Catalogue description Richard Cobden Letters

This collection consists of original letters and papers written by statesman Richard Cobden (1804-1865). The collection also includes letters written to or concerning Richard Cobden, as well as signed prints and photographs. In his letters, Cobden discusses both private and political affairs, including the Anti-Corn Law League, the Treaty of Paris and sugar duties. They also include observations on free trade, political reform and the media. The collection includes letters to John Bright, Henry and James Coppock and Cobden's wife Kate amongst others. The items were collected by David Reid from the Stockport Local Heritage Library between 1980 and 2004, acquired from manuscript dealers Clive Farahar & Sophie Dupré, Francis Edwards Ltd and Julian Browning Ltd. Transcripts are available and enclosed.

Reid, David, Heritage Librarian, Stockport Local History Library

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Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. In 1838, he and John Bright founded the Anti-Corn Law League, a political movement aimed at abolishing the unpopular Corn Laws, which protected landowners' interests by levying taxes on imported wheat, thus raising the price of bread. They achieved the abolition of the Corn Laws in 1846, while Cobden was the Member of Parliament for Stockport (1841-1847). Cobden was also associated with the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty, an Anglo-French free trade agreement established in 1860.