HARDWICK

[Adalbert, Prince of Bavaria.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Adalbert | Prince de Bavière.’), in French, to Lady Cullum, discussing the benefits of dehorning livestock, and presenting her with two gold medals for her efforts in promoting the practice.

Author: 
Adalbert, Prince of Bavaria (1828-1875), ninth child of King Ludwig I, and uncle of the ‘mad king’ Ludwig II [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House.
Publication details: 
4 November 1861; Munich [Germany].
£180.00

Written while his brother Maximilian II was on the throne. (Following Maximilian’s death in 1864 Bavaria would be ruled by the celebrated ‘mad king’, Adalbert’s nephew Ludwig II.) The recipient is Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), widow of Rev. Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855), 8th Baronet, of Hardwick House, Bury St Edmunds, who is referred to as ‘botanist and antiquary’ in his eponymous father’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. Thirty-six lines, neatly and closely written. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded twice.

[François Guizot, Prime Minister of France, in exile in London following the Revolution of 1848.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Guizot'), in French, to Lady Cullum, explaining his reasons for declining an invitation to visit Hardwick House.

Author: 
François Guizot [François Pierre Guillaume Guizot] (1787-1874), French historian and statesman, Prime Minister of France [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
'Brompton [London] 14 Sepr 1848'.
£100.00

The recipient is Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), widow of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House, Bury St Edmunds. 1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. The salutation of the letter ('My dear Lady Cullum') is in English, the rest in French. Written at a turbulent period in Guizot's life, following the Revolution in 1848, with the overthrow of the monarchy and its ministry of which he himself was head.

[Agnes Strickland, historical writer and poet.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Ann Cullum, explaining her prolonged visit with Lady Matilda Maxwell at Pollok House near Glasgow, her writing plans, and desire to visit Hardwick House.

Author: 
Agnes Strickland (1796-1874), historical writer [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House; Pollok House, Glasgow, home of the Stirling Maxwell family]
Publication details: 
29 September 1845. 'Polloc [i.e. Pollok] House | nr. Glasgow'.
£180.00

7pp, 32mo. On two bifoliums, stitched together. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed 'Agnes Strickland'. A nice letter with interesting content. Begins: 'Feeling all the kindness of most friendly invitation so sensibly as I do, it gives me the greater regret to be compelled to forgo the pleasure you offer me, of joining my friends Mr. & Miss Mackinnon in your charming home on the 8th of Octr.

[Anna Gurney, philologist and philanthropist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('A Gurney') to Lady Cullum of Hardwick House, discussing the Cullums' European tour, and giving news of their friends.

Author: 
Anna Gurney (1795-1857), philologist and philanthropist, member of the Gurney Quaker banking family [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
23 October [circa 1842]. 'N Repps [i.e. Northrepps] Cottage [near Cromer, Norfolk]'.
£180.00

See Anna Gurney's entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient and her husband had spent some time in Rome in 1842, and in 1838 had befriended the Alpinist Henriette d'Angeville at Geneva. 4pp, 4to. Bifolium with mourning border and watermark year 1840. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of glue from label on outsides of gutter. The letter begins: 'My dear Lady Cullum | I think You & Sir Thomas may be home by this time & I must wish to enquire how you both are after your long wanderings.

[Ulrike von Pogwisch, sister of Goethe's daughter-in-law, latterly Prioress of St John's Monastery, Schleswig.] Autograph Note Signed ('Ulrike v Pogwisch'), in English, [to Lady Ann Cullum], expressing pleasure at making her acquaintance.

Author: 
Ulrike von Pogwisch (1798-1875), sister of the daughter-in-law of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from 1864 Prioress of St. John's Monastery, Schleswig [Lady Ann Cullum of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
[Carlsbad]; nor date ('at 12 oClock').
£150.00

3pp, 16mo. Bifolium. Aged and ruckled, with light damp staining. No salutation, but apparently complete. From the papers of Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Rev. Sir Thomas Gery Cullum of Hardwick House. ]Begins: 'I am very sorry, that I could not keep my promise to day to call upon You, - Believe me that it was impossible, but I cant leave Carlsbad without telling You at least how glad I waws to have made Your acquaintances.

[Lord Lytton (Edward Bulwer Lytton), Victorian novelist and friend of Dickens.] Autograph Letter Signed ('E B L') to Lady Ann Cullum, regarding arrangements with his solicitor regarding a 'Deed'.

Author: 
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Lord Lytton [Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton] (1803-1873), English author and politician, friend of Charles Dickens [Lady Ann Cullum of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
12 May 1855; Park Lane [London], on letterhead of the House of Commons.
£75.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. Written in his usual difficult hand. He begins by stating that her note was forwarded to him from Knebworth. The letter continues: 'I had previously requested my Sol[icito]r.

[General Sir James Simpson, Commander of British troops in Crimea after Lord Raglan's death.] Autograph Letter Signed ('James Simpson') to Lady Ann Cullum, making plans for dinner party, with reference to 'two Miss Lockharts', other guests, his dogs.

Author: 
General Sir James Simpson (1792-1868), commander of British forces in Crimea after Lord Raglan's death [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
27 April [no year]; on letterhead of Horringer, Bury St Edmunds.
£56.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. From the Cullum papers, Simpson being a neighbour of the family. Having 'just come in from a longish walk', he is sorry to have missed Lady Cullum.

[Arthur Sidgwick, classical scholar and promoter of women's education.] Autograph Letter Signed ('A Sidgwick') to Lady Cullum of Hardwick House, written in good spirits after a visit.

Author: 
Arthur Sidgwick (1840-1920), classical scholar and promoter of women's education at Oxford, brother of Henry Sidgwick [Trinity College, Cambridge; Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
1 May 1863; Cambridge.
£180.00

Arthur Sidgwick's long entry in the Oxford DNB concludes with the following assessment: 'a university liberal of rare consistency and stamina: a progressive bridging Victorian and Edwardian generations, and pre-eminent among the male dons who made a place for women's higher education in Oxford'. At the time of the present letter he was nearing the end of a 'brilliant' undergraduate career at Cambridge, with the winning of many prizes: 'In 1863 he was second in the first class of the classical tripos and fourteenth senior optime in mathematics, and was also president of the union.

[King George V of Hanover.] Secretarial Letter Signed ('George R'), in English, to the dancing partner of his youth Lady Ann Cullum, giving news of his family and court. With two letters to Lady Cullum from Count Linsingen, and royal seal in red wax.

Author: 
George V [Georg V] (1819-1878), last king of Hanover, cousin of Queen Victoria; Carl Baron von Linsingen (1822-1872) [Lady Ann Cullum, widow of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
King George V's letter: 28 November [1865]; Herrenhausen. Count Linsingen's two letters: 12 November and 18 December 1865; both from Hanover.
£750.00

Four items, all in good condition, lightly aged, the three letters with stubs and labels used in mounting in an album. In addition to the pleasant picture they paint of the court gathered around the blind king in the last year of his kingdom's existence (with an interesting reference to the new palace he had built his wife at Marienburg), the three letters indicate a surprisingly cordial state in nineteenth-century Anglo-German relations.

[Arethusa Gibson on Thackeray: 'Is he not a little odd?'] Autograph Letter [from her to her mother Lady Cullum], expressing uncertainty about 'Mr Thackery', mocking MP and diplomat David Urquhart, and praising the 'Turkish Chargé d'Affaires'.

Author: 
Arethusa Gibson [née Susannah Arethusa Cullum] (1814-1885), society hostess, wife of Thomas Milner Gibson (1806-1884), Liberal politician [William Makepeace Thackeray; David Urquhart]
Publication details: 
No place or date, but circa 1846-1848, when Thackeray was publishing under the pseudonym 'Michael Angelo Titmarsh'. On letterhead of 'Arethusa'.
£250.00

See the separate entries on the Gibsons in the Oxford DNB, which notes 'her eclectic salons, attended by diplomats, writers, politicians, and, after 1848, European exiles. Regular guests included Dickens, Thackeray, Hugo, Lady Morgan, the Disraelis, Cobden, and Louis Napoleon'. (Dickens wrote part of his last novel, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood', at the Gibsons' London house.) The present item is from the papers of Arethusa's mother Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Rev. Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium.

[Sir Charles Scudamore, celebrated physician.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Chas Scudamore') to Sir Thomas Gery Cullum of Hardwick House, discussing his writing and dire financial situation, and making a 'humiliating' appeal for the deferment of a debt.

Author: 
Sir Charles Scudamore (1779-1849), celebrated physician and medical author [Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
28 December 1833; Wimpole Street [London].
£250.00

Scudamore's entry in the Oxford DNB does not refer to the financial difficulties which he describes in this interesting letter, surprising in the light of his royal patronage and success as an author. 3pp, 4to. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmark and seal in black wax, to 'The | Revd. Sir Thomas Cullum | Bart | Hardwick House | Bury St Edmunds'. Forwarded, in another hand, to 'Sir T G C | No 3 | Porto del Popolo | Rome'. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor trace of mount adhering. Folded four times.

[Sir Richard Owen, palaeontologist.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Cullum, enclosing a long translation by Samuel Birch of inscriptions on an Egyptian statue in the British Museum, annotated by Owen and with transcription of letter to him by Birch.

Author: 
Sir Richard Owen (1804-1892), palaeontologist, first Director of Natural History Museum, opponent of the theory of evolution [Samuel Birch (1813-1885), Egyptologist; Lady Ann Cullum of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
Owen's letter to Lady Cullum dated from Sheen Lodge, Richmond Park, 5 May 1867. Transcription of Birch's letter to Owen dated from British Museum [London], 9 July 1860.
£850.00

An interesting item in the field of Victorian Egyptology. The subject is what Owen describes here as 'one of the oldest Statues of an Egyptian Notable in the British Museum'. Its current Museum Number is EA103, and it has been in the Museum since 1835, but the details of its acquisition are unclear. In his translation Birch calls the sitter 'the Royal Scribe, Amenhelp', but the current BM description begins: 'Scribal statue of Amenhotep son of Hapu: of black grano-diorite. Hieroglyphic texts are inscribed on the papyrus unrolled on his lap and on the statue plinth.

[Samuel Lover, Irish painter, author, entertainer.] Autograph Letter in third person to Sir Thomas Gery Cullum and wife, explaining why pressures of 'public engagement' mean he must stay at his hotel rather than enjoy 'the hospitality of Hardwicke'.

Author: 
Samuel Lover (1797-1868), Irish miniature painter, author, songwriter and singer, friend of Charles Dickens [Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House, his wife Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875)]
Publication details: 
26 February 1845; Bell Hotel, Bury St Edmunds.
£100.00

According to his entry in the Oxford DNB, 'In 1844 Lover abandoned miniature painting as a result of failing eyesight but continued to paint and exhibit landscapes. He invented a new form of entertainment which he called Irish Evenings, a monologue of songs, recitations, and stories, all of his own composition. These he performed at the Princess's Concert Rooms, London.' Between 1846 and 1848 he toured North America with great success. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice.

[Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, obstetric surgeon.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Cullum, describing in moving terms his wife's last illness and subsequent events.

Author: 
Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke (1782-1857), accoucheur, obstetric surgeon and physician to Queen Adelaide [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), widow of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
24 July 1856; Caston Rectory, Attleborough [Norfolk].
£180.00

See Clarke's entry in the Oxford DNB. The present letter, signed 'Charles Mansfield Clarke', was written (from Caston, where Clarke's son-in-law Walter Patridge was rector) a few weeks after the death on 3 July 1856 of Clarke's wife of fifty years, Mary Anna (née Squire), by whom he had two sons and five daughters. Lady Clarke's own husband had died a year and a half before, on 26 January 1855. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount on reverse of second leaf. Folded once.

[John Mitford, editor of the Gentleman's Magazine.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J Mitford') to a family member, regarding Sir Thomas Gery Cullum, his gardening activities at Hardwick House, and the preparation of his Gentleman's Magazine obituary.

Author: 
John Mitford (1781-1859), cleric and editor of the Gentleman's Magazine [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855), 8th Baronet of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
22 February 1855. Benhall [Benhall Vicarage, near Saxmundham, Suffolk.].
£250.00

See Mitford's entry in the Oxford DNB. At the time of writing he had been retired for five years from the editorship of the Gentleman's Magazine, a post he had held for seventeen years. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf. Folded twice. Forty-four lines in a close hand.

[Jenny Lind, the 'Swedish Nightingale', opera singer.] Autograph Letter in third person, as 'Mme. Goldschmidt', thanking Lady Cullum for flowers 'which certainly do “enliven” her drawing room at the Hotel'.

Author: 
Jenny Lind [Johanna Maria Lind], 'the Swedish Nightingale] (1820-1887), opera singer, wife of Otto Goldschmidt [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick]
Publication details: 
'Bury St. Edmunds. | Royal Hotel. | Thusday. April 6th. [no year]'.
£100.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf, one corner of which has been slightly damaged by the opening of the wafer. Folded twice. The letter begins: 'Mme. Goldschmidt presents her best Compliments to Lady Cullum and begs to express her sincere thanks for the most beautiful flowers she received this morning from Lady Cullum and which certainly do “enliven” her drawing room at the Hotel'.

[George Peabody, American financier and 'the father of modern philanthropy'.] Autograph Letter in the third person, explaining that an attack of gout prevents him from accepting the invitation of 'Mr Mackinnon'.

Author: 
George Peabody (1795-1869), American financier and 'the father of modern philanthropy' [Mackinnon; Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
'Palace Hotel | 1 July – [no year]'.
£80.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Tipped-in onto a piece of paper cut from an album owned by the Cullum baronets of Hardwick House, with whom - other papers reveal - Mackinnon was associated, possibly as land agent. The letter, in Peabody's shaky hand, reads: 'Mr Peabody presents his Compliments to Mr Mackinon [sic] and regrets that owing to an attack of gout he was unable to avail himself of Mr: Mackinnon's [sic] kind invitation for the evening of the 29th. Ulto. - - Mr Peabody returns to Scotland in a few days to be absent for the season.

[Harriet Martineau, 'the first female sociologist'.] Unpublished Signed Autograph humorous poem beginning 'What terrible confusion | Ladies make on points Malthusian', with note to Lady Cullum joking that it will be dedicated 'to the Lord Chancellor'

Author: 
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), writer and journalist, Whig social theorist and campaigner for women's rights, considered 'the first female sociologist' [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£350.00

An amusing unpublished jeux d'esprit by Martineau, revealing a lighthearted aspect of her character. 1p, 16mo. Bifolium, addressed by Martineau on reverse of second leaf 'To | Lady Cullum.' In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once.

[John William Donaldson, philologist, classicist, and biblical scholar.] Autograph Memorandum, signed 'J. W. Donaldson', giving four 'reasons' why 'Hercules was the husband & not the purchased slave of Omphale'.

Author: 
J. W. Donaldson [John William Donaldson] (1811-1861), philologist., classicist and biblical scholar [Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House and his wife Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875)]
Publication details: 
No place [King Edward's School, Bury St Edmunds]. 2 April 1844.
£56.00

See Donaldson's entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that he was 'greatly beloved by his friends, who included N. C. Thirlwall and W. H. Thompson. The diarist Henry Crabb Robinson spoke enthusiastically of the charm of his conversation.' 3pp, 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. No salutation or valediction, and the recipient is not named, but the item derives from the papers of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum and his wife Lady Anne Cullum, of Hardwick House.

[Charles Waterton, naturalist.] Three Autograph Letters Signed to Lady Cullum, regarding: his approach to natural history, shipwreck, indisposition, temperance campaigner Father Mathew in Wakefield, lions and lion cubs, 'little roman owls'.

Author: 
Charles Waterton (1782-1865), naturalist and explorer [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875), wife of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855), 8th Baronet of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
12 July 1842; 17 July 1843; 17 April 1853. All three addressed from Walton Hall [Wakefield, Yorkshire].
£1,200.00

Three excellent and characteristic long letters, neatly and closely written, in the first of which he describes 'the little tide of misfortune' which has befallen him, including shipwreck and indisposition; in the second he gives a vivid account of a visit to Wakefield by the temperance campaigner Father Mathew; and in the last he explains is reluctance to dissect the body of a bird she has sent him, exclaiming: 'I never do things by halves in Natural History'. Along the way there are references to 'my little roman owls' and 'my lions and my lion cubs'.

[Meerza Jiafer Tabeeb, Persian physician and visitor to Regency England.] Autograph Letter in third person, and set of translations, both in English and addressed to Lady Cullum. With calling card carrying his autograph signature in Persian script.

Author: 
Meerza Jiafer Tabeeb, Persian physician and visitor to Regency England [Cullum baronets of Hardwick Hall]
Publication details: 
Letter: 'Weddnesday [sic] Morg.' [2 June 1819]; from 8 Upper John Street, Golden Square. Translations without date or place.
£450.00

Tabeeb was a fêted 'exotic' visitor to England at the end of the Regency period. In March 1819 the Asiatic Journal reported his presence in London, and on 6 June (four days after the present letter) he breakfasted with the Irish poet Thomas Moore, who reported in his diary that he was 'to take a Diploma of Doctor at Oxford this month'. In April 1820 a fine engraving of Tabeeb, after a painting by John James Hall, was published.

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