ROBERT STEPHENSON AUTOGRAPH LETTER

ROBERT STEPHENSON AUTOGRAPH LETTER, 1843, TO ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL requesting the use of Brunel's plans for the Box tunnel on the Great Western Railway, 30th August 1843. Double sided letter on octavo sized black edged paper (Stephenson's wife had died the previous year) which has been mounted behind double sided glass with a typed transcript. An excellent letter by one of the nineteenth century's great engineers, the son of George Stephenson (see above) to friend and fellow engineering giant, Isambard Kingdom Brunel in which Stephenson requests on behalf of a friend, the French engineer Paulin Talabot 'copies of plans of your Box Tunnel, or other works on your line' in order to assist with the construction of 'the line from Avignon to Marseilles'. In his letter Stephenson recognises that Brunel may wish to restrict the use of these plans and 'Mr Harris, the bearer, is deputed by him to procure copies of any plans he may have access to, and should you give him leave to procure copies of any of your plans, will attend to any restrictions you may deem necessary....' (Illustrated)