LITERATURE

Autograph Letter Signed ('C. S. Henry') from Caleb Sprague Henry. editor of the New York Review, to William Whitwell Greenough, accepting an article, but complaining of Greenough's handwriting, and of 'a difficulty in getting Saxon type'.

Author: 
Caleb Sprague Henry (1804-1884), Episcopal clergyman and author, editor of the New York Review, Professor of History and Philosophy in New York University [William Whitwell Greenough (1818-1899]
Publication details: 
New York; 26 April 1838.
£350.00

3pp., 4to. Bifolium. 57 lines. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed, on reverse of second leaf, to 'William W. Greenough | Andover | Massachusetts', with circular postmark in red ink and remains of red wax seal. Regarding 'the article on Bosworth's Anglo-Sax. Dict.', Henry writes: 'From the few first pages that I have read & the glance that I have given at the rest, I am satisfied that I shall be glad to print your article.

Autograph Letter Signed from the poet and engraver Charles Swain to a lady (name obliterated), complaining of the problems that prevent him from paying a visit, and referring to William Jerdan.

Author: 
Charles Swain (1801-1874), poet and engraver [William Jerdan (1782-1869), editor of the Literary Gazette]
Publication details: 
Prestwich Park, Prestwich, near Manchester; [c.1853].
£80.00

4pp., 12mo. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'My dear friend', and with the name of the recipient obliterated from the valediction: 'Will you give my sincere and grateful remembrances to your noble hearted husband? and believe me | dear <...> | Every affectionately, | [signed] Charles Swain'. He can put off 'the evil day' no longer, and must now 'give in to circumstances' and reluctantly inform her that he cannot come and visit.

Autograph Letter Signed from the Scottish author Anne Grant to 'Mrs. Drysdale', boasting of her behaviour to 'People of the Highest Rank', and making 'perhaps the last' joke.

Author: 
Anne Grant [n
Publication details: 
'Coats Crescent [Edinburgh] | Friday' [no date].
£220.00

2pp., 12mo. 33 lines of text, written in a close, neat hand. Good, on lightly-aged paper. She begins with a five-line 'encomium', before assuring Mrs Drysdale that she is 'pretty safe': 'I have been considered By People of the Highest Rank to whom I was known merely as a private teacher &c &c of moral virtues To possess of <?> for the highest talents & the purest Virtues I have been familiar I need not say why. None of these I ever flattered.

Corrected Autograph Manuscript of part of Captain Thomas Mayne Reid's 1866 novel 'Afloat in the Forest'.

Author: 
Captain Thomas Mayne Reid (1818-1883), Irish-American novelist
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated [circa 1866].
£280.00

1 p, folio. On grey paper. Fair, on aged paper, with slight spotting and chipping to extremities affecting a few words of text. A whole page of the manuscript, numbered '9' and written entirely in Reid's hand, with a few minor emendations by him, from Chapter XXVI, 'Treed by an Alligator'. Begins with the reported speech: '"That would be anything but pleasant - perhaps more so [last word emended from 'unpleasant'] to those who are waiting for us, than to ourselves.

Autograph Letter Signed from Jane Hood, wife of the poet Thomas Hood, to 'Mrs Elliot', wife of the family doctor, Robert Elliot of Camberwell, containing news of the poet and his work, money troubles and family affairs, at the end of their lives.

Author: 
Jane Hood [née Jane Reynolds], (1791-1846), wife of the poet and humorist Thomas Hood (1799-1845)
Publication details: 
'Wednesday' [1844 or 1845); 'Devonshire Lodge | New Finchley Road | St Johns Wood'.
£280.00

4 pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 73 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. Hood returned to England from Ostend in 1840, moving into Devonshire Lodge after trying other lodgings. A fine letter, informative, energetic and moving. Jane begins by thanking Mrs Elliot for the 'kind present to my Tom [the couple's son Thomas Hood the younger (1835-1874)]': 'I only wish you could have seen the happy boy - how proud he was - and indeed is, of his new appearance - he sends his love & best thanks. I am sorry to say he does not yet write a readable letter'.

Autograph Manuscript of the American actor and poet John Howard Payne, either an original poem or a translation, entitled 'Ode the Sixteenth. | The Herb Rue'.

Author: 
John Howard Payne (1791-1852), American actor and playwright, best-known for his song 'Home, Sweet Home'
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£165.00

2 pp, 4to. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with slight wear to extremities. On one leaf, with both sides ruled with red borders. In Payne's neat and distinctive hand, and attributed to him in pencil at head.

Autograph Letter Signed ('J. Boaden') from the playwright and biographer James Boaden to William Hayley, regarding an edition of Randolph's works 'honour'd by the handwriting of Pope'.

Author: 
James Boaden (1762-1839), biographer and playwright [William Hayley (1745-1820), poet and biographer, friend of William Cowper and patron of William Blake; Alexander Pope; Thomas Randolph]
Publication details: 
Warren Street, London; 30 April 1804.
£180.00

1 p, 4to. Bifolium. Sixteen lines, neatly written. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'W. Hayley Esqre.' He begins by thanking him for 'the kind memorial' (a volume of music?); the gift expresses Hayley's 'sense of common civility' and acquaints Boaden 'with a composer of great merit'. 'I tried the effect of his divine art yesterday, Sunday, and could not but wish to hear it from the organ at Chichester'. The rest of the letter concerns 'the subject of Randolph, and the copy of his works honour'd by the hand-writing of Pope'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Anstey') from the humorist Thomas Anstey Guthrie to the Editor of 'The Academy', responding to a request for comment on a list of suggested members for an 'Academy of Letters'.

Author: 
F. Anstey [Thomas Anstey Guthrie] (1856-1934), humorist [James Sutherland Cotton (1847-1918), editor of the 'Academy', 1896-1903]
Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Anstey') from the humorist Thomas Anstey Guthrie
Publication details: 
8 November 1897; on lettehead of 16 Duke Street Mansions, Grosvenor Square, London.
£56.00
Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Anstey') from the humorist Thomas Anstey Guthrie

12mo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. Marked up for publication, with the first sentence deleted. On aged and stained paper. He 'can only say that your list seems to me as representative as any that could be drawn up', and that he does not 'feel in a position to offer any criticism upon it'. The edited version of Anstey's letter appeared with others in 'The Academy' in November 1897, in a piece with the opening sentence: 'We have received a large correspondence in response to our request for comment on the list of suggested members for an ACADEMY OF LETTERS published last week.'

Autograph Letter Signed and Typed Letter Signed (both 'Geo. R. Sims') from the journalist and playwright George R. Sims to Lillie Ross-Clyne of Manchester.

Author: 
George R. Sims [George Ross Sims] (1847-1922), journalist, dramatist, novelist and poet [Lillie Ross-Clyne]
George R. Sims [George Ross Sims]
Publication details: 
Autograph Letter: 27 September 1911. Typed Letter: 12 February 1915. Both on letterhead of 12 Clarence Terrace, Regent's Park, London.
£56.00
George R. Sims [George Ross Sims]

Both 4to, 1 p. Texts clear and complete. Both on aged and worn paper. Autograph Letter: He apologises for not acknowledging her letter ('I have been so busy and away a great deal') and regrets that he does not 'for the moment remember anything which would be of service to you'. Typed Letter: He regrets that 'the present is rather a bad time for what we call the free lance in literature'. He is not himself 'very much in Fleet Street and the neighbourhood', the 'bulk' of his work being done 'far from the madding crowd'.

Fragment of Autograph Letter Signed from the Welsh writer Showell Styles.

Author: 
Showell Styles (1908-2005), Welsh writer and mountaineer, whose detective fiction appeared under the pseudonym 'Glyn Carr'
 Autograph Letter Signed from the Welsh writer Showell Styles.
Publication details: 
Dated August 1970; on letterhead of Trwyn Cae Iago, Borth-y-Gest, Portmadoc, Caernarvonshire.
£38.00
 Autograph Letter Signed from the Welsh writer Showell Styles.

The 12mo letter has been cut into two sections, both laid down on a piece of mustard paper, with typed caption. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The body of the letter is on a piece of paper roughly 11 cm square. Six lines of text, enclosing 'autograph & quotation' (not present), and apologising for having 'no photo available'. 'Glad you enjoy my books, & thanks for your good wishes'. The smaller piece, with letterhead and Styles's dating, is roughly 8.5 x 3.5 cm.

His Share of the World. An Irish Story.

Author: 
Amy Griffin, novelist.
Amy Griffin, novelist.
Publication details: 
Greening and Co. Ltd, London, 1904
£85.00
Amy Griffin, novelist.

[viii], 199pp., 8vo, green boards, gilt, with embossed green shamrock, gilt outline, some foxing, especially first few pages, mainly good condition, . Scarce.

Autograph Letter Signed from Louis-Antoine-François de Marchangy ('L de Marchangy') to 'Monsieur le Comte' [Vincent-Marie Viénot, comte de Vaublanc?].

Author: 
Louis-Antoine-François de Marchangy (1782-1826), French writer [Vincent-Marie Viénot (1756-1845), comte de Vaublanc?]
Louis-Antoine-François de Marchangy
Publication details: 
'Limoges ce 22 8bre. [Octobre]' [on paper watermarked 1823].
£95.00
Louis-Antoine-François de Marchangy

8vo, 4 pp. Seventy lines of text. Clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with the outer pages browned. The identity of the recipient is suggested by the following, written in the margin of the first page: 'Ces Dames vous supplient d'agréer l'hommage de leurs souvenirs. Mesdames de Vaublanc et veulent elles me permettre de leur offrir ici la mienne?' His correspondent is writing his memoirs, and de Marchangy considers that he has 'mille fois raison de vivre dans le passé, s'il vous console du present'.

Sabi Legend and Other Poems

Author: 
N.H.D. Spicer and John Spicer, with illustrations by D.J. Avery.
Publication details: 
Published by John Spicer, [Rhodesia, 1947
£125.00

31pp., 12mo, illustrated blue wraps (a warrior), contents crudely joined to wraps with sellotape, wraps sl. chipped and worn, contents mainly good. No copy listed on COPAC; four copies listed on WorldCat (3 in South Africa, and Texas).

Autograph Letter Signed ('Edmund C. Stedman') from the American man of letters Edmund Clarence Stedman to the Blackburn poet John Thomas Baron ('Jack O'Anns')

Author: 
Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833-1908), American poet, critic and essayist [John Thomas Baron (1856-1922), Blackburn dialect poet, writing under the pseudonym 'Jack O'Anns']
Publication details: 
31 January 1883; on letterhead of 71 West 54th Street, New York.
£350.00

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. Forty-eight lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper. Begins 'One must needs be a churl indeed to be a laggard in his response to a letter containing words of so sweet breath composed as yours!' He thanks Baron for his 'kind & encouraging letter', and considers that an author 'has no keener or more lawful pleasure than to find that the errors of his song or tale has [sic] lodged (as Longfellow says) in the heart of some far-off and unknown friend'.

Corrected autograph draft of poem by E. L. Blanchard, entitled 'Phantasmagoria', signed by him 'ELB'.

Author: 
E. L. Blanchard [Edward Litt Laman Blanchard] (1820-1889), playwright and theatre producer, writer of pantomimes for Drury Lane Theatre over 37 years
Corrected autograph draft of poem by E. L. Blanchard
Publication details: 
Dated by Blanchard to November 1862.
£225.00
Corrected autograph draft of poem by E. L. Blanchard

12mo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. Docketed by Blanchard in top left-hand corner: 'Sent to Sat.

Four Typed Letters Signed and two Autograph Cards Signed from the Hampstead poet Frederick Grubb (one in full, four 'Fredk G' and one 'Comrade G') to the critic Derek Stanford, including a virulent attack, and with two other items signed by Grubb.

Author: 
Fred Grubb [Frederick Grubb] (born 1930), English poet [Derek Stanford (1918-2008), English writer; 1960s Hampstead coterie]
Fred Grubb [Frederick Grubb] (born 1930), English poet
Publication details: 
1973 and 1974; most from 243 Haverstock Hill, Hampstead.
£320.00
Fred Grubb [Frederick Grubb] (born 1930), English poet

All items clear and complete, on aged paper. Letters totaling: 4to, 1 p; landscape 8vo, 5 pp. The two cards carry long messages, written in red ink in Grubb's close, neat hand; one is standard size, the other 27 x 13.5 cm. Five envelopes are stapled to their letters. Grubb ('one of the last survivors of the famous 1960s Hampstead coterie of writers, actors and critics') writes entertainingly in an emphatic, energetic manner marvellously evocative of the 1970s London literary scene.

[Mimeographed typed playscript for the Playhouse Theatre, Kidderminster.] Pinocchio, from Carlo Colloddi's "Pinocchio - The Story of a Puppet", freely adapted for the stage and music added by Kenneth Rose.

Author: 
Kenneth Rose, Chairman of the Nonentities Society, The Playhouse Theatre, Kidderminster [Carlo Collodi; Pinocchio]
 Pinocchio
Publication details: 
[1953.]
£280.00
 Pinocchio

4to, [iii] + 76 pp. In original orange titled wraps. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, in worn and frayed wraps. A three-act adaptation of Collodi's children's classic, with cast of characters, 'Synopsis of Scenes', and 'Musical Contents' listing the plays twenty-six songs.

Autograph Nore Signed J. Middleton Murry, critic and editor, to [Hugh] Massingham, editor and author., about William Morris.

Author: 
J. Middleton Murry, critic and editor
Publication details: 
[Embossed] The Old Rectory, Larling, Nr. Norwich, 2 June 1932.
£125.00

One page, obl.12mo, fold marks, mainly good. ... It was king of you to write, and Iappreciate it. In candour, I ought to say that [William] Morris was a revelation to me also when I came to read him for the purposes of your brother's book [The Great Victorians pubd 1932, ed. Massingham and his brother]. He was one of the people I had taken as read. I was fairly overwhelmed by the profound insight of his later writings. | I agree with you about Chesterton's 'Chaucer'. I liked it very much indeed.

Autograph Note Signed George Russell, writer and nationalist, to Mr Davey [an editor?]

Author: 
George William Russell [A.E. ], Irish nationalist, writer, editor, critic, poet, and painter
George William Russell [A.E. ]
Publication details: 
17 Rathgar Ave, Rathgar, Dublin, no date.
£120.00
George William Russell [A.E. ]

One page, fold marks, good condition. Please let me know when [underlined] you want copy for your paper. I will give you something but would like to have as much time as possible. I could send something now but might be able to send something better later on. I hope your special number will be successful.

Six Typed Letters Signed, one Autograph Letter Signed, four Typed Notes Signed and one Autograph Note Signed from Compton Mackenzie to the military historian Antony Brett-James. With one letter by Mackenzie's wife, and a collection of press cuttings.

Author: 
Sir Compton Mackenzie [Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie] (1883-1972), Scottish writer [Antony Brett-James (1920-1984), 5th Indian Division Royal Signals, military historian, Sandhurst lecturer]
Publication details: 
Written between 1948 and 1955. Most on Mackenzie's letterhead, 'Denchworth Manor, by Wantage, Berkshire'.
£350.00

All texts clear and complete. Autograph item with some creasing, otherwise in good condition on lightly-aged paper. Ten items signed 'Compton Mackenzie', and two ''. Eight of the items each one page of landscape 8vo; one 8vo, 1 p; another 12mo, 1 p; the autograph note 4to, 1 p; and the card 16mo, 1 p. The first item (4to, 1 p, in autograph) is dated 22 September 1948. Having met Brett-James he thanks him for sending the proofs of his war memoir 'Report My Signals' (London: Hennel Locke Ltd, 1948): 'I was much impressed by it, and supported it strongly for a Book Society Recommendation.

Typescript transcription of a 'Poem written by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone MP Christmas 1869 for contribution to The Coppice Courant which had however expired in January 1867.'

Author: 
[William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), Liberal prime minister; Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore (1810-1885), judge and Liberal MP]
Publication details: 
Undated transcription. The poem dated 'Christmas 1867.'
£125.00

Typescript (folio, 2 pp), with a couple of manuscript corrections. Fair, on aged paper, with light marks from a paperclip at head. Thirty-six line poem, in heroic couplets, with 'W E G. Christmas 1869' at end, beginning 'Happy the gamester, on whose earliest throw, | Grim Fortune frowns, and cuts his treasure low; | But hapless he, whom luck shall onward lure, | She only means to make his ruin sure.' Made for Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore, of the Courant, Henley on Thames, judge, Liberal MP and lifelong friend of Gladstone's.

Manuscript transcription by Lord Phillimore, of a 'Poem written by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone MP Christmas 1869 for contribution to "The Coppice Courant" which had however expired in January 1867.' With typescript.

Author: 
[William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), Liberal prime minister; Walter George Frank Phillimore (1845-1929), Baron Phillimore, Judge, ecclesiastical lawyer and international jurist]
William Ewart Gladstone
Publication details: 
Transcription undated, on Phillimore's letterhead of The Coppice, Henley on Thames. Typescript undated.
£125.00
William Ewart Gladstone

Phillimore's transcript: 12mo, 3 pp. On bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with mark from rusted paperclip at head. Thirty-six line poem, in heroic couplets, with 'W E G. Christmas 1869' at end. Typescript (folio, 2 pp), with a couple of manuscript corrections. Fair, on aged paper.

Photographic studio portrait of the English novelist Stella Gibbons by the photographer Yvonne Gregory.

Author: 
Yvonne Gregory (1889-1970), photographer, wife of Bertram Park (1883-1972) [Stella Gibbons (1902-1989)]
Yvonne Gregory (1889-1970), photographer: Stella Gibbons
Publication details: 
Without date [1940s?] or place. Printed label of Yvonne Gregory on reverse, giving the photograph's 'Reference File No.' as 'YG/A546/A.'
£75.00
Yvonne Gregory (1889-1970), photographer: Stella Gibbons

Image roughly 7 x 9.5 cm, on piece of paper 8 x 10.5 cm, mounted on recto of second leaf of a cream card bifolium, with a window frame through first leaf. Printed label on reverse of second leaf reads: 'This photograph is copyright and mahy not be copied or reproduced in any way whatsoever. Legal proceedings may be taken against any infringement. | YVONNE GREGORY.' In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Head and shoulders three-quarters profile, from Gibbons' right, showing the novelist in a tailored jacket with padded shoulders.

Nine Typed Letters Signed, one Typed Note Signed and one Autograph Card Signed (all eleven 'Nicolette') from the author and artist Nicolette Devas to the military historian Antony Brett-James.

Author: 
Nicolette Devas [née Macnamara; other married name Shephard] (1911-1987), author and artist [Antony Brett-James (1920-1984), military historian and Sandhurst lecturer]
Nicolette Devas
Publication details: 
[1960-74?] All from West London. Card postmarked 11 October 1960, on cancelled letterhead of Anthony Devas, 12 Carlisle Square. Three items (none with year) on letterhead 18 Wetherby Gardens; seven (two from 1974) on letterhead 68 Limerston Street.
£550.00
Nicolette Devas

Apart from the card (12mo, 1 p), totalling 4to, 10 pp; 12mo, 2 pp. All items in good condition, with text clear and complete, on lightly-aged paper. All post-1960. Two of the eleven (20 January and 13 June 1974) are fully dated by Devas; another four have day and month. The card from 1960 is the earliest item; the three from Wetherby Gardens date from between this point and Devas's second marriage to Rupert Shephard in 1965, and the seven from Limerston Street from after the marriage. A good-natured correspondence, written in a chatty style.

A quantity of books from Christ Church, Kilndown, Library, c.1875

Author: 
[Sunday School Library, Kent]
Publication details: 
[Kilndown, Kent, c.1875
£450.00

61 items, characterised by grey-brown amateur wrapper, usually grubby, with: A label on the front usually stating, 'CHRIST CHURCH, KILNDOWN | LIBRARY. | No. [...] | Please keep clean. | Can be exchanged on EVERY FRIDAY on application to Rev. H. HARRISON. | October, 1875', And a label on reverse of wrapper, 'CHRIST CHURCH, KILNDOWN | Lending Library | Rules. | . 1. The Library to be Free to Sunday Scholars and Members of the Choir; all other persons using the Books to pay a Subscription of a Half-penny a Month. | 2.

Galley proofs of Damon Knight's 1962 anthology 'A Century of Science Fiction'.

Author: 
Damon Knight (1922-2002), American science-fiction writer and editor
Publication details: 
New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1962.
£350.00

126 galleys, numbered in type, each 60 x 15 cm, and containing the text of two pages. Text clear and complete. On aged paper, with fraying and light staining to some extremities. Red Simon and Schuster label, with typed publication date and price, on reverse of last leaf. Under seven headings from 'Robots' to 'Marvelous Inventions', and featuring the work of authors from Jules Verne to Brian W. Aldiss. Introduction and linking passages by Knight himself. Although present in the proofs, one story - 'The Mindworm' by C. M.

[Pamphlets; part issues] The Bards and Authors of Cleveland and South Durham, pt I & II (of 12)

Author: 
George Markham Tweddell, author of Shakspear: His Times and Contemporaries
The Bards and Authors of Cleveland and South Durham
Publication details: 
Stokesley: Published by the Author, 1864 (later published by John Russell Smith)..
£56.00
The Bards and Authors of Cleveland and South Durham

Parts I & II (of 12 = Series 1), pp.40[6 advts]; 76[6 advts], original blue wraps, frayed and spotted, one wrap dulled, one corner of pages turned, pencil annotation on front covers (inc. library no.), library stamps (withdrawn from Newcastle University Library),

A Book of Counsels for Girls. Published under the direction of the Tract Committee.

Author: 
Mary Bell, Victorian novelist, author of 'By Northern Seas' (1897)
A Book of Counsels for Girls.
Publication details: 
London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. [1888.]
£125.00
A Book of Counsels for Girls.

12mo, 96 pp, followed by four-page SPCK catalogue (with first page listing works by the Rev. F. Bourdillon). Text clear and complete. In original olive cloth binding, gilt, stained with damp. Damp damage at rear leaving light staining to corners of last few leaves and catalogue, together with heavier damage to rear endpapers. Traces of Library label on front pastedown. Cloth faded, worn and stained. Bell explains in her preface that 'The poor are excellently well provided with all sorts of books of counsel and help.

Autograph Letter Signed "Percy Fitzgerald", author and critic, to [prob. A. Williams, "Liverpool Mercury"].

Author: 
Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald, (1834 - 1925), British author and critic, painter and sculptor.
Publication details: 
No place or date [1890s?].
£35.00

Two pages, 12mo, good condition, saying, "I was much obliged by your kind thought of sending me the critique - as well as taking the trouble - always a task - of copying it outIt seems to me to convey the intention of the [author?] exactly."

Autograph Note Signed "Willm Hazlitt", author-son of critic, William Hazlitt, to unknown correspondent.

Author: 
William Hazlitt , Jr (1811-1893), English author and translator.
Publication details: 
Chelsea, [London], 28 Jan. 1849.
£45.00

One page, 12mo, good condition. From a batch of letters, many of which are addressed to A. Williams of the "Liverpool Mercury", but no certain identification. Hazlitt says, "I send you sundry autographs, genuine as imported. I will not forget your wishes in this respect when other notable Manuscripts occur to me."

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