The sketches etc. by James Nasmyth form an almost continuous series of illustrations to his published autobiography, and include: a sketch of Sir Walter Scott, dated 1823 (number 34); sketches of different parts of England and Scotland and of Naples, Nürnberg, Pisa, Venice, etc., all visited between the years 1829 and 1843; drawings and photographs of lunar phenomena, 1847, undated; early drafts of imaginative pictures; experiments in etching, oil-painting, and other methods; and drawings connected with his many inventions and investigations. By its variety of subject the collection illustrates Nasmyth's interest in the shape and structure of everything around him.