ALHAMBRA

From the Macqueen-Pope papers. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Eleven items, in fair overall condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. All six of Arnold’s communications are signed ‘Tom Arnold’. Arnold’s two TLsS are dated 2 October 1942 and 23 July 1959. In the second of these (1p, landscape 8vo) he thanks MP for a producing a piece of writing which ‘suits the mood’: ‘I appreciate your doing this, and the speed with which you tackled it for me.

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. An interesting letter, linking two significant figures in the London theatre. Around the time of writing Hollingshead had given up his career in the clothing business to write full time, early on for Dickens at ‘Household Words’, then later for Thackeray at the ‘Cornhill’. The farce that is the subject of the present letter is possibly ‘Birth Place of Podgers’, the only one known to have been published by Hollingshead, a New York edition of which appeared around 1858. 2pp, 16mo.

All ten slides bound in 8 cm glass squares, with the black and white images themselves in good condition and unfaded. The slides, apparently from a newspaper library, all carry the shelf-mark 'T46', and all but three are captioned in manuscript. Evocative and instructive images, apparently all dating from the Edwardian period. Captions of 'Protestant College, Madrid; Toledo Cathedral; La Feria [Seville]; Gandia Market; Hendaye; and the Patio de Los Leones, Alhambra, Granada.

On a leaf of cream paper, 8.5 x 12 cm, part of a bifolium taken from an autograph album. Very good.