Letter concerning Merino sheep

Copy of 'A letter to the most noble the Marquis of Titchfield [William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, later 4th Duke of Portland], President of the Newark Agricultural Society, on the practability [sic] and importance of introducing the merino breed of sheep extensively, upon the forrest farms of Nottinghamshire, by Benjamin Thompson' [the dramatist, [1776] - 1816]. This letter, dated from Redhill Lodge near Northampton on 20 Jun 1808, was read at a meeting of the Society held at Newark, Nottinghamshire, on 5 Jul 1808. It is followed by an extract in the same hand from The Boston Gazzette and Lincoln Shire Advertiser of 21 Jan 1812, about Thompson and his breeding of Merino sheep.

Benjamin Thompson was a dramtist who wrote plays including The Florentines, or Secret Memoirs of the noble family De C** (J. F. Hughes, London, 1808); Oberon's Oath; or, the Paladin and the Princess: a melodramatic romance, in two acts (London, 1816); The Recall of Momus. A bagatelle (G. Robinson, London, 1809); and The Stranger (J. Dicks, London, [1875]).
Merino sheep originated in North Africa descended from a strain of sheep developed during the reign of Claudius, from 14 to 37 A.D. They spread via the Spanish and French royal families to northern Europe. The original Merinos were a wool sheep, who sheared a very heavy, fine fleece.

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Bought from Francis Edwards in 1970.

Collection level description.

8½" x 5". A small strip has been cut from the lower half of the fore-edge of each page, affecting some letters. Paper watermarked 1810.

Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

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An Account of the introduction of merino sheep into the different states of Europe and at the Cape of Good Hope is G.L. Cat. 19982.

Thompson's letter was apparently published, as it is advertised on p.248 of An Account of the introduction of merino sheep into the different states of Europe and at the Cape of Good Hope by C.P. de Lasteyrie [du Saillant] translated by B.Thompson (J.Harding, London, 1810).