MS 959

Reference code

MS 959

Title

A.C. Sheepshanks collection of French deeds on parchment and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic letters

Level

Sub-fonds

Administrative / Biographical history

Captain A C (Arthur Charles) Sheepshanks was the only surviving son of Mr W Sheepshanks, JP, of Arthington Hall, Leeds. He was a Master at Eton College, having been educated at Eton College himself. He obtained a commission in the 8th Battalion Rifle Brigade in 1914.

Date

1543-1812

Extent & medium

20 items

Content description

The collection contains 7 miscellaneous French deeds written on parchment and ranging in date from 1543 to 1747 and 13 letters written during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic period. The letters include official correspondence of various French ministries, including Prince Eugène de Beauharnais.

The items were numbered and listed prior to arriving at Eton and this arrangement has been maintained. The items are numbered in the top right-hand corner and this number corresponds to the handlist created at the time of acquisition, which is kept with the collection

Provenance

The papers were collected my one of A C Sheepshanks’s ancestors and gathered together by Sheepshanks before being presented to Eton College Library.

Associated material

Included are papers relating to the acquisition of the collection including:

Letter from A C Sheepshanks to Tom Lynn, Librarian, offering the collection to College Library (22 June 1957)

Letter from Tom Lynn to the Provost, outlining the collection (22 October 1957)

Autograph manuscript list, detailing the contents of the collection, created by Tom Lynn. The list was made on the back of an essay by a student.