acting

[ Luther Munday, Secretary of the Old Lyric Club. ] Printed handbill for a 'Private Farewell Matinee' for Mr and Mrs Luther Munday, at the Green Park Club, London, with facsimile signatures of 'Stars in the firmament of Art'.

Author: 
[ Luther Munday, Secretary of the Old Lyric Club; Constance, Countess of Romney; the Green Park Club, London; the Old Lyric Club; Herbert Beerbohm Tree ]
Publication details: 
'at the St James' Theatre, kindly lent by Mr. George Alexander, On Friday, June 7th, 1907, at 3 p.m.'
£120.00

4pp., folio. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper slightly worn at head. The front page is headed 'H.R.H. Princess Christian and the Royal Members, are Patrons of a Private Farewell Matinee arrranged by Lady Romney on behalf of the Green Park Club for Mr. and Mrs. Luther Munday'. The names of twenty performers are listed beneath this, headed by Herbert Beerbohm Tree, with various other individuals named.

[ Philip Leaver, film actor and playwright. ] Typescript of his unpublished 'The Dark Shore | A Play in Three Acts'.

Author: 
Philip Leaver [ Samuel Philip Leaver ] (1904-1981), English film actor and playwright
Publication details: 
7 Primrose Hill Studios, London NW1. Undated.
£120.00

129pp., 4to. In fair condition, lightly-aged, in worn wraps with label on cover. Leaver's first name misspelled 'PHILLIP' on title-page. Unpublished.

[ Jonathan Routh, television presenter. ] Typed Letter Signed, as showbusiness editor of 'Everybody's', to theatre historian W. Macqueen Pope, regarding his relation Lily Brayton and 'Chu Chin Chow'.

Author: 
Jonathan Routh (1927-2008), television presenter who brought 'Candid Camera' to Britain [ W. Macqueen-Pope (1888-1960), theatre historian; Lily Brayton (1876-1963), actress and singer ]
Publication details: 
On 'Everybody's' letterhead, 114 Fleet Street, London. 20 December [ no year ].
£45.00

1p., 8vo. On aged and creased paper. Lily Braytonis is a 'vague relative' of his, and she sends her 'good wishes [...] a propos the Chu Chin Chow article'. She would like to 'read through the relevant proofs' and Routh sends on her address. Brayton appeared in more than 2000 performances of 'Chu Chin Chow'. For more on Routh, see his obituary in the Independent, 8 June 2008.

[ Moira Lister, film and theatre actress. ] Seven Signed Letters (six in Autograph) and one Autograph Card Signed, to theatrical bookseller Barry Duncan, in folder containing newspaper cuttings, a programme, and copies of his letters to her.

Author: 
Moira Lister [ Moira Lister de Gachassin-Lafite, Vicomtesse d’Orthez ] (1923-2007), South African film and theatre actress
Publication details: 
Two of Lister's letters her 'Moira Lister' letteread and one on 'Vicomtesse d'Orthez' letterhead. Most from 31 Cadogan Square, London. Between 1955 and 1961. Cuttings from between 1947 and 1971.
£220.00

The thirty-six items in the folder are in good condition, with light signs of age. ONE: Six Autograph Letters Signed, one Typed Letter Signed, and one Autograph Card Signed. All signed 'Moira Lister' except the last communication, the card, which is signed 'Moira d'Orthez'. With four stamped envelopes, addressed to Duncan at his bookshop in St Martin's Court. A courteous and businesslike correspondence, firmly parrying Duncan's efforts at greater familiarity. The first letter, typed, is dated 8 March 1955, and relates to the sale of books.

[ Mrs Edwin, Georgian actress. ] Autograph Note Signed ('E. R. Edwin') to '- Ward Esqr.', regarding the presentation of a document.

Author: 
Elizabeth Rebecca Edwin [ 'Mrs. Edwin' ] (c.1771-1854), Georgian actress who often partnered Elliston
Publication details: 
94 Strand [ London ]. Undated.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. On bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to '- Ward Esqr. -'. In fair condition, on aged paper. The note reads: 'My dear Sir, | Presuming an old acquaintance, I request the favour of your presenting the enclosed to the Committee'.

[ Edwardian theatrical manuscript magazine. ] 'Ye Piecan's Gazette No 8', entirely in manuscript, with hand-coloured covers.

Author: 
[ 'Ye Piecan's Gazette', Edwardian theatrical manuscript magazine, edited by 'R. B.' ]
Theatrical MS newspaper
Publication details: 
Place not stated [ English ]. Vol. |1 No. 8 [ 1903 ].
£80.00
Theatrical MS newspaper

11pp., 12mo. Stapled into card covers. In good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Covers illustrated in colour by 'T. U. P.' The front cover carries, with the title, an illustration of a maid with a duster, captioned 'BESSAY NOTHING'. Humorous in intent.

[ Maxine Elliott, American actress. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Maxine Elliott Goodwin') to 'M. Munday', regarding a forthcoming to her English country mansion, Jackwood House in Kent.

Author: 
Maxine Elliott (1868-1940), American actress and businesswoman, wife of comedian Nathaniel Carl Goodwin (1857-1919) [ Jackwood House, Shooters Hill, Kent ] (see Wikipedia)
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Stenton, Philadelphia. 26 April 1898.
£120.00

2pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper. She begins by thanking him for his 'altogether charming letter', before explaining that she and her husband 'expect to be in England about the middle of June if we escape capture by the Spaniards in [ Spanish-American War being waged ] and shall hope for the pleasure of welcoming you to "Jackwood" often'. She ends by sending her regards, along with those of 'Nat and the small sister'. The 'small sister' was Gertrude, and Jackwood was the Goodwins' mansion in Kent.

[ Paschoal Carlos Magno, Brazilian playwright. ] Typescript of his play 'This is Glory', with Typed Letter Signed from his agent Mrs T. C. Dagnall.

Author: 
Paschoal Carlos Magno (1906-1980), Brazilian author [ Evelyn Dagnall [ Mrs T. C. Dagnall ], English dramatic agent; Walter James Macqueen-Pope (1888-1960), theatre manager and historian ]
Publication details: 
The play without place or date. Evelyn Dagnall's letter on her letterhead as 'Mrs. T. C. Dagnall | Dramatic Agent | in association with | A. M. Heath & Company Ltd.', London. 13 May 1946.
£120.00

Both items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: Typed playscript. 85pp., 4to. Typed in black and red on rectos only. Typed by May Hemery of London. Bound into black card covers, with label on front. TWO: Typed Note Signed to theatre historian W. J. Macqueen-Pope from 'Evelyn Dagnall', i.e. the dramatic critic Mrs T. C. Dagnall.

[ The Gaiety Theatre, Aldwych, London. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed from H. Hugh Harvey to theatre historian W. J. Macqueen-Pope, reminiscing about 'theatrical matters' andn in particular the Gaiety Theatre.

Author: 
H. Hugh Harvey, English musicologist and broadcaster [ The Gaiety Theatre, Aldwych, London; Walter James Macqueen-Pope (1888-1960), theatre manager and historian ]
Publication details: 
Both on his letterhead, 24 Wessex Gardens, Golder Green, NW11 [ London ]. 12 and 16 January 1950.
£100.00

Both in good condition, on aged paper. ONE: 2pp., 4to. He reminds Macqueen-Pope that two years previously he was 'kind enough to receive me at your Office and, after a long and most interesting chat on things theatrical (over an hour, as I recall!) you wrote into my copies of your "Drury Lane" and "Carriages at Eleven" two very greatly appreciated inscriptions, by way of friendship'. He now has his 'delightful "Gaiety" and splendid 'Haymarket", and asks for 'another pow-wow' at 359 Strand.

[ Colin Morris, playwright. ] Typescript of his play 'Reluctant Heroes'.

Author: 
Colin Morris (1916-1996), English playwright and actor
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ London? Circa 1951. ]
£150.00

108pp., 4to. On rectos only. In brown card covers. In fair condition, lightly aged, with bottom of front cover (probably pr`eviously carrying agent's details) cut away. 'RELUCTANT HEROES' is typed onto the cover, with 'by | Colin Morris' added in manuscript (probably by Morris himself). The play, Morris's most famous farce, was acted in London in 1950 (published version by the English Theatre Guild in the following year), and turned into a film, with a script by the playwright in 1951.

[ C. Aubrey Smith, Hollywood actor and test cricketer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('C. Aubrey . . S.') to 'George'

Author: 
C. Aubrey Smith [ Sir Charles Aubrey Smith ] (1863-1948), English stage and film actor and test cricketer
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 'The Round Corner', 2881 Coldwater Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills. 22 July 1943.
£35.00

1p., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. He thanks him for thinking of his birthday, and taking the trouble 'to bring me that sherry'. He has not yet sampled it, as 'it's a bit too hot for anything but water, just at present'. He will telephone him, as he doesn't 'feel cocksure' about his address. He ends with regards to 'Mrs George'. In pencil in another hand at head: 'Here it is, George | C.A.S.'

[ Elizabeth Wright Macauley, poet, actress and Owenite preacher. ] Corrected draft of Autograph Letter Signed ('Eliz Wright Macauley'), 'To the King' (i.e. King William IV), in favour of the royal imposter 'Princess Olive of Cumberland'.

Author: 
Elizabeth Wright Macauley (c.1785-1837), actress, poet, playwright and Owenite lecturer [ Olivia Serres [née Wilmot] (1772-1835), royal impostor claiming to be Princess Olive of Cumberland ]
Publication details: 
52 Clarendon Square, St Pancras [ London ]. 23 September 1833.
£1,250.00

10pp., 4to. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. An accompanying entry from a French manuscripts catalogue states that the letter was sent to the magazine 'The Age', but not printed.

[ Edward Askew Sothern, English actor. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('E. A. Sothern') to 'Mr. Ottley', returning a work which he has attempted to 'place rightly'.

Author: 
Edward Askew Sothern (1826-1881), English actor, best-known as Lord Dundreary in 'Our American Cousin' [ Henry Ottley (1811-1878)? ]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ London? ]
£30.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper with remains of stub adhering to one edge. Having heard from 'Russell' he is returning something which Ottley 'kindly wrote', 'which so far I've been unable to place rightly'. He invites him to 'a quick family dinner with me (143. Regent St.)' the following Sunday. Henry Ottley is the probable recipient; although best-known for his supplement to Bryan's dictionary, he was also the author of a critical analysis of 'Fechter's Version of "Othello"'.

[ 'The Chevalier Sir Frederick Bowman, K.C.E.' ] 'Shakespeare Souvenir' pin badge, depicting Bowman as the Bard of Avon, attached to a Typed Letter Signed ('Frederick H.-U. Bowman') to Barry Duncan, regarding the actress Edith Loraine and her career.

Author: 
Frederick Bowman [ Frederick H. U. Bowman; The Chevalier Sir Frederick Bowman K.C.E. ] (1893-1969), Liverpool music hall actor, eccentric and author [ William Shakespeare; Count Potocki de Montalk ]
Publication details: 
Letter on letterhead of 'The Chevalier Sir Frederick Bowman K.C.E.', Humanimal House, Sandown Lane, Liverpool, with date stamp 1 June 1964. Pin badge undated, but contemporaneous.
£56.00

Letter: 1p., 8vo. In fair condition, lightly creased and aged. With a few autograph emendations. In a characteristically eccentric letter he writes that their common friend Jimmy Linton has told Bowman that Duncan 'may be able to give me some particulars and perhaps a photo of Edith LORAINE who played Godiva in F. B. Woulfe's Company, presenting the famous historical play by Max Goldberg, (John F. Preston.) He refers to Mabelle F. Barlow, Lady Astor and his own play 'Divorce or Dishonour'. As a boy he was greatly impressed by Loraine's performance, and it 'started my interest in Coventry.

[ Don Ameche, American Oscar-winning actor. ] Autograph signature.

Author: 
Don Ameche [ Dominic Felix Amici ] (1908-1993), American Oscar-winning actor
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Savoy Hotel, London. Undated.
£30.00

Good firm inscription on 19.5 x 16 cm letterhead. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with slight rust staining to top left-hand corner from paperclip. Inscription reads: 'Sincere best wishes | Don Ameche'.

[ Ernest Elton, New York actor. ] Prompt copies with manuscript additions from his directing of the women students of the University of Vermont in the Shakespeare plays 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Much Ado about Nothing', 'Twelfth Night', 'As you like It'.

Author: 
Ernest Elton (fl. 1900-1922), New York actor [ William Shakespeare; University of Vermont; Syracuse University ]
Publication details: 
Two of the plays with Elton's address given as '131 West 40th St. | New York City', and one with it as ''A.S.A. 114 W. 40th St''. University of Vermont. 1900 [ 1902 ].
£2,000.00

The four items present here are the prompt books for performances of Shakespeare plays by the 'Young Ladies of the University of Vermont', under the direction of New York actor Ernest Elton. BACKGROUND: Professor George B. Bryan, in a 'History of Theatre at the University of Vermont' writes that around the turn of the century 'The women students launched their own dramatic activities. If the men could stage their frivolities at the Howard Opera House, the ladies would perform classical plays on the lawn of Grasse Mount.

[ Dame Sybil Thorndike. ] Typed Letter Signed ('Sybil Thorndike') to 'Mrs. Radcliffe', explaining her reasons for being unable to sit for 'Mr. Priest'.

Author: 
Dame Sybil Thorndike [ Agnes Sybil Thorndike ] (1882-1976), English actress [ Alfred Priest (1874-1929), English artist ]
Publication details: 
On her letterhead ('Under the Direction of Bronson Albery & Lewis Casson'), from the Criterion Theatre, London. 1 February 1923.
£35.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, aged and creased, with slight tearing at edges. She begins: 'Please forgive me for not answering your letter before, but I have been so rushed!' She is not able to 'sit for Mr. Priest just at present': 'We are just on the point of starting rehearsals for several plays to be toured and, in addition, my two small girls are ill, so that I want to spend all my spare time with them.' She is trying to 'get out of' sittings for another artist.

[ The Garrick Club, London. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('R H Atkinson') from the secretary of the Garrick Club to drama critic R. W. Lowe, regarding 'the privilege of engraving the pictures in the Club Collection'.

Author: 
R. H. Atkinson, Secretary of the Garrick Club, London [ Robert William Lowe (1853-1902), drama critic ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Secretary's Office, Garrick Club [ London ]. 15 May 1888.
£56.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Lowe's request has been laid before the Club's committee, and there is no possibility of acceding to it: 'You say in your letter that you are aware that the privilege engraving the pictures in the Club Collection is "rarely" granted, but in this matter I fear you must have been misinformed as it is against the Rules to grant it at all'.

[ Phyllis Hartnoll, theatre historian. ] Correspondence with her agent W. T. Macqueen-Pope, impressario Jack Hylton and actress Freda Jackson regarding her translation of 'The Lady of the Camellias', together with two versions of the translation.

Author: 
Phyllis Hartnoll (1906-1997), theatre historian [ Jack Hylton (1892-1965), impressario; Freda Jackson (1907-1990), actress; W. Macqueen-Pope ]
Publication details: 
Correspondence dating from 1948, except for single items from 1947 and 1950. Hartnoll's letters either from Hobbits, Nether Westcote, Kingham, Oxon, or on Oxford University Press letterheads. Other correspondence from various London addresses.
£950.00

An interesting collection, giving an insight into theatre practices in post-war Britain. Hartnoll is commissioned by the actress Freda Jackson, then at the height of her popularity, to produce an adaptation of the play, Jackson gets impressario Jack Hylton and producer Anthony Hawtrey on board, and there is the inevitable falling out between the actress and the author, with Macqueen-Pope, who is acting as Hartnoll's agent, playing the mediator, as matters become acrimonious.

[ A. J. Cronin, Scottish author. ] Typescript of his play 'Jupiter Laughs'.

Author: 
A. J. Cronin [ Archibald Joseph Cronin ] (1896-1981), Scottish author
Publication details: 
'All communications to: Mrs. T. C. Dagnall, Messrs. A. M. Heath & Co., Ltd., 188, Piccadilly, W.1. [ London ]' Undated [ circa 1941 ].
£250.00

144pp., 4to. Stapled into red card wraps, with typed label on cover. A carbon copy with label of the London typing bureau Curtis and Page. The play was published in London by Victor Gollancz in 1941, with a second edition from the same publisher in 1954.

[ John Loder, English stage and Hollywood actor. ] Black and white studio photograph by Cyril Leeston of London, showing Loder in costume of the film 'Java Head' (1934), with signed inscription by Loder to 'Mrs. Wright'.

Author: 
John Loder [ William John Muir Lowe ] (1898-1988), English stage and Hollywood actor [ Cyril Leeston, London photographer ]
Publication details: 
Stamp on reverse of Cyril Leeston, London. Undated (1934).
£40.00

A black and white print, 24 x 19 cm. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Shows Loder in top hat and nineteenth-century frock coat, with cane. Inscribed: 'To Mrs. Wright | With sincere good wishes | from | John Loder.' In pencil on reverse: 'Capt. William | Java Head | J. K. 67 | For Mrs Wright | Stills'. Stamped on reverse: 'CYRIL LEESTON | LONDON | TELEPHONE 3884 PADDINGTON'. This image is not in the National Portrait Gallery collection, nor is any other by Leeston.

[Tommaso Salvini, Italian actor.] Autograph Letter Signed ('To Salvini'), in Italian, to an 'Amabile Signora', regarding 'quattro versi' which came to him spontaneously.

Author: 
Tommaso Salvini (1829-1915), Italian actor, much admired by Constantin Stanislavski
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£56.00

1p., 16mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with slight rust spotting at head and trimmed margins. Concerning 'quattro versi di numero, i quali dicono soltanto un idea che mi venne spontanea'.

[Sir Nigel Playfair, actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.] Autograph signature.

Author: 
Sir Nigel Playfair (1874-1934), British actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£15.00

On one side of a piece of 2.5 x 8 cm thin card. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight creasing (not affecting text). Possibly in response to a request for an autograph. Reads: 'Nigel Playfair'.

[Printed funeral service, containing ticket for the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.] Westminster Abbey. Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of Laurence Olivier O.M. Baron Olivier of Brighton 1907-1989.

Author: 
[Laurence Olivier (1907-1989), English actor]
Publication details: 
Printed by Barnard & Westwood Ltd, 9 Railway Street, London N1 9EE. By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen Printers and Stationers. 'Friday 20 October 1989 | Noon'.
£100.00

16pp., 8vo. Stapled. Printed in brown on white. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. One correction in manuscript: on p.5 'Peter O'Toole' replaces the subject of the sentence 'Miss Jean Simmons carries the script used in the film Hamlet.' Other worthies involved in the service are: Douglas Fairbanks, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Dorothy Tutin, Frank Finlay, Albert Finney, Sir John Mills, Peggy Ashcroft, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Alec Guinness. Uncommon: the only copies on COPAC at the British Library and London Library. The ticket ('No.

[Marie Lohr, Australian actress.] Autograph Note Signed ('Marie Löhr') to 'dear Miss Stone'.

Author: 
Marie Löhr [Marie Lohr] (1890-1975), Australian stage and screen actress
Publication details: 
Place not stated. Dated in another hand to December 1944.
£30.00

In pencil on one side of a 6 x 9 cm white card, laid down on a 10.5 x 13.5 cm leaf of grey paper, removed from an album, with the date 'December 1944'. Lohr's note reads: 'with all good | wishes dear | Miss Stone | Marie Löhr'.

[Sir Henry Irving.] Eight collotype proof sepia engravings, seven showing him - five of them in character - and the other a scene of a dilapidated building.

Author: 
Sir Henry Irving [John Henry Brodribb] (1838-1905), English stage actor and actor-manager
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£120.00

The eight images are arranged in four pairs, each on the central pages of an 8vo bifolium. Dimensions of page: 24.5 x 16cm. Dimensions of image: 9 x 14cm. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Irving is shown in five roles, including Lear, Shylock, and Becket. Also present are two portraits of Irving out of character, and a picture of the exterior of a dilapidated building. Presumably intended for an early twentieth-century biography.

['Gabrielle Réjane' [Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju], French actress.] Autograph Note Signed ('Réjane') thanking 'mon cher Maitre'.

Author: 
Gabrielle Réjane, stage name of the French actress Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju (1856-1920)
Publication details: 
Place not stated. 'Mercredi' [no date].
£56.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly aged and worn paper. The note reads: 'Mercredi. | Merci mille fois, mon cher Maitre, si vous êtes content, me voilà ravie! | Encore merci | Réjane'. In a postscript she states that she has profited from his criticisms.

14 Autograph Letters Signed and one Typed Letter Signed from French film actor and director Daniel Ceccaldi, 13 of them to his English translator and friend Edward Marsh ('Eddy', 'Teddy', 'Edouard)', with drafts of replies and manuscript notes.

Author: 
Daniel Ceccaldi (1927-2003), French actor, writer and director [Edward Marsh of Edward & Gwen, translators, 35 Tanza Road, London]
Publication details: 
Dating from between 1965 and 1981.
£320.00

Six addressed to 'Edward'; five to 'Teddy'; one to 'Eddy; one to 'Edouard'; one to 'Cher amis' and one to 'Dear Roger'. Totalling 22pp., 4to; 11pp., 8vo; 2pp., 12mo. Ten of the fifteen letters are dated, the other six having only month and year. With copies of two typed letters to Ceccaldi from Edward, one from 1973 in English (1p., 4to), and the other from 1980 in French (2pp., 8vo), the latter accompanied by a synopsis of Ceccaldi's 'The Flight of Icarus', with a foreword by him, and a biography (the three items totalling 4pp., 8vo); also manuscript notes (1p, 8vo; 3pp., 12mo).

Address of letter, in the autograph of Eva Marie Garrick, wife of the actor David Garrick, with manuscript note, with other autographs.

Author: 
Eva Maria Garrick [née Veigel; stage name 'Violette'] (1724-1822), Austrian dancer and wife of the English actor and dramatist David Garrick; Sylvester Douglas, Baron Glenbervie (1743-1823); Sandwich]
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated. [1819.]
£45.00

The autograph address by Eva Marie Garrick is on a 7.5 x 14.5 piece of paper, laid down on an 8 x 20 cm piece of paper cut from an album. In fair condition, aged. Lightly-scored through by the postal authorities, it reads: 'The Rigt. Honorable | Dowr. Lady Amherst | Leven Grove near | Stokerley | Yorkshire'. Beneath this, in another hand: 'Widow of the celebrated David Garrick Esq', and along one edge, in a third hand (Lady Amherst's?), 'This direction was written by Mrs Garrick in the year 1819 when in her 92d year'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Helen F. Martin') from the English actress Helen Faucit Martin, Lady Martin, to Mrs Paget, arranging a visit.

Author: 
Helen Faucit Martin [born Helena Faucit Saville] (1817-1898), Lady Martin, English actress, wife of Sir Theodore Martin (1816-1909)
Publication details: 
31 Onslow Square. 27 May [no year].
£35.00

2pp., 16mo. Bifolium. On monogrammed letterhead. In fair condition, with traces of glue from mount still adhering. She proposes a date for a meeting, adding: 'Will Miss Paget come in the evening & bring a young friend with her if she pleases?'

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