HOTEL

[‘The most fashionable place in London’: The Clarendon Hotel, Bond Street; Foreign 'Great and Good@] Around 180 entries in the hotel guestbook, on extracted leaves, the greater part of them signatures of ‘Nobility and Gentry, and Foreigners of rank’.

Author: 
‘The most fashionable place in London’: The Clarendon Hotel, Bond Street [Georgian England]
Publication details: 
The Clarendon Hotel, Bond Street, London. The entries all said to date from 1831.
£1,200.00

The Clarendon Hotel was once - as ‘Routledge’s Popular Guide to London’ stated in 1862 - ‘the most fashionable place in London’, and the present collection of autograph signatures from its guestbook, all of them said to date from 1831, bear witness to the fact that - as ‘Gilbert’s Visitor’s Guide to London’ (1851) states - it was ‘frequented by the Nobility and Gentry, and Foreigners of rank’. Its reputation had been made during the Regency period, and in 1820 ‘Leigh’s New Picture of London’ stated that it ‘and Jaquiers are now one hotel’.

[Thomas Cook, travel agent.] Autograph Note Signed to lithographic illustration of his ?Leicester Temperance Hall and Hotel / Designed by J. Medland Esq., Gloucester?.

Author: 
Thomas Cook (1808-1892), travel agent; Leicester Temperance Hall and Hotel, designed by James Medland (1808-1894), County Surveyor for Gloucestershire
Cook
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but docketed in another hand on the reverse, including years 1866 and 1867.
£50.00
Cook

See Cook?s entry in the Oxford DNB. His temperance hall and hotel illustrated here, were built in 1853. The hall was demolished in the 1960s, to be replaced by a building typical of those that blight Leicester in 2011; the council gave permission for the hotel to be demolished to make way for another monstrosity. Sepia lithograph printed in landscape on 20 x 13 cm leaf of laid paper, extracted from a book or pamphlet. Attractive illustration of an imposing structure, with those that flank it, and people and coaches in the foreground.

[Manchester Literary Club, founded 1862.] Three items of printed ephemera: menus for the ‘Christmas Supper’ in 1927 and 1929 (each with photograph of ‘J. Windsor Burgess as Father Christmas’); invitation to ‘Complimentary Supper' to Prof. F. E. Weiss

Author: 
Manchester Literary Club, founded 1862 [J. Windsor Burgess; Prof. F. E. Weiss; J. H. Brocklehurst; A. C. Wilson; Grand Hotel, Manchester]
Publication details: 
Events held at the Grand Hotel, Manchester. The ‘christmas suppers’ in 1927 and 1929; the ‘complimentary supper’ in 1928.
£120.00

Three scarce items, with no other copies traced. All three carry the Club’s badge. The 1929 menu is in good condition; the other two items are in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The two ‘Christmas Supper’ menus are uniform in layout. Each is printed on an 8vo piece of white card, with the same photograph of ‘J. Windsor Burgess as Father Christmas’ on one side and the menu on the other. (The menus differ and are dated.) Each menu is wrapped in a grey-paper 8vo bifolium, printed on all four sides. The Menu for 19 December 1927 states on the cover: ‘J. H. Brocklehurst, Esq.

[Sibyl Colefax [Lady Colefax], interior decorator and socialite.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Sibyl Colefax') to 'Mrs. Fox Pitt', offering to do the interior design for the Old Mill Hotel, Harnham, Salisbury.

Author: 
Sibyl Colefax [Sibyl, Lady Colefax, née Halsey] (1874-1950), interior decorator and socialite [Mary Fox-Pitt, proprietor, the Old Mill Hotel, Harnham, Salisbury]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Argyll House, 211 King's Road, Chelsea, SW [London]. No date.
£56.00

2pp, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once. The letter concerns Colefax's offer to do the interior design of the Old Mill Hotel, Harnham, Salisbury, whose proprietor was Mary Fox-Pitt, daughter-in-law of Augustus Pitt Rivers. Begins: 'Dear Mrs. Fox Pitt | Lady [?] told me to write to you, & she has also told me of your exceedingly interesting plan of making an ideal Hotel near Salisbury.' Colefax boasts that she knows 'all that neighbourhood so well'. She feels the hotel 'would be a wonderful boon to everyone who lives there'. She now comes to the point.

[ Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone [ Lord Overstone ], banker and politician. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Overstone') to 'G. Scharf Junr Esqr' [ the future Sir George Scharf ], regarding the possibility of a meeting in Brighton.

Author: 
Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone [ Lord Overstone ] (1796-1883) of Overstone Park, Northampton, British banker and politician [ Sir George Scharf (1820-1895); National Portrait Gallery, London ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Overstone Park, Northampton. 20 November 1856.
£30.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition. At the time of writing Scharf was on the verge of appointment as first Director of the National Portrait Gallery. Regarding a note he has received from Scharf he writes that the following Monday he goes 'thro' London direct to Brighton. This movement I fear does not hold out much facility for our meeting - but if your business carries you to Brighton you will find me at the Bedford Hotel.'

[ Log book of a Yorkshire publican, 1910 to 1940. ] Autograph 'Spirit Stock Book' of A. E. Hoyle of the Bull's Head Hotel, Halifax (dealing with Webster's Brewery), with seven associated Excise documents.

Author: 
Arthur Ernest Hoyle of the Bull's Head Hotel, Halifax, Yorkshire, publican and retailer of spirits [ Samuel Webster & Sons Ltd, Yorkshire brewers ]
Publication details: 
[ Arthur Ernest Hoyle, Bull's Head Hotel, Bull Green, Halifax, Yorkshire. ] 1910 to 1950, with accompanying documents dated 1923, 1928, 1936 and 1939.
£220.00

ONE: Spirit Stock Book. 116pp., 4to. Internally in good condition, on aged paper, in heavily-worn cloth binding, with worn paper label on front cover. (The purpose of the book is given in the description of Item Two, below.) Detailing the sale (or return?) of spirits, exclusively to Samuel Webster & Sons, between 1910 and 1950. The entries on each page are divided into eight printed columns: 'Date when the Spirits were Sent out', 'No.

'The Encyclopaedia Britannica Dinner given by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace': 'Plan of Tables' and menu., attended by A.J. Balfour and all the great and the good. (up to 300 of them).

Author: 
[ Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace (1841-1919), Foreign Correspondent of The Times of London; Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publication details: 
Dinner held at the Hotel Cecil, London, 21 November 1902.
£150.00

Both items nicely printed and in good condition, with light signs of age and wear. ONE: 'The Encyclopaedia Britannica Dinner given by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace. Hotel Cecil, Friday Evening, November 21st, 1902. Plan of Tables.' 28.5 x 80 cm, folding up into a 28.5 x 13.5 cm packet. Printed in black and red on the whole of one side, with the other side carrying a 'Programme of Music' ('M. G. Fericescu, Musical Director'), an alphabetical table, and a cover with engraved illustration. Made out in pencil to 'Mr. A. Williams | K24' (i.e. the Liberal MP Aneurin Williams).

[The Royal Society.] Four printed documents relating to the 289th Anniversary Dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, London: Copies of speeches by the President, Professor E. D. Adrian, and Viscount Portal of Hungerford; Menu; and 'Plan of Tables'.

Author: 
The Royal Society, London [289th Anniversary Dinner, Dorchester Hotel, London]; Professor Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, Nobel Prize winner; Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford
Publication details: 
[The Royal Society, London.] Dinner held on St Andrew's Day [30 November] 1951, at the Dorchester Hotel, London. 'Plan of Tables' printed by Headley Brothers Ltd, 109 Kingsway, London, WC2, and Ashford, Kent.
£80.00

The four items in good condition, lightly-aged. ONE: 'The Royal Society | Speech of the President, Professor E. D. Adrian, O.M., at the Anniversary Dinner, Dorchester Hotel, on 30 November 1951.' Duplicated typescript. 5pp., short 8vo. On five leaves stapled together. TWO: 'The Royal Society | Speech by the Viscount Portal of Hungerford at the Anniversary Dinner on 30 November 1951'. 6pp., long 8vo. Duplicated typescript. On six leaves stapled together. THREE: Cover reads: 'The Royal Society | Professor E. D. Adrian, O.M. | President | Anniversary Dinner | Dorchester Hotel | St.

Autograph journal of a 'Trip to Singapore' from Johannesburg, by an unnamed female doctor (presumably the wife of the South African political activist Basil Stein).

Author: 
[Journal of a trip to Singapore from Johannesburg, South Africa, 1967-1968; Basil Stein (1928-2012), South African political activist]
Publication details: 
From Johannesburg, South Africa, to Singapore. 21 October 1967 to 31 January 1968.
£120.00

57pp., 4to. In ruled notebook, with marbled boards and brown cloth spine. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. A light, observant account of a holiday, with details of her pastimes, the individuals she encounters, social engagements. First page headed 'Trip to Singapore Oct. 1967'. The first entry begins: '21st Oct. Left Jburg by train at 6.30 PM Ben [her husband] saw me off - gave me a box of Lindt chocs! but still could not refrain from pointing out how expensive they were.

Autograph Letter Signed ('L: D: Campbell') from Captain Lawrence Dundas Campbell [to either of his publishers Thomas Cadell or William Davies], concerning the placing of advertisements for two of his books.

Author: 
L. D. Campbell [Captain Lawrence Dundas Campbell], editor of the Asiatic Annual Register [Thomas Cadell, jnr (1773-1836); William Davies (d.1819)]
Publication details: 
St. Alban's Hotel, St. Alban's Street [London]. 'Wednesday' [circa 1808].
£45.00

1p., 4to. Spike hole. In good condition, on aged dusty paper. The letter reads: 'Dear Sir, I must request, as a particular favour, that you will advertise both the "Reply" and the "Letter on the Charges &c" in all the Morning and Evening papers both on Friday, and on Monday next. | I am | Dear Sir, | Very faithfully yours | L: D: Campbell'.

Typed Letter Signed, from 'V. P. 10/12', accusing the former King Edward VIII of 'obvious dereliction of duty', and expressing 'relief and satisfaction' that he has decided to abdicate.

Author: 
[King Edward VIII, laterly Duke of Windsor; Abdication Crisis; Lieut.-Col. Edward Barnes Peacock (b.1873; fl.1955), 31st Punjab Regiment, son of Sir Barnes Peacock (1810-90), Chief Justice, Calcutta]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Hotel Astoria, Copenhagen, Denmark.
£56.00

Initialled "[?]P 10/12" (10 December"2pp., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. A number of minor autograph corrections suggest that the author of the letter may not be a native English speaker.

Contract signed by Sir Polydore De Keyser, in which he undertakes to give a copy of the 'Stranger's guide to London and its environs' to 'every one of the travellers who are living, every day, in my hotel [De Keyser's Royal Hotel, London]'.

Author: 
Sir Polydore de Keyser (1832-1918), Belgium-born proprietor of De Keyser's Royal Hotel, the first Roman Catholic since the Reformation to be elected Lord Mayor of London (1887-1888)
Publication details: 
With stamp of the Royal Hotel, London. 12 March 1859. The contract printed by 'Imp. Hervey, 20, rue Cades, Paris.'
£150.00

The contract is a form (1p., 12mo) printed in English in Paris by Imprimerie Hervey, and completed in autograph by De Keyser, with his stamp. It is in good condition, on aged paper, laid down on a larger sheet on which the words 'Royal Hotel, | 26, New Bridge Street, Blackfriars' are written in red ink in a large hand. In the same hand, on the form itself, is written: 'Published separately in English, French, German and Spanish'.

Mimeographed typed list of amendments to the articles of the Dar es Salaam Club, with proxy voting slip and amendment slip

Author: 
Dar es Salaam Club, Tanzania [Forodhani Hotel Training Institute; Court of Appeal building; Evelyn Waugh; Tanganyika]
Publication details: 
[Forodhani Hotel Training Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.] Undated.
£90.00

In fair condition, on aged and creased paper. Comprising seven folio pages, each in two columns: 'Existing Articles' on the left, and 'Proposed Amended Articles' on the right. These seven pages are each on separate leaves, and all stapled to a proxy voting slip (not filled in) and an amendment slip. The Dar es Salaam Club, 'solidly built with much fine joinery in dark African timber and heavy brass fittings on doors and windows', was housed in what became the Forodhani Hotel Training Institute building, Dar es Salaam.

Autograph Letter Signed from the American cook Juliet Corson to 'Miss Booth' [Mary Louise Booth, editor of Harper's Bazaar], discussing the arrangements for the writing of a book ['Every-Day Cookery, Table Talk, and Hints for the Laundry', 1884].

Author: 
Juliet Corson (1841-1897), American writer of cookery books, Superintendent of the New York Cooking School (founded by her in 1874) [Mary Louise Booth (1831-1889), first editor of Harper's Bazaar]
Publication details: 
Continental Hotel, New York; 6 September 1883.
£280.00

2pp., 12mo. Good, on aged paper, neatly placed in a thin windowpane mount. After acknowledging receipt of $90, Corson announces that the previous week she 'had a letter from the House accepting my book.' She has received no answer to her letter asking for 'some information', and asks Booth to 'be my mediator again'.

Anonymous Manuscript, in English, giving details of the 'Course of Procession' in a Shinto festival, Nikko, Japan, 1 and 2 June [no year], 'from Iyeyasu [i.e. Ieyasu] Shrine to Futaarano [i.e. Futarasan] Jinja' and from 'Futaarano Jinja to Tabisho'.

Author: 
[Kanaya Hotel, Nikko, Japan; Japanese; Shinto festival; Ieyasu; Futarasan Jinja]
'Course of Procession' in a Shinto festival,
Publication details: 
1 and 2 June [no year - late nineteenth century?]; on lettherhead of the Kanaya Hotel, Nikko, Japan.
£75.00
'Course of Procession' in a Shinto festival,

8vo, 3 pp. On the rectos of three letterheads of the Kanaya Hotel. The three leaves attached by string to one corner. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Headed 'Course of Procession', and divided A and B. Section A merely reads 'On the 1st of June | Three sacred cars move from Iyeyasu Shrine to Futaarano Jinja at about 5. P.M.' Section B begins 'All men clad in various costumes will be ready until 10.30 A.M. for a grand procession and at about 11.00 A.M.

Pamphlet advertising ''Mr. Joseph Hatton's Dramatic Reading, founded upon his Great Society Novel of English Life and Manners, entitled "The Queen of Bohemia." '

Author: 
Joseph Hatton (1841-1907), English novelist and journalist [Victorian monologues; nineteenth-century dramatic readings; The Palace Hotel, Buxton]
Publication details: 
The Drawing-Room, Palace Hotel, Buxton. Thursday Evening, August 19th, 1880.'
£56.00

4to, 8 pp. Stitched pamphlet on grey paper. Text clear and complete. Good, though somewhat creased, and a little stained. In small type. Divided into two sections: 'Selections from the opinions of the London press' and 'Selections from the opinions of the provincial press'. In a long quotation on the front page: 'Charles Dickens made the practice famous, and Mr. Joseph Hatton has begun his platform career in the same modest, careful, and unpretentious way [...]'. (p.1, 'From General Press Notices').

Autograph Letter Signed ('A Francis Steuart') to 'Miss Graham'.

Author: 
Archibald Francis Steuart (1872-1942), Scottish advocate, genealogist and historian [AUTOGRAPH COLLECTING]
Publication details: 
Hotel Grande Bretagne, Florence; 11 March 1923.
£75.00

Two pages, octavo. Good, with traces of stub adhering to one uneven edge. He feels there is 'surely telepathy in the world' as, 'only last night tired of the dull inaction after a bout of 'flu', he was assembling autographs for his correspondent. '[T]hey all explain themselves except perhaps Boardman Robinson the American cartoonist and Rose Bradley the writer on teh 19th. Century. I send one too from Lord Seaforth who only died last week.

Autograph Letter Signed to Lockyer.

Author: 
William Black (1841-1898), Scottish journalist and novelist [Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (1836-1920), Alexander Macmillan (1818-1896); astronomer; Altnaharra Hotel; angling; fishing]
Publication details: 
29 March [no year]; Altnaharra, Lairg, N.B. [Scotland]
£38.00

16mo bifolium (leaf dimensions 11 x 9 cm): 2 pp. 17 lines of text. Very good on lightly aged paper. Wonders whether Lockyer would like to spend his Easter holidays at Altnaharra, for a fortnight from 14 April. (The Altnaharra Hotel was used by anglers visiting the nearby lochs.) 'It is an expensive journey; but the sport is good - at least it has been good this last fortnight, but now we are sadly in want of rain. The weather is like June, only more so.' Forty salmon have been killed 'in these two weeks, averaging 11 lbs each'. Black's publisher was Alexander Macmillan.

Autograph Letter Signed, in French, to unnamed male correspondent. With manuscript English translation.

Author: 
Eugenie Nau, French actress, active in the cinema between 1908 and 1924
Publication details: 
10 March [1919]; on letterhead of the Hotel Thorndike, Boston.
£75.00

Octavo, one page. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper, with the merest hint of a damp stain. English translation in contemporary hand on separate piece of 12mo paper, with slight loss at head (not affecting text). She has received no acknowledgement from him for 'the autograph which I sent you and a little book of verse sold for the benefit of the soldier who wrote them. The little book ought to be sold for at least 75 cents.

Typed Letter Signed to G. K. Menzies, [Secretary,] Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Arthur Joseph Davis [ARCHITECTURE]
Publication details: 
15 July 1925; on letterhead of Mewes & Davis, Architects, 22 Conduit Street, W.1.
£56.00

English architect (1878-1951) whose firm's commissions include the Ritz Hotel in London, the country houses Luton Hoo, Coombe Court and Polesden Lacey, and the ocean liners Aquitania and Queen Mary. One page, folio. Very good. Docketed and carrying the Society's stamp. He has 'called on Sir Charles Allom with regard to the judgment of the designs which you showed me yesterday', and they agree that 'only two of the selected schemes should be rewarded.

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