, Jane. “Lines on Maria Beckford,” autograph manuscript signed ("Jane Austen"). $100,000 to $150,000.
Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: [Austen, Jane]. Emma, the extraordinary Edgeworth-Butler copy. $250,000 to $350,000.
![Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: The Times. Your King and Country Need You, vintage poster, [London, 7 August 1914]. £300-400.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/856dcc2c-4766-4b37-b124-97a0c2a9434e.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, Oct. 8:</b> The Times. Your King and Country Need You, vintage poster, [London, 7 August 1914]. £300-400.")
![Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: Pink Floyd. A signed programme for Pink Floyd The Wall, [1981]. £700-1,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/f7beb1ad-c923-40b4-83ce-1bf0e8f72702.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, Oct. 8:</b> Pink Floyd. A signed programme for Pink Floyd The Wall, [1981]. £700-1,000.")
![Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: Woolf (Virginia). Autograph Letter Signed, 21 April [1938]. £800-1,200.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/866febb8-5e4e-4571-b811-5a2d094e896a.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, Oct. 8:</b> Woolf (Virginia). Autograph Letter Signed, 21 April [1938]. £800-1,200.")
![Dominic Winter, Oct. 8: Walton (William). Part-autograph manuscript full score for Belshazzar’s Feast, [1930-31]. £70,000-100,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/450a04b3-b0ce-478c-8161-c1728e5bd0ce.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, Oct. 8:</b> Walton (William). Part-autograph manuscript full score for Belshazzar’s Feast, [1930-31]. £70,000-100,000.")
![Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Vanessa Bell — [Virginia Woolf]. An exceptional encapsulation of the Bloomsbury Group. A striking tile created by Vanesa Bell for her sister, Virginia Woolf, ca. Christmas 1926. $25,000 to $35,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/d61e5df0-f7df-4ff3-b120-69c4c4ded5d5.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15:</b> Vanessa Bell — [Virginia Woolf]. An exceptional encapsulation of the Bloomsbury Group. A striking tile created by Vanesa Bell for her sister, Virginia Woolf, ca. Christmas 1926. $25,000 to $35,000.")
![Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: [Austen, Jane]. Emma, the extraordinary Edgeworth-Butler copy. $250,000 to $350,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/3d91ed5b-6dab-40a2-8ec2-3ba57b219840.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15:</b> [Austen, Jane]. Emma, the extraordinary Edgeworth-Butler copy. $250,000 to $350,000.")
