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A collection of miscellaneous letters and papers, 1645-[1993x1999], purchased or received by donation from various sources by the National Library of Wales during the period April 2013-November 2020 and boxed as one volume.

An autograph letter, dated 17 May 1645, from Prince Rupert, at Newport, [Shropshire], to [Sir Edward Nicholas, secretary of state], [?at Oxford], communicating the news that Montgomery Castle, under Sir John Price [or Pryce] the parliamentary governor, has come over to the Royalists, and that 'the Ennemys have drawne their cannon from Harding [Hawarden] Castle' (f. 28).
Also included is a letter, 30 March 1976, from the military historian Brigadier Peter Young to Anthony S. Gilbert, discussing the letter and tentatively suggesting General Charles Gerard or the Marquis of Worcester as its intended recipient (ff. 29-30). However, Thomas Thorpe's catalogue of autograph letters (1836) identifies the recipient as 'Sir Edw. Nicholes [sic]' and the Prince Rupert letter is endorsed in Nicholas's hand ('Maij. 1645. R[eceived] 21o. P. Rupert to me' on f. 28 verso).

A stipple-engraved ticket bearing an image of a putto playing a harp and the text 'For the Benefit of Mr. [Edward] Jones, a Concert of Music', to be held on 21 April [?1779] at the New Rooms, Tottenham Street, [London]. Edward Jones, harpist and antiquary, was appointed harpist to the Prince of Wales sometime in the 1780s.

Autograph manuscript draft, [?1823], of a poem entitled 'Song to the Swiss in a foreign land, from the German of Tieck' by F[elicia] H[emans].
A revised version of the poem, with the title 'Alpine Song', was published in The Edinburgh Annual Register for 1819 (Edinburgh, 1823), p. 368; it was collected, as 'Alp-horn Song', in The Works of Mrs. Hemans: With a Memoir of Her Life, 7 vols (Edinburgh, 1839), III, 109. The poem is a translation of Ludwig Tieck's 'Alphornlied' which appeared in the first version of his novel Franz Sternholds Wanderungen (1798), p. 233 (see Angela Esterhammer, 'Legendary Late-Romantic Switzerlands: Baillie, Polidori, Hemans, and Scott', in Romanticism, Rousseau, Switzerland: New Prospects, ed. by Angela Esterhammer, Diane Piccitto and Patrick Vincent (Basingstoke, 2015)).

A letter, 17 May [1840] (watermark 1840), signed Augusta Ada Lovelace, to a Mrs Tynte, discussing the educational future of a musical prodigy, presumed to be the harpist John Thomas [Pencerdd Gwalia], and asking Tynte to use her Welsh connections to advance his career. Lovelace refers to her communications with [John Fane], Lord Burge[r]sh, co-founder of the Royal Society of Music (f. 73).
Also included is a photocopy of a letter, 10 April 1961, to H. B. Ward, Great Baddow, from the bookseller Winifred Myers, London, offering the Ada Lovelace letter for sale and transcribing its contents (f. 74).

Autograph letter, 24 December 1868, from William Ewart Gladstone, 10 Downing Street, to [Vice-Admiral Lord] C[larence] Paget, [Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet], in which Gladstone discusses the formation of his first government, having become Prime Minister on 3 December.
The letter contains references to Paget's brother-in-law [Arthur Otway, Gladstone's new Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs], and to [Hugh] Childers, [First Lord of the Admiralty]. In a postscript he states 'The Welsh have made a notable demonstration in many of their elections and one which ought to warn the Clergy of what they are about'.

Llythyr, 19 Hydref 1886, oddi wrth [y Parch.] E[van] P[an] Jones, Mostyn, at Gweirydd [ap Rhys, sef Robert John Pryse] yn ymddiheuro am beidio â dychwelyd llyfr. Ysgrifennwyd y llythyr ar gefn dalen brintiedig yn hysbysebu Llawlyfr yr Anibynwyr am 1887. = A letter, 19 October 1886, from [the Rev.] E[van] P[an] Jones, Mostyn, to Gweirydd [ap Rhys, i.e. Robert John Pryse] apologising for failing to return a book. The letter is written on the back of a printed flyer advertising Llawlyfr yr Anibynwyr am 1887.

Llythyr, 23 Chwefror 1891, oddi wrth Robert Parry (Robyn Ddu Eryri), yn Llwydlo, sir Amwythig, at ei noddwr T[homas] F[anning] Evans, Mona Lodge, Amlwch, yn cynnwys cyfres o chwe englyn iddo. Mae Parry yn diolch i Evans am ei anrheg gymwynasgar ac yn disgrifio ansicrwydd ei sefyllfa ariannol. = A letter, 23 February 1891, from Robert Parry (Robyn Ddu Eryri), in Ludlow, Shropshire, to his patron T[homas] F[anning] Evans, Mona Lodge, Amlwch, enclosing a series of six englynion dedicated to him. Parry thanks Evans for his kind gift and describes his precarious financial circumstances.

Letter, 19 April 1893, from Adelina Patti Nicolini, Craig-y-nos Castle, Ystradgynlais, to a Miss Flynn, thanking her for her Christmas gift and describing her recent successes at Nice and Milan. The recipient is possibly the mezzo-soprano Miss Ellen Flynn who performed at the opening concert of the Patti Theatre at Craig-y-nos in July 1891 (see Herman Klein, The Reign of Patti (London, 1920), p. 285)

A letter, 29 July 1896, from the inventor and telegraph engineer David Edward Hughes, London, to his 'nephew' J[ohn] D[avies] Hughes, Corwen, discussing a copy of 'Joseph's Book' at the British Museum, J. D. Hughes's recent visit to London and D. E. Hughes's forthcoming trip to Berlin and Paris (f. 90). Also included is a copy, 1961, of a photographic portrait of David Edward Hughes (f. 92).
'Joseph's Book' is British Melodies (London, 1839), a volume of tunes composed by D. E. Hughes's brother, the musical prodigy Joseph Tudor Hughes (Blegwryd). Since D. E. Hughes's surviving siblings and their descendants all lived in the USA, J. D. Hughes will not have been his actual nephew; the precise familial connection is unclear.

A typescript letter, 25 October 1911, from David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to Sir Edward Brabrook, replying to Brabrook's letter, dated 19 October, concerning the National Insurance Bill. The Chancellor seeks to address Brabrook's concerns about the implications of the Bill for friendly societies, Brabrook being a former Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies. The National Insurance Act would receive royal assent on 16 December 1911.

A letter, 24 October 1913, from David Lloyd George to J[ohn] W[illiam] Gulland, Liberal MP for Dumfries Burghs, discussing arrangements to visit Glasgow to speak on land reform; the visit, suggested here for 1 December 1913, eventually took place on 4 February 1914. He also touches on the effects of the Dublin Lockout.
The letter is dictated but has Lloyd George's signature and a postscript in his hand.

A letter, 30 August 1916, in pencil, from the Irish nationalist [Seán] Hales of Bandon, County Cork, then a prisoner at Frongoch Internment Camp, Merioneth, to his friend [William] McDonnell, Bandon, in which he describes life during his incarceration and pays tribute to McDonnell's wife, [Kathleen], for her support (f. 34). The letter was apparently smuggled out of the camp by a visitor.
Also included is a typescript transcript of the letter, [?20 cent., second ¼], apparently supplying the fragments of text now lost in the original (ff. 35-36). Hales was later a member of the Dáil Éireann but was assassinated on 7 December 1922.

Three letters, 1916-1918, relating to Augustus John, including one letter sent by John, at the Canadian Corps HQ, [France], to the artist [Peter] Harrison, 21 February 1918, commenting on John's exhibition at the Alpine Club, London, and his current work as a war artist with the Canadian War Memorials Fund (f. 4).
Also included are two letters from George Moore, London, the first to Henry Tonks, 1 December 1916, discussing John's portrait of [Admiral] Lord Fisher [of Kilverston] (f. 2), and the second to Harrison, 5 February 1918, concerning the Alpine Club exhibition (f. 3).

Three letters, 1917, to P[hilip] H[enry] Thomas, father of the poet Edward Thomas who was killed in the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917. They comprise a letter of condolence, 16 April 1917, from Capt. N. G. Brett James, a fellow student of Thomas's at Lincoln College (f. 12); and letters from the authors Arthur L. Salmon, Bristol (f. 13), and D. L. Kelleher, Dublin (f. 14), both dated 29 October 1917 and both prompted by Philip Thomas's letter to The Nation the previous week defending his son's reputation (see The Nation, 22.3 (20 October 1917), p. 95, for Thomas's letter, which was in response to an unfavourable review of his son's The Tenth Muse (London, 1917) in The Nation, 22.2 (13 October 1917), pp. 73-74).

Llythyr, 6 Chwefror 1933, oddi wrth [Griffith Jones] (Elldeyrn), Nantglyn, Dinbych, at [Hugh Evans], awdur y llyfr Cwm Eithin (Lerpwl, 1931) yn tynnu ei sylw at ddau gamgymeriad ffeithiol yn y gyfrol. = A letter, 6 February 1933, from [Griffith Jones] (Elldeyrn), Nantglyn, Denbigh, to [Hugh Evans], author of the book Cwm Eithin (Liverpool, 1931), pointing out two factual errors in the volume.
Cydnabuwyd un o gywiriadau Elldeyrn gan Evans yn yr Atodiad i ail argraffiad Cwm Eithin (Lerpwl, 1933) (t. 222). = One of Elldeyrn's corrections is acknowledged by Evans in the Appendix to the second edition of Cwm Eithin (Liverpool, 1933) (p. 222).

Llythyr teipysgrif, 15 Rhagfyr 1936, oddi wrth y Parch. Lewis Valentine, Llandudno, at Frank Morris, [Prince Rupert, British Columbia, gynt o Lansantffraid Glyn Ceiriog, sir Ddinbych], yn diolch iddo am ei lythyr ac arian, ac yn cyfeirio at symud achos llys Valentine am losgi'r Ysgol Fomio i'r Old Bailey (f. 9); ynghyd a cherdyn Nadolig oddi wrth Valentine, [?1936] (f. 10). = A typescript letter, 15 December 1936, from the Rev. Lewis Valentine, Llandudno, to Frank Morris, [Prince Rupert, British Columbia, formerly of Llansantffraid Glyn Ceiriog, Denbighshire], thanking him for his letter and money, and referring to the removal of Valentine's trial for arson to the Old Bailey (f. 9); together with a Christmas card from Valentine, [?1936] (f. 10).

A signed typescript letter, 24 November 1939, from David Lloyd George, Bron-y-de, Churt, to Cecil Harmsworth, [Lord Harmsworth of Egham in the County of Surrey], thanking him for his letter in support of Lloyd George's recent speeches and articles advocating a negotiated peace with Germany following the outbreak of the Second World War.

Llythyr teipiedig, 6 Mawrth 1941, oddi wrth Ifan ab Owen Edwards, Swyddfa'r Urdd, Aberystwyth, at Mr Thomas yn diolch iddo am ei lith ar gyfer Cymru'r Plant ac yn esbonio pam na ellir talu am gyfraniadau i'r cylchgrawn. = A typescript letter, 6 March 1941, from Ifan ab Owen Edwards, Swyddfa'r Urdd, Aberystwyth, to a Mr Thomas, thanking him for his article for Cymru’r Plant and explaining why it is not possible to pay for contributions to the magazine.

Llythyr, 23 Rhagfyr 1941, oddi wrth David Lloyd George, ar bapur ysgrifennu'r Weinyddiaeth Fwyd, at Richard Morris, yn diolch iddo am ei lythyr ac yn dymuno iddo wellhad i'w iechyd. = A letter, 23 December 1941, from David Lloyd George, on Ministry of Food headed notepaper, to Richard Morris, thanking him for his letter and wishing him improved health.