# Clifford's history of Tixall (1817), with the first printed record of the letters

> The earliest known witness to the inscription. It records the letters as "O. U. O. S. V. A. V. V." over "D. M.", already called "an enigma to posterity"…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/shugborough-inscription/artifacts/ART0D1M98YP0PHQ/cliffords-history-of-tixall-1817-with-the-first-printed  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Mysteries](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries)[Shugborough inscription](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/shugborough-inscription)[Artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/shugborough-inscription#artifacts)Clifford's history of Tixall (1817), with the first printed record of the letters

**ART** 0D1M98YP0PHQ·Artifact · document

# Clifford's history of Tixall (1817), with the first printed record of the letters

Document358 pagesPublic domainPublished 1817

[Cite][Download](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/d/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7)

[Pages][Text]Page 1 of 358

[![Page 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p1)1][![Page 2](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p2)2][![Page 3](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p3)3][![Page 4](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p4)4][![Page 5](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p5)5][![Page 6](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p6)6][![Page 7](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p7)7][![Page 8](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p8)8][![Page 9](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p9)9][![Page 10](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p10)10][![Page 11](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p11)11][![Page 12](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p12)12]

![Page 1 of Clifford's history of Tixall (1817), with the first printed record of the letters](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7/p1)

The first 12 pages are shown; the rest are in the file. Text taken from the file. Check it against the page.

The earliest known witness to the inscription. It records the letters as "O. U. O. S. V. A. V. V." over "D. M.", already called "an enigma to posterity", and offers the reading that the monument was a private memorial of a loss.

Thomas and Arthur Clifford; scan by the University of Toronto Libraries, 1817. Public domain

## Copies 2

**Scan** Thomas and Arthur Clifford; scan by the University of Toronto Libraries · archive.org · 1817 · Public domain (published 1817)Primary source: [A Topographical and Historical Description of the Parish of Tixall, in the County of Stafford](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D1M8XFG4ABN/a-topographical-and-historical-description-of-the-parish-of)1 step from the original

[Where it's published](https://archive.org/details/topographicalhis00cons)[Download](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/d/6f48121fe53c4aaf58abf16725a2e8ee942d833438ed5175115caf6929e1c8d7)

**Picture** Thomas and Arthur Clifford; scan by the University of Toronto Libraries · archive.org · Public domain (published 1817)1 step from the original

[Where it's published](https://archive.org/details/topographicalhis00cons)

## Where it was made

[Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/PLC0D1M8Y6Y0Q5G/shugborough-hall-staffordshire) · Estate

## Sources 1

- [A Topographical and Historical Description of the Parish of Tixall, in the County of Stafford](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D1M8XFG4ABN/a-topographical-and-historical-description-of-the-parish-of)_SRC_

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Clifford's history of Tixall (1817), with the first printed record of the letters [Artifact ART0D1M98YP0PHQ]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ART0D1M98YP0PHQ
```

Key

**ART** 0D1M98YP0PHQ

Kind

Document

Held by

libraries (University of Toronto copy digitised)

Dated

published 1817

Licence

Public domain (published 1817)

Place

[Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/PLC0D1M8Y6Y0Q5G/shugborough-hall-staffordshire)

Part of

[Shugborough inscription](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/shugborough-inscription)

The record

Every record is open data. Take this one as JSON, with its links and its history.

[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/ART0D1M98YP0PHQ)