SC&A’s latest acquisition is a somewhat eccentric publication, composed of a mishmash of writings by the Quaker author Ephraim Wood (pictured) – including, An account of a tour from Liverpool to London, Notes on the new age, or the new heaven and new earth and A friendly address to sailors; or, A few remarks on a seafaring life. The work was printed by ‘Johnson’, in Liverpool, in 1820. In a rather telling note on page 436, they write that “The Printer respectfully informs the reader, that the Author’s punctuation and peculiar style of writing, have been strictly adhered to”.

This book is one of only three known copies of the work in the UK, and bears contemporary ownership marks (see the top corner of the title-page above), as well as the book label of Anne and Fernand Renier. Prodigious book collectors, the Renier’s had a particularly impressive collection of 80,000 children’s books, now looked after by the V&A Library.