William Govett Romaine: Letters to him

The 200 letters in this collection, mostly to Romaine or his wife Frances, provide glimpses of his official activities at many points in his career; written by a wide range of peers, Government and Admiralty officials, and colonial officers, mostly only one or two from each correspondent; so that the collection has rather the character of an autograph compilation perhaps made by his wife, or else his daughter, Augusta Enthoven, theatrical historian and collector. There is a letter from Sir William Booker, long-serving British Consul in America, about the difficulties of the Bank of California in 1875; letters from Edward Claremont, military attaché in Paris on aspects of French foreign and naval policy in 1859; letters from the politician Henry Corry about British naval matters; from 1st Viscount Goschen and Sir Charles Wilson, civil servant and financier, on Egyptian financial policy; Edward Hore on the French haste to provide new naval guns in 1866; and the longest series, from the 12th Duke of Somerset, First Lord of the Admiralty from 1859 to 1866. There are several portrait photographs in the collection, including two by the firm of Bourne & Shepherd, of India. Romaine was a keen sportsman, and on a lighter note, letters give permission for him to fish their Derbyshire rivers, from the Dukes of Devonshire and Rutland. An alphabetical list of correspondents is provided as part of this collection.

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Purchased at Mullock Madeley (Ludlow) sale, 19 APR 2007, lot 149

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.