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• Auction House:
  Sotheby's Australia
• Sale Name:
  Fine Asian, Australian & European Arts & Design
• Sale Date:
  15 Apr 2014 ~ 6pm
• Lot #:
  124
• Lot Description:
  Letter Signed By Duke of Portland Dated 1796
• Notes:
  William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, was George III’s Secretary of State for the Home Office, the man responsible both for British convicts in general and the penal settlement of New South Wales in particular.  Early in the governorship of John Hunter, the British government had formed a general intention to expand levels of transportation to Port Jackson, but due to insufficient data was unable to quantify its plans.  While full criminal registers had been established for the City of London and the County of Middlesex as early as 1791, such detailed penological data was not consistently maintained elsewhere in the country. Accordingly, in May 1796 Portland wrote not only to the gaolers of the metropolis – Newgate Prison, Cold Bath Fields, the Thames hulks – but also to county sheriffs across the kingdom, requesting a tally of prisoners then being held under sentence of transportation.
• Estimate:
  A$5,000 - 7,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Books & Manuscripts

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.