GEORGIAN

[Sir John Barrow, geographer and author, Second Secretary to the Admiralty.] Autograph Letter in the third person to ‘Mr. Clowes’, regarding his ‘Art[icle]. on Egypt’.

Author: 
Sir John Barrow (1764-1848), geographer and author, Second Secretary to the Admiralty, 1804-1845
Publication details: 
'Tuesday' (no place or date).
£100.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Laid down by the four corners to piece of paper neatly cut down from a leaf of an album. Reads: 'Sir J. Barrow will thank Mr. Clowes to let him have the Art. on Egypt, as soon as set up, as he will have considerable alterations to make towards the

[Priscilla Gurney, Quaker minister, sister of John Joseph Gurney, prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, and others.] Two-volume manuscript ?Memoirs of Priscilla Gurney? by Rachel Gurney and other siblings, filled with correspondence and family information.

Author: 
Priscilla Gurney (1785-1821) of Earlham, Quaker minister, sister of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845), Daniel Gurney (1791-1880); Joseph John Gurney (1788-1847), and Samuel Gurney (1786-1856)
Publication details: 
The text covers her life in Earlham, Norfolk, from 1785-1821. The volume itself is written in the early part of the nineteenth century (1820s or 1830s).
£2,000.00

A total of 416pp, 4to, in two volumes. Drophead title to vol. 1: ?Memoir of Priscilla Gurney. | 1st. Part.? Drophead title to vol.2: ?Memoir of P. G. | Part second.? Written in a close and neat hand. The volumes are paginated to 263 and 299, but taking into account blank pages they in fact contain 203 and 213pp of actual text respectively. Most of the main body of the text is written on the rectos, with additional material written in a closer hand lengthwise up the versos.

[Samuel Cooper, surgeon and medical author.] Autograph Letter in the third person to 'the Board of Curators', asking for a library ticket for Michael Foster of Holywell.

Author: 
Samuel Cooper (1780-1848), surgeon and medical author whose ?Surgical Dictionary? was a standard textbook [Michael Foster (1810-1880), surgeon]
Publication details: 
?June 14 1833. / 7, Woburn Place? [London].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: ?Mr S Cooper?s compts to the Board of Curators and will be obliged if they will favour him with a ticket for the Library for his friend Mr M. Foster for 6 months / For Mr Michael Foster / of Holywell Bedfordshire / June 14 1833. / 7, Woburn Place?. A pencil note in a contemporary hand at the head of the page gives a list of works by ?Prof. Samuel Cooper F.R.S.?

[Joseph Bosworth, Old English scholar; Anglo-Saxon] Autograph Letter Signed to the antiquary T. J. Pettigrew, discussing Pettigrew's autobiography and the reception of his own ?Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language'.

Author: 
Joseph Bosworth (1788-1876), Old English scholar, author of ?Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language [Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (1791-1865), surgeon and antiquary, Librarian to the Duke of Sussex]
Publication details: 
?Rotterdam March 23d. 1840?.
£220.00

See the two men?s entries in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper with slight discolouration to top corners of second leaf, with a panel along the bottom of the second leaf cut away. Folded for postage. Addressed in the customary manner on reverse of second leaf, to ?T. J. Pettigrew Esqr. Dr. Phil. F.R.S. &c / Saville [sic] Row / London?, and signed ?Josh Bosworth.? With two postmarks (one of ?Dockhead / 1D. PAID?), and seal with small impression in red wax. He is happy to have received Pettigrew?s ?interesting Autobiography?: ?I sat down & cd.

[Aylmer Bourke Lambert, disgtinguished botanist, vice-president of the Linnaean Society of London.] Autograph Letter Signed to ?Captn. Ross? [the future Sir James Clark Ross], asking him to show his drawings to the King and Queen of New Zealand..

Author: 
Aylmer Bourke Lambert (1761-1842), distinguished English botanist, vice-president of the Linnean Society of London [Sir James Clark Ross (1800-1862), Antarctic explorer]
Publication details: 
?Friday Eveng. 4th. April [no year or place].?
£50.00

See his entry, and that of Ross, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo, on first leaf of bifolium. Aged and worn, with small sections torn away at top corners, damaging the first letter of the text. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to ?Captn. Ross.? Neatly written in an elegant hand with a good firm signature. Unusually punctuated. The letter presumably relates to botanical illustrations made during Ross?s Antarctic explorations, from 1839 onwards. Reads: ?My Dear Sir / There are some friends of mine Lord Mountnorris & his Sister & The King & Queen of New Zealand.

[John Tricker Conquest, physician-accoucheur (man-midwife) and author of the standard textbook ?Outlines of Midwifery?.] Autograph Note in the third person to ?Mr. Bullock? regarding the procurement of his ?Letters to a Mother?.

Author: 
John Tricker Conquest (1789-1866), physician-accoucheur (man-midwife) whose ?Outlines of Midwifery? (1820) was a standard textbook in the first half of the nineteenth century
Publication details: 
?Finsbury Square [London] / Monday?. (In pencil in another hand ?Septr 1848?, and on paper with 1847 watermark.)
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On recto of first leaf of bifolium of grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. The subject is Conquest?s ?Letters to a Mother on the Management of Herself and her Children in Health and Disease?, published in 1848, which had reached a fourth edition by 1852. ?Dr. Conquest presents his compliments to Mr. Bullock & begs to say that the ?Letters? may be obtained at the publisher Longman & Co. Paternoster Row, & of Gladding Booksellers opposite Bunhill Fields City Road, & through any other bookseller.?

[William Cullen, , President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, David Hume’s doctor and friend of Adam Smith, a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.] Autograph Signature and engraved portrait.

Author: 
William Cullen (1710-1790), central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, David Hume's physician and friend of Adam Smith
Cullen
Publication details: 
Autograph Signature undated. Engraved portrait from the European Magazine, 'Published by I. Asperne, Cornhill, Novr. 1. 1803'.
£120.00
Cullen

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Laid down on an 8vo leaf of grey paper removed from an album. The autograph is on a strip of paper at the foot, and reads: 'Gul. Cullen Med. Pract. P.' Above this is the stipple engraving, in good condition, showing 'DR. WILLIAM CULLEN' in profile. The artist is named as 'Ridley' and the portrait, in an oval border, is topped by the words 'European Magazine'. Another thin strip of paper, above the engraving, reads: 'From Lot 293 of the collection of Mr. J Naylor: sold by Sotheby Wilkinson and Hodge on 23/7/85'. See Image

[Sir Robert Ker Porter [‘Reynhold Steinkirk’], historical painter to Tsar of Russia, British consul in Venezuela; botany] Two Autograph Letters Signed to the Hon. Mrs Villiers, regarding the procurement in Venezuela of the ‘rarest seeds’.

Author: 
Sir Robert Ker Porter [pseudonym ‘Reynhold Steinkirk’] (1777-1842), Anglo-Irish artist, diplomat and author, historical painter to Tsar Alexander I of Russia, British consul in Venezuela [Villiers]
Publication details: 
ONE: 1 April 1830; Esher [England]. TWO: 18 October 1830; Caracas [Venezuela].
£380.00

Artist, author, diplomat and horseman, present at Sir John Moore’s death in Corunna, knighted by the king of Sweden, historical painter to Tsar Alexander, British consul in Venezuela: see the entry on this renaissance man in the Oxford DNB. Both in good condition, with folds for postage. Both signed ‘R Ker Porter’. The recipient (known to her family as the ‘Queen Bee’) was the widow of the Hon. George Villiers, who resided with her family at Kent House, Knightsbridge, home of her brother the Earl of Morley.

[Lord Erskine [Thomas Erskine], judge and Whig politician, Lord Chancellor in the Ministry of All the Talents.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Hon. Theresa Villiers?] on the background to his pamphlet on 'The Present War with France'.

Author: 
Lord Erskine [Thomas Erskine (1750-1823)], Scottish judge and Whig politician, Lord Chancellor in the Ministry of All the Talents
Publication details: 
21 February 1808. No place.
£280.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The item is from the Villiers papers, and the recipient is presumably the Theresa, wife of the Hon. George Villiers (1759-1827), daughter of Lord Boringdon and sister of the Earl of Morley. (See the entry on her son Thomas Hyde Villiers (1801-1832) in the History of Parliament.) 2pp, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, folded once. Signed ‘Erskine’.

[George IV as Prince Regent, and former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth as Home Secretary.] Warrant Signed by 'George P R.' and 'Sidmouth', directing that Matthias Maher be removed from the Lunatic Asylum in St George's Fields to Newgate Prison.

Author: 
George IV as Prince Regent; Lord Sidmouth [Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth] (1757-1844), Prime Minister; William Erasmus Hardy of Newgate Prison; Matthias Maher [Transportation; Australia]
George IV as Prince Regent
Publication details: 
'Given at Our Court at Carlton House the Thirty first day of July 1819, in the Fifty ninth Year of Our Reign.'
£450.00
George IV as Prince Regent

This document, signed by George IV as Prince Regent, and by the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth as Home Secretary, relates to Matthias Maher (1798-1865), a Royal Navy officer who was twice tried at the Old Bailey on a charge of forgery. On the first occasion, 6 May 1818, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity; and removed to the criminal asylum in St George's Fields. Maher was found sound of mind – as the present document reveals by Sir George Leman Tuthill (1772–1835) and Edward Wright (c.1788-1859), the latter to die of disgrace in Australia.

[Lord Mansfield, Scottish jurist whose judgments reformed English law on slavery.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Mansfield') [to the Earl of Liverpool] regarding his recovery from ill health and recuperation at Mount Ephraim.

Author: 
Lord Mansfield [William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793)], distinguished Scottish jurist whose judgments reformed English law on slavery [Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1729-1808)]
Publication details: 
'Mount Ephraim [near Tunbridge Wells, Kent] 2d Septr. 1784'.
£220.00

1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse. Folded once.. A neatly-written letter of fourteen lines. The recipient is not named, but is Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1729-1808), whose country seat was Addiscombe Park in Surrey. Mansfield served in the First Pitt Ministry with Liverpool (then Lord Hawkesbury), the former as Lord President of the Council, and the latter as President of the Board of Trade.

[George IV and Home Secretary and future Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel.] Autograph Signatures of the King ('George R.') and Peel ('R Peel') to 'Warrant for the removal of John Raddon to the Criminal Lunatic Asylum in St Georges Fields'.

Author: 
George IV (1762-1830), King of Great Britain; Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), Prime Minister and creator of the British police force
George IV
Publication details: 
'Given at Our Court at Carlton House the Fifth day of February 1824, in the Fifth Year of Our Reign.'
£400.00
George IV

2pp, foolscap 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to one edge. Folded twice. Large heavily-smudged signature of the king ('George R.') at head of first page, which has the royal seal under paper in the left-hand margin. Signed at end of document ('By His Majesty's Command') by the Home Secretary and future Prime Minister: 'R Peel'.

[Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, son of George III.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Augustus Frederick') [to Earl St Vincent], attacking the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool while discussing his election as President of the Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), sixth son of George III, bibliophile [John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (1735-1823), naval hero; Ellis Cornelia Knight (1757-1837); Lord Liverpool]
Publication details: 
Kensington Palace; 3 February 1816.
£350.00

An interesting letter, attacking the serving Tory Prime Minister Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770-1828), who had stood against the Duke of Sussex (noted for his liberal sympathies) in the election for President of the Royal Society of Arts. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. The recipient is not named, but is identified in an endorsement on the reverse of the second leaf as 'Earl St Vincent'. Written in a hurried, untidy hand.

[The Fall of Fort Bowyer to the British, following the Battle of New Orleans, 1815.] Contemporary Manuscript Copy of Autograph Despatch from Major John Lambert to Earl Bathurst, describing the action.

Author: 
Sir John Lambert (1772-1847), British Army general in the Napoleonic Wars [Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst; Battle of New Orleans and Fall of Fort Bowyer, 1815]
Publication details: 
'Head Quarters Isle Dauphine | February 14th. 1815.' [On paper with Golding & Snelgrove watermark dated 1811.]
£450.00

3pp, foolscap 8vo. On laid paper with watermark: 'GOLDING | & | SNELGROVE | 1811'. Aged and worn, with closed tears along folds, but with text complete and clear. The document includes two passages written in red ink which has faded but is still legible. The background to the present letter is given in Lambert's entry in the Oxford DNB: 'On 4 June 1813 Lambert was promoted major-general, and was appointed to a brigade of the 6th division. [?] Having been sent to America, he joined the army under Sir Edward Pakenham below New Orleans on 6 January 1815, with the 7th and 43rd foot regiments.

['Scotland's greatest nineteenth-century churchman': Thomas Chalmers, Professor of Theology, economist, leader of both the Church and Free Church of Scotland.] Autograph Memorandum on church extension, for Thomas Henry Lister.

Author: 
Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), 'Scotland's greatest nineteenth-century churchman', Professor of Theology, economist, leader of the Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland [Thomas Henry Lister]
Publication details: 
[24 February 1836.]
£80.00

A document of some historical significance.

['We might have paid a visit to the Pyramids': Samuel Rogers, 'The Banker Poet', member of Holland House circle, and acquaintance of Byron, Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mrs Lister' [Lady Theresa Lewis], a flight of fancy

Author: 
Samuel Rogers (1763-1855), 'The Banker Poet', art connoisseur, member of the Holland House circle, and acquaintance of Wordsworth, Byron, Sir Walter Scott [Lady Theresa Lewis]
Publication details: 
'Friday' [no date or place, but before 1844].
£60.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), whose first husband was the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). The present letter is written before her marriage to her second husband the Liberal politician Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863). 2pp, 32mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of stub from mount adhering to one edge. Folded once for postage. A charming missive. Reads: ‘My dear Mrs Lister / I shall be delighted to come to you, if I can make my escape from where I shall be, in any decent time.

[Richard Cumberland, dramatist.] Autograph Letter Signed to George IV’s mistress the Countess of Jersey, expressing pleasure that she is pleased with his composition, and thanking her for her regret at his loss.

Author: 
Richard Cumberland (1732-1811), dramatist [Frances Villiers [née Twysden], Countess of Jersey (1753-1821), mistress of King George IV]
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£320.00

See his entry, and hers, in the Oxford DNB. From the papers of her relation Lady Theresa Lewis. 2pp, 8vo. On the first leaf of a bifolium, the recto of the second leaf being addressed by him to ‘Countess of Jersey / &c &c &c’. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Written in high eighteenth-century style.

[John Wilson Croker, Anglo-Irish politician and author.] Autograph Letter Signed to John Gibson Lockhart, asking him to make an enquiry to Miss Mary Berry regarding Horace Walpole.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), Anglo-Irish politician and author [John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854), Scottish author and editor, biographer of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott; Horace Walpole]
Publication details: 
‘W. M. [West Molsey, Surrey] 19 May 49.’ [1849]
£120.00

See his entry in the History of Parliament, and his and Lockhart’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, with thin strip of dried adhesive from mount along one edge, and tiny bit of loss at foot beneath the signature. Folded for postage.

[James Baillie Fraser, Scottish artist and traveller in India.] Autograph Letter in the third person to Lady Theresa Lewis (as ‘Mrs Lister’), regarding ‘the Persian Princes’, Sir Gore Ousely and his future plans.

Author: 
James Baillie Fraser (1792-1856), Scottish artist and traveller in India [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
James Baillie Fraser
Publication details: 
‘Athenaeum [London] / July 29th 1837’.
£350.00
James Baillie Fraser

See his entry and hers in the Oxford DNB. From the papers of Lady Theresa Lewis, and written while she was married to her first husband, the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded once for postage.

[Henry Luttrell [born Henry King], wit and poet.] Autograph Note Signed to Lady Theresa Lewis, accepting a dinner invitation.

Author: 
Henry Luttrell [born Henry King] (1768-1851), wit and poet [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
'B[rompton]. Square [London] / Monday March 20 [no year, but on paper watermarked 1847]'.
£50.00

See his entry and hers in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, folded once for postage. Written in the shaky hand of an old man, and reads: 'My dear Lady Teresa, [sic] / I accept, with very great pleasure your kind invitation to dinner on Saturday April 1st / ever faithfully Yours / H. Luttrell'.

[Sir Philip Francis, putative author of the celebrated ‘Letters of Junius’.] Autograph Letter Signed to the oriental scholar Thomas Maurice, offering support and information for his ‘plan’ [for 'Indian Antiquities'?].

Author: 
Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818), putative author of the celebrated political tracts ‘The Letters of Junius' (1769-1772) [Thomas Maurice (1754-1824), oriental scholar]
Sir Philip Francis
Publication details: 
'Isleworth twenty fourth June / 1791'.
£500.00
Sir Philip Francis

As John Cannon writes in Francis’s entry in the Oxford DNB, ‘The authorship of the Junius letters has been the subject of innumerable publications of various merit’, with the case for Francis, first proposed by John Taylor in 1816, ‘far the most probable’. The present item is of double interest: handwriting analysis has played a significant part in a number of publications, e.g. ‘The handwriting of Junius professionally investigated by Charles Chabot, expert; with preface and collateral evidence, by the Hon. Edward Twisleton’ (London, 1871).

[Samuel Rogers, 'The Banker Poet', member of Holland House circle, and acquaintance of Byron, Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott.]

Author: 
Samuel Rogers (1763-1855), 'The Banker Poet', art connoisseur, member of the Holland House circle, and acquaintance of Wordsworth, Byron, Sir Walter Scott [Lady Theresa Lewis]
Samuel Rogers
Publication details: 
No place or date [on paper with 1837 Whatman watermark].
£150.00
Samuel Rogers

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of the author Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), successively wife of the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842) and the Liberal politician Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), all with entries in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Reads: ‘Many, many thanks for thinking of me! When I came to myself in the morning, I remembered something of a kind proposition you had made to me & resolved to call & learn more about it. / Monday the 9th.

[Henry Francis Cary, translator of Dante, poet, author and Assistant Librarian at the British Museum.] Autograph Letter Signed [to the novelist Thomas Henry Lister], expressing thanks for the placing of one of his sons in a good situation.

Author: 
Henry Francis Cary (1772-1844), translator of Dante, poet, author and Assistant Librarian at the British Museum [Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), novelist]
Publication details: 
‘Brit. Museum. [London] / Decr 11th. 1837’.
£45.00

See Cary's entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. The recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of Lady Maria Theresa Lewis, and the letter is written to her first husband, the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), whose father Thomas Lister of Armitage Park was a childhood friend of Cary's (see his 1847 biography by his son).

[Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, Scottish judge and literary critic, editor of the Edinburgh Review.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Theresa Lewis, making arrangement's for a visit, and reporting on the health of his wife 'Charly'.

Author: 
Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850), Lord Jeffrey, Scottish judge and literary critic, editor of the Edinburgh Review [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, with that of the recipient Lady [Maria] Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), who lived in Kent House in Knightsbridge with her second husband Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bart, her first husband having been the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). 32mo, 2pp. On the two sides of a piece of gilt-edged paper. In good condition, folded once for postage. Signed ‘F Jeffrey’. A difficult hand.

[Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London.] Five Autograph Letters Signed (all ‘B. London’) to Thomas Maurice of the British Museum, two with detailed criticism of Maurice’s poem on Pitt the Younger.

Author: 
Beilby Porteus (1731-1809), Bishop of London [Thomas Maurice (1754-1824), Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, Anglican cleric and oriental scholar]
Publication details: 
1798, 1800 (2), 1806 and 1807 (the last apparently a mistake for 1806). The first from St James’s Square, the last from Clifton, the others from Sundridge [Kent].
£250.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. The five items are in good condition, lightly aged, with each on a 4to bifolium, and all folded for postage. In a neat and attractive hand. The text of each letter is on the first leaf, and the first two letters are addressed by Porteus on the reverse of the second leaf, each with broken seals in red wax. In Letters Four and Five Porteus lays out his objections to Maurice’s ‘Elegy on the late Right Honourable William Pitt’, published in 1806 under the name ‘T. M.’ ONE (St James’s Square, 10 April 1898): 1p, 4to. Addressed to ‘Revd. Mr Maurice / No.

[‘you are much too young & handsome to be convenient’: Edward Jerningham, high-society poet and playwright, protégé of Horace Walpole.] Unsigned Autograph Letter, flirting with unnamed male recipient, and giving details of his relation Lady Stafford.

Author: 
Edward Jerningham (1737-1812), high-society poet and playwright, protégé of Horace Walpole on whom Sheridan is said to have based the character of Sir Benjamin Backbite in ‘The School for Scandal’
Publication details: 
1798. No other details.
£280.00

Jerningham’s entry in the Oxford DNB, states that he died unmarried, ‘despite habitual flirtations with young actresses’; the present letter indicates that the members of the other sex were not exempted from his attentions. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, on a leaf of laid watermarked paper, folded for postage. Twenty-six lines of text. Dated ‘1798’ at top right, with ‘From Edward Jerningham the Poet’ above it. Unsigned, but in Jerningham's distinctive hand.

[John Wilson, Scottish author, the 'Christopher North' of Blackwood's Magazine.] Three Autograph Letters Signed to the novelist Thomas Henry Lister, conveying Edinburgh dinner invitations.

Author: 
‘Christopher North’ [John Wilson (1785-1854)], Scottish literary critic and essayist with Blackwood’s magazine, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh
Publication details: 
‘Tuesday Evening’, ‘Thursday’ and ‘Saturday’ [no dates, but all after 1825]. All three from 6 Gloucester Place [Edinburgh].
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that he lived in Gloucester Place from 1825. The recipient is the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), and the item is from the papers of his wife, Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865): both also have ODNB entries. The three letters are in good condition; each 2pp, 12mo, and on the first leaf of a bifolium, and all lightly aged and folded for postage, with slight damage from mount to the second leaves of each (all carrying the address in Wilson’s hand). All three with Wilson’s sprawling signature ‘John Wilson’.

[Napier of Merchistoun: William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier of Merchistoun.] Long Autograph Letter Signed ‘To Colonel Napier / Royal Artillery’ [Charles Napier?], regarding genealogical matters, and with a Royal Navy reminiscence.

Author: 
Lord Napier of Merchistoun [William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier (1786-1834), Royal Navy officer and Chief Superintendant of Trade in China [Col. Charles Napier (d.1849), Royal Artillery?]
Publication details: 
‘Thirlestane - Selkirk Decr 19 / 1831’.
£220.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is presumably the Captain Charles Napier (d.1849) of the Royal Artillery who ‘received eight wounds from the bursting of a shrapnel shell’ at Waterloo (see Dalton’s ‘Waterloo Roll Call’, p.194). 8pp, 4to. Closely and neatly written on two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged, but folded three times into a packet, and with some closed tears to the creases. Addressed ‘To Colonel Napier / Royal Artillery’ and with the valediction ‘I will now bid you adieu & subscribe myself / Yr very faithful Kinsman / Napier’.

[Napier of Merchistoun: William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier of Merchistoun.] Long Autograph Letter Signed ‘To Colonel Napier / Royal Artillery’ [Charles Napier?], regarding genealogical matters, and with a Royal Navy reminiscence.

Author: 
Lord Napier of Merchistoun [William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier (1786-1834), Royal Navy officer and Chief Superintendant of Trade in China [Col. Charles Napier (d.1849), Royal Artillery?]
Publication details: 
‘Thirlestane - Selkirk Decr 19 / 1831’.
£220.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is presumably the Captain Charles Napier (d.1849) of the Royal Artillery who ‘received eight wounds from the bursting of a shrapnel shell’ at Waterloo (see Dalton’s ‘Waterloo Roll Call’, p.194). 8pp, 4to. Closely and neatly written on two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged, but folded three times into a packet, and with some closed tears to the creases. Addressed ‘To Colonel Napier / Royal Artillery’ and with the valediction ‘I will now bid you adieu & subscribe myself / Yr very faithful Kinsman / Napier’.

[Sir Thomas Wyse, British Ambassador to Greece and husband of Napoleon's niece Princess Letizia Bonaparte.] Autograph Signature to valediction of a letter.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Wyse (1791-1862), Anglo-Irish diplomat, British Ambassador to Greece, husband of Napoleon's niece Princess Letizia Bonaparte
Sir Thomas Wyse
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£450.00
Sir Thomas Wyse

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 10.5 x 5 cm strip of paper, with thin mourning border, cut from the end of a letter. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with thin strip of glue from mount to one edge, and thin strip of paper laid down on reverse, with manuscript note 'Sir Thomas Wyse, Minister to Greece'. Strong stylish signature to valediction reading: 'I beg you to believe me / My Dear Lord / Sincerely Yrs. / Thos. Wyse'. Fragment of letter on reverse: '[...] truly at his discretion to go on [...]'.

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