LITERATURE

[ George Atherton Aitken, civil servant and man of letters. ] Autograph Note Signed ('George A Aitken') to Sir Richard Harington

Author: 
George Atherton Aitken (1860-1917), civil servant and man of letters [ Sir Richard Harington (1835-1911), 11th Bart ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Home Office, Whitehall, S.W. 30 June 1897.
£56.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Aitken is 'desired by Mr. Digby [his superior at the Home Office, the future Sir Kenelm Digby (1836-1916)] to forward to you a copy of the Workmen (Compensation for Accidents) Bill, as amended in Committee, together with the Amendments put down for consideration at the Report stage'. Aitken is described in his obituary in The Times, 19 November 1917, as 'one of the first authorities on the Queen Anne period of English literature'.

[ 'John Gawsworth', poet and 'King of Redonda'. ] Corrected Autograph Drafts of ten poems from his collection 'Marlow Hill', including the title poem and the 'suppressed' poem 'Was'. With presentation inscription as 'Abdicated' monarch 'Juan R'..

Author: 
John Gawsworth [ pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong (1912-1970) ], poet and 'King Juan I' of Redonda [ Jean Fanchette (1932-1992), editor of the Paris magazine 'Two Cities' ]
Publication details: 
[ London. ] The poems published in 1941. The presentation inscription dated 16 February 1967.
£250.00

On nine loose 12mo leaves torn from an album. In fair condition, on aged and browned paper. Wrapped by Gawsworth in a larger piece of paper, on the front of which he has written in pencil the presentation inscription: 'Kenilworth | love | from | His King | J R | 16 Feb. 1967', with the following in blue ink over the 'J R': 'Abdicated | Juan R'. 'Marlow Hill' was Gawsworth's fourth collection, self-published by his Richards Press in 1941. Three of the nine leaves carry layouts of the book's title-page and prelims, with pencil notes 'Pubd 15 Oct 1941' and '33 lines to page'.

[ L. P. Hartley, novelist. ] Two typewritten drafts of his final short story 'The Ugly Picture', one headed in autograph 'First Version | (with description of <Verdley?> picture)'.

Author: 
L. P. Hartley [ Leslie Poles Hartley ] (1895-1972), English novelist and short-story writer
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ Circa 1972. ]
£350.00

'The Ugly Picture' was L. P. Hartley's final short story. It appeared in the Christmas issue of the Spectator, 23 December 1972, a few days before his death. There is a synopsis in Adrian Wright's 'Foreign Country: The Life of L. P. Hartley' (1996). Neither of the two drafts present here corresponds with the published version, whose ending, for example, has been heavily reworked from the ending to the later of the two drafts. The two items are both in good condition, each on loose leaves (one side only) of paper attached with a safety pin.

[ F. T. Prince, poet and critic. ] Small miscellaneous autograph notebook, including an entry on his 'conversion', and an early draft of a 'would-be Byronic' poem. With signed note by Prince calling it 'typical of notebooks I carried about for years'

Author: 
F. T. Prince [ Frank Templeton Prince ] (1912-2003), poet and critic
Publication details: 
No place. References to 1974 and 1983, and with note dated 1998.
£750.00

According to his obituary in the Guardian, 2003, after a long period of neglect, Prince was rediscovered b the New York School, and by the end of his life had 'come to be regarded by writers as diverse as Geoffrey Hill and the American innovator John Ashbery as one of the most significant poets of the 20th century'. 40pp. of closely-written text in a small (13.5 x 9 cm) 'Lion Brand' notebook. Stapled, in card covers. In fair condition, aged and worn.

[ George MacBeth, Scottish poet, ] Mimeographed typescript of five poems ('The Castle | after Le Chastel d'Amours', 'The Last Will', 'Bats', 'The Heir', 'A Ritual'), signed 'George MacBeth'.

Author: 
George MacBeth [ George Mann MacBeth ] (1932-1992), Scottish poet and novelist
Publication details: 
Without date or place. [ Mid-sixties? ]
£180.00

5pp., foolscap 8vo. Paginated [1]-5. On three leaves of wove paper, stapled together. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Good firm signature ('George MacBeth') in blue ink at head of first leaf. Each poem signed in type at end 'George MacBeth'. 'The Castle | after Le Chastel d'Amours' (p.1): seven three-line stanzas, first stanza: 'Tell me the broad moat of | Love's castle: | Sloth.' 'The Last Will' (pp.1-2): twenty-two three line stanzas and a single final line, first line: 'In the name of God, amen. I, Harold, | [...]'.

[ 'John Gawsworth', poet and 'King Juan I' of Redonda. ] Typescript of long poem 'The Passions of Juan | (Missives and Missiles)', with autograph emendations and signed note.

Author: 
John Gawsworth [ pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong (1912-1970) ], poet and 'King Juan I' of Redonda [ Jean Fanchette (1932-1992), editor of the Paris magazine 'Two Cities' ]
Publication details: 
No place or date. [ London, circa 1961. ]
£220.00

9pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on nine leaves of worn and creased paper, the first leaf white, the others green. Minor emendations throughout. The poem is in five sections: 'The Exhortation' (beginning: 'In the crook of my arm | Rest again, nest again.

[ Edward Lucie-Smith, poet and art critic. ] Two mimeographed typescripts: one with five poems (first, 'A Tropical Childhood'; last, 'To be justified'), the other a commentary on each poem, signed at head: 'one of 24 | No 2: Edward Lucie-Smith'.

Author: 
Edward Lucie-Smith (born 1933), wrtier, poet and art critic
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ Mid-sixties? ]
£200.00

Each of the two typescripts is on two leaves of foolscap stapled together. The two in good condition, lightly aged and worn. ONE: First page headed 'Poems by Edward Lucie-Smith'. 4pp., 8vo, paginated [1]-4. The five poems are: 'A Tropical Childhood' (p.1), first line: 'In the hot noons I heard the fusillade'. 'On looking at Stubbs's “Anatomy of the Horse”' (pp.1), first line: 'In Lincolnshire, a village full of tongues'. 'Rubens to Helene Fourment' (pp.2-3), subtitle: 'The picture is La Pelisse, now in Vienna', first line: 'Now sinking towards age, I paint your rising,'.

[ Sinclair Lewis, Nobel-Prize-winning American novelist. ] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Sinclair Lewis [ Harry Sinclair Lewis ] (1885-1951), American novelist and winner of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Literature
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£50.00

On 5.5 x 12.5 cm strip torn from the foot of a letter. In good condition, lightly aged. Beneath the typed words 'Sincerely yours,' is the firm bold signature 'Sinclair Lewis'.

[ Dolf Wyllarde [ Dorothy Margarette Selby Lowndes ], popular female novelist ] Autograph Letter Signed and two Typed Letters Signed (all three ''Dolf Wyllarde') requesting information to assist her in the writing of her books.

Author: 
Dolf Wyllarde [ pen name of Dorothy Margarette Selby Lowndes ] (1871-1950), popular female novelist [ Royal Society of Arts, London ]
Publication details: 
The first two from addresses in Crown Hill, South Devon; the third from Oldmixon Manor, near Weston Super Mare, Somerset. 1913, 1915 and 1924.
£120.00

Lowndes was educated at King's College, London, and trained as a journalist. She published two volumes of verse (1911, 1920) and more than forty volumes of fiction between 1897 and 1939. See her entry in Who Was Who. The present three items are in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. In the first two Wyllarde has written 'F.R.G.S.' after her signature. All three carry the Society's stamp. ONE: ALS. 11 February 1913. 2 Belgrave Villas, Crown Hill, South Devon. 2pp., 12mo. She desires an early copy of 'Mr. J.

[ Warwick Deeping, novelist. ] 5 Autograph Letters Signed and 3 Autograph Notes Signed to Margaret Greenwood, regarding the adapation of his work for film. With 3 Autograph Letters Signed from his wife, and 13 copies of Greenwood's letters.

Author: 
Warwick Deeping [ George Warwick Deeping ] (1877-1950), English best-known for 'Sorrell and Son' (1925) and his wife Maud Phyllis Merrill (c.1882-1971) [ Margaret Greenwood ]
Publication details: 
On blind-stamped letterheads of his country house Eastlands, Weybridge, Surrey. 1949 and 1950.
£500.00

21 items. In good condition, lightly aged, held together with a brass stud. Deeping's eight items of correspondence - all signed 'Warwick Deeping' - total 9pp. His wife's three letters total 4pp. One of Deeping's letters is in its envelope, addressed by him to 'Miss Margaret Greenwood | 15 Horsham Road | Bexleyheath | Kent'. The copies of Greenwood's typed letters, totalling 16pp., date from between 27 July 1949 and 22 July 1950, bookending the whole correspondence. They are written on the backs of discarded typed drafts of pages from Greenwood's screenplays.

[ L. A. G. Strong, British author. ] 24 Signed Letters (5 of them in Autograph and 19 Typed) to Margaret Greenwood, mainly regarding her efforts to adapt his books for film. With copies of 26 letters from her to him.

Author: 
L. A. G. Strong [ Leonard Alfred George Strong ] (1896-1958), author, poet and publisher (Methuen & Co., London) [ Margaret Greenwood ]
Publication details: 
Strong's 24 letters between 1946 and 1952, on letterheads of Shortfield House, Frensham, Surrey (21); Salterns, Eashing, Godalming, Surrey (1); Methuen & Co. Ltd, London (1). Greenwood writing from Bexley Heath, Kent.
£450.00

A total of 50 items, all but the three earliest of Strong's letters held together with a brass stud. The collection in good overall condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Strong's 24 letters total 37pp., with the early letters signed 'L A G Strong' and the later ones 'Leonard', and occasional variant signatures in between ('Leonard Strong', 'LAGS'). The copies of Greenwood's 26 letters (two in autograph, the rest typed) total 32pp. An interesting correspondence, in which Strong responds with tact and patience to his inexperienced correspondent's proposals and actions.

[ Mrs Oliphant to her editor, Mrs. S. C. Hall. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('M O W Oliphant.') to 'Mrs. Hall', regarding the publication by her of a 'bit of a story', and the acquiring of postage stamps in 'primitive' Rosneath.

Author: 
Mrs Oliphant [ Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant ] (1828-1897), Scottish novelist [ Anna Maria Hall [ née Fielding ] (1800-1881), author, wife of Samuel Carter Hall (1800-1889), journalist ]
Publication details: 
Willow-burn, Rosneath, Helensburgh. 25 June [1861?].
£50.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. On lightly aged and ruckled paper, with slight damage at head of gutter. The letter would appear to concern a contribution intended for 'The Juvenile Forget Me Not', the annual Mrs S. C. Hall began editing in the late 1820s. begins: 'My dear Mrs. Hall | I sent you the story or rather the bit of a story you have - because you asked for it. Therefore if you like it, the pay is not to be considered - But at the same time if you dont like it, pray dont think of using it out of courtesy.

[ Mavis Gallant; short stories; inscribed by author ] From the Fifteenth District. A Novella and Eight Short Stories.

Author: 
Mavis Gallant [ Mavis Leslie de Trafford Gallant, CC, née Young (1922–2014), Canadian writer.
Publication details: 
Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, [1979 ]
£85.00

243 numbered pp., 8vo, dustjacket, sl chipped and rubbed, condition of book v.g.+ INSCRIBED By Author as follows (front free endpaper): "To Allard | In memory of the days on Shift 2, + how frightfully brave we were when all the mines in Nova Scotia caved in on our heads. | Mavis || Paris | Christmas 79".

[ Cynthia Asquith; J.M. Barrie ] Autograph Note Signed "C. Greene" [Cynthia Asquith] to Morley Stuart, Editor, "Cambridge Daily News", Barrie's response to an article in the newspaper about his change of hand for writing. With related clippings etc.

Author: 
Cynthia Asquith ("C. Greene"), Secretary to J.M. Barrie, wife of Herbert Asquith, the PM's son.
Publication details: 
[Headed] Adelphi Terrace House, Strand, W.C.2, 1 February 1937.
£65.00

ANS, one page, 12mo, good condition, saying "I am asked by Sir James Barrie to thanmk you very much for a nice letter and an interesting article. | Yours daithfully | C. Greene | (For Sir James Barrie)". Accompanied by: a. newspaper clipping about "Barrie Handwriting Contrasts" - Barrie's change from right to left (because the right 'gave out') illustrated and discussed; b. a small clipping entitled "Sir James Barrie's Last Autograph", with detail and illustration; c. Typed Statement concerning "The Mysterious C.

[ Alec Waugh, novelist. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Alec Waugh') to 'Miss Marshall-Hall' (daughter of Sir Edward Marshall Hall), regarding the 'Invalids tour' and 'Milhanger'.

Author: 
Alec Waugh [ Alexander Raban Waugh ] (1898-1981), author, brother of the novelist Evelyn Waugh
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Easton Court Hotel, Chagford, Devon. Undated.
£45.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on aged paper, with creasing and wear at head. Written in Waugh's close, distinctive hand. Reads: 'Dear Miss Marshall-Hall | It was nice of you to write. I didn't go on the Invalids tour this year. It can't have been the same thing without Milhanger. | Sincerely Yrs | Alec Waugh /'. The reference is presumably to Milhanger, the Surrey country house designed by Harold Falkner.

[ Printed Victorian children's book with hand-coloured plates and two stories named on title-page. ] Prince Arthur; or, The Four Trials | A Fairy Tale. By Catherine Mary Stirling. Tales by the Flowers. By Caroline B. Templer.

Author: 
Catherine Mary Stirling; Caroline B. Templer [ James Hogg & Sons, London publisher; Camden Press, London printers ]
Publication details: 
London: James Hogg & Sons. [ Camden Press, London ] [ 1861. ]
£120.00

124 + [4] pp., 12mo. Four hand-coloured plates including frontispiece. A four-page publisher's advertisement at rear, for 'A New and Attractive Series of Juvenile Books'. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. In worn brown-cloth binding with decorative design featuring titles in gilt on cover; split hinge at rear. Stirling's story continues to p.50, and is followed by Templer's collection of 27 'improving' poems, from 'The Invitation' and 'The Holly Tree's Tale - Christmas' to 'Heartsease - Thoughts of Peace' and 'The Misseltoe - A Missionary Tale'.

[Annotated typescript; play] "Charlotte Corday" A Tragedy in One Act ("C'est le crime qui fait la honte, et non pas l'echafaud", titlepage motto)

Author: 
Harry Graham [Jocelyn Henry Clive 'Harry' Graham (1874–1936)], writer, poet, humourist, journalist, soldier, traveller, " inventor of ruthless rhymes".
Publication details: 
Unpublished and Unrecorded, [c.1908?]
£400.00

[50] leaves (rectos numbered only), 4to, stiff boards, good condition, typescript, annotated by the author, additions, corrections, excisions, who has inscribed the recto of the free endpaper "Harry Graham. || Royal Court. | Palace of Westminster. | London, S.W. | England". The scene is set in Charlotte Corday's prison cell, and the dramatis personae listed are Charlotte herself; Francois Chabot (Deputy for the Departement of Loir-et-Cher; Jean-Jacques Hauer, A Young Artist; Richard, Warder at the Conciergerie Prison; Charles-Henry Sanson, Public Executioner.

[ Mrs Oliphant, Scottish novelist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('M. O. W. Oliphant') to Miss <Lansbury?>, regarding an invitation to visit Mrs Hargreaves at Silwood Park.

Author: 
Mrs Oliphant [ Margaret Wilson Oliphant Wilson ] (1828-1897), Scottish novelist [ John Hargreaves of Silwood Park ]
Publication details: 
On 'Windsor' letterhead. 'Monday' [ no date ].
£35.00

2pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with the second leaf neatly placed in a windowpane mount. The letter begins: 'I am delighted to see your handwriting again - It will give me the greatest pleasure to avail myself of Mrs Hargreaves kind invitation.' She explains why the following Wednesday will suit her best, and proposes to 'drive over arriving at Silwood about one o'Clock and if it is quite convenient for Mrs. Hargreaves to send me back in the afternoon, that will be very kind of her'.

[ Printed item in publisher's cloth. ] Doctor Grattan. A Novel.

Author: 
William A. Hammond, Author of "Lal." [ William Alexander Hammond (1828-1900), Surgeon General of the United States Army during the American Civil War ]
Publication details: 
London: Richard Bentley & Son, New Burlington Street. 1885.
£50.00

417pp., 8vo. A fair copy, on lightly aged paper, a little loose in worn publisher's brown cloth binding, with gilt title on spine and decorative cross on front board, and green patterned endpapers. Blind stamp of the W. H. Smith Library, Strand, to front free endpaper. According to Hammond's biographer Bonnie Ellen Blustein, 'The complex plot of Doctor Grattan revolved around the relation of insanity to neurological impairment, and touched on the subjects of neuralgia, headache, kleptomania, and delusions.' This English edition of Hammond's book is now uncommon.

[ Children's Book ] The Golden Casket: A Treasury of Tales for Young People

Author: 
Mary Howitt, editor [ John Palmer, illustrator ]
Publication details: 
James Hogg & Sons, London [1861].
£250.00

415pp., 8vo, mauve embossed cloth gilt, all edges gilt, corners bumped, wear to top and bottom spine, lettering sl., faded, hinge strains. School prize label (Dartmouth Grove School, Blackheath, front ep.). Authors included: Mrs Hery Wood, Eliza Meteyard, C. von Schmidt, Mrs S.C. Hall, William Howitt, "from the Old Danish", W.H.G. Kingston, Ottilie Wildermuth, "the Author of 'An Art Student in Munich'", Leon Gozlan). Scarce (no copy currently on the market except Kessinger ed.; six copies listed on COPAC/WorldCat.)

Remembering Henry Miller: A Collage. A Henry Miller Centenary Celebration. Script compiled and arranged by Francine Parker.

Author: 
Francine Parker, editor [Henry Miller]
Publication details: 
October 26, 1991. Lenart Auditorium, Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA. A program of UCLA Extension's Department of Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences.
£200.00

Jackson/Ashley A272. Unpublished. 43 pages in A4 (unpaginated title and pages 1-42). Perfect bound with black cloth spine in light-green wraps with title duplicated on front wrap. Very good, with top corner of front wrap slightly dogeared. With four photocopied A4 pages of typescript loosely inserted: the first carrying 'The Naked Tongue' by Diane Miller; the second 'Religious Views of Life'; the third, headed 'Remembering Henry Miller: A Collage', giving details of cast and crew; the fourth headed 'Celebrating Henry Miller: A Collage includes selections from the following:'. Scarce.

[ Mervyn Peake bookplate ] A Journal of Two Successive Tours upon the Continent in the Years , 1816, 1817, & 1818.

Author: 
James Wilson.
Publication details: 
Cadell & Davies, London, 1820
£350.00

Three volumes, 8vo, xii.476 plus four page Index and folding map (discreetly repaired); 564 plus 7-page Index; 696 plus eight page index, rebound in workmanlike but pleasant green cloth, sp. gt with Royal Institution insignia, by the Royal Institution Library from which they were purchased by Dr Nehemiah Asherson, Harley Street ENT specialist. Asherson's bookplate, designed by his friend, Mervyn Peake, is present in the first volume (same bookplate removed from the other two volumes with some faint signs remaining).

[ Cyril Connolly, literary critic. ] Autograph Note Signed to 'Mr Rota' (bookseller Anthony Rota), with signed copy of his book 'Previous Convictions'.

Author: 
Cyril Connolly (1903-1974), literary critic [ Anthony Rota (1932-2009), antiquarian bookseller ]
Publication details: 
Note on letterhead of the Sunday Times, London; 27 August [ 1969 ]. 'Previous Convictions' published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1963.
£35.00

NOTE: Autograph Note Signed. 1p., 12mo. Lightly stamped with date of receipt, 28 August 1969. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Reads: 'Dear Mr Rota, | I hope & believe this is one you havent got - it needs a touch of ink eraser - | Gratefully, yrs | Cyril Connolly'. At foot of page, in Rota's autograph: 'About exchanging issues of Personal Landscape [i.e. Lawrence Durrell's magazine]'. BOOK: xv + 414pp., 8vo. In good condition in like dustwrapper. Connolly has scored through his name on the title page and written beneath it in blue ink 'Cyril Connolly.'

[Signed 'T.S. Eliot''] Italian News' [featuring 'Talk on Dante' by T. S. Eliot, the printed version of a lecture entitled 'What Dante Means to Me''].

Author: 
T. S. Eliot [The Italian Institute; Dante Alighieri]
Publication details: 
July, 1950. 'This journal is edited by The Italian Institute [39 Belgrave Square S.W.1]'. Printed by T. G. Norris, London, N.W.8.
£150.00

Gallup C552. 4to (leaf dimensions 28 x 22.5 cm), 40 pp. Stapled. In original blue printed wraps. Worn and dogeard on aged paper, with minor staining at foot of front wrap and first leaf. The signature "T S Eliot" (possibly his but more words would have helped) appears top front wrap. The 'Calendar' at the front lists, on 4 July [1950], the 'Lecture by Mr. T. S. Eliot, O.M.: "What Dante Means to Me," with H.E. the Italian Ambassador in the Chair.' The printed version, titled 'TALK ON DANTE | by T. S.

[ Neville Rogers, editor of Shelley. ] Typed Letter Signed ('Neville') to 'Marjorie', gossippy and satirical, esp. about Nancy Cunard, with offprints of two of his articles ('Shelley and the West Wind' &'Lauro de Bosis'), inscribed to the recipient

Author: 
Neville Rogers (1909-1985), academic, editor of the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley [ Nancy Cunard (1896-1965), poet, patron and eccentric ]
Publication details: 
Letter dated from 5 Beaumont Street, Oxford; 11 February 1954. Inscription to 'Lauro de Bosis' (1963) dated from Waltham, Massachussetts, 10 March 1964. Inscription to 'Shelley and the West Wind' (1956) undated.
£220.00

The three items in good condition, with light signs of age and wear. LETTER: 2pp., 8vo. A splendidly waspish missive. Topics include: her 'letter to Mickie' ('masterly diplomacy'); 'dear Miss Massey, wounded on active service for the BIS' (with references to 'Mrs.

[ Heather Bigg to A. C. Benson, with inscribed book. ] Inscribed copy of his poem 'Nell. A Tale of the Thames', with Autograph Letter Signed ('Heather Bigg') to Benson, thanking him for going through the proofs of the book.

Author: 
Heather Bigg, F.R.C.S. [ Henry Robert Heather Bigg ] (1853-1911); A. C. Benson (1862-1925), Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge ]
Publication details: 
New Edition. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, and Co., Ltd. 1901. Inscription dated November 1901.
£200.00

ONE: Letter. 1 November 1901. On letterhead of 56 Wimpole Street, London. 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition. With blank reverse of second leaf laid down onto a flyleaf of the book. Benson is not named, but is without doubt the recipient.

[ Catherine Stepney, Lady Stepney, 'Silver Fork' novelist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('C Stepney'), inviting 'Mr Westmacot' [ Sir Richard Westmacott or his son ] to a reunion. With engraved portrait of her by A. E. Chalon.

Author: 
Catherine Stepney, Lady Stepney [ born Catherine Pollok; also Catherine Manners ] (1778-1845), 'Silver Fork' novelist [ A. E. Chalon [ Alfred Edward Chalon ] (1780-1860), artist and engraver ]
Publication details: 
Letter: 'Friday Night'. [ No date or place. ] Engraving: 'London. Published by Henry Colburn. Decr. 1837.'
£65.00

The letter is 1p., landscape 12mo. In fair condition, with light signs of age, placed in a windowpane mount in the remains of a leaf from an album. The letter reads: 'Dear Mr Westmacot [no doubt the sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott or his son] - I have a little reunion - on Monday evening 1st Feby - pray come - I am desired by <?> to present you to her especially - that she may invite you to her next Fete'. The engraving is on a 21.5 x 13.5 cm piece of paper. Similarly-mounted as the letter, above it on the same leaf. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn.

[ Florence Warden ('Mrs. G. E. James'), novelist. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Florence James'), an invitation to dinner.

Author: 
Florence Warden [ 'Mrs. G. E. James', née Florence Alice Price ](1857-1929), novelist
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 21 Addison Road North, Kensington, W. [ London. ] 26 March 1889.
£45.00

On one side of a 9 x 11 cm piece of grey paper. In a minuscule hand, with the recipient's name has been scored through: 'Dear Mr. <?>, | Will you come to supper on Thursday? | Yours sincerely, | Florence James'.

[ Elizabeth Benger, English author. ] Four Autograph Letters Signed (all 'E Benger'), two of them to John Thomas Smith of the British Museum, and two to his daughter.

Author: 
Elizabeth Benger [ Elizabeth Ogilvy Benger ] (1775-1827), English novelist, biographer and poet [ J. T. Smith [ John Thomas Smith ] (1766-1833), 'Antiquity Smith', Keeper of Prints, British Museum ]
Publication details: 
Three of the letters from 13 Warren Street [ London ]. All four undated.
£450.00

Four 16mo letters, three of them of one page, and the other of two pages. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. In a crabbed hand. One addressed to 'J T Smith Esqre | British Museum', and another to 'J T Smith Esqre | 22 Carmarthen Street | an answer'. Little more than short notes. In one letter to J. T. Smith she asks him for 'Mr Vance's address, for a married gentleman', in the other she tells him that 'Mrs Martin of Liverpool, whose intimate friends are yours also, [...] wishes to be indebted to your obliging attention'.

[ Eric W. MacLean, writing under pseudonym 'Eric Townsend'. ] Autograph directions to his agents in copy of 'The Fighting Cherub. A Fine Boxing Yarn. By Eric W. Townsend, Author of "Son o' the Wild," "The Red Fighter," etc., etc.'

Author: 
'Eric Townsend' [ pseudonym of Eric William MacLean (b.1901) ] [ Joe Louis, 'The Brown Bomber' (1914-1981), heavyweight boxing champion of the world; Altrincham, Manchester ]
Publication details: 
'No. 611. - "The Boys' Friend" 4d. Complete Library.' [ 1938 ]
£320.00

The printed volume is 64pp., 12mo. Bound by Townsend in patterned brown cloth, with the title 'The Fighting Cherub.' in gilt on front cover. In good condition, on browned newspaper stock, in lightly-worn binding. The story, in twenty-seven chapters, is printed in small print, in double column, with a drophead title and no illustrations. Townsend has written his address on the front pastedown: '4 Norman's Place. | Altrincham. | Via. Manchester.' Laid down across the pastedowns is a 12mo piece of paper, on which Townsend gives publication details, headed 'To Messrs Publishers' Agents. Ltd.

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