OFFICE

A nice artefact of the censorship of pre-First World War British theatre. The London production of Vollmoeller's wordless drama 'Eine Venezianische Nacht' was censored by the Lord Chamberlain's office, and the production at the Palace Theatre, London, in November 1912 was panned by the critics. 15pp, folio, on fifteen leaves gathered together with green ribbon, interleaved with six typed slips of variant text, and with one leaf a composite made up of several sections glued together. Mimeographed typescript. In fair condition, on aged, worn and creased paper, with final leaf detached.

From the papers held at the headquarters of the National Indian Association and the Northbrook Society, 21 Cromwell Road, London (referred to in the report for 1912/1913 as 'The House in Cromwell Road' and 'The London Bureau' and 'still to a large extent the headquarters of the Student's Department'; and in the report for 1914/1915 as 'Mr. Arnold's Bureau', referring to 'Mr. T. W. Arnold, C.I.E., the Educational Adviser in London'). For the context see F. H. Brown's article 'Indian Students in Great Britain' (with 'Discussion'), Asiatic Review, July 1925, quoting Sir Charles E.

4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with two smudges on second page. Folded once. With reference to her letter 'to Mr. Somerset of March 11th. re the portrait of Charles II (as Prince) in academic robes', he has had the picture by William Dobson photographed and encloses a copy (not present). He discusses Charles's dress in the picture in some detail, adding that 'The portrait (27 x 28 1/2 inches) has been in my possession since 1918 when it was bought at Christie's Nov. 29 lot.

Six items. The collection in fair condition, apart from Item Two. ONE: Printed form, a 'List of Subscribers' for the 'Post Office Relief Fund. | Second Appeal.' Dated '11/14T', i.e. November 1914. (In 1914 the Post Office set up a relief fund to help relatives of GPO staff who had gone off to fight.) 1p, folio. Eleven lines of text are followed by the 'List of Subscribers', in three columns headed: 'Name', 'Rate for every complete 10/-' and 'I hereby authorise the deduction of my Subscription from my salary', the last subdivided into 'Signature' and 'Rank'.

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. From the celebrated manuscript collection of Richard Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton). The recipient is not named. Reads: 'My dear Sir/ | I have no doubt but that any statement which you may make to the Speaker will be in strict accordance with the facts; and I shall be always ready to bear testimony to your services during your connection with me - but for that very reason, I should not wish to impute [last word underlined three times] any document which you may have to present to him. Yrs ever faithfully | Francis Palgrave'.

In January 1897 an insurrection by the Greeks in Crete led to the Ottoman Empire, of which it was still part, declaring war on Greece. The following month, as Turkish rule over the island crumbled, six 'Great Powers', including Britain, France, Russia and the Germans, despatched an 'International Squadron' of their ships to Cretan waters.

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, margins cropped, laid down on leaf removed from album. Annotated in ink with year. Reads 'Lord Palmerston presente ses Complimens a Monsr de Harivel et se fera l'honneur de le recevoir au “Foreign Office” Vendredi prochain a trois heures'.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once. Endorsed on reverse of second leaf. At the time of writing Molesworth was serving as First Commissioner of Works in Lord Aberdeen's coalition government. (In the year of his death Aberdeen would appoint him Colonial Secretary.) The letter begins: 'My dear Merivale | Last November I moved for the enclosed return and since then I have spoken to ]Pal?] [i.e. Viscount Palmerston?] about it who promised that it should be made.

In August 1828, following the passing of the 1828 Madhouse Act, the Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel established a commission to oversee London's madhouses, consisting of five physicians, six Middlesex JPs, and ten other honorary (i.e. unpaid) commissioners. The present document by Peel casts interesting light on the process of appointment. It is on both sides of 18 x 23 cm piece of paper, evidently used as envelope for 'the Instrument' mentioned in Peel's note. Aged, and with tear and hole caused by breaking open of seal. Folded twice.

See the entries for Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie (1743-1823), and Thomas Steele (1753-1823) in the Oxford DNB. The two men served as Joint Paymasters General of the Forces, 1801-1803. 2pp, foolscap 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip from mount adhering to the reverse of the leaf. Embossed tax stamp at top left of first page. The signatures of 'Thos. Steele' and 'Glenbervie' are at bottom right, with the men's seals in red wax beside them (Steele's in fair condition, and Glenbervie's lacking a segment from chipping). Witnessed at bottom left by P.

For information about George Rose (1744-1818) and Lord Charles Somerset (1767-1831) see their entries in the Oxford DNB. The two men served as Joint Paymasters General of the Forces, 1804-1806. Rose, who was a close friend of Lord Nelson, was mocked by Cobbett for enriching his family at the public expense. The present document, witnessed by one of his second sons the poet William Stewart Rose (1775-1843), appoints his eldest son, the future Sir George Henry Rose, (1771-1855), as one of the two attorneys of his office.

3pp, 4to. Bifolium. Signature ('Edward') in the prince's hand, the rest of the letter by a secretary. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight damage to one corner of first leaf, and thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is franked 'Kent & Strathearn', with postmark, and addressed to 'Francis Freeling Esquire | &c &c &c | Genl. Post Office | Lombard Street | London'. Folded four times.

1p, foolscap 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to edge on reverse. Folded once. Signed 'C Townshend' with good impression of seal in red wax at bottom right. Nineteen-line document in a secretarial hand, with tax stamp at head. At foot, by two members of the Army Pay Office, Horse Guards: 'Sign'd, Sealed and delivered, (being first duly stamp'd) in the presence of | John Powell | Chas: Bembridge'.

2pp, 12mo. On a bifolium of grey laid paper, with fleur-de-lys 'J M & Co' watermark. In good condition, lightly aged, with creases from having been neatly folded three times, and stub adhering to edge of blank second leaf of bifolium. The item derives from the collection of a notable nineteenth-century autograph collector, Lord Houghton, a friend of both Taylor and Norton.

Secret duplicated Home Office document, no other copy of which has been discovered (none on OCLC WorldCat, for example) and no reference to the meeting found.

From a batch of Foreign Office documents, including material from the Information Research Department (for whose activities, financed from the budget of the Special Intelligence Service, otherwise MI6, see The Times, 17 August 1995; and also Michael Cullis's obituary of Sir John Peck in the Independent, 20 January 1995). Duplicated typescript headed: '(c) The purpose of the United States agreement with SPAIN.' 4pp, foolscap 8vo, paginated '(c) 1' to '(c) 4'. Complete, with catchwords to the first three pages. In good condition, lightly aged.

From a batch of Foreign Office documents, including material from the Information Research Department (for whose activities, financed from the budget of the Special Intelligence Service, otherwise MI6, see The Times, 17 August 1995; and also Michael Cullis's obituary of Sir John Peck in the Independent, 20 January 1995). Duplicated typescript. Headed: '(g) The measures which have been taken to establish the policy of APARTHEID in South Africa and its effect on the European, Indian and African communities.' 10pp, foolscap 8vo. Pagination on pp.2-10 preceded by '(g)'.

The Mau Mau uprising began in 1952, and the atrocities committed by the rebels were matched by those of the British, whose Attorney General in Kenya, Eric Griffith-Jones, wrote to Governor Baring in 1957 that the colony's detention camps for Mau Mau suspects were 'distressingly reminiscent of conditions in Nazi Germany or Communist Russia'.

No other copy of the present document, which was privately printed by Her Majesty's Stationery Office for Grey, as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, has been discovered. It certainly pre-dates the first publication of the dispatch in 1851. The dispatch is of high significance, being Grey's own explanation of the 'details' of a highly-significant 'measure' in the history of the Australian constitution. [12]pp, foolscap 8vo.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Brooks may make whatever use he wishes of Templewood's speech. He agrees generally with 'Selby as to F[oreign]. O[ffice]. reorganisation', but is at present 'conentrating my attention to the points I raised in my speech. Whether we like it or not, we must now assume that public opinion will control our foreign policy. This being so, public opinion must be better instructed than it is at present.'

For an overview of the post of King's Messenger, see 'The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy', ed. Ward and Gooch, vol.3 (1923), which states that during the two men's time in the post (i.e. in 1822) 'the number of the corps was raised to thirty-eight. Eighteen of these were placed under the immediate orders of the Foreign Office for foreign service only. They were required to be British subjects, not over thirty-five years of age, good linguists and good horsemen; and the choosing of them rested in turn with each of the three Secretaries of State'.

The recipient of the letter, the 5th Earl of Chesterfield, was Postmaster General between 1790 and 1798. The 'Mr. Palmer' mentioned in the text is John Palmer (1742-1818), MP for Bath, who was Comptroller General of the Post Office between 1786 and 1792. Harraden appears to have been regarded by his superiors as a whistle-blower and trouble-maker.

The five letters total 8pp. The first three letters are in autograph and the last two typed. The first has two punch holes to the first leaf, the collection is otherwise in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The correspondence relates to the arranging of a meeting between Milburn and the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane (1856-1928, later 1st Viscount Haldane), apparently with regard to a complaint by Milburn which has lead to him considering resigning from the position of Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the 2nd East Riding Yorks Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers)'.

ONE: Typed Letter Signed from 'Roger Vansittart' to 'Sir Richard Harington, Bart., | Whitbourne Court, | Worcester.' Foreign Office; 13 April 1927. 1p., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition aged and worn. He is 'directed by Secretary Sir Austen Chamberlain to refer to your letter of the 5th instant regarding the possibility of a claim being preferred against the Mexican Government in respect of your holding in Mexican Railways'.

The two letters are in fair condition, lightly aged and soiled. ONE: 'Friday' (docketed date June 1838). 2pp., 12mo. Applying for 'the Post of Guard to Any of the Roads', on behalf of 'James Poyntz of Tralee'. On the reverse Lichfield has written 'sorry cannot'. TWO: 'Friday' (docketed date 19 June 1840). 2pp., 12mo. 'Mr Maurice O'Connell presents his Compliments to Lord Lichfield and begs to recommend bearer John Keating for employment as a Letter Carrier - Mr M O'C will feel much obliged by Keating's appointment'. Docketed by Lichfield on reverse: 'a test - but negligible chance'.

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Recommending for employment in the Post Office 'Mr. Paul Scollard, who is a young man of most respectable connexions, but whose circumstances are such as to render a very humble situation an object to him - If a vacancy should soon occur in the Letter Carrying Department, I would respectfully solicit the appointment from Your Lordship for him'.

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn. With a number of emendations, indicating that the letter is a draft. The recipient is not identified, but is presumably a senior Home Office official such as the Principal Private Secretary to Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel. Beginning: 'I find that the list which I sent you, of the number of Prisoners in the Gaol of the City of Canterbury, at the times of holding the General Sessions, for the last quarter years, did include the Debtors & Prisoners under the Mutiny Act.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Headed 'Private'. Begins: 'I don't know how the P[rince]. Consort Statue got into the hands of the Duke & Engleheart. | But poor Theed, who is short of money, keeps coming to me. Can you help me to give him an answer?' He gives the sum of money Theed has been paid, and suggests that 'there is still money in the Colony. The statue was erected in 1866 and was originally located at the entrance to the Lover’s Walk, the central north-south axis of Hyde Park, but now stands in Barracks Square, Macquarie Street.

1p., 12mo. On grey paper with black border. In fair condition, aged, and laid down on paper with watered silk backing (the endpaper of an album?). In reply to Cubitt's letter he writes that his 'list is extremely full but that I have sent for young Mr. Edmonds on the chance that I shall be able to make room for him.' Edmonds has 'not yet come or answered the summons'.

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Docketed crosswise across the valediction, including the signature, but not in an overly-obtrusive fashion. An interesting letter, casting light on the franking system and fraud within the pre-Hill Post Office.