NATURAL

[Darwin's closest friend: Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, botanist and explorer, Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to Thomas Lister, regarding seeds and an account of 'negro' handling of poisons.

Author: 
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911), botanist and explorer, Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Charles Darwin's closest friend [Thomas Villiers (1832-1902) of the Foreign Office]
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Publication details: 
ONE: 6 June 1877. TWO: 14 November 1878. Both with embossed letterhead of the Royal Gardens, Kew.
£450.00
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient was the son of the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842) and his wife, born Lady Maria Theresa Villiers (1803-1865), and later Lady Theresa Lewis, wife of the Liberal politician Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863). Thomas Lister became an assistant under-secretary for foreign affairs in 1873 and was made a KCMG in 1885. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Both addressed to ‘Dear Mr Lister’ and signed ‘Jos. D. Hooker’. Written in an oddly difficult hand. ONE (6 June 1877): 2pp, 16mo.

[Sir William Jackson Hooker, biologist, first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.] Autograph Signature in valediction to letter.

Author: 
Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), biologist and botanical illustrator, first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
Sir William Jackson Hooker
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£35.00
Sir William Jackson Hooker

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 9.5 x 3 cm slip of paper, cut from letter. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Your affectionate / friend / W. J. Hooker'. Fragment of text on reverse: '[...] there is any foundat[...] / for the above repor[...] / or not. If there [...]'.

[William Carruthers, FRS, Scottish botanist and paleobotanist.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Bernard Piffard] in his capacity as Keeper of the Botanical Department at the Natural History Museum, London, regarding the identification of specimens.

Author: 
William Carruthers (1830-1922), FRS, Scottish botanist and paleobotanist, Keeper of the Botanical Department at the Natural History Museum, London [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
19 December 1888. On letterhead of the ‘British Museum (Natural History), / Cromwell Road, / London: S.W’.
£56.00

2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged (blank second leaf slightly damaged). Folded twice. Recipient not named, but is from the Piffard papers. Good bold signature ‘W. Carruthers’. Reads: ‘Dear Sir / The enclosed specimens are all certainly fish coprolites. / I would have returned them sooner but I was anxious to see Mr Etteridge who I understood from Mr Brody said they were cones. / I have only to-day been able to see him, and hee says that he has no doubt about the these [sic] specimens being Coprolites.’

[Sir Edward Fry, judge and zoologist.] Autograph Letter in the third person, asking Bernard Piffard, microscopist etc, to send him a 'Micro-slide'.

Author: 
Sir Edward Fry (1827-1918), judge and zoologist, Lord Justice of Appeal [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist and microscopist]
Publication details: 
14 November 1885. On letterhead of 5 The Grove, Highgate [London].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. 1p, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Reads: 'Lord Justice Fry would be obliged if Mr Piffard would send him a Micro-slide of Conidia bearing Hyphae of Eurotium repens, isolated & stained by a new application of Iodine Vapour. He encloses 2/- in stamps.'

[Henry Doubleday, pioneering Quaker horticulturalist of Coggeshall in Essex.] Five Autograph Letters Signed to the entomologist Bernard Piffard, discussing various topics in natural history, common acquaintances and personal news.

Author: 
Henry Doubleday (1810-1902), pioneering Quaker horticulturist of Coggeshall in Essex [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
Between 1860 and 1874. All from Epping [Essex].
£180.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. A total of 10pp, 12mo. Aged and worn, with the first letter on creased grey paper, the second with one leading edge rolling inwards, and the last with a 2cm closed tear; but with text clear and entire. The recipient named as ‘B. Piffard Esq’. All signed ‘Henry Doubleday’. ONE: 14 July 1860. 2pp, 12mo. With reference to an excursion by Piffard to Maldon, and also stating that he ‘took a very fine female Deilephila Galei in our garden on Wednesday - it was at rest on a strawberry plant’. TWO: 7 March 1890. 1p, 12mo.

[Charles Owen Waterhouse, entomologist, godson of Charles Darwin and Richard Owen.] Autograph Letter Signed to Bernard Piffard, micrscopist, regarding ‘British examples’ of the ‘cicada haematodes’.

Author: 
Charles Owen Waterhouse (1843-1917), entomologist, son of George Robert Waterhouse, godson of Charles Darwin and Richard Owen [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
20 June 1881. On embossed letterhead of the British Museum [London].
£120.00

Waterhouse and his two younger brothers were all entomologists. He was named after his godfathers, Charles Darwin and Richard Owen. See his father’s entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. 2pp, 12mo. Addressed to ‘B. Giffard Esq’ and signed ‘ Chas. O. Waterhouse’. Begins: ‘Dear Sir, / Of Cicada haematodes we have several British examples in the Stephensian Cabinet. [i.e. [i.e. Robert Stephenson's cabinet of microscopic specimens] I have no doubt these specimens are British, and we have also two examples taken in the New Forest.

[‘Mirbel the naturalist’: Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel, French botanist.] Autograph Signature (‘Mirbel’) over printed device of the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle au Jardin du Roi.

Author: 
Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel (1776-1854), French botanist, a founder of cytology, plant histology and plant physiology in France, on the staff of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris
Mirbel
Publication details: 
No date. [Museum d’Histoire Naturelle au Jardin du Roi.]
£90.00
Mirbel

See his entry in the Encylopaedia Britannica. The signature ‘Mirbel’ is written on a clear area of a circular printed device of 4.5 cm diameter, in grey tone, within decorative border. The text reads: ‘MUSEUM / D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE / AU JARDIN DU ROI / Entrée aux Jours et Heures / consacrés à l’Etude. / Prof. Admin.’ Laid down on a 7 x 7.5 cm piece of paper, on which is written, in a neat early nineteenth-century hand, ‘Mirbel the naturalist’. See image.

[John Playfair, Scottish mathematician and geologist, Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.] Autograph Inscription: ‘University of Edinh. / Mathematicks / by / John Playfair’, for William Fraser.

Author: 
John Playfair (1748-1819), Scottish mathematician and geologist, Church of Scotland cleric and Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh
Playfair
Publication details: 
November 1803. University of Edinburgh.
£56.00
Playfair

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On one side of 12 x 8 cm card. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Evidently removed from album, part of one of whose leaves is laid down on the reverse. Reads: ‘University of Edinh. / Mathematicks / by / John Playfair / Class 1. Novr. 1803 / For Mr William Fraser’.

[Sir Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton, distinguished Welsh chemist.] Two printed offprints of lectures from the Proceedings of the Royal Institution: ‘Engine Knock and Related Problems’ (1928) and ‘Warmth and Comfort Indoors’ (1943).

Author: 
Sir Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton (1886-1959), Welsh chemist who pioneered the use of liquid methane as fuel [Royal Institution of Great Britain, London]
Publication details: 
Royal Institution of Great Britain, London. 1928 and 1943. The first printed by William Clowes and Sons, London.
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both of these items are scarce as separate printings: no trace of either crops up on JISC or WorldCat. Both are in good condition, with light wear. ONE: ‘Engine Knock and Related Problems.’ 15pp, 12mo. Stapled. Headed: ‘Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly evening meeting. / Friday, May 25, 1928. / Sir Robert Robertson, K.B.E. M.A. F.R.S., / Honorary Secretary and Vice-President, in the Chair. / Alfred C. Egerton, M.A. F.R.S. M.R.I., / Reader in Thermodynamics, University of Oxford.’ TWO: ‘Warmth and Comfort Indoors’. 22pp, 12mo. Stapled.

[[Act of Parliament; establishment of the Science Museum, etc.] [Printed] An Act for releasing the Lands of the Commissions for the Exhibition of 1851, upon Repayment of Monies granted in aid of their Funds. [12th July 1858]

Author: 
[Act of Parliament; establishment of the Science Museum, etc.]
Publication details: 
Eyre and Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, 1858.
£250.00

Four pages, sm. fol., bifolium. damaged at join not affecting text, removed from bound volume. Whereas the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 have purchased Lands at Kensington Gore with a view to secure adequate space in the Metropolis for Institutions connected with Science and Art [...].

[[Act of Parliament; establishment of the Science Museum, etc.] [Printed] An Act for releasing the Lands of the Commissions for the Exhibition of 1851, upon Repayment of Monies granted in aid of their Funds. [12th July 1858]

Author: 
[Act of Parliament; establishment of the Science Museum, etc.]
Publication details: 
Eyre and Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, 1858.
£250.00

Four pages, sm. fol., bifolium. damaged at join not affecting text, removed from bound volume. Whereas the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 have purchased Lands at Kensington Gore with a view to secure adequate space in the Metropolis for Institutions connected with Science and Art [...].

[Henry Williamson, author of 'Tarka the Otter'.] Typed material prepared by his daughter-in-law Anne Williamson, intended to provide 'background information for an outline for biographical television treatment'.

Author: 
Henry Williamson (1895-1977), English novelist, naturalist and ruralist, author of ‘Tarka the Otter’, his daughter-in-law and biographer Anne Williamson, wife of his youngest son Richard Williamson
Publication details: 
Undated [1970s?]. From Anne Williamson's West Sussex address.
£650.00

Anne Williamson, author of two books on Henry Williamson and of his entry in the Oxford DNB, was married to his youngest son Richard (1935-2022). The present typewritten material (88pp, 8vo) consists of several drafts and duplicates of material intended for circulation to production companies she hoped to interest in a television documentary on Williamson. It is in good condition, with each page printed on a separate leaf of A4 cartridge paper.

[William Yarrell, zoologist.] Autograph Signature (‘Wm. Yarrell.’) as ‘Treasurer’ (of the Entomological or Linnean Society).

Author: 
William Yarrell (1784-1856), eminent English zoologist, author of standard reference works on British fishes (1836) and birds (1843), treasurer of the Entomological Society and the Linnean Society
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£35.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11 x 7.5 cm piece of paper, cut from a printed document. The signature is large, bold and undamaged, on heavily-worn paper with several instances of damage, laid down on a piece of card. The printed text reads: ‘[...] / I [have] the honour to be, / Sir, / Your most obedient / and very humble Servant, / [Autograph Signature ‘Wm. Yarrell’] / Treasurer.’

[W. C. R. Watson, English botanist.] Two Autograph Cards Signed (both ‘W. Watson’), concerning botanical matters, one to F. O. Whitaker of Plumstead, and the other to C. G. Grinling of Woolwich.

Author: 
W. C. R. Watson [William Charles Richard Watson; William Watson] (1885-1954), English botanist, author of ‘Handbook of the Rubi of Great Britain and Ireland‘ (1958)
Publication details: 
TO GRINLING: No date (postmark of 6 September 1921); “The Meadows”, Saham Toney, Watton, Norfolk. TO WHITAKER: No date (postmark of 16 September 1929); 245 Southlands Rd, Bickley, Kent.
£50.00

Note to be confused with the Kew curator William Watson (1858-1925). Both cards are plain: the first with a self-printed stamp and the second with stamp affixed. Both in fair condition, lightly aged. ONE (to Grinling): He identifies the fungi he sent, adding a comment on bacteoles of mallow. Ends in the hope of attending ‘the Epping Forest foray this year’. TWO (to Whitaker). The previous Saturday he noted ‘Pyrus torminalis in the old rough lane between fences nearly opposite the Bull Inn on Shooters Hill (? Jack Wood Lane)’.

[Frederick Edward Hulme, naturalist and botanical illustrator.] Autograph Signature (‘F. Edward Hulme’) to salutation to letter.

Author: 
Frederick Edward Hulme (1841-1909), naturalist and botanical illustrator, Professor of Freehand and Geometrical Drawing at King's College London, author of the nine-volume ‘Familiar Wild Flowers’ (18
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£28.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 10.5 x 8 cm piece of ruled paper, laid down on 21 x 10.5 piece of light blue-green paper cut from album. In good condition, lightly discoloured. Reads: ‘With all kindly salutations to you & yours - believe me / Yours very truly / F. Edward Hulme’ See image.

[Ren? Louiche Desfontaines, Professor of Botany at the Jardin des Plantes.] Autograph Letter Signed (?Desfontaines?) [to the negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase, the Marquis of Barb?-Marbois], thanking him for his ?Histoire de la Louisiane?.

Author: 
Ren? Louiche Desfontaines (1750-1833), French botanist, Professor of Botany at the Jardin des Plantes [Fran?ois, Marquis de Barb?-Marbois (1745-1837), French negotiator of Louisiana Purchase]
Publication details: 
Erroneously dated ?paris 21 decembre 1888? [1829?].
£180.00

The letter is addressed to ?Monsieur Le marquis?, and the recipient is undoubtedly Barb?-Marbois. The letter presumably dates from 1829, the year of publication of Barb?-Marbois?s ?Histoire de la Louisiane?. The other work referred to, ?Le Complot d?Arnold et de Sir Henry Clinton contre les Etats-Unis?, was published in 1816.

[A.B. Rendle, botanist; The Snowdrop] Autograph Letter Signed A.B. Rendle to Grinling [[C.H.] Grinling, socialist, editor of the Woolwich Pioneer, botanist], discussing the Snowdrop at length.

Author: 
A.B. Rendle [Alfred Barton Rendle (1865 – 1938), botanist].
Publication details: 
[Embossed] 28 Hollybush Raod, Putney, S.W., 14 March [1930?].
£80.00

Two pages, cr. 8vo, fold mark, minor repair to closed tear, text complete and legible. Text: I have no personal knowledge as to the seeding of Snowdrops in this country - the species is a very doubtful native & we are about the northern limit of its distribution. I have grown snowdrops for years but have never noticed seedlings among them & they only grow in the area where I have planted the bulbs. They would take probably several (I can't say how many off hand) years to produce flowering bulbs.

[Hong Kong; natural disaster] Typed Letter Signed, cover for instructions etc (3 pp) J. B. Keenan, to C. A. A. Nicol, enclosing 'our instructions in the event of a civil disturbance or natural disaster eg Typhoon', map and 'warning signals'.

Author: 
Major J. B. Keenan, Royal Artillery, Camp Commandant, Land Forces Hong Kong [C. A. A. Nicol (1921-2012), Special Branch, Malayan Union Police Force and Royal Malaysian Police]
Publication details: 
Letter from Camp Office, Headquarters, Land Forces Hong Kong, British Forces Post Office 1; 18 October 1973.
£250.00

Totalling 4pp., sm.fol. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The letter (1p., 8vo) is a circular, and in it Keenan writes: 'Do not be alarmed at the sudden appearance of these instructions. Rather accept them as a fact that some one has your interests at heart'. The instructions (2pp., 8vo) are headed 'APPX 3 TO ANNEX D | CAMP HOLF SOP NO 2 | INSTRUCTIONS TO FAMILIES'. Divided into 13 sections, under the headings: Introduction; Wardens; Precautions; Children; Shopping; Special Warning Procedure; Leave; Finally.

[ Edward Jesse ] Autograph Note Signed Ed Jesse to My dear Professor [not named], inviting him to dine with General Jones [...] head of the Rifles as the other guest.

Author: 
Edward Jesse [ (1780–1868), writer on natural history].
Publication details: 
East Sheen - Tuesday Ev[ening]. No date.
£35.00

One page, fold marks, very good condition. Would he dine with us next Thursday at 7 o'clock, to meet Genl Jones who distinguished himself so much in India [during the Indian Mutiny presumably] at the head of the Rifles. I have asked [?] shall play at [Cheat?] or Whist.

[Gilbert White, naturalist.] Original Manuscript, said to have been dictated by White himself, of 'Gilbert White's statement' on the venomous properties of the toad, with eleven authorial emendations. Together with a series of thermometer readings.

Author: 
Gilbert White (1720-1793), naturalist and ornithologist, author of the celebrated 'Natural History of Selborne' (1789) [Thomas Bell (1792-1880), zoologist]
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£350.00

A very nice artefact of one of the best-loved books in the England language, Gilbert White's 'Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne', which at one point was claimed to be the fourth most-printed book after the Bible, Shakespeare, and Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress'. White's entry in the Oxford DNB concludes by describing the book as 'an expression of universal thanksgiving, treasured by all'.

[Samuel Goodenough, Bishop of Carlisle, botanist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Saml. Carlisle') to Rev. Gilbert Ford of Ormskirk, regarding the 'Grey Pill' of his father, the Chester physician John Ford.

Author: 
Samuel Goodenough (1743-1827), Bishop of Carlisle, botanist [Rev. Gilbert Ford of Ormskirk; Dr John Ford of Chester]
Publication details: 
22 April 1808. Berners Street [London].
£56.00

See Goodenough's entry in the Oxford DNB. At the time of writing he had not been long in place: he had been consecrated in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall on 13 February 1808, having been nominated by the Prime Minister the Duke of Portland. The recipient is Rev. Gilbert Ford (1768-1835) of Ormskirk, son of the eminent Chester physician and botanist John Ford (1731-1807). (Ford was possibly related to Goodenough by marriage: the latter's wife was a daughter of Dr James Ford, sometime physician to Middlesex Hospital and to Queen Charlotte.) 2pp, 4to. On bifolium.

[Richard Kearton, pioneer wildlife photographer; plus ANS] Printed advertisement w. list of works and fourteen photographs, carrying Autograph Note Signed ('R. Kearton'), directing the admittance of 'bearer and friend' to 'my lecture | Muswell Hill'.

Author: 
Richard Kearton (1862-1928), naturalist and pioneer wildlife photographer with his brother Cherry Kearton (1871-1940)
Publication details: 
Advertisement undated. Kearton's note dated 15 January 1906.
£120.00

Printed in black ink on both sides of a 26 x 30 cm piece of thick shiny art paper. Worn and folded twice. One side carries a priced list of eleven 'Natural History Works by R. KEARTON, F.Z.S.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[William Buckler, painter and entomologist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('William Buckler') informing 'Miss C. Fox' that the girl model he intended for her has not arrived.

Author: 
William Buckler (1814-1884), painter and entomologist
Publication details: 
'Wednesday afternoon' [no place or date].
£56.00

1p, 12mo. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Miss C. Fox'. In fair condition, on aged paper. Folded twice. From the context it would seem that Buckler was acting as the recipient's painting master. Begins: 'Madam | The little Girl which I intended as a Model for you this afternoon has not arrived (on account of the weather no doubt).' As a consequence he asks her to 'excuse my attendance today'. He will 'call and fix another day as soon as I have seen her'.

[Sir William Jardine, Scottish naturalist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm Jardine'), regarding his need to travel to Edinburgh because of 'the Dangerous illness of Mr Maule'.

Author: 
Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet of Applegarth (1800-1874), Scottish naturalist, editor of 'The Naturalist's Library' [Maule, Edinburgh]
Publication details: 
Jardine Hall [near Lockerbie, Scotland]. 27 March 1845.
£65.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Endorsed by the unnamed recipient on the reverse of the second leaf. The subject of the letter, 'Mr Maule', was presumably a relation of Jardine's, whose mother's maiden name was Maule. Begins: 'Dear Sir, I received your parcel this morning & was prepared to start Tomorrow (Friday) when the Evening Mail brought me the intelligence of the Dangerous illness of Mr.

[William Paley, philosopher and utilitarian, creationist author of 'Natural Theology'.] Autograph Letter Signed ('W Paley') to T. Harrison, regarding Thomas Paley's living of Aldrington in Sussex; 'Mansell's being a bishop'; and Louth, Lincolnshire.

Author: 
William Paley (1743-1805), philosopher and utilitarian, creationist author of 'Natural Theology' [Thomas Paley; Magdalene College, Cambridge]
Publication details: 
Temple [London]; 17 June 1801.
£250.00

The subject of the present letter, Thomas Paley, was certainly related to William Paley, but they were not brothers, as Paley had none. The reason for the lack of information about Thomas Paley is his disgrace. In 1806, five years after the present letter was written, Thomas Paley, a senior fellow and tutor at Magdalene, was forbidden to reside at the college (while still retaining his stipend), being guilty of 'highly offensive and injurious conduct providing a dangerous example to juniors' in ways 'which from delicacy cannot be specified' (see Cunich, 'History of Magdalene College').

[Diane Ackerman, poet, to the playwright Christopher Fry, with a presentation copy of her first book.] Typed Letter Signed praising his work, accompanying an inscribed copy of her poetry collection 'The Planets | A Cosmic Pastoral'.

Author: 
Diane Ackerman (born 1948), American poet, essayist, and naturalist [Christopher Fry (1907-2005), English playwright]
Publication details: 
Letter from 126 Texas Lane, Ithaca, NY, USA. 20 September 1976. Book published in New York by William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1976.
£650.00

ONE: TLS. Ithaca, NY; 20 September 1976. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. The letter begins: 'Dear Christopher Fry, | I so relish climbing the castellations of your wit, to where I feel energized and deliriously long-sighted, or running higgledy-piggledy with your thoughts, at times as if with the bulls of Pamplona, I simply cannot resist telling you so any longer.' According to her 'internal calculations' she owes him 'at least a galaxy for the delight your plays have given me; perhaps you'd accept these few planets instead'.

[John Lindley, eminent botanist.] Autograph Letter in the third person, informing 'Major Abby' that the birds he 'enquires for' are not present in the Garden of the Horticultural Society.

Author: 
John Lindley (1799-1865), eminent botanist, Assistant Secretary of the Horticultural Society of London, Professor of Botany at University College, London
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Horticultural Society of London, 21 Regent Street. 17 April 1841.
£120.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with a two fold lines. Ornamented engraved letterhead. Reads: 'Dr Lindley presents his Compts to Major Abby & begs to inform him that there are no such birds as he enquires for in the Garden of the Horticultural Society, nor has there ever been. There is only a couple of gulls & a duck, which were presented by the Zoological Society'.

[Rider Haggard writes to Rudyard Kipling's wife.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H . Rider Haggard') to 'Mrs. Kipling', discussing in detail the flowers he has sent her.

Author: 
H. Rider Haggard [Sir Henry Rider Haggard] (1856-1925), author of adventure novels including 'King Solomon's Mines' and 'She' [Caroline Starr Balestier Kipling (1862-1939), wife of Rudyard Kipling]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Ditchingham House, Norfolk. 13 December 1909.
£320.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, with one central vertical fold, and patch of small holes at head of second leaf. Interesting letterhead, with image of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Someone (probably Mrs Kipling) has written 'orchid' on the first page. The letter begins: 'Mr dear Mrs. Kipling, | I sent you a few flowers today by post, also (by rail to Etchingham) a Cypripedium Insigne, a Blush Rambler & a Lady Gay rose. The Cyp: Insig: is very fairly hardy but I should not stand it in too violent a draught.

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