MANUSCRIPT. – William CROTCH.  [A hand-drawn book of mostly English landscape views by English composer and organist William Crotch. [N.p.:] 1839-1840. 91 leaves, manuscript, 4to (247 x 203mm.) 92 original drawings in chalk, crayon and water-colour, mostly of English landscape with several after William Newbery, many after John Malchair, two after Constable, several after prints including Piranesi, 8 of American scenes, 1 of Mount Vesuvius, 3 after ‘Tom’ [Tombleson?], several of Kensington, and a crayon drawing of ‘The Comet of 1811’, 1840, on the rear endpaper, all captioned in detail in ink to lower margins, one drawing ‘The United States Bank Philadelphia’ is captioned and signed fully by Crotch, most of the rest of the drawings are initialled. (Three quires loose, and some leaves loosening, some offsetting, occasional browning.) Original black calf, g.e. (extremities rubbed). Note: William Crotch was a friend of the Lock family and often stayed with them in Oxford.  The influence of John Malchair [P.S.G.?] and the artist William Newbery is clear from the captions which often state the date the original was drawn, and also the date the copies were made. It’s possible that Crotch took the habit of annotating sketches in detail from John Malchair when the two met in Oxford in the 1790’s and that he, in turn, passed on the habit to John Constable. Provenance: ‘Miss. Lock, Oxford’ (ink name to front pastedown, dated 6 Aug 1839).