[Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley, England cricket captain in the first Ashes series against Australia.] 15 manuscript items of banking correspondence between Darnley (8 signed items), his attorneys Wadeson & Malleson (6) and bankers Coutts & Co (1).

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The correspondence dates from the year 1901, Bligh having acceded to the earldom on the death of his elder brother Edward on 31 October 1900, and the material consists of what is probably the first set of banking instructions, mainly relating to his ‘accession account’, with recipients of payments ranging from the Dowager Countess to Rochester Golf Club. 10pp, foolscap 8vo; 2pp, 4to; 10pp, 12mo. The fifteen items range in size from foolscap 8vo to 12mo. Four items (letters to Coutts from Wadeson & Malleson) are typed and the rest are in manuscript. The collection is in good condition, lightly aged and worn, and with creases from being folded into a packet. Some items pinned together and others carry unobtrusive pin marks at corners. Several items are docketed by the recipients. Eight items are signed ‘Darnley’, and chief among these are four foolscap 8vo letters (totalling 8pp), dated 13 March, 29 April, 11 July, 4 November. All are written out in another hand, and each is headed by the recipient ‘Earl of Darnley - Accession Acct’. They all relate to payments to members of Darnley’s family, with two consisting of long lists with names of individuals, amounts and dates (‘Harriet Dowager Countess of Darnley’ receives £625 per quarter).