LORD

Printed pamphlet giving the speech of Connop Thirlwall, Bishop of St David's, on the inaguration in Tenby of the 'Welsh Memorial of the Late Prince Consort', eulogising him as 'Albert the Good' in front of his son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.

Author: 
Connop Thirlwall (1797-1875), Bishop of St David's from 1840 to his death [Prince Albert (1819-1861), consort of Queen Victoria; his son Prince Arthur (1850-1942), Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]
Publication details: 
W. Spurrell, Printer, Carmarthen. [1865.]
£80.00

The Times, 4 August 1865, carried a report of the inauguration on the previous day at Tenby of the 'Welsh Memorial to the Late Prince Consort', in the presence of Prince Albert's son Arthur, Duke of Connaught. The present item carries, without comment, the main speech at a banquet on the occasion, in the Assembly Room of the Gate House Hotel, by the man considered by the young John Stuart Mill as the best orator he had ever heard. 3pp., 4to. Paginated [1]-3. Bifolium. On laid paper with Joynson watermark dated 1863. In fair condition, on aged paper, creased and discoloured at the foot.

Autograph Card Signed ('Edmund C. Stedman') from the American poet Edmund Clarence Stedman to 'Mrs. Ferris', regarding the marriage of the English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson to Emily Sellwood.

Author: 
Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833-1908), American poet, writer and scientist, educated at Yale University
Publication details: 
New York. 14 November 1890.
£90.00

On one side of a 9 x 11.5 cm piece of card. In good condition, lightly-aged and with a couple of minor spots. Reads: 'New York, Novr. 14th. 1890 | Dear Mrs. Ferris, | In 1850, [date underlined] Alfred Tennyson married Miss Emily Sellwood, daughter of Henry Sellwood, of Horncastle, & took up his residence at Twickenham. He was made Poet Laureate the same year, & was then 41 years old. | Sincerely yrs., | Edmund C. Stedman.'

Signature ('Fitzroy Somerset') of Lord Fitzroy Somerset, later Lord Raglan, on frank to Colonel Brotherton.

Author: 
FitzRoy James Henry Somerset [known as Lord FitzRoy Somerset], 1st Baron Raglan [Lord Raglan] (1788-1855), British army officer [The Charge of the Light Brigade; Battle of Balaklava; Crimean War]
Publication details: 
Merthyr Tydvil [Wales]. 11 June 1831.
£25.00

On piece of 6.5 x 11.5 cm paper, cut from front of frank. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. With the red government postmark ('FREE | 11 JU 11 | 1831'). Reads 'London June seventh 1831 | Colonel Brotherton | Merthyr Tydvil | [signed] Fitzroy Somerset'.

Manuscript indenture on parchment, with signatures and seals: 'Conveyance of Lands of Stapleton in the County of Leicester. Mr. Joseph Knight and Mr. John Edwards to The Baroness Noel Byron [Anne Isabella, Lady Noel Byron], and others'.

Author: 
Anne Isabella Noel Byron (1792-1860), 11th Baroness Wentworth and Baroness Byron [Lady Byron], wife of poet George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale [Lord Byron]; John Edwards; Joseph Knight
Publication details: 
1 August 1853. [Indenture by Fry & Son, London, Law Stationers.]
£200.00

On two skins, with the usual seals and tax stamps, and further text and signatures on the reverse of the first skin, including a witnessed receipt for £450 from Knight; also a memorandum, 2 August 1853, 'Exparte The right Honorable Anne Isabella Baroness Noel Byron Widow', 'Before me | Wm. Cowdell. | A Master Extraordinary in Chancery'. The first skin carries a plan of the property (8 acres 3 rods 33 perches), to the west of the East Shilton road to Stapleton, and of Wigstones Farm, Stapleton and Kirkby Lordship, and with the road from Barwell to Kirby going through it, coloured in green.

Autograph Letter Signed from Lord John Manners [later the 7th Duke of Rutland] to the autograph hunter John T. Baron of Blackburn, discussing the publication by Rivingtons of London of two early books of his poetry.

Author: 
Lord John Manners [John James Robert Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland] (1818-1906), Conservative politician [John T. Baron of Blackburn, autograph hunter]
Publication details: 
St. Mary's Tower, Birnam. 18 August 1882.
£56.00

2pp., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. In worn envelope, with stamp and postmark, addressed by Manners to 'John Baron Esq | 48 Griffin Street | Witton | Blackburn.' Regarding his books 'England's Trust and Other Poems' (1841) and 'English Ballads and Other Poems (1850), Manners begins the letter by apologising for not being able to give 'very definite information respecting my two little volumes of poetry.

First leaf of Autograph Letter from the landowner and politician John Sawbridge, supporter of John Wilkes [to David Steuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan].

Author: 
John Sawbridge (1732-1795) of Olantigh [Ollantigh], Kent, political supporter of John Wilkes; Member of Parliament for Hythe; Lord Mayor of London in 1775 [David Steuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan]
Publication details: 
Ollantigh [sic]. 29 December 1772.
£40.00

2pp., 4to. 31 lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged paper, but the first leaf of the letter only. He writes that he is pleased to receive a letter from Erskine ('your Lordship') after 'so long an interruption'. 'I forebore till I had heard from you to take the liberty of congratulating you upon your Marriage' (Erskine had married the previous October). The second page ends: 'I have never been able to learn whether your Good Mother Lady Buchan was in England or not.

Holograph extract of a translation from the German of Wieland's 'Oberon' by the English poet William Sotheby, beginning 'Sweet Isle! methinks once more I hear'.

Author: 
William Sotheby (1757-1833), English poet and translator [Christoph Martin Wieland, German author of 'Oberon']
Publication details: 
No place. 26 September 1804.
£120.00

1p., 8vo. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with traces of previous mounting along two edges. Headed, in a contemporary hand: 'Given to Mrs. Richards by Miss Calhoun Fanshawe'. 22 lines of verse, in couplets. Signed in the bottom right-hand corner, apparently at a later date than the rest of the text: 'William Sothbey | Sepr 26 - 1804'. The extract - possibly written out by Sotheby for an acquaintance - begins: 'Sweet Isle!

Autograph Letter Signed from the Member of Parliament for Norfolk Thomas de Grey of Merton Hall near Thetford, regarding the supply of 'a pipe of Port and a Hogshead of Calcavalla [sic]', and 'a Hogshead of Sherry'.

Author: 
Thomas de Grey (1717-1781) of Merton Hall near Thetford, Member of Parliament for Norfolk from 1764 to 1774 [fine wine]
Publication details: 
'Merton' [i.e. Merton Hall, near Thetford, Norfolk]. 15 December [no year].
£80.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. Fair, on aged paper. De Grey begins: 'You have very much obliged me by accepting a small Present of Game, and many of my neighbours as well as myself will rejoyce in your Correspondent supplying me with a pipe of Port and a Hogshead of Calcavalla, [sic] if a Hogshead of Sherry could be procured without any additional trouble, it would add to the Obligation'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Sydney Smith') from Rev. Sydney Smith to the future Lord Chancellor Henry Brougham, regarding his ambitions and 'objects in the Church'. With annotations by Brougham.

Author: 
Rev. Sydney Smith (1771-1845), author and wit ['the Smith of Smiths'], member of the Holland House Circle [Henry Brougham (1778-1868), Scottish lawyer, Whig politician and Lord Chancellor]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. Docketted by Brougham '1830 or 31', but in fact circa 1827.
£450.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. A thin strip has been torn from the head of the first leaf, resulting in loss to two lines of text, otherwise in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. A significant letter, in which Smith discusses his ambitions with a close and influential friend, and former colleague on the 'Edinburgh Review'.

Typed Letter Signed ('Mountbatten of Burma') from Lord Mountbatten [Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma] to Mr

Author: 
Louis Mountbatten (1900-1979), 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [Lord Mountbatten], last Viceroy of India (1947), uncle of Duke of Edinburgh [Brian North Lee (1936-2007), bookplate historian; ex libris]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Newhouse, Mersham, Ashford, Kent. 22 July 1996.
£125.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, laid down on backing and a little creased. He thanks him for a letter about 'the study you are doing of Royal bookplates, and of course I remember the icon you had had [sic] of my great aunt Ella and was so pleased to have the postcard of it you kindly sent me'. He is also pleased to learn that Lee has been able to identify the print which his father sent Lee of his bookplate as the work of George Taylor Friend, 'which I am sure he would have been very pleased to know'. Lee's research 'must produced quite a few headaches, but with very interesting results'.

Autograph Letter Signed by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell, author of 'Gertrude of Wyoming', writing in memorable style on presenting a book to an American visitor about to return home.

Author: 
Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), Scottish Romantic poet, author of 'The Pleasures of Hope' and 'Gertrude of Wyoming'
Publication details: 
61 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. 16 July 1840.
£180.00

2pp., 4to. An excellent letter, stylish and charming, and a lucky survival. In poor condition, apparently as a result of fire damage: with wear and chipping repaired with archival tape.

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'.

Autograph Signature ('Wellesley') of Richard Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, on printed warrant appointing Walter Redmond of Ballycotton [Baile Choitín], County Cork, a Customs and Excise 'Preventive Officer (Water Guard)'.

Author: 
Richard Wellesley [formerly Wesley], Marquess Wellesley (1760–1842), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Walter Redmond of Ballycotton [Baile Choitín], County Cork, Eire; Irish Customs and Excise]
Publication details: 
'Given at His Majesty's Castle of Dublin, the eleventh Day of July 1822'.
£180.00

On one side of piece of 27 x 38 cm paper. Aged and heavily-creased, with central closed tear. A printed document, with engraved portrait of King George IV in the top left-hand corner, completed in manuscript and signed by Wellesley and three others, with fading to the manuscript parts. The document is headed: 'To all People to whom these Presents shall come Greeting.

Address of letter, in the autograph of Eva Marie Garrick, wife of the actor David Garrick, with manuscript note, with other autographs.

Author: 
Eva Maria Garrick [née Veigel; stage name 'Violette'] (1724-1822), Austrian dancer and wife of the English actor and dramatist David Garrick; Sylvester Douglas, Baron Glenbervie (1743-1823); Sandwich]
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated. [1819.]
£45.00

The autograph address by Eva Marie Garrick is on a 7.5 x 14.5 piece of paper, laid down on an 8 x 20 cm piece of paper cut from an album. In fair condition, aged. Lightly-scored through by the postal authorities, it reads: 'The Rigt. Honorable | Dowr. Lady Amherst | Leven Grove near | Stokerley | Yorkshire'. Beneath this, in another hand: 'Widow of the celebrated David Garrick Esq', and along one edge, in a third hand (Lady Amherst's?), 'This direction was written by Mrs Garrick in the year 1819 when in her 92d year'.

Three Autograph Letters Signed and three Typed Letters Signed (all 'Charles') from the Chairman of the BBC Governors Lord Hill to the Observer journalist Hugh Massingham, mainly regarding their collaboration on the two volumes of his memoirs.

Author: 
Charles Hill (1904-1989), Baron Hill of Luton [Lord Hill], BBC 'Radio Doctor', Conservative MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Chairman of BBC Governors [Hugh Massingham (1905-71), journalist]
Publication details: 
On letterheads of Bury Knowle, Milton Road, Harpenden; The Independent Television Authority, 70 Brompton Road, London SW3; Winch Hill House, Wandon End, near Luton; and last three from Broadcasting House, London W1. 1963 (1), 1967 (1) and 1968 (4).
£120.00

Totalling 5pp., 4to and 3pp., 12mo. The six items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with the first three in autograph and the last three (from Broadcasting House) typed. Hill begins the first letter (22 April 1963) with the assertion that he is 'taking heed' of Massingham's 'stimulating advice', and this sets the tone of the whole correspondence.

Collection of 25 newspaper cuttings from Fleet Street newspapers relating to the final illness of King George V, collected and presented on letterheads for Lord Dawson of Penn, who attended on the king, by the advertising agency G. Street & Co.

Author: 
Bertrand Edward Dawson, Lord Dawson of Penn (1864-1945), President, Royal College of Physicians; attended dying King George V [G. Street & Co., 6 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3, advertising agency]
Publication details: 
Mounted on letterheads of G. Street & Co., Ltd., 6, Gracechurch Street, EC3. London: April and May 1931.
£220.00

An interesting collection, casting light on media attitudes to the British Royal family and news management in the interwar years. Dawson was clearly mindful of publicity. As his entry in the Oxford DNB explains: 'It was Dawson who composed on a menu card the celebrated lines, ‘the King's life is moving peacefully towards its close’, having modified this from what he described as "a very commonplace" final bulletin used for Edward VII.' Penn's attendance during the King's final illness was controversial: it was later revealed that he hastened his end with morphine and cocaine.

Five documents relating to the application of Lord Chorley for the lectureship in Evidence, Procedure and Criminal Law at the Inns of Court School of Law, including letters of recommendation from Lord Wright and Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders.

Author: 
Robert Alderson Wright (1869-1964), Baron Wright [Lord Wright, Master of the Rolls, 1935-37]; Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders (1886-1966) [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley (1895-1978), 1st Baron Chorley]
Publication details: 
London. 1952.
£120.00

The five items are in good condition, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Items One and Two: Typed drafts of a 'Statement of Qualifications', headed 'Lord Chorley's application for appointment to the lectureship in Evidence, Procedure and Criminal Law.' Both 2pp., 4to. Slightly different in layout, and with few (if any) textual differences. After describing his career Chorley writes: 'Although my chief legal study has been commercial law I had experience of teaching Evidence, Procedure and Criminal Law at the Law Society's School.

Typescript of report of speech by Lord Chorley [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley], titled 'The Role of National Service in the Modern State'.

Author: 
Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley (1895-1978), 1st Baron Chorley QC, British jurist and Labour politician [National Service; the civil servant]
Publication details: 
[1952.]
£70.00

5pp., foolscap 8vo, each on a separate leaf. Fair, on aged paper, stapled together in one corner, but with the last leaf detached. The subject is not compulsory military service but the role of the civil servant (see the conclusion, quoted below). The first paragraph reads: 'Lord Chorley said that there is a close connection between the sort of function which the machinery of government performs in any society and the civil service which is required in that society.

Copy of typed notes by the British jurist and Labour politician Lord Chorley [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley] for a talk by him as part of a discussion on the role of the British civil service.

Author: 
Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley (1895-1978), 1st Baron Chorley QC, British jurist and Labour politician [National Service; the civil servant]
Publication details: 
[1952.]
£80.00

11pp., 4to. In fair condition, on aged paper, with a couple of manuscript emendations. Without title, date or author's name. Can be dated to 1952 from comment on p.9: 'Power of Service enormously greater in 1952 than in 1852 - both individually and collectively.' Chorley's authorship is clear from the context: on the second page he recalls that he was 'a temporary Civil Servant in the first world war', and the document concludes: 'Suspect chosen because identified with Chorley Report - no responsibility beyond that of other members of the Committee.

Typed Letter Signed ('Woolton') from Lord Woolton [Frederick James Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton] to fellow Labour politician Lord Chorley [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley], contesting figures given by him in a House of Lords speech on education.

Author: 
Frederick James Marquis (1883-1964), 1st Earl of Woolton [Lord Woolton], businessman and Labour politician [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley (1895-1978), 1st Baron Chorley; Ministry of Education]
Publication details: 
On his letterhead as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Treasury Chambers, Great George Street, SW1. 21 February 1955.
£56.00

2pp., 4to. 46 lines. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. He begins: 'Since you spoke in the Education Debate in the House of Lords on the 9th February I have been meaning to take up with you a controversial point to which I did not refer in reply since you were not in the House.' He quotes a passage in which Chorley 'dealt with University students', giving detailed reasons for contesting his 'figures about awards'.

Typed Letter Signed ('Kilmuir') from the Lord Chancellor David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir [Lord Kilmuir], to the Labour peer Lord Chorley, in 'expansion' of his 'somewhat cryptic remarks' in the previous night's House of Lords debate.

Author: 
David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe (1900-1967), 1st Earl of Kilmuir [Lord Kilmuir], Conservative Home Secretary (1951-4); Lord Chancellor (1954-62) [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley]
Publication details: 
On House of Lords letterhead; 3 July 1956.
£56.00

2pp., 4to. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The first paragraph reads: 'In expansion of my somewhat cryptic remarks reported in col. 241 of the Official Report of last night's debate you may care to have the following note about the point which you raised.' There follow quotations relating to 'The summary offence [...] under subsection (1) of section 9 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act, 1949' and 'The indictable offence [...] under section 5 of the Perjury Act, 1911'. From the Chorley papers.

Autograph Letter Signed from the conservationist Ethel Haythornthwaite, thanking Lord Chorley [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley] for his speech to the Sheffield branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England.

Author: 
Ethel Haythornthwaite (1894-1986) and her husband Lt-Col. Gerald Haythornthwaite (1912-1995), pioneering conservationists [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley (1895-1978), 1st Baron Chorley [Lord Chorley]]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, Sheffield and Peak District Branch. 10 June 1945.
£56.00

2pp., landscape 12mo. 28 lines of text. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with slight damage to one corner. Addressed to 'Dear Professor Chorley', the letter begins: 'I do feel we owe you a very great deal for coming on Saturday. Every body seemed pleased with the meeting and that was mainly due to the chief speaker. They liked what you said and who said it.' Considering the demands on Chorley's time, she is grateful to him for not cancelling the engagement, and for the fact that he did not 'pour coals of fire' on her head for the 'silly mistake about the train'.

Mimeographed typed transcription of a discussion on the BBC Home Service chaired by William Pickles: 'Taking Stock on the Budget', with the speakers Paul Bareau, Lord Chorley, H. D. Dickinson, Lord Hailsham, H. D. Hughes and Donald McLachlan.

Author: 
['Taking Stock', BBC Home Service, 1951; British Broadcasting Corporation; Hugh Gaitskell; William Pickles; Paul Bareau; Lord Chorley; H. D. Dickinson; Lord Hailsham; H. D. Hughes; Donald McLachlan]
Publication details: 
'12 April, 1951. 2115-2200 GMT. HOME SERVICE'. With compliments slip of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
£180.00

13pp., foolscap 8vo, each on a separate leaf. Compliments slip printed in blue. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Headed 'TRANSCRIBED FROM A TELEDIPHONE RECORDING'.

Autograph Letter Signed from John Wishaw, Secretary to the African Association, to the Whig MP James Loch of Bloomsbury Square, regarding the picture galleries of Lord Stafford and Lord Grosvenor, also George Canning, Lord Brougham and elections.

Author: 
John Wishaw (c.1764-1840), Secretary to the African Association, friend of Malthus and biographer of Mungo Park [James Loch (1780-1855), Whig MP for St Germains, Cornwall]
Publication details: 
9 May [1827]. 'L. I. Fields' [i.e. Lincolns Inn Fields, London].
£100.00

2pp., 12mo. 40 lines. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper. The reverse of the second leaf carries half of a red wax seal, as well as the address to 'James Loch Esqr | Bloomsbury Square'. The letter begins: 'My dear Loch | Some friends of mine from the Country are desirous of seeing Lord Stafford's & Lord Grosvenor's pictures some time next week; & they understand that the obtaining of Tickets is not a matter of course but that some little interest is necessary.' He asks for assistance 'with regard to Cleveland House [...] for Mrs Johnston & party (about 5 or 6 persons)'.

[Booklet] Lord Kitchener of Khartoum and AspallMiniature Series Biography. London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Ltd

Author: 
J. Ivo Ball
Publication details: 
London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Ltd, [1902]
£45.00

16pp. ilus., red paper wraps, darkened and marked, mainly good condition. Only one copy (BL) listed on COPAC/OCLC.

Albumen carte-de-visite by the London studio of the French photographer Disdéri, showing Lord Alfred Henry Paget, Member of Parliament for Lichfield, Staffordshire, smoking a pipe.

Author: 
Disdéri (1819-1889), French photographer [Lord Alfred Henry Paget (1816-1888) of Beaudesert, Staffordshire, MP for Lichfield, Staffs, 1837-65, and Equerry to the Queen, 1837-41]
Publication details: 
4 Brook Street, Hanover Square, London. Undated [1860s?].
£120.00

The image is 9 x 5.5 cm, mounted on brown card, 10.5 x 6.5 cm, printed on both sides in red, with large facsimile of Disdéri's signature on reverse. In fair condition, somewhat aged. Page is shown seated at a table with a sculpture of a stag on it, with legs cross and the sole of his left show showing, smoking a pipe. In addition to being an MP, Paget held several positions in the Royal Household, acting as Equerry to Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1841. The present image is not among the four representations of Paget in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

Typed Letter Signed ('Ballantrae') from Lord Ballantrae [Brigadier Bernard Edward Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae] to Antony Brett-James of Sandhurst, on topics including his editing of 'The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes' and his wife's death.

Author: 
Brigadier Bernard Edward Fergusson (1911-1980), Baron Ballantrae [Lord Ballantrae], military historian and Governor-General of New Zealand [Antony Brett-James (1920-1984), lecturer at Sandhurst]
Publication details: 
On his letterhead, Auchairne, Ballantrae, Ayrshire. 29 March 1980.
£120.00

1p., 4to. 30 typed lines, with the last two lines in autograph. In good condition, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Brett-James is addressed as 'Head of Department, War Studies & International Affairs, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('M: A: Lower') from the Sussex antiquary Mark Anthony Lower to Lord Londesborough

Author: 
Mark Antony Lower (1814-1876), F.S.A. M.A., Sussex historian who founded the Sussex Archaeological Society [Albert Denison Denison (1805-1860), 1st Baron Londesborough]
Publication details: 
Lewes [Sussex]. 23 May 1851.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Written in a bold, attractive hand. The letter begins: 'It was with much regret that I was compelled to forgo the honour of attending your Lordship's Conversazione on Wednesday.' He was called to Hastings that day by '[u]navoidable business', but hopes to have 'during the continuance of the Exhibition, an opportunity of waiting on your Lordship'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Vera Meynell') from Lady Vera Meynell, wife of the typographer Sir Francis Meynell, to 'Dear Jack' [the anthropologist J. H. Driberg], asking him to 'let bygones be bygones' and visit her at Toppesfield, 'Hitler permitting'.

Author: 
Lady Vera Meynell [née Vera Rosalind Wynn Mendel] (1895-1947), wife of Sir Francis Meynell (1891-1975), publisher and typographer, founder of the Nonesuch Press [Jack Herbert Driberg (1888-1946)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 39 Woburn Square, WC1 [London]. 5 July [no year, but during the Second World War].
£65.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Jack | It is a long time since we met - but perhaps that is my fault. If so, will you let bygones be bygones - and come over to Toppesfield some time?' She suggests a date, 'Or any Sunday lunch in the immediate future', stating that 'after July, all plans are "Hitler permitting"!' Driberg has noted his acceptance of the invitation up one margin. [Driberg was a Lecturer in Anthropology at Cambridge University from 1934 to 1942. His brother was the colourful Labour MP Tom Driberg.

Holograph poem (signed 'G J W A E') by George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, titled 'Remembrance & Hope | addressed to my dearest Caroline', lamenting the depression of his sister Caroline-Anne Agar-Ellis over their mother's death.

Author: 
George James Welbore Agar-Ellis (1797-1833), 1st Baron Dover, politician and art patron, and his sister Caroline-Anne Agar-Ellis (1794-1814), children of Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden
Publication details: 
Dated 'April 1814'.
£180.00

2pp., 4to. Fair, on aged paper, with a thin strip from a stub adhering to one edge on the reverse. Previously folded into a packet, and docketed in a contemporary hand 'by Agar Ellis'. 24 lines in heroic couplets. Agar-Ellis's sister Caroline-Anne would die at Roehampton on 12 May 1814, a month after the writing of this poem, which links her demise with that of their mother, Caroline, daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough, a few months before (23 November 1813).

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