The Letter-Book of John Byrd, Customs Collector in South-East Wales 1648-80
An edition of the earliest surviving collection of letters by a provincial customs officer, which provides a unique insight into the world of local office-holding as well as shedding light on a wealth of other topics.
South Wales Record Society publication no. 14
Edited by Dr Stephen Roberts
Published 1999
ISBN 0 9525961 4 8 (hardback)
Price: £12.50
Reviews:
J Gwynfor Jones in Morgannwg: 'Dr Stephen Roberts ... is to be heartily congratulated on his detailed and informative introduction, careful transcripts of the letters, and copious textual and biographical notes.'
Ivan Roots in Cromwelliana: 'Meticulously edited, with a text in extenso, annotated and supplied with references and a glossary, this is an exemplary local record publication, with a more than local interest.'
John Spurr in Welsh History Review: '... a sterling edition ... Stephen Roberts provides a formidably detailed family history in the introduction and also does a great deal there to illuminate the workings of the seventeenth-century customs system.'