BENJAMIN

[The Earl of Shrewsbury [Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 19th Earl of Shrewsbury, as Viscount Ingestre], Conservative politician.] Autograph Note Signed to ‘Mr Rogers’, regarding the sending of a corrected list ‘to Mr. Parkers’.

Author: 
The Earl of Shrewsbury [Charles Chetwynd-Talbot (1830-1877), 19th Earl of Shrewsbury] (Viscount Ingestre, 1849-1868), Conservative politician
Publication details: 
‘June 15th / Wednesday’; ‘Direct Vist. Ingestre / 1st. Life Guards / Military Camp / Chobham Common’.
£40.00

Shrewsbury was Disraeli’s Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms from 1875 to his death. 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times for postage. With traces of wax from mounting at corners of blank reverse. Reads: ‘Mr. Rogers be so good as to correct enclosed list & take it to Mr. Parker immediately you have corrected it / - Yours truly / Ingestre / Tell them you have corrected it.’

[Lt. Gen.Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, Commander Woolwich Garrison] Autograph Signature from Letter, laid down album page with an outstanding hand-drawn coloured crest. Verso: engraving of Caroline Norton and her facsimile signature.

Author: 
Lieut. General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield (1768-1846), British Army officer, Private Secretary to the Sovereign, MP, Commander of the Woolwich Garrison.
Bloomfield
Publication details: 
The fragment of the letter bearing the signature dated 1845. The other material undated. No place.
£120.00
Bloomfield

See Bloomfield’s entry, and that of Norton, in the Oxford DNB. The fragment of the letter bearing his signature is 5 cm x 4.5 cm. It is dated at one corner ‘1845’, and reads ‘R. Bgham / Bloomfield’. It is laid down on one side of a 4to leaf extracted from an album and paginated 58.

[Eric Crozier, opera producer and librettist, closely associated with Benjamin Britten.] Typed Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Catry’, reminiscing about his first two productions: Smetana’s ‘Bartered Bride’, and 'a world-wide event' - Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’.

Author: 
Eric Crozier [Eric John Crozier] (1914-1994), opera producer and librettist, closely associated with Benjamin Britten
Publication details: 
10 January 1993, with address label of ‘ERIC CROZIER, OBE / 4 THE TIMBERYARD / GREAT GLEMHAM / SAXMUNDHAM / SUFFOLK’.
£180.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded twice for postage. The address is printed on a small golden label affixed at the top left corner. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Catry’ and signed ‘With all best wishes - and thank you for writing! / Sincerely, / Eric Crozier.’ He asks him to forgive a typed letter, as he is ‘convalescing from a heart-attack, and still not very good at hand-writing.

[ Sir Henry Mendelssohn Hake, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London.] Typed Letter Signed (‘H M. Hake’) to S. Hodgson recording portraits of George Cruikshank and Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson.

Author: 
Sir H. M. Hake [Sir Henry Mendelssohn Hake] (1892-1951), Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, 1927-1951 [George Cruikshank (1792-1878), caricaturist; Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson]
Publication details: 
11 June 1937; on letterhead of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
£56.00

1p, 4to. On discoloured and somewhat grubby paper, folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘S. Hodgson Esq.’ and signed ‘H M. Hake’. Hodgson has sent Hake ‘a manuscript fragment’, which does not seem to indicate either of ‘the portraits in the Gallery’. He has ‘looked up the record of portraits offered in the past but there is no mention of Mrs. Cruikshank or her executors.’ He asks a related question before turning to the subject of the physician Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson (1828-1896), who was in Hake’s opinion ‘more of a professional worthy than a national one’.

[Coningsby Disraeli, Conservative MP for Altrincham, nephew of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lord Ashbourne, sending information regarding a meeting at Chester.

Author: 
Coningsby Disraeli [Coningsby Ralph Disraeli] (1867-1936), Conservative MP for Altrincham, nephew of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli [Edward Gibson (1837-1913), 1st Baron Ashbourne, Anglo-Irish peer]
Publication details: 
16 May 1892. On letterhead of the Unicorn Hotel, Altrincham.
£45.00

See Ashbourne’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. In accepting an invitation to an engagement at the end of the month he gives Ashbourne instructions for travelling to an earlier meeting ‘from Lyme Regis to Manchester, and afterwards catch the night mail at Chester’. He will send railway details ‘and full programme in a day or two’. He continues: ‘Our invariable practice here is a vote of confidence in Her Majesty’s Government, which will be put to the meeting, and then you will be asked to respond.’

[Ben Purse [Benjamin Ormond Purse], trade unionist and campaigner for the rights of blind people.] Typed Letter with cyclostyled signature, to Carmichael Thomas, describing his ‘interests’ while asking for help in joining the Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Ben Purse [Benjamin Ormond Purse] (1874-1950), British trade unionist, social worker and campaigner with the National Institute for the Blind [Carmichael Thomas; Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
21 April 1921; on letterhead of the National Institute for the Blind, London.
£60.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and with two creases from folding for postage. Addressed to ‘Carmichael Thomas, Esq., / Mount Cottage, / Borough Green, / Kent.’ Cyclostyled signature of ‘Ben Purser.’ Begins: ‘For some time I have been desirous of becoming a member of the Royal Society of Arts. Mentioning this matter to your daughter a few days ago, Miss Thomas thought that if I wrote you in this connection you might possibly be able to arrange this matter for me.

[Victorian London Theatres: Adelphi, Drury Lane, Gaiety, Her Majesty’s, Lyceum, Princess’s, St James’s.] Seven large printed handbill notices, with illustration giving seating plan, details of proprietors and prices, ticket agents, advertisements.

Author: 
[Victorian London Theatres: Adelphi, Drury Lane, Gaiety, Her Majesty’s, Lyceum,Princess’s, St James’s.] [Benjamin Webster; Samuel Hayes; Keith, Prowse, and Co.; James Bromwich, florist]
Publication details: 
Circa 1878? Publication details not given.
£350.00

Each of the seven plans is on a 27 x 35.5 cm piece of paper.The source has not been established, and each carries the pencil date 1878 in a modern hand. They are uniform in layout, each with heading of the name of the theatre followed by a plan in the form of a 22 x 15 cm lithographic illustration of the respective theatre, as viewed from the stage, with the seating numbered. Beneath each plan are names of proprietors, lessees and managers, prices of admission, and in every case the details of the two ticket agents ‘Mr.

[Lord George Bentinck, racehorse owner and protectionist opponent of Sir Robert Peel’s Corn Law policy.] Autograph Signature franking letter to Lieut.-General Lord FitzRoy Somerset at Horse Guards.

Author: 
Lord George Bentinck [William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck] (1802-1848), Conservative politician and racehorse owner, protectionist opponent of Sir Robert Peel's Corn Law policy
Bentinck
Publication details: 
No date or place, and no postmarks.
£45.00
Bentinck

See the entries of Bentinck and FitzRoy Somerset in the Oxford DNB. On approximate 11 x 6 cm rectangle cut from cover of letter. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of grey paper mount adhering to blank reverse. Addressed by Bentinck in the customary staggered way: ‘Lieut: Genl. / Lord FitzRoy Somerset G.C.B. / Horse Guards’. Bentinck’s signature ‘G. Bentinck’ is at bottom left, underlined but without the line above the signature. The merest slither of the bottom of the loop of the initial ‘G’ has been cropped. See image.

[William Plomer, poet and novelist, Benjamin Britten’s librettist.] Autograph Letter Signed to the autograph collector Eileen M. Cond, apologising for his ‘ordinary’ signature.

Author: 
William Plomer [William Charles Franklyn Plomer] (1903-1973), English poet and novelist, born in South Africa, Benjamin Britten’s librettist [Eileen M. Cond, autograph collector]
Plomer
Publication details: 
27 August 1936; c/o Jonathan Cape Ltd, 30 Bedford Square, WC1 [London].
£56.00
Plomer

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Miss Cond, / I have pleasure in sending you my signature. As you will see, it is quite an ordinary one. / Yours very truly / William Plomer’. The signature is in fact rather stylish in an understated way, and the underlining has two small curls in it. In ink on otherwise-blank reverse, by someone who misread the signature: 'William Ploms'. See Image.

[Ben Webster [Benjamin Nottingham Webster], actor-manager who built the Adelphi.] Autograph Letter Signed, thanking Henry Spicer on behalf of the Dramatic College, Covent Garden, for a financial ‘Godsend’.

Author: 
Ben Webster [Benjamin Nottingham Webster] (1797-1882), actor-manager who built the Adelphi Theatre, London [Henry Spicer]
Publication details: 
‘New Theatre Royal Adelphi / Jany 19th 1860’.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. On a bifolium the blank second leaf of which is laid down on part of a leaf from an album. Folded twice for postage. The recipient is ‘Henry Spicer Esq’, presumably a relation of the artist of the same name (d.1804; see ODNB), several of whose theatrical portraits are in the Garrick Club collection.

[John Mills, author and agriculturalist.] Autograph Letter Signed to his bookseller John Nourse, describing French books he wishes him to procure, one ‘on account of some matters relative to Agriculture, which I have in my head’.

Author: 
John Mills (c.1717-c.1794), author and agriculturalist whose Fellowship of the Royal Society was sponsored by Benjamin Franklin [John Nourse (1705-1780), scientific bookseller in the Strand, London]
Publication details: 
12 April 1765. Welbank Street [London].
£180.00

The recipient is not named, but can be identified as the Strand bookseller John Nourse, from Notes and Queries, 3 September 1881, which has as its first article a transcription, with commentary of five long letters from Mills to John Nourse, the noted scientific bookseller in the Strand, and the present item clearly belongs to the same correspondence, predating the first, which is dated 15 May 1765.

[Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College, Oxford, and editor of Plato.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Lucas’ [the future Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas], regarding tutoring Lord Herbrand Russell [the future Duke of Bedford].

Author: 
Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893), Master of Balliol College, Oxford, editor of Plato, theologian and reforming university administrator [Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas; Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford]
Publication details: 
29 March 1878; Balliol College [Oxford].
£60.00

The 1880 'Balliol Masque' indicates Jowett's standing, and the pronunciation of his name: 'First come I. My name is Jowett. | There's no knowledge but I know it. | I am Master of this College, | What I don't know isn't knowledge.' See Jowett’s entry, and those of Lucas and Russell, in the Oxford DNB, which states regarding Jowett that by the end of his life he had become ‘synonymous with Balliol, which he turned into the leading college in the first university in the United Kingdom at the height of its world power’. 1p, 12mo. In good condition. Folded twice.

[Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, sixteenth president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.] Autograph Note Signed (‘Benj. S. Ewell’) to ‘Mr. Walter G. Webster’, in response to a request for an autograph.

Author: 
Benjamin S. Ewell [Benjamin Stoddert Ewell] (1810-1894), Confederate army officer, civil engineer, and sixteenth president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
Publication details: 
7 June 1872; on letterhead of the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
£150.00

William and Mary owes its survival to Ewell: he rebuilt it from ruins after the American Civil War, and every morning during several years of closure he is said to have rung the assembly bell to keep the memory of the college fresh. The present item is 1p, landscape 8vo. It is in poor condition, on brittle high-acidity paper, with significant chipping to all the edges except the bottom one, which has resulted in the loss of a few letters of text, and to the engraved illustration of the college in the letterhead. The letter reads: ‘Mr. Walter G.

[Charles James Mathews, London actor-manager.] Autograph Letter Signed ('C J Mathews.'), declining to 'risk' an association with Ben Webster, who 'never reads the pieces at all' and whom he is 'unable to controul'.

Author: 
Charles James Mathews (1803-1878), actor, manager of the Olympic, Lyceum and Covent Garden theatres in London [Benjamin Nottingham Webster (1797-1882), actor-manager who built the Adelphi]
Publication details: 
25 Pelham Crescent [London], 23 July 1869.
£45.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. The recipient is not named. An interesting letter, indicating the relationship between two major theatrical figures in Victorian London. The main body of the letter reads: 'Dear Sir, | You really must excuse my incurring any such responsibility as that you would impose upon me. I am unable to controul Mr.

[Benjamin Bartrum, auctioneer.] Autograph household 'Inventory & Valuation' of 'the property of Thomas Harward Gardiner Esq' ('Common Brewer'), signed 'Benjn. Bartrum | Bath', containing furniture, plate, books, wearing apparel, jewels, wines.

Author: 
Benjamin Bartrum [Benjamin Thomas Bartrum] (1783-1846), Bath auctioneer [Thomas Harward Gardiner (d. 1841), 'Common Brewer' of Bath; Thomas Gainsborough; Margaret Burr Gainsborough]
Publication details: 
Bath: 'taken and made' on 26 and 27 March 1841.
£320.00

11pp, folio. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice into the conventional packet. Ten-page inventory, followed by full page valuation, neatly written out on six leaves, which are stitched together, with the reverse of the last leaf carrying the title written lengthwise in conventional style for the outside of the packet: 'Inventory & Valuation of the several effects of the late Thos. Harward Gardiner Esq deceased at No. 14 Brock Street Bath | Amount £574. 8. 6', along with the word 'Copy' in red. Also on this page, in pencil in an early twentieth century hand: '?

[Philadelphia Society of Friends (Quakers) and slavery, 1839.] Printed pamphlet: 'An Address to the [...] Yearly Meeting of Friends, held in Philadelphia, By the Committee appointed at the late Yearly Meeting to have charge of the Subject of Slavery.

Author: 
[American slavery; the slave trade] John Jackson, Benjamin Price, Deborah F. Wharton, clerks, Society of Friends (Quakers), Philadelphia
Publication details: 
Philadelphia: Printed by John Richards, No. 130 North Third Street. 1839.
£50.00

The full title is: 'An Address to the Quarterly, Monthly and Preparative Meetings, and the Members thereof, composing the Yearly Meeting of Friends, held in Philadelphia, By the Committee appointed at the late Yearly Meeting to have charge of the Subject of Slavery.' 12pp, 12mo. Pamphlet in (original?) plain brown wraps. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Begins with two pages of extracts from the minutes, 17 May 1839, regarding the setting up of the committee on 'the deeply interesting subject of Slavery', with reference to 'Benjamin Price, Jr. Clerk' and 'Deborah F.

[Ben Brierley of Failsworth, writer in Lancashire dialect.] Autograph Note Signed ('B Brierley'), offering some of his poems for a reading.

Author: 
Ben Brierley [Benjamin Brierley] (1825-1896) of Failsworth, writer in Lancashire dialect and weaver
Publication details: 
'The 16th March' [no year, but after 1886].
£45.00

1p, on the reverse of an advertisement, with engraving, for his 1886 book 'Tales and Sketches of Lancashire Life', cut down to 16 x 13 cm. On aged paper, with horizontal cut repaired with archival tape. Reads: '[Sent?] me very well. | The poems I propose reading will be | "The New Shirt." | and "The Gravelgate Flood." | You can take your choice betwixt "The New Shirt," and "The Bradley's Visit to Thisle Ho." Please send me a programme as soon as printed.'

[Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College, Oxford.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B. Jowett') to T. W. Jex-Blake, Headmaster of Rugby School, regarding 'the prosperity' of the school, the regaining of its 'prestige', and the accepting of 'certificates

Author: 
Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893), Master of Balliol College, Oxford, influential tutor and administrator at the University [Thomas William Jex-Blake (1832-1915), Headmaster of Rugby School, Dean of Wells]
Publication details: 
27 September [no year]. Oxford.
£120.00

The 1880 'Balliol Masque' indicates Jowett's standing, and the pronunciation of his name: 'First come I. My name is Jowett. | There's no knowledge but I know it. | I am Master of this College, |What I don't know isn't knowledge.' 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with fold lines. Begins: 'My dear Jex Blake | I am very glad to hear of the prosperity of Rugby, in which I shall always take a great interest.

[Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College, Oxford.] Autograph Letters Signed ('B. Jowett'), appealing to former college member E. M. Sneyd-Kynnersley for a subscription towards the establishment of a cricket ground.

Author: 
Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893), Master of Balliol College, Oxford, influential tutor and administrator at the University [Edmund MacKenzie Sneyd-Kynnersley, Inspector of Schools]
Publication details: 
24 February 1890. Balliol College [Oxford].
£80.00

The 1880 'Balliol Masque' indicates Jowett's standing, and the pronunciation of his name: 'First come I. My name is Jowett. | There's no knowledge but I know it. | I am Master of this College, | What I don't know isn't knowledge.' 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with fold lines. Addressing his letter to 'Edward [sic] M. S Kynnersley Esq', he asks him to 'kindly read the accompanying circular? It relates to a project which I believe to be very important to the College & useful in many other ways, as well as - the [promise?] of a Cricket Ground'.

[Lord Cairns [Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns], Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.] Printed warrant, signed by him 'Cairns C.', appointing John Amherst Philpott a Commissioner for Oaths.

Author: 
Lord Cairns [Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819-1885), Irish-born Conservative statesman, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain under Benjamin Disraeli
Publication details: 
12 June 1876.
£45.00

2pp, folio. On bifolium endorsed on reverse of second leaf. In fair condition, lightly creased and aged. Three folds. Embossed with five pound tax stamp at head. Printed in copperplate, with the details of the appointee 'John Amhust Philpott of Cranbrook in the County of Kent, Gentleman' filled-in in manuscript. Circular stamp of the Court of Justice at end of document with two signatures: 'Entd. | H. R. W.' and 'Entered 14th June 1876 | E W Williamson | Deputy Registrar of Solicitors'.

[Charles Kean and his wife Ellen Tree prepare to return from America.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rt. Clarke.') from Robert Clarke to Benjamin Webster, asking on Kean's behalf for 'information respecting Theatres in England', discussing Kean and wife.

Author: 
Robert Clarke, actor-manager, Theatre Royal, Liverpool [Charles Kean (1811-1868), actor-manager, son of Edmund Kean, husband of Ellen Tree (1805-1880); Benjamin Webster (1797-1882), actor, dramatist]
Publication details: 
2 Bladud Buildings, Bath. 27 December 1846.
£80.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium, endorsed 'Clarke' on reverse of second leaf. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. The letter begins: 'My dear Webster, | Charles Kean has requested me to give him information respecting Theatres in England, in which it is probable he may form engagements on his return from America, as he wishes his plans to be arranged if possible previous to his departure from the United States, so as he may see his way clearly on his arrival in England.' He asks whether it would answer Webster's purpose 'to make any proposal to him'.

[George Combe, founder of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Geo. Combe') [to his agents], requesting remittance of the previous years account, and for a parcel to be sent to Professor Benjamin Silliman of New Haven.

Author: 
George Combe (1788-1858), Scottish phrenologist and lawyer, founder of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society [Benjamin Silliman, American chemist]
Publication details: 
Westminster Family Hotel, Westminster Bridge [London]; 19 June 1840.
£300.00

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse. Begins: 'Gentlemen! | As I am on my way to Edinburgh, from the United States, I shall be obliged by your informing me, here, whether you have remitted or otherways paid the balance due to me on last years account, due on 4th. June, current, rendered to Mr. Probert Cox'. He asks for payment to be made to Messrs Coutts, 'so that it may be at my command here'. He also requests the making up in a parcel of 'a copy of my Testimonials & “the Suppressed Documents”, if you have one'.

[Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, distinguished surgeon.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B C Brodie') to Mrs Hewitt of Nantwich, giving advice on what action to take regarding her indisposition.

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783-1862), distinguished surgeon and physiologist, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria, first President of the General Medical Council
Publication details: 
Zurich; 8 September 1853.
£75.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf. Tipped-in below the signature is the letter's envelope, addressed, with postmarks, to 'Mrs Hewitt | Wrenbury Hall | Nantwich', amended to 'Chislehurst | Kent'. He begins by explaining that he has 'been for the last few weeks on the continent, & in consequence of the gross neglect of the Geneva post office' her letter has only just reached him. He is sorry that he should have been 'made to appear so negligent'.

[Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria.] Autograph Prescription Signed ('B C Brodie') in case of 'Miss Smedley'.

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783-1862), distinguished surgeon and physiologist, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria, first President of the General Medical Council
Publication details: 
No place; 1 May 1845.
£50.00

1p, 4to. On grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse. Folded three times. A typical prescription, in Latin, beneath the heading 'Miss Smedley. April [last word deleted] May 1 1845'. The prescription begins with the usual 'Rx'; the last of the fourteen lines that follow ending with Brodie's signature ('B C Brodie').

[Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B C Brodie')

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783-1862), distinguished surgeon and physiologist, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria, first President of the General Medical Council
Publication details: 
14 Savile Row [London]; 5 December 1836.
£90.00

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse. The recipient is not identified. Reads: 'My Dear Sir | I hope that I shall not put you to inconvenience by making my visit to your patient today as late as half past five o clock. A particular circumstance has occurred which will prevent my being in your part of the town at the time originally proposed.'

[Benjamin Harrison, Treasurer of Guy's Hospital.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B Harrison') to Alexander J. G. Marcet, Senior Surgeon at Guy's Hospital, regarding candidates to a post there, including Peter Mark Roget.

Author: 
Benjamin Harrison (1771-1856), Treasurer of Guy's Hospital, London; Alexander John Gaspard Marcet (1770-1822), Genevan-born physician to Guy's Hospital, London, and chemist; Peter Mark Roget]
Publication details: 
Worthing [Sussex]; 5 September 1816.
£500.00

See the entries on Harrison and Marcet in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, and folded twice, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse. Marcet is not identified as the recipient, but the item comes from his papers. It relates to an election to a post at Guy's Hospital, with reference to Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), author of 'Roget's Thesaurus', whose father came from Geneva. The letter is written in a difficult hand, and the following transcriptions are tentative.

[Guy's Hospital: Benjamin Harrison, Treasurer, and Alexander J. G. Marcet, Senior Surgeon.] Autograph Letter Signed from 'Benj Harrison', replying to Marcet's application on behalf of John Yelloby as his replacement, with Marcet's copy of his letter.

Author: 
Benjamin Harrison (1771-1856), Treasurer of Guy's Hospital, London; Alexander John Gaspard Marcet (1770-1822), Genevan-born physician to Guy's Hospital, London, and chemist [John Yelloby, physician]
Publication details: 
Marcet's draft: 23 March [1804]. Harrison's letter: 'Guys' [Guy's Hospital, London]; 25 March 1804.
£500.00

See the entries on Harrison and Marcet in the Oxford DNB. Both items in good condition, lightly aged and worn, and each folded twice. Harrison's letter with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse. Marcet is only identified in pencil annotations to the letters, but the details given by the writer of his education accord with Marcet's.

[Sir Henry W. Acland, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Henry W: Acland'), regarding arrangements made by Benjamin Jowett for recipient and Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie to stay at Balliol while in Oxford for a meeting.

Author: 
Sir Henry W. Acland [Sir Henry Wentworth Dyke Acland] (1815-1900), Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford [Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol; Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, celebrated surgeon]
Publication details: 
Oxford; 17 June [1847].
£120.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. The year has been noted in another hand. The recipient is not identified. The letter begins: 'My dear sir, | I have made arrangements with my excellent friend Mr. Jowett of Baliol Coll. that he should offer to you rooms in Balliol. You will be there with our common friend Brodie, and will I am quite sure find nothing that will not add to your comfort and enjoyment in the Meeting'.

[William Benjamin Carpenter, biologist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Willm B Carpenter'), as Registrar of University College London, to 'S Walker Esq', regarding the epistles of Horace, and 'the Special English subjects for 1862'.

Author: 
William Benjamin Carpenter (1813-1885), biologist, zoologist, physician and administrator at the University of London
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the University of London, Burlington House, W.; 1 December 1860.
£35.00

1p, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged. In reply to Walker's enquiries he informs him that 'the “De Arte Poeticâ” ranks as one of the Epistles of Horace; and that the Special English subjects for 1862 will be announced in the forthcoming Calendar for 1861'. From the distinguished autograph collection of the psychiatrist Richard Alfred Hunter (1923-1981), whose collection of 7000 works relating to psychiatry is now in Cambridge University Library.

[John Coakley Lettsom, physician, founder of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. C Lettsom'), to Charles Taylor, expressing great distress on the death of his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D.

Author: 
John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1815), physician, philanthropist, abolitionist, founder in 1773 of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin [his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D. (1771-1800)]
Publication details: 
'Sambrook Co [Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street, London]; 29 January 1800.
£450.00

Lettsom's entry in the Oxford DNB erroneously states that his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D., 'a physician of promise', died in 1799. For the true details, see Gentleman's Magazine, January 1800. 1p, 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn, with thin strip of paper adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf, which is addressed, with fragment of seal in black wax, to 'Mr Charles Taylor | 134 | Cheapside'. The recipient may well be Charles Taylor (d.1816), physician, originally a Manchester calico printer and dyer, who later became Secretary of the Society of Arts, London.

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