SIAM / THAILAND – MINISTRY OF INTERIOR, NAKHON SAWAN – R.S. 117 (1898) BORNEO COMPANY LTD – FIRE REPORT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WITH THREE CONTEMPORARY MANUSCRIPT SLIPS – AUTOGRAPH‑COLLECTOR PACKET

A complete 1898 autograph‑collecting packet, comprising the original Thai Interior‑Office administrative letter dated 6 September R.S. 117 (A.D. 1898) together with three small manuscript slips written by a European correspondent on the same date. The group was evidently sent to an acquaintance who collected autographs, with the Thai letter enclosed as an unusual specimen of “Siamese” script.

The principal document is an official notification from the Ministry of Interior Office, Nakhon Sawan, addressed to Mr Van Sookan, a foreign representative of The Borneo Company Limited, acknowledging receipt of the company’s translated fire‑incident report from its Pak branch (almost certainly Pak Nam Pho, the major river port at the junction of the Ping and Nan rivers). Signed by Charoen Benchathai, a provincial Interior official under the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).

Accompanying the letter are three manuscript slips, 1 dated 6 September ’98, including: • a note asking whether the recipient “still collects autographs”, explaining that the enclosed letter is “written in Siamese (quite different from Laos)” and signed by the “Chief of Khou”; • a brief dating/location slip (“Lakou 6th September ’98”); • a small personal fragment mentioning “Monsieur Anne” and “English matches”, confirming the multilingual commercial context of the sender.

Together these form a rare survival of cross‑cultural commercial correspondence, provincial Thai administration, and Western autograph‑collecting practice at the end of the 19th century. The packet demonstrates how foreign agents and travellers in Siam circulated local official documents as curiosities.

Provenance: 

One of c.2,500+ items once from the collection or dealer stock of Winifred A Myers (Autographs) Ltd, St Martins Lane, London, evidenced by the quantity of Myers pre-printed envelopes and paper folders and the general ‘presentation’ of the items, many having Myers identification notes in pencil. 

Winifred Alice Myers (1909 – 1985) served as ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers Assoc) president, 1950-1952. See the ABA website for an extended article on Myers. Myers left her business, in 1985, to Ruth Shepherd, who traded from home until 2004.