i) Copies of four letters between Anthony Babington and Mary, Queen of Scots, 25 June to 3 August 1586, 3 pages;
ii) "A copy of the letter from the Sco: Q: unto Anthony Babington 17 of July 1586", the so-called "bloody letter", 5 pages, plus blanks;
iii) "A note of the poyntes of the Inditement agaynst Ballerd, Babington, Barnewell, Tichborne, Savage Salisburie and Dunne", with summaries of their confessions and those of others involved in the plot, also a transcript of an incriminating letter by Babington to Mary, Queen of Scots, 12 pages, plus blanks;
iv) Anthony Babington, copy letter to Queen Elizabeth, begging forgiveness, n.d., 1 page;
v) Account of the execution of those convicted for the Babington plot on 20-21 September 1586, 15 pages, plus blanks, damp damage with some loss;
vi) Proceedings in the House of Commons concerning "this horrible conspiracye to take awaye the Lyeffe of our most gratious Quene" on 3 November 1586, 6 pages, plus blanks, damp damage with slight loss;
vii) Christopher Hatton ("Mr Vicechamberleyne"), copy of his speech in Parliament against Mary, Queen of Scots, 3 November 1586, 5 pages;
viii) Petition to Queen Elizabeth against Mary, Queen of Scots (“The worde of god doth often and most earnestly teache, that godly Princes and magistrates ... ought severely and uprightly to minister Justice...”), usually known as 'Reasons to prove the Queens Majesty bound in Conscience to proceed with Severity in this Case of the late Queen of Scots', 4 pages;
ix) A speech or discourse on the necessity of executing Mary, Queen of Scots (beginning "And [sic, for "As"] paynefull maryners, so must vigilent and carefull magistrates not only pumpe out the water alredy entred, that is caste out of the common weale so dangerous members..."), 2 pages, with a poem on the same subject entitled "The Q of Scotts Doome" (beginning "If Maria lyve, Eliza needs must dye..."), in five six-line stanzas, 1 page, apparently unpublished and unrecorded (not in the Folger first-line index);
x) Queen Elizabeth, copy letter to Sir Amias Paulet, c.January 1587, 1 page, torn at fold;
xi) Copy of the commission to the Earls of Shrewsbury, Kent, Derby, Cumberland, and Pembroke to carry out the sentence of death passed against Mary, Queen of Scots, 1 February 1587, 2 pages, plus blanks, docketed;
xii) Copy letters between Amias Paulet and Francis Walsingham, William Davison, and others, relating to Mary, Queen of Scots, 1 page, February 1587;
xiii) William Davison, account of the signing and dispatch of Mary, Queen of Scots’s execution warrant in February 1587, endorsed “Secretary Davisons Apologie”, 4 pages, some damp damage, torn at fold with slight loss;
xiv) Robert Beale, copy letter to the Privy Council giving an account of the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, 5 pages, Fotheringay, 8 February 1586, docketed "From the Earle of Shrewsbury &c to the LL. of the Counsell from fotheringay";
xv) Copies of Babington letters, the interrogation of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Fotheringay and subsequent trial, followed by copies of documents relating to the trial of the Earl of Essex and fellow conspirators, in an early seventeenth century hand, 28 pages; all folio, housed together in a collector's folding box

[with:] manuscript notes on Mary, Queen of Scots, thought to be in the hand of George Harbin, including notes on published and manuscript sources, c.115 pages, with an additional file of unrelated antiquarian and genealogical notes in the same hand, early 18th century, housed in a collector's folding box 

Sotheby's London, 20 July 1976, lot 311

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A LARGE COLLECTION OF ELIZABETHAN MANUSCRIPT COPIES OF VARIOUS DOCUMENTS RELATING TO BABINGTON CONSPIRACY AND THE SUBSEQUENT TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS. The public interest in Mary ensured that scribal copies of key documents circulated in the months and years after her execution. This collection appears to have been assembled by the antiquarian and nonjuror George Harbin (1665-1744).