DORSET

[Lyme Regis, Dorset.] Autograph Letter Signed from ‘Wm Curtis’ [William Curtis] to ‘Mr Wh[encon?] / Town Clerk / Lym’, regarding legal action with ‘Mr Preston’ (‘Mr Recorder’) who ‘Threatens to play the very Devil’ with him.

Author: 
Lyme Regis, Dorset: William Curtis of Lym [Richard Preston ('Mr Recorder') of Marino; Lowton of the Temple]
Publication details: 
‘Lym July 1 / 1795’. [Lyme Regis, Dorset.]
£50.00

Neither Curtis nor the 'Mr Recorder' named Preston mentioned in the letter feature in G. Roberts’s ‘History of Lyme Regis’ (Sherborne, 1823). Preston may be ‘Richard Preston Esq.’ of ‘Marino’ named as living near Barnstaple in Cary’s New Itinerary, 6th ed, 1815. The recipient’s name is not decipherable. Six years previously a parliamentary committee had examined ‘Mr. Follett, the town clerk of Lyme. He said, he had held that office fifty years.’ (Luders, Reports, 1789) 2pp, 4to. On first leaf of bifolium, the reverse of the second leaf being addressed to ‘Mr Wh[encon?] / Town Clerk / Lym’.

[The Sherborne Mercury, or Weekly Advertiser, Dorset's first newspaper, a printed periodical predating The Times.] Number for ?Tuesday, April 29, 1740.?

Author: 
The Sherborne Mercury, or Weekly Advertiser, proprietor William Bettinson (d.1746), Dorset's first newspaper
Publication details: 
?Tuesday, April 29, 1740.? (Vol. IV, No. 167.) ?Printed at SHERBORNE, by WILLIAM BETTINSON, from LONDON.? [Dorset.]
£180.00

An important provincial publication, predating The Times by half a century. See the Oxford DNB entry of the later proprietor Robert Goadby, and the article by Roger Guttridge, ?Dorset?s first newspaper?, in ?Dorset Life?, August 2019. 4pp, folio. On two leaves, which originally formed a bifolium, but have now become detached from one another. Aged and worn, with chipping to extremities and along central horizontal and vertical folds, resulting in occasional loss of text.

[Dorset dialect poetry.] Three pamphlets of poems by ‘Two Darset Maids’: one titled ‘Ye Olde Dorset Fayre’, and two (different) titled ‘Wole Darset Vayre’.

Author: 
‘Two Darset Maids’ [Arthur Nicholls; Dorset dialect poetry; Borough and Town of Weymouth Melcombe Regis; H. D. Warwick and W. J. Squibb, Weymouth printers]
Publication details: 
‘Ye Olde Dorset Fayre’, 22 and 23 August 1923; H. D. Warwick, printer, Weymouth. The two titled ‘Wole Darset Vayre’, 24 and 25 August 1927 and 21, 22 and 23 August 1929. The first printed by Warwick and the second by W. J. Squibb of Weymouth.
£220.00

Three scarce items: no other copy traced. The three pamphlets are uniform in design, each consisting of 4pp, 12mo, stapled into card wraps with title and date beneath the Borough crest. Presumably produced for distribution at the annual town fair. The text of each poem covers all four pages. The first two are in good condition, lightly aged; the last is in fair condition, slightly ruckled and spotted. ONE: ‘Ye Olde Dorset Fayre’. At the Royal Palm Court, Weymouth, 22 and 23 August 1923. Poem ‘By Two Darset Maids’ beginning: ‘Come in, me vriends, and look around, / We got all zarts to zell:’.

[Sherborne Academy, Ransam House, Sherborne, Dorset (John Kidd, Principal).] Printed card, with lithographic illustration of the building, and details of masters, terms and those to whom references may be sent (including the actor W. C. Macready).

Author: 
Sherborne Academy, Ransam House, Sherborne, Dorset; John Kidd (c.1834-1891), Principal; William Charles Macready (1793-1873), distinguished actor
Publication details: 
[No date, but between 1861 and 1868. Sherborne Academy, Ransam House, Sherborne, Dorset]
£100.00

A nice piece of Sherborne ephemera, in unusually good condition. Between 1855 and 1860 Ransam House had been used to board boys from Sherborne School. ‘The Sherborne Academy’ to which the present card refers was run by John Kidd (c.1834-1891), FRAS, MCP, at Ransam between the end of 1861 and 1868, when it reverted to Sherborne School. The present item is printed in black ink on both sides of a x cm piece of white card. In very good condition, lightly aged.

[Dorset Election 1831; Hon. W.F.S. Ponsonby, brother of Lady Caroline Lamb; Earl of Shaftesbury] MS. The Expenses of The Committee for the Election of the Honble W.F.S. Ponsonby | To Thomas Phippard with covering letter from Tho. Phippard..

Author: 
[Dorset Election 1831; Hon. W.F.S. Ponsonby; Earl of Shaftesbury]
Dorset
Publication details: 
Bill dated 14 September 1831; covering letter Wareham, Nov. 1831.
£350.00
Dorset

Two pages, folio, fold marks, a little grubby, some damage (by stamp vandal?) marginally affecting text, ow fair.. A. The covering letter by Tho. Phippard, sending the Bill in the Election, asking the recipient, E.Nicoletts, Bridport, to fill in the blanks with the average sums charged per diem by the other agents. I have not included many days [absent?] in the business. My bill will be higher than some agents as I was directed to proceed in canvassing my Division earlier in consequence of the proceedings of Ashleys [ie Later Lord Shaftesbury].

[Charles Bestland (Cantelowe Bestland), Royal Academy Schools artist.] Twelve Regency pencil portraits (for engraving?), middle-class sitters including James Millar, Encyclopaedia Britannica editor; Col. Serle; members of Trenchard family of Dorset.

Author: 
Charles Bestland (Cantelowe or Cantlo Bestland) of the Royal Academy Schools [Col. Serle; James Millar, Encyclopaedia Britannica editor; John Trenchard Pickard of Dorset]
Bestland
Publication details: 
English. The twelve dated in pencil between 1811 and 1829.
£950.00
Bestland

Twelve pencil portraits executed in the same extremely capable style, probably for the purposes of engraving. Each on a separate piece of 4to paper. All in good condition, with light signs of age and wear, a couple with minor flecking with red paint. All dated in pencil (between 1811 and 1829), and all but two captioned. (Several of the items with watermark date supporting the pencil dating.) Three of the portraits have the tiny signature at bottom left of 'Bestland', and all would appear to be the work of the same artist, although the last appears to be signed with the initials 'C H'.

[William Charles Macready, celebrated actor, friend of Charles Dickens.] Autograph Letter Signed ('W. C. Macready.') [to 'Hawtrey'], regarding Prince Albert, the education of the poor, and the recipient's brother's school.

Author: 
William Charles Macready [W. C. Macready], celebrated actor, friend of Charles Dickens [Hawtrey; Sherborne, Dorset ]
Publication details: 
Sherborne House [Dorset]. 31 May [no year, but before 1860].
£120.00

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium with mourning border, on paper embossed with the Macready crest. In fair condition, lightly aged, with torn hole to one corner of the first leaf (not affecting text), presumably caused by removal from mount. The recipient is clearly a member of the Hawtrey family (and presumably a relation of Edward Craven Hawtrey of Eton), as the letter concludes with the Macready family's best wishes 'to Mrs. Hawtrey'. It must date from before Macready's departure for Cheltenham in 1860.

[ Lord Whitworth, as British Ambassador to France. ] Autograph Note in the third person, inviting Lord Glenbervie to dinner with himself and his wife, known as the Duchess of Dorset..

Author: 
Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth (1752-1825) [ Lord Whitworth, 1800-1813; Viscount Whitworth, 1813-1815 ], British diplomat [ Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie (1743-1823) ]
Publication details: 
Hôtel de l'Empire [ Paris ]. Undated [ 1819? see note below ]..
£150.00

1p., 16mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Lord Whitworth & the Duchess of Dorset [now his wife] request the honor of Lord Glenbervie's Company at dinner to morrow [sic] at ½ past five. | Hôtel de l'Empire | Sunday morn.' Whitworth was British Ambassador to Paris. 1802-1803. Note: "After the restoration of the Bourbons in France, which as a political expedient he [Whitworth] highly approved, he visited Paris in April 1819 with the Duchess of Dorset and a numerous train."

[ Devon County Cricket Club and Dorset County Cricket Club. ] Autograph Signatures of the twenty-two cricketers taking part in the match 'Dorset v. Devon. Aug. 22 & 23 - 1924'.

Author: 
Devon County Cricket Club, founded 1899; Dorset County Cricket Club, founded 1896
Publication details: 
[ Dorset v. Devon cricket match. ] 22 and 23 August 1924
£45.00

On one side of a 16 x 20 cm leaf torn from an album. In fair condition, lightly aged. The signatures of the eleven Devon players in column along the left-hand edge, and those of the Dorset players in a column along the right-hand edge. Details of the match and players are hard to find. Here is a tentative reading of the Devon signatures: 'F H Canok | A R Strephardy | W F Light | S Blakeney | K G E<?> | E. G. Trench | J R Carter | C R Russell | <?> | G H H Sherlock | E A S<?>'. And a similarly-tentative reading of the Dorset signatures: 'E. C. Walby | W Harrison | W. J. Knight | M. B.

[ Printed item. ] Article by Richard Curle titled 'The Ray Society | Additional Notes and Reflections', in a copy of the magazine 'The Literary Repository', issued by the antiquarian bookseller J. Stevens Cox.

Author: 
Richard Curle [ Richard Henry Parnell Curle ] (1883-1968), author, friend and associate of Joseph Conrad; J. Stevens Cox, Antiquarian Bookseller, Beaminster, Dorset; H. T. Kirby
Publication details: 
No. 3 / 1954. J. Stevens Cox, Antiquarian Bookseller, Beaminster, Dorset, England.
£56.00

Complete magazine: 16pp., folio. In good condition, on lightly-aged high-acidity paper. Three-quarters of the magazine is devoted to a catalogue by the publisher.

[ Girl Guides in 1930s Britain. ] Album of photographs of a company of Girl Guides camping at a number of locations including Foxlease in Hampshire and Tarrant Keyneston in Dorset, taken between 1929 and 1936, compiled by 'E. Tait'.

Author: 
[ Girl Guide movement in 1930s Great Britain; Foxlease, Hampshire; 'E. Tait'; 'Miss Popham' ]
Publication details: 
The photographs mainly taken at Foxlease in Hampshire, but also at Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, and other locations. Between 1929 and 1936.
£220.00

189 black and white photographs, ranging in size from 15 x 10.5 cm to 4.5 x 7 cm, loosely inserted (i.e. not mounted but removable) on the fifty leaves of a 20 x 30 cm album. While the photographs themselves are in good condition, the album is somewhat worn and aged. Painted in large Gothic letters at centre of front cover is 'Camp Snaps'; with the name of the compiler 'E. TAIT' at top right. Inscribed inside cover 'From “Porky” | September 4th, 1934'. The leaves of the album are made of thick black paper, and more than three-quarters of the photographs are neatly captioned in white ink.

[ Minnie Walters Anson, English miniaturist. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed to 'Miss Newcomb' [ secretary of Marcus Adams Limited], regarding miniatures made from photographs of children taken by her brother-in-law Marcus Adams

Author: 
Walters Anson [ Minnie Walters Anson ] (1875-1959), RMS [ Royal Miniature Society ], miniaturist [ Lambeth School of Art ], wife of artist Chris Adams (1867-1960), brother of Marcus Adams
Publication details: 
Both on her letterhead ('WALTERS ANSON, R.M.S.'), 48 Parkstone Avenue, Parkstone, Dorset. 6 and 11 February 1950.
£180.00

Both letters 2pp., 12mo. Both in good condition, lightly-aged, the second with the first page lightly crossed through in pencil. The letters relate to work done for the firm of her brother-in-law Marcus Adams (described in his Times obituary as 'the outstanding child photographer of his day and photographer to the Royal Family for more than 30 years'), at 43 Dover Street, Mayfair. She begins the first letter by explaining that she has 'endeavoured to make the Woodall miniature like the snapshot, but unless they are really satisfied I had better do another.

[ Thomas Hardy, novelist. ] Sepia photograph of Riverside Villas, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, where Hardy wrote 'Return of the Native'.

Author: 
[ Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), English novelist; his residence Riverside Villas, Sturminster Newton, Dorset ]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ Dorset? Late nineteenth century. ]
£60.00

8.5 x 13.5 cm sepia shiny landscape photographic print on card with rounded corners. Laid down on grey paper backing. In fair condition, fading slightly, with 'T. Hardy wrote Return of the Native here' in top right-hand corner and 'RIVERSIDE' in bottom right hand corner. Shows frontage of house, with path leading to it and tree to the left of the foreground. 'The Return of the Native' was published in 1878.

[Hon. Henry Thynne, Tory Member of Parliament.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H. Thynne') to Sir William Blackett, regarding the payment of a debt.

Author: 
Henry Thynne (1675-1708), Tory Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (1701, 1702-1708), and Tamworth (1701-1702) [Sir William Blackett (1657-1705) of Newcastle-upon-Tyne]
Publication details: 
No place. 10 December 1696.
£120.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. Addressed by Thynne, with two small seals in red wax, on reverse of the second leaf, 'For Wm. Blackett Bart | At Mr. Morlands in Manchester Court | Cannon Rowe | Westm[inste]r.' In fair condition, on aged and dusty paper. The letter reads: 'Sr | Had I not Recd yors of this day I should not have failed of Sending you the acquittance for the mony Recd upon the Bill you sent me which was very punctually paid, for which I Returne you many thanks and also the Usuall acquittance for theh Same. I am wth. great respect | Yor very humble Servt | H. Thynne'.

Harvey's improved Weymouth Guide: containing A Description of Weymouth, Portland, Lulworth Castle, and every Place in the Neighbourhood, worthy the Observation of Strangers. Likewise [...] A New Map of Weymouth, [...] beautifully Engraved by Baker.

Author: 
Harvey's Weymouth Guide [Portland; Lulworth Castle; Melcomb Regis; travel guide; Baker; M. Virtue, printer, Dorchester; Dorset]
Publication details: 
[circa 1800] Printed by M. Virtue, Dorchester.
£225.00

The subtitle reads in full: 'A List of the Members of Parliament for the Boroughs of Weymouth and Melcomb Regis, from the earliest Period. A List of Lodging Houses; and A New Map of Weymouth, Including the late Additions and Improvements; beautifully engraved by Baker.' 8vo, [iv] + 91 pp. Errata on last page. The frontispiece 'Plan of Weymouth' folds out to roughly 38 x 26 cm, with the dimensions of the print roughly 26 x 22 cm. Engraved beneath the print: 'J. Ham Delin. Engraved by B. Baker for Harveys New Weymouth Guide'. Unbound and stitched, in original plain wraps.

Poems of Rural Life in Common English.

Author: 
William Barnes [Dorset dialect poetry]
Publication details: 
London: Macmillan and Co. 1868. [London: Printed by Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square and Parliament Street.]
£65.00

First edition. 8vo: xii + 200 + [iv] pp. (the last four pages an unpaginated publisher's catalogue). In original blue cloth, gilt. Fair, tight copy, on lightly-aged paper, with some spotting to endpapers. Binding with dulled spine and minor spotting. Bookplate of the Rev. English Crooks. Binders ticket ('BOUND BY BURN & CO.') to rear pastedown. Half-title reads 'RURAL POEMS'. The 'translation' of the three collections beginning with 'Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect' (1844).

Autograph Letter Signed to unnamed male correspondent.

Author: 
W. Whately [Piddletrenthide, Dorset]
Publication details: 
24 October 1807; 'Piddletrent hide'.
£20.00

1 page, 8vo. Creased and discoloured, with some wear to extremities and a small spike-hole at centre. He encloses sixteen pounds for the payment of the bill of 'Mr Holder', and enquires whether 'Mr Halsey' has paid over the fifteen pounds he owes.

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