AUTOGRAPH

Typescript (folio, 2 pp), with a couple of manuscript corrections. Fair, on aged paper, with light marks from a paperclip at head. Thirty-six line poem, in heroic couplets, with 'W E G. Christmas 1869' at end, beginning 'Happy the gamester, on whose earliest throw, | Grim Fortune frowns, and cuts his treasure low; | But hapless he, whom luck shall onward lure, | She only means to make his ruin sure.' Made for Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore, of the Courant, Henley on Thames, judge, Liberal MP and lifelong friend of Gladstone's.

Phillimore's transcript: 12mo, 3 pp. On bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with mark from rusted paperclip at head. Thirty-six line poem, in heroic couplets, with 'W E G. Christmas 1869' at end. Typescript (folio, 2 pp), with a couple of manuscript corrections. Fair, on aged paper.

Reproduction of black and white drawing in Blake's inimitable style. 4to (34 x 29.5 cm). Good, with a little light creasing. Reproduction of black and white drawing in Blake's inimitable style. Depicts anthropomorphic bear, pig, chicken, squirrel and hedgehog in a line from largest to smallest, all with party hats, smiles on their faces and forepaws and other front limbs aloft. Blake's address, as part of printed piece, written upwards along left-hand margin. Genuine autograph inscription by Blake, in blue ink, at right of drawing, reading 'With best wishes for Christmas & love from Q'.

Complete envelope, 12.5 x 8 cm. With mourning border. Addressed on front: 'Immediate | Rt Hon. J. Moncrieff | MP - | [signed in bottom left-hand corner] W E Gladstone'. Docketed in close hand, lengthwise and downwards from top right-hand corner. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper.

12mo, 1 p. On recto of first leaf of bifolium. Addressed, with broken red wax seal, on verso of second leaf. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Knowing of Bell's 'attachment to the Civil Law', he invites him to a breakfast, where he will 'meet with Justinian, & a few select jurists'.

Folio, 2 pp. On the rectos of the two leaves of a bifolium. On laid paper watermarked 'Gilling & Allford 1816'. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The first page contains a letter addressed to 'General Hall' from 'Union Office | Norwich 16th Novr. 1818', forty lines long and signed 'J Crowe'. The second page is headed 'Norwich Union Life Insurance Society | Statement of the particulars of the misconduct of the Secretary Mr Thos Bignold Senr.' It contains a six-point indictment of Bignold, totalling thirty-seven lines.

This item can be roughly dated from the fact that the firm of 'Letts Son & Co. Limited' only traded in this style between 1870 and 1885, the public company going into liquidation in the latter year. There is an indication (see below) that Wilson hailed from Kent, and the present volume provides a valuable first-hand record into the state of the moth population in England at the end of the Victorian period. 12mo, 158 pp. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, in worn brown leather quarter binding, marbled endpapers. Letts label on front cover reads 'J.

Sergius Mikhailovich Kravchinsky, Russian Revolutionist and miscellaneous writer (1852-1895). 3pp., 12mo, small hole (loss of part of letters), small closed tear not affecting text. Perhaps writing to someone organising a lecture by him, he says, Excuse me generously for not having replied to you earlier, which was caused only by my unability [sic] to definitely accept your kind invitation.- The fact is that I want to leave Manchester with the quarter past six train. There are no earlier trains on Sundays and I will be obliged to come on Saturday.

Apart from the card (12mo, 1 p), totalling 4to, 10 pp; 12mo, 2 pp. All items in good condition, with text clear and complete, on lightly-aged paper. All post-1960. Two of the eleven (20 January and 13 June 1974) are fully dated by Devas; another four have day and month. The card from 1960 is the earliest item; the three from Wetherby Gardens date from between this point and Devas's second marriage to Rupert Shephard in 1965, and the seven from Limerston Street from after the marriage. A good-natured correspondence, written in a chatty style.

12mo, 1 p. Twelve lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, and with remains of tissue mount adhering to one margin. He cannot provide her with the reference she requests on Catherine Cubby. 'The volume on Sir Walter Raleigh was written more than twenty years ago and though all the best authorities were consulted I could not without looking them up again remember what the authority was'. From the papers of Alicia Amy Leith.

Final 4 lines of a letter signed by Dreiser, on paper cut from original, 15 x 9cm, good condition: [proofs?]. And I shall be only too glad to acknowledge in one of the [first?] copies your courtesies.

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. 57 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged and lightly-creased paper. Weekes is by far the most likely of the four Royal Academicians whose initials correspond to those of the recipient of this letter, the others being Henry Tamworth Wells (1828-1903); Henry Woods (1846-1921); Hubert Worthington (1886-1963). Well-written and entertaining letter, addressed to 'Dearest old Boy'. Begins with a discussions of the merits of 'Scilly as a sketching ground'.

The subscription Liverpool Library within the Lyceum, founded in 1757, is believed to have been the first circulating or lending library in Europe, and the first two of these items provide a valuable insight into its status at the time when the advent of the public library system was undermining its position.

4to, 180 pp. In original 'Emberlin & Son' ledger, with red leather half-binding, black cloth, marbled endpapers. Text clear and complete. In fair condition, on aged paper, in worn binding. Minutes signed by G. H. Spray, B. W. Tucker, W. B. Alexander, J. B. E. Say, William G. Dyson, Alan Newton. Numerous programmes (with lists of officers) tipped-in, along with one set of rules and a poster with large engraving of bird (a smaller version of which features on the programmes), printed by the Holywell Press.

12mo, 4 pp. 40 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'My dear Spencer'. He is sorry to have missed Childers: 'I came back early on Sat: morning fairly driven home by the weather.' Reports that 'Better reviews of the book are now appearing Athenaeum - evidently by Dilke: Tablet: Pall Mall &c.' Thinks 'Clarke will use his influence with the Times', the idea that 'King' has done so being 'entirely out of the question'.

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. 36 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. He is sending a 'leaf of the Leeds Mercury containing a review of your Life of your father, which is good & appreciative', along with a copy of one of his sermons (neither enclosure present). Not having yet seen the book, he asks if he 'put in the extraordinary prophecy which your father made in March or April 1892 of the numbers of members who were to be elected in the July of that year?' He has 'the letter he wrote to Fanny with the exact number', and wishes he had reminded him of that fact before.

All three items good, on lightly-aged paper. All bifoliums. Letter One (1 July 1901): 12mo, 4 pp. 42 lines. He is pleased to have received Childers' life of his father (published that year). 'I knew your Father well, [...] I was in the House in the Parliaments of 68 & 80 when he had his most serious work'. Praises his 'amazing pluck in going out as he did to Australia [Childers was first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne] & in his conduct there in the early days & during the gold discoveries time, the story of which in his letters is very curious'.

4to, [ii] + 71 pp, with numerous leaves of additional manuscript and typescript material loosely inserted, as well as laid down. A few cuttings and extracts from printed works, as well as a Typed Letter Signed (17 March 1937) to Halliday from Ralph M. Williams of Yale, describing himself as 'interested in securing books, manuscripts, or other documents by or about the eighteenth century poet John Dyer'. Neatly written out in pencil and pen, on watermarked wove paper, in sturdy buckram binding. Internally in excellent condition, tight and clean, in worn binding with staining to front board.

4to, 1 p. 18 lines of text. Clear and complete. Fair, on aged and lightly-stained paper. Neatly laid down on a leaf removed from an album. Lightly marked-up in red pencil by the recipient. After professing respect for Nichols's 'literary character' and his 'valuable miscellany', Glasse offers his services 'as corrector of your press for any quantity of Greek you may incidentally have occasion to publish'.

4to, 2 pp. Seventeen lines. On worn aged paper, with the cropping of one margin resulting in minor loss to a few words of text. Requesting inclusion in 'any arrangement which may be made' regarding 'a move from Halifax [Nova Scotia]' as a result of a 'late vacancy at the Navy Board'. He is writing despite having 'neither claim or pretension' to Spencer's 'goodness', but 'having received an answer not sufficient to banish hope, in an application about 3 years ago', he is induced to try again.

Folio, 3 pp. Bifolium. On watermarked laid paper. Headed 'A La Gloire du Grand architecte de L'univers sous Les auspices et au Nom du Serenissime G M | Le Grand orient de france a tous les Maçons reguliers, | union force salut'. Apparently regarding relations 'Entre Nous & Les directoires

On piece of blotting-paper, 14 x 13 cm; folded horizontally to make two rectangular leaves, each 7 x 13 cm, with the signature presented in the centre of the first leaf, and with the back leaf laid down neatly on a piece of cream card, 14.5 x 17 cm, with caption at foot of card: 'ORIGINAL BLOTTING-PAPER IMPRESSION OF SIGNATURE OF EDWARD VII.' Being the result of blotting, the impression is a mirror image of the original, with the firm signature 6 cm long, with a 7.5 cm underlining.

12mo, 3 pp. Bifolium. 47 lines. Text clear and complete. On aged paper, wear and fraying to extremities. The cutting which Lawler leant him 'has helped me to trace one stage further in the wanderings of more than one vagabond Caxton'. Refers to John Winter Jones's discovery of a copy in the British Museum of the 'Quatre Derrenieres Choses', 'now more than 50 years ago [...] it has remained absolutely unique until our old friend at 15 Piccadilly [Bernard Quaritch] came upon a 2nd copy'.

On piece of blotting-paper, 13.5 cm square; folded horizontally to make a two rectangles, with the signature centred on the front leaf, and with the back leaf laid down neatly on a piece of cream card, 15 x 18 cm, with caption in ink at foot: 'ORIGINAL BLOTTING-PAPER IMPRESSION OF SIGNATURE OF GEORGE V DATED 14 . 12. 1910.' Being the result of blotting, the impression is a mirror image of the original, with the firm signature 4.5 cm long, with 6.5 cm underlining. On aged paper, with neat vertical fold line in centre, crossing the underlining half a centimetre from the right.

A large quantity of material, mainly letters, from the personal papers of Lionel Norbury and Family, including a substantial correspondence between Norbury and his wife, Grace (nee Rogerson), who worked as a Nurse, their correspondence throwing light on medical activity during the First World War and later.

On rectangle removed from autograph album. In good condition. Reads 'Albert Coates | 1929'.

Black and white studio photograph, postcard format (13 x 8.5 cm). On leaf removed from autograph album. Good, on shiny photographic paper, with margin making dimensions of image 12 x 8 cm, captioned in bottom right-hand corner 'PHOTO | LAIRD | ABERDEEN'. Showing a kindly-looking Coborn seated in country tweeds, with spectacles in hand and paper on his knees. In addition to a facsimile in the bottom-left, the picture has Coborn's genuine dated signature across his chest: 'Charles Coborn | 28/5/29'.

On rectangle of paper, laid down on leaf removed from autograph album. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Reads 'Good wishes | Anna Neagle.' With two newspaper cuttings carrying photographic portraits, one loose and one laid down to the left of the signature.

Black and white studio photograph, postcard format (14 x 9 cm). Laid down on leaf removed from autograph album. Good, on shiny photographic paper, with margin making dimensions of image 12.5 x 8 cm, captioned at foot 'JOHN STUART' and, in smaller type, 'PHOTO BY | L. PROTHEROE'. Stuart's inscription, in bottom right-hand corner, reads 'Best wishes | Sincerely yours | John Stuart'. Stuart's two Hitchcock films were the director's debut 'The Pleasure Gardens' (1925), and 'Number Seventeen' (1932).

On leaf removed from autograph album, with one set of rounded corners. In good condition. Reads ' Good Morning - Bill! | With every good wish | Yours Sincerely | Peter Haddon | 1928 -'. Together with a loose newspaper cutting carrying a photographic portrait.