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this uniquely surviving example of large format colour printing from pre-Revolutionary France. It comprises a composite sheet of paper almost 1.5 metres long, woodblock printed in four sections and pasted together. The images are charmingly simple, using four colours stencilled over a line drawing with captions explaining the scenes in rhyming couplets explaining the scenes. Pierre Perdoux was one of the leading printers of decorated papers in Orléans, with the majority of his surviving works being smaller format items on religious subjects, and some 500 examples of papiers dominotés. Only a handful of these oversized prints are preserved.

The Chandler archive is substantial, consisting of c.130 boxes of material. The working papers of two of Chandler’s agents form the core of the archive: Brandt & Brandt in the US, and Helga Greene in the UK. Greene - Chandler’s fiancée at the time of his death - inherited his estate, and so the archive also includes a good tranche of personal papers, as well as personal correspondence between the two during the final years of Chandler’s life.

Showtown is a new museum in Blackpool which opened in March 2024; it is Blackpool’s first permanent museum and highlights the town’s rich history as a seaside home of entertainment. Charlie became one of the greatest and most creative Auguste clowns of the 20th century. He dominated the history of the Tower Circus, establishing himself as its primary attraction and Britain's most celebrated clown.  The collection offers insights into Charlie Cairoli's years of training, the continuation of circus traditions, and the remarkable talents he employed.

With an audience capacity of 1,400 people, the category-A listed His Majesty’s Theatre is the largest theatre in the North-East of Scotland. Built at a cost of £35,000 and opened in 1906, it is still in use today and is one of Aberdeen’s most iconic buildings. The architect responsible for the plans of the theatre was Francis (or Frank) Matcham who specialised in the design of many well-known theatres and music halls, including the Hackney Empire, the Coliseum and the Palladium in London, as well as the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool.

This volume provides a fascinating insight into domestic and material culture in the 18th century with reference to payments for linen and furniture alongside the purchase of crops and other good such as coal, straw, and apples. References are made to taxes (‘…for one years Window Tax £01-00-00’) and to disbursements made by Pilbeam in his role as Churchwarden (‘2 Church lockes’ and ‘wine for the communion’).

Medieval deeds from such an early period are rare survivals and West Sussex Record Office
. Medieval deeds provide an important insight into property ownership and transactions and also document people who may have owned adjoining property or acted as witnesses to a transaction. As such, they are invaluable resources for local and family historians from a time when few other written records survive to shed light on local residents.

Diaries can be some of the most powerful documents that we hold, providing a fascinating insight into the inner lives of people in the past. The diary of Francis Fearon is no exception. Fearon was Steward of Cuckfield Manor between c 1874 and 1890 and other documents in the archives at West Sussex Record Office suggest that he acted as solicitor for the Sergison family, owners of Cuckfield Manor. We otherwise knew very little about him but this diary provides an insight into his day-to-day activities, interests and the milieu in which he moved.

The map fills in an important gap in the history of the title of the property providing evidence that Robert Offley left the farm in trust for the benefit of the Chaplain and Curate of Oakwood Chapel in Wootton, Surrey, with the map having been commissioned by the curate of Oakwood Chapel at the time, John Hallam. For this reason, and the fact that West Sussex Record Office otherwise does not have any estate maps which directly refer to Steepwood Farm, it is a particularly valuable addition to the collections.

The collection provides an important insight into the establishment and operation of the Baybridge Canal Company from its inception in 1825; accounts from that year record expenses incurred in preparing the Baybridge Navigation Act and producing handbills and advertisements inviting tenders for digging the canal and building locks. The collection also contains one of the handbills referred to in the accounts. A page of accounts from 1826 records expenditure on the construction of an iron bridge and later accounts refer to the ongoing expenses involved in maintaining the canal, such as labour for ‘throwing mud out of the river’ in May 1831 and the purchase of oil for the locks on 24th June 1831.

This lot comprised nine deeds only one of which was relevant to West Sussex, the other eight were donated to seven other archive services around the country. FNL is happy to respond to applications for grants which employ this sort of collaborative approach.