Manuscript drawing and writing exercise book, kept by John Morphett, at Beckley School, 3 December 1799. The first 7 leaves are used for writing exercises, the final 5 for drawing. The first leaf reads "John Morphett, Beckley School, December 3, 1799", in neat calligraphy; the second and third leaves read "John Morphett", in large capitals. The fourth leaf has definitions of the words "aulick" and "bond". The fifth repeats the author's name and date. Leaves six and seven have been used to practice writing promissory notes. The first of these, dated Manchester December 3rd 1799, is to William Manser for 20 pounds and 5 shillings; the second is an order to a Mr. Samson, dated London December 5th 1799, to pay Timothy Lanson 97 pounds. The remainder of the book has been used for drawing practice. Each leaf bears two iterations of the same design. On the left, the design is drawn in pen and black ink, with gray wash; it is repeated on the right, in pen and black ink, with watercolors. Subjects comprise: a bunch of grapes, a bowl of cherries, a butterfly, a cow, and a pig.
