5TH

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. With mourning border. On first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, folded once for postage. All in a secretarial hand, except the signature ‘Rosebery’. Addressed to ‘My dear Sturgis’ - the item is from the autograph album of Sturgis’s wife, George Meredith’s daughter Marie Eveleen (‘Mariette’; 1871-1933). He regrets that he has ‘disposed of the vacancy of the secretaryship at the Treasury’. Had he not, he ‘would gladly have considered the claims of your candidate’. Ends: ‘I wonder if you and Mrs Sturgis would come and dine here some evening.’

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin neat strip from windowpane mount adhering to the outer edges. Folded twice for postage. Writing during the Siege of Paris, he begins by thanking him ‘for the specimen of the present Paris printing. Alas how different is this blurred & blotted mass of types from the beautiful pages of typography which that brilliant city afforded!

The Duke was Winston Churchill's great-great-grandfather. His library at Whiteknights Park was celebrated, and his purchase of the Valdarfer Boccaccio at the 1811 Roxburghe sale was the spur to the formation of the Roxburghe Club. Like the Duke, Cotton was a notable collector of books and autographs. He was generally considered a faintly-ridiculous figure, and condemned men were said to die 'with Cotton in their ears'. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Reads 'Admit Dr.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with stub from mount adhering to reverse of blank second leaf of bifolium. The subject is an item acquired by Milnes for his celebrated collection of manuscripts, which Milnes considered the present letter worthy of joining. The letter begins: 'My dear Milnes | Of the paper you have sent me, the first paragraph about Queen Caroline & the last about Sir Robert Walpole have already appeared, & you will find them in my Edition.

The Earl's wife was a mistress of Lord Byron. Her infidelities let to her children being jokingly referred to as 'The Harleian Miscellany'. 1p, 4to. Heavily aged and worn, with spike hole at centre. Folded several times. 'Sir | As Naples is now open for the English I beg you will send the Carriage to Naples for me by the first Ship that Sails from England for that Country. We are going there immediately. & shall [the]refore want it. I hope therefore you will lose no time in sending it. I will thank you to call on Wh.

1p., 4to. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to revese of second leaf, which is endorsed '5. April 1796 | Duke of Leeds.' Folded twice. Reads 'Dear Sir. | The Duke of Rutland & some of his friends being desirous of seeing Bethlem Hospital, I shall be much obliged to you for an order of admittance for His Grace & his Company. | Believe me Dear Sir | very sincerely yours | Leeds.' Richard Clark (1739-1831) was Treasurer of the Royal Hospitals of Bethlem and Bridewell.

The two letters in good condition, on lightly aged paper. ONE: 2pp., 12mo. He begins by stating that he 'knew Leonard pretty well in the 2nd Life G[uar]ds., he was a good fellow, but rough and wild - he came from Mullingar, my local capital, a good man with a horn but too heavy for a groom'. He could not give Leonard 'a better character than the regiment has done', and if 'his knee is too bad for him to soldier it probably would prevent him being a groom anywhere [...] he occasionally came before me for punishment - and as a fellow countryman I took an interest in him'.

Each letter 1p., 12mo. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Each in a different secretarial hand, both headed 'R v Corbett'. The first letter reads: 'The accused has been sentenced to 7 years penal servitude. Mr. Lawrence mentioned to the Judge privately the question of postponing sentence but the latter would not adopt the course suggested.' The second reads: 'I will certainly instruct Lawrence as to the circumstance to which you refer so that your application may be made to the Court'. From the Harington papers.

1p., 8vo. On aged and worn paper, with heavy chipping and wear at head and two holes to text, but signature clear and clean. Laid out in the usual style, with printed text competed in manuscript. Recording the receipt by Digby of £2 15s 10d, on an annuity. Filled in by the witness, whose signature is illegible.

1p., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with contemporary repair by a slip of paper from another leaf from an Exchequer ledger on reverse. Laid out in the usual fashion, with printed text completed in manuscript. Begins (with manuscript text in square brackets): 'Record' [11 April 1716] | The [30] Day of [April] 17[16] | Received by me [Simon ffanshawe now Lord ffanshawe Assigne of Sir Gge Margent] [...]'. Records a payment of £38 12s 6d on an annuity, with marginal calculations involving 'James Morgan', 'Edwd Allen' and 'Edwd Brown'.

1p., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with particular wear along one edge (not affecting the signature). Records a payment of £5000. Signed by the witness, 'Gabriel Mathias', and made out in his hand. On the reverse, in light pencil in a nineteenth-century hand: 'Master of the Robes to his Majesty'. For more information on Brudenell, who was Master of the Robes to the Prince of Wales and to the King, 1758-1790, see his entry in the History of Parliament.

1p., 8vo. . Aged and worn, with some contemporary repair (from another Exchequer leaf), with the last letter of Winchilsea's signature cropped. Laid out in the usual way, with printed text completed in manuscript. Records the receipt of £18 from an annuity by 'Heneage Earle of Winchilsea (formerly calld Heneage Finch) Executor of the Lady Coventry assignee of Sr Cha Dutton'. With signature of witness 'Chas Rogers'.

On 19.5 x 19 cm. piece of paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Laid out in the usual way, with printed text completed in manuscript. Records payment of £9 11s 8d on an annuity. With signature of witness 'E Clark'. For more information on Carew, see his two entries in the History of Parliament.

1p., 12mo. With mourning border. Reads: 'Dear Lord Stanhope | I am most unfortunately compelled to go into the country this evening, or I should not have failed to have attended the meeting of the trustees of the Nat. Portrait Gallery. | Very truly yours | Somers.' It was Stanhope who had been mainly responsible for the foundation of the National Portrait Gallery in 1856.

A feature of Brett-James's well-received war memoir 'Report My Signals' (1948) was the fifteen reproductions of his pencil drawings of Indian men who served under him, the originals of which are present here, together with a further fifty. These indicate Brett-James's skill at conveying character in well-executed pencil sketches. The sixty-five black-and-white pencil drawings in this collection are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper with occasional creasing. They consist of: ONE. The original fifteen portrait heads of men of the Fifth Indian Division reproduced as illustrations in RMS.

A feature of Brett-James's well-received war memoir 'Report My Signals' (1948) was the fifteen reproductions of his pencil drawings of Indian men who served under him, the originals of which are present here, together with a further fifty. These indicate Brett-James's skill at conveying character in well-executed pencil sketches. The sixty-five black-and-white pencil drawings in this collection are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper with occasional creasing. They consist of: ONE. The original fifteen portrait heads of men of the Fifth Indian Division reproduced as illustrations in RMS.

'Report My Signals' (hereafter RMS) was well received on its publication in 1948, a second impression appearing in the same year. The book's dustwrapper blurb describes the contents as 'the war memoirs of a Signals officer who served for three years with the Fifth Indian Division. He was with this illustrious formation from August 1942 (near El Alamein) until the recapture of Rangoon. | The author writes frankly and sincerely of his experiences with Indian soldiers, for whom he expresses affection and admiration.

A feature of Brett-James's well-received war memoir 'Report My Signals' (1948) was the fifteen reproductions of his pencil drawings of Indian men who served under him. None of the portraits present here feature in that book or have been reproduced elsewhere, but those published in the book give an excellent idea of Brett-James's skill at conveying character in well-executed pencil sketches. The nineteen drawings in this collection are all in good condition, on aged paper, with occasional light creasing. Eleven are in 8vo, and eight in 12mo.

1p., 12mo. On aged and worn paper, with two punch holes at head. The letter is written to enclose particulars (not present) 'relating to the Chelsea Hospital for Women', in which Cadogan takes 'a deep interest'. He hopes Tuck 'may be induced to become one of its supporters, as it is urgently in need of increased assistance'. The Hospital's secretary will acknowledge all contributions on Cadogan's behalf.

3pp., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed by Brett-James in pencil at the head of the first page to 'Lt Gen Sir Brian Horrocks' and with one manuscript correction. The letter begins: 'I do want to say how interesting and worthwhile I found the broadcast discussion last Sunday evening about the factors which make a good division. All that was said was true and most stimulating, but there are a few points which I should like to add.

4pp., 12mo. 26 lines. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressing an unnamed male correspondent, he begins by declining his correspondent's 'kind invitation' to his visit his house, 'on the ground that has already compelled me to refuse similar hospitality on that occasion from Mr. Wright and others'.

54pp., 12mo. Neatly written out on pages of a book of leaves of paper for correspondence, comprising numbered letterheads with blank underleaves for carbon copies. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with the cover and first few leaves of the volume missing. Terse, pithy entries, noting down facts concerning work, meetings, lunches, family matters, school activities, holidays. During the course of the diary Brett-James switches work from the publishers Harrap to their rivals Chatto & Windus, and the entries reflect his activities in both the military and cultural world.

Three pages. On vellum bifolium made from skin roughly fourteen inches by twenty wide. Three official stamps. Signed twice by 'Jas M Melville', Writer to the Signet, and his partner James Lindesay ('Jas. Lindesay'), and witnessed by their clerk William Bett ('W. Bett').

12mo, 2 pp. Very good. Attractive letterhead with engraved illustration of 'Renishaw Hall | Derbyshire' (last word crossed out by Sitwell). Written in purple ink. Asks if there is 'anything to be made of a curtain-raiser, or short film, which wd. show Napoleon catching the cold, which lost him the Battle of Waterloo? . . It is an amusing idea.' He considers that it is 'sure to have been some very silly person who sneezed at him . . . Or is the idea nonsense!'

On piece of card roughly 3.5 x 7 cm. Good, though slightly discoloured. Reads '[signed] Admiral | Lord Ams. Beauclerk', beneath which, in a contemporary hand, 'Port Admiral | of Plymouth'.