| Description | As well as letters from James Watt, there are a couple of letters from Margaret Watt, Watt’s first wife, to his father, and several accounts and invoices from son to father. There are also letters from James Watt to his brother John Watt and letters from James Watt of Greenock to James Watt. The last paper is a list of clothes taken by James Watt when he moved to Glasgow. The bundle also includes the bill for the printing in 1759 of a survey of the River Clyde [no. 50]. At the end of 1760, Watt changes the way his letters are addressed from 'Dear Papa' to 'Dear Father'. From about no. 104 onward (1763) James Watt’s handwriting starts to look noticeably more like his established script. |
| AdminHistory | There was a piece of paper tied on the bundle with : 'James Watt’s letters to his Father. 1754 to 1774.' written by James Watt jr. in black ink. 'No. 1 to 161' was added in red ink.The letters are numbered in red ink. The arrangement was not chronological, the earliest letters being nos. 155 to 161. The letters were given a docket by James Watt of Greenock, with the correspondent’s name and the date, and occasionally, a summary of the contents. The place from which the letter was sent was added by James Watt jr. Any summary provided by the cataloguer is in square brackets. |