DEVONSHIRE

[Mary Berry, diarist, close friend, with her sister Agnes, of Horace Walpole.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Georgiana Agar-Ellis, explaining confusion over accepting an invitation.

Author: 
Mary Berry (1763-1852), diarist and close friend, with her sister Agnes, of Horace Walpole, whose papers her family inherited [Lady Georgiana Agar-Ellis, latterly Countess of Carlisle (1783-1858)]
Publication details: 
‘tuesy / 8 May’. No place.
£90.00

See 2pp, 16mo. On first leaf of a bifolium, with the reverse of second leaf addressed ‘To the / Lady Georgiana Ellis / Spring Garden [sic]’, and with torn corner of second leaf beneath red wax seal. Folded twice for postage. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. ‘I have a thousand apologies to make for not having already said that my sister & I should have much pleasure in dining with you on the 19th. The truth is, that she thought I had done it & I thought she had - We are ashamed of ourselves’. The second part of the letter is difficult to decipher.

[The Duke of Devonshire: Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke.] Typed Letter Signed, inviting Sir Courtenay Ilbert to join a 'group of gentlemen' meeting 'to consider the future of the Law School at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield'.

Author: 
Duke of Devonshire: Victor Cavendish (1868-1938), 9th Duke of Devonshire, Governor-General of Canada [Sir Courtenay Ilbert (1841-1924), Clerk of the House of Commons who drafted Indian ‘Ilbert Bill’]
Publication details: 
25 July 1916. On lightly-embossed letterhead of Devonshire House, Piccadilly, W. [London]
£65.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged and discoloured. Folded twice. The salutation ‘Dear Sir Courtenay’ and valediction ‘Yours v. truly / Devonshire’ in his autograph, the rest type. Addressed to ‘Sir Courtenay Ilbert, G.C.B.’ He is ‘hoping to arrange a small and informal gathering to consider the future of the Law School at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield’, and asks Ilbert to join ‘a certain number of gentlemen’ who will be lunching with him at Devonshire House on a named date, ‘With that object in view’.

[Victorian fraud: Philip Bliss, Registrar of the University of Oxford; William Okill, agent for Thomas Hudson, claimant to the Dukedom of Devonshire.] Unsigned Autograph notes by Bliss, on Autograph Letter Signed to him by Okill.

Author: 
Philip Bliss (1787-1857), Registrar of the University of Oxford and Principal of St Mary Hall, antiquary; William Okill of Liverpool, agent for Thomas Hudson, claimant to the Dukedom of Devonshire
Philip Bliss
Publication details: 
ONE (Okill's ALS): '2 Duke Street / Liverpool 30th. June 1848'. TWO (Bliss's Unsigned Autograph notes): Without date or place.
£200.00
Philip Bliss

This forgotten case of identity fraud predates the celebrated Titchborne case by more than a decade.

[?The Bachelor Duke?: William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to Sir Charles Eastlake, regarding his painting ?The Spartan Isadas?, one on payment, delivery and repair by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Author: 
William George Spencer Cavendish (1790-1858), 6th Duke of Devonshire, ?the Bachelor Duke? [Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) and Sir Charles Eastlake (1793-1865), Presidents, Royal Academy of Arts]
Publication details: 
ONE: 7 October 1827; Chatsworth House [Chesterfield, Derbyshire]. TWO: 25 July 1852; Brighton.
£180.00

Two letters providing an insight into the relationship between artist and patron in nineteenth-century England. See the the Duke?s entry, and Eastlake?s, in the Oxford DNB, as well as James Lees-Milne?s biography ?The Bachelor Duke? (1991).

[?The Bachelor Duke?: William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire.] Autograph Letter Signed, regarding a portrait of his mother ('not Duchess of Richmond').

Author: 
William George Spencer Cavendish (1790-1858), 6th Duke of Devonshire, ?the Bachelor Duke?, Whig grandee and art connoisseur, son of Georgiana (1757-1806), Duchess of Devonshire
Publication details: 
'Chatsworth / 21 Feb. [no year]'. [Chatsworth House, Chesterfield, Derbyshire.]
£90.00

See his entry, and that of his mother, in the Oxford DNB, as well as James Lees-Milne?s biography ?The Bachelor Duke? (1991). 2pp, 12mo. With thin mourning border, and his monogram at top left of recto. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight discoloration to extremities on recto. Folded for postage.

[Duke of Devonshire [Spencer Compton Cavendish (1833-1908), 8th Duke of Devonshire].] Autograph Letter Signed regarding prizegiving at Derby Grammar School

Author: 
Duke of Devonshire [Spencer Compton Cavendish (1833-1908), 8th Duke of Devonshire, styled Marquis of Hartington between 1858 and 1891, aristocrat and statesman [Derby Grammar School]
Publication details: 
15 June 1901; on letterhead of Chatsworth House, Chesterfield.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Outer sides somewhat grubby, otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed ‘Dear Sir’ and signed ‘Devonshire’.

[Georgiana, Countess Spencer, mother of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire] Copy in her Fair Hand of the Ode by Mr Mason [Adapted] [William Mason, poet, divine, correspondent of Walpole, Gray etc.]

Author: 
Margaret Georgiana Spencer, Countess Spencer (née Poyntz; 8 May 1737 – 18 March 1814), English philanthropist.
Georgiana
Georgiana2
Publication details: 
May 1781. No. 59 in top corner (from album of commonplace book).
£220.00
Georgiana
Georgiana2

Entitled Hope - to the Dutchess of Devonshire (an Ode to her daughter adapted from Mason's Ode 13 or vice versa - see Note below.). Four pages, 4to, aged but clear and complete, fold mark, right edge uneven and glue remnant, from album of commonplace book presumably. Text begins: What magic warblings to my Ear and concludes 39 lines later (if I've counted correctly) [itself in quotation marks] Nor will I quit thee at the grave.

[ Two Devon circulating libraries. ] Printed labels of 'Knighton's Circulating Library, Dawlish.' and of the 'Circulating Library, Dawlish' of 'Crowther, Bookseller'.

Author: 
Knighton's Circulating Library, Dawlish [ John Knighton; Devon; Devonshire ]; Ann Gildburn Crowther, Circulating Library, of The Strand, Dawlish
Publication details: 
ONE: [ John Knighton, Permont [now 'Piermont'] Row, Dawlish, Devon. ] Circa 1830. TWO: Ann Gildburn Crowther, The Strand, Dawlish, Devon. Circa 1850.
£56.00

ONE (Knighton): 3 x 6 cm. In fair condition, aged and worn, laid down on a small piece of cream paper. A workmanlike production, within a wavy border. Reads: 'KNIGHTON's | Circulating Library, | DAWLISH.' BBTI records Knighton as active between 1828 and 1830. TWO (Crowther): 7 x 9.5 cm. In fair condition, lightly aged. Within decorative border, and reading: 'CIRCULATING LIBRARY, | DAWLISH. | CROWTHER, | BOOK-SELLER, | AND DEALER IN ALL KINDS OF | FANCY STATIONERY, | Toys, Berlin Patterns, German Wools. | Brushes, Fancy Turnery, Cutlery, Perfumery, &c.

[Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.] Autograph Card Signed ('Devonshire') to Rev. P. L. Underhill of Wolverhampton, regarding the 'Park and House' [Chatsworth?].

Author: 
Spencer Compton Cavendish (1833-1908), 8th Duke of Devonshire [Lord Cavendish of Keighley; Marquess of Hartington], Liberal peer
Publication details: 
With postmark of Lismore [Ireland]. 16 May 1893.
£35.00

Small (7.5 x 10.5 cm) card. Aged and creased, and with remains of labels from mount on address side. Addressed to 'Rev P. L. Underhill | 5 George's Vicarage | Wolverhampton'. Reads: 'The Park and House are open to visitors on every day except Sundays. | Devonshire | 16/5/93'.

[Edward Capern, 'the Postman Poet' and 'Devonshire Burns'.] Autograph Letter Signed to the poet William Kingston Sawyer, thanking him for a photograph and book of his verses ('Ten Miles from Town').

Author: 
Edward Capern (1819-1894), 'the Postman Poet' and 'Devonshire Burns' [William Kingston Sawyer (1828-1882); Edward Litt Leman Blanchard (1820-1889); Bryan Waller Procter (1787-1874)]
Publication details: 
Rock Villa Harborne, Birmingham. 27 August 1869.
£220.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper. Addressed to 'My Dr Sawyer'. He begins by thanking him for the photograph: 'Whenever I look on it - and I shall do so often - I shall be reminded of the fourth gentle poet who did all he could to make a few pleasant hours for a humble brother <?> during his short sojourn in the great metropolitan maze of this England of ours'.

[Sir Joseph Paxton.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Joseph Paxton') to 'Mr. Smith', regarding the financing of a project, with reference to Sir Joshua Walmesley and 'the liberal party'.

Author: 
Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865), landscape gardener and architect, designer of the Crystal Palace, head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, Derbyshire [Sir Joshua Walmesley (1794-1871)]
Publication details: 
Chatsworth [Derbyshire]. 6 September 1848.
£220.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'My dear Sir, | Having a day to spare, and having a little business in London, I left home by midnight mail yesterday, but unfortunately got into the smash that took place on the North Western line [i.e.

[Eden Philpotts] Two Autograph Postcards signed "E.P." to Lewis Wynne, Welsh poet.

Author: 
Eden Philpotts (1862-1960), English novelist, author of many works about Dartmoor and his native Devon [Helen Allingham]
Publication details: 
Torquay, 9 and 19 Feb. 1929.
£60.00

Postcards, c.11 x 9cm, some smudging but mainly good condition, text clear and complete. Postcard One: "Dear Mr Wynne, | Very best thanks for your valued gift: a fine & distinguished poem."; Postcard 2: "[...] | The books can be got separately & there are cheap editions of those two books any bookseller can secure for you for 2/- & 2/6 each. | I'm afraid London has had enough of my plays. My daughter's paly is not about [?] folk." Two items,

[Eden Philpotts] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Wilfrid C. Mosley', regarding Mosley's poor choice of a piece of his prose for an anthology. [not traced]

Author: 
Eden Philpotts (1862-1960), English novelist, author of many works about Dartmoor and his native Devon [Helen Allingham]
Publication details: 
Torquay | 14 March 1913.
£45.00

4to, 1 p. Ten lines, edges a little damaged but text clear and complete, on flimsy paper. "You are welcome to the quotation from my school-boy story - if it is worth while. I could have wished, however, that in an anthology of serious prose you had given me credit as a serious writer & chosen something more interesting. With compliments [...]"

[Duke of Devonshire] Autograph Letter Signed "Victor CW Cavendish" to F.H. Wrench [prob. relation of E.M. Wrench, personal physician to the Duke of Devonshire's household].]

Author: 
[Victor Cavendish], Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (1868 -1938), known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British politician who served as Governor General of Canada.
Publication details: 
[Headed] Chatsworth, Chesterfield, 17 Jan.1898
£45.00

Three pages, 12mo, fold marks, good condition. "I have the greatest pleasure in giving you a testimonial. Both from personal knowledge & from what I have always heard of you I can testify to your high & honorable character. | I have known you for some considerable time now & have not the least hesitation in thoroughly recommending you. | The fact that you belong to a family for which I have the greatest respect makes it an additional pleasure to write this."

[Sir Thomas Dyke Acland.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Thos. Dyke Acland') to an unnamed recipient, explaining how he has ceased to make charitable payments to the widow of an artist 'labouring under loss or decay of sight'.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland (1787-1871), successively Conservative Member of Parliament for Devonshire and North Devon
Publication details: 
From the Waterloo Hotel, on his crested letterhead. 10 June 1863.
£56.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with slight traces of glue from mount along one edge. A hurried letter, illegible at points. 'You will see the name of yr. respectable at the end of the enclosed Petition from My Own Hand. She has no right to refer to me for any further knowledge of herself and her husband, or his position of art - than that of my having understood him to be an artist in a state of much distress, labouring under loss or decay of sight, & that I for some years I might almost , I gave him occasional relief.

[Printed pamphlet.] Poems from the Diary of a V. A. D. By Carrie Portelly.

Author: 
Carrie Portelly (1893-1966), V.A.D., of Buckfast, Devon [Voluntary Aid Detachment; field nurse; nursing]
Publication details: 
Printed by Edwin Trim & Co. Ltd. Wimbledon S.W.19. Undated, but individual poems dated between September 1938 and October 1942.
£150.00

[1] + 38pp., 12mo. Stapled into brown printed wraps, with the title and printer's slug on the cover, which also carries the price of two shillings and sixpence. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Introductory note reads: 'These few pages refer to war-time troubles at home and in hospital, and other people's love laments. C.P.' Unpretentious poetry, giving an insight into the work of a V.A.D.

Autograph Manuscript Signed ('M Berry') by the diarist Mary Berry, sister of Agnes Berry and friend of Horace Walpole, a flight of fancy headed 'Devonshire Cottage to its well-beloved Mistress [Hon. Mrs George Lamb], Greeting -'.

Author: 
Mary Berry (1763-1852), author, sister and companion of Agnes Berry (1764-1852), and friend of Horace Walpole [Hon. Mrs George Lamb [Caroline 'Caro George' Lamb']; Devonshire Cottage, Richmond]
Publication details: 
[Devonshire Cottage, Richmond.] 29 June and 1 July 1844.
£220.00

4pp., 12mo. 75 lines. On bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The entire document is in Mary Berry's autograph. The letter proper, of 57 lines, is signed 'Devonshire Cottage / a true Copy / M Berry', the joke, such as it is, being that Mary Berry has copied out a document written by Devonshire Cottage itself to its owner, the Hon. Mrs George Lamb (Caroline, or 'Caro George' Lamb, from whom the Berry sister's were leasing it).

Printed handbill proposing the establishment of the Blamire Memorial. With five Autograph Letters Signed (by the peers Cleveland, Devonshire, Feversham, Lonsdale, Spencer) to Howard on the same subject.

Author: 
Philip Henry Howard (1801-1883), M.P. for Carlisle [William Blamire (1790-1862) of Thackwood Nook, Whig M.P. for Cumberland; Blamire Memorial; Cleveland; Devonshire; Feversham; Lonsdale; Spencer]
Publication details: 
All six items dating from 1862.
£180.00

An interesting collection, with some revealing comments within the correspondence. All six items are laid down on a folio leaf of pink paper removed from an autograph album. All clear and complete, in good condition on aged paper, with the Feversham letter somewhat grubby. The handbill (12mo, 1 p), on behalf of the Committee for the Blamire Memorial, and in the names of Henry Londsdale and Henry Dobinson, is headed 'BLAMIRE MEMORIAL', and dated 'Carlisle, Oct. 7th, 1862.' It reports the resolutions of a meeting held on 4 October 1862.

A Letter to the Right Honorable the Lord Brougham and Vaux, &c. &c. &c. On the late Decision of the Earldom of Devon.

Author: 
T. C. B.' [Thomas Christopher Banks; Henry Peter Brougham, Lord Brougham and Vaux; the Earl of Devon]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for J. Wilson, 19, Great May's Buildings, St. Martin's Lane. 1831. [G. Norman, Printer, Maiden Lane, Covent-Garden.]
£120.00

8vo: 24 pp. Stitched as issued. Inscribed at the head of the title-page 'For Mr Walpole'. Text clear and entire. Good, on foxed paper, with one dog-eared corner. A couple of manuscript annotations, one in the form of a footnote, and one correction, whether by the inscriber or recipient unclear. The author defends his claim that he 'cannot believe otherwise, than had the claimant to the Devon Peerage been an humble individual, less affluent, and less powerfully connected, he would not have succeeded in his claim'. Scarce: the only copies on COPAC at the Durham and the British Library.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Anne B. Procter') to 'My dear Mr Rathbone'.

Author: 
Anne Benson Procter (1799-1888, née Skepper), wife of the poet Bryan Waller Procter ('Barry Cornwall') (1787-1874), and mother of the poet Adelaide Anne Procter (1825-1864)
Publication details: 
18 December 1872; 32 Weymouth St, Portland Place, W. [London].
£35.00

12mo: 1 p. Very good. 14 closely-written lines. 'A friend of mine was asked by our dear old kind friend Chorley to assist in procuring for a Protege of his a musical education. I think the young person was originally introduced to him by Lady Devonshire. A sum was promised for two years, and the time is approaching for the payment to be made.' Asks if she can tell her 'anything about this'. 'You will be glad to hear I know that my husband is still well - His birthday the 21st. Novr. found him 84.'

Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mrs Burns'.

Author: 
Lady Dorothy Macmillan
Publication details: 
No date; on letterhead '14 CHESTER SQUARE | S.W.I'.
£33.00

Wife (1900-66) of the Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and daughter of the Duke of Devonshire. Three pages, 12mo. Grubby, creased and stained (perhaps with tears?). She was 'up in Stockton' the previous week, and heard that her correspondent's son was ill. 'Having children of my own, I know how very precious they are & how terribly one feels it when anything is wrong with them. It is dreadful when one sees such little things ill & one feels it is so cruel that it should happen to them.

Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Eden Phillpots
Publication details: 
February 1928; no place.
£15.00

English novelist, poet and dramatist (1862-1960), noted for his works on Devon. On piece of paper, 3 inches by 4 1/2. In good condition, and attached to a piece of blue card docketed with list of Phillpots works. Distinctive and attractive signature, 'Eden Philpotts | Feb: 1928'.

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