Details

This album, which at some point in time has had conservation treatment applied, contains press cuttings, letters, photographs and other paper-based ephemera related to the 1865 Atlantic telegraph cable which was laid between Newfoundland and Valentia Island, off the coast of Ireland. The album, it is assumed, was compiled by the then Knight of Kerry, Sir Peter FitzGerald, 19th Knight of Kerry, 1st Baronet of Valentia (1808-1880), as it contains a significant amount of correspondence sent to Sir Peter, and copy letters written by Sir Peter. The first press cuttings and letters in the album are dated 1862 and the last items are press cuttings dated 1872, with the majority of the material from 1865 and 1866. There is a significant amount of correspondence with noted politicians of the time such as a letter from William Ewart Gladstone when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, letters from Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet, the Irish Secretary in Palmerston's ministry, and letters from Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe. There is also a significant amount of correspondence and ephemera related to those closely involved with the 1865 Atlantic telegraph cable such as the Atlantic Telegraph Company and officers/passengers on the various ships involved with the cable laying operations. [An item level finding aid for this album, listing and describing each cutting, letter and photograph is available from the IET Archive Centre]. [A finding aid for Peter FitzGerald's 'cable letters' found in the National Library of Ireland collection of FitzGerald papers, MS 5948, is also available from the IET Archive Centre]