RAJ

Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Madras.') to 'My dear Venables'.

Author: 
Frederick Gell (1820-1902), Anglican Bishop of Madras, India
Publication details: 
14 April 1871; 56 Friar Gate, Derby.
£85.00

12mo, 2 pp. 24 lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Laid down on a leaf from an album, in such a way as the first line of the second page can only be read in mirror image by holding the item up to the light. Marvellously indicative of the patronising attitude of the governing British classes to their Indian subjects. On visiting Venables he will 'venture to bring with me my native servant' who 'does not require much in the way of accommodation'. If Venables 'has no corner for him' in his house, asks if he can recommend 'a little room somewhere near'.

Ammunition Factory Institute. Dum Dum. Grocery Department. Price List. Established January 1907.

Author: 
Ammunition Factory Institute, Dum Dum, Calcutta
Publication details: 
Catholic Orphan Press. [Calcutta: Dum Dum Ammunition Factory Institute, 1907.]
£125.00

4to, 12 pp. Stapled pamphlet. In original green printed wraps. Text clear and complete. On aged, creased and spotted paper, with rusted staples. Giving the prices ('Rs. As. P') of items ranging from 'Asparagus French tin' to 'Zymale tooth paste'. The last page lists prices for cigars, cigarettes and tobacco. Ownership signature of 'Mr. Lewis' at head of front wrap.

Autograph Letter Signed ('A. C Lyall') to Lane-Poole.

Author: 
Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall (1835-1911), Indian civil servant, poet and historian [Stanley Lane-Poole (1854-1931), British orientalist and archaeologist,]
Publication details: 
Undated; Flitwick, Swift Hill (on cancelled letterhead of 16 Queen's Gate, London S.W.
£28.00

12mo, 1 p. Nine lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with a neat cut (not affecting text) neatly repaired on reverse. The Registrar at the India Office has informed Lyall that Lane-Poole's name is 'on the list of those to whom the India Archaeological Reports are sent'.

Humorous pamphlet entitled 'Display of Knights in Tourney. Programme. 1. Jousting. 2. The two-handed Sword. 3. Melee with Battleaxes and Maces.'

Author: 
Ferozepore Brigade, Punjab [British Army in India; Firozpur; the Raj]
Publication details: 
Undated [early twentieth century]. Muir Press Brigade Printers, Ferozepore Area.
£45.00

4to (leaf dimensions 21.5 x 17.5 cm), 3 pp. Bifolium. On green paper. The central two pages carry a 'arms', 'motto' and 'biography' of each of the 'Dramatis Personae': 'Sir Attaboy de Walloper', 'Sir Kolynos Dent', 'Sir Bottholm Duster' and 'Sir Guinness Comme-Boisson'. The targets of this lighthearted satire are lost. Beside each character is an Indian name (the last being 'L/Def. Mohmed Sultan Khan'). There are also nine Indians named as playing herald, pages and varlets. No copy on COPAC.

List of Different Houses' (docketed 'List of Houses and Correspondences established by the House of Gopaldoss'), signed '/A true copy/ | Jno White | <?>'.

Author: 
[East India Company; British Raj; the House of Gopaldoss]
Publication details: 
Without place or date [circa 1820?].
£120.00

One page, octavo. Very good. On paper with 'C TAYLOR' Britannia watermarked paper. Possibly an East India Company document. Of obscure meaning, headed 'List of Different Houses', and consisting of two columns (the left-hand one of sixteen lines, and the right-hand of eleven). Includes 'Moorshedabad', 'Massulipatam', 'Poona, the Money paid to Mr. Mallet', 'Ahumabad the Residency of their Correspondent's' and 'The Mahratta Army'. With 'Exd: W D' in bottom left-hand corner. Docketed on reverse of second leaf of bifolium, with reference 'No. 149. A. | Entd at Dell <?d.> | " - MS'.

Signed ('Geo Wroughton') printed circular letter, addressed to T[homas]. Adams [of Alnwick, Northumberland].

Author: 
George Wroughton of Wilcott, Wiltshire [Bengal; the East India Company]
Publication details: 
25, Berners Street, London; May 12 1813'.
£125.00

4to bifolium: 2 pp. Good. Soliciting Adams's 'Vote and Interest' when he is 'enabled to proceed to a ballot', having 'lately presumed to offer myself to the Proprietors of East-India Stock, as a Candidate for a Seat in their Direction, upon some future vacancy'. (Feeling 'that their suffrages will have been very generally engaged to an earlier Candidate for the next appointment which a casualty may occasion', he does not want to 'interfere with that Election'.) He was resident in Bengal for thirteen years, and the final paragraph describes his other qualifications.

Two Autograph Cards Signed (both 'H M Durand') to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Mortimer Durand [Sir Henry Mortimer Durand] (1850-1924), British diplomat and civil servant,, Foreign Secretary of India, 1884-1894
Publication details: 
Received 19 July 1916 and 7 June 1917.
£28.00

Both cards plain with printed stamp and 9 x 11 cm. Both bearing the Society's oval purple stamp. Card One: He is 'leaving town on business for two or three days' and so cannot attend the meeting of the Indian Section Committee. Card Two: He will 'with pleasure support Abney if in town', but may not be there on the day.

Frank, with signature ('J Lawrence'), seal, and autograph address to Northcote

Author: 
John Laird Mair Lawrence (1811-1879), 1st Baron Lawrence, Viceroy of India from 1864 to 1869 [Sir Stafford Northcote]
Publication details: 
Date and place not stated.
£23.00

Cut from an envelope into a 'T' shape, with the front panel bearing the address and signature roughly 8.5 x 22.5 cm, forming the cross stroke, and the area from the back of the letter bearing the seal, cut into a roughly 6.5 x 5.5 cm rectangle, hanging down from this like the vertical stroke of the letter. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. Reads 'To the Right Honorable, | Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart | Secretary of State for India | London | J Lawrence'. The circular red wax seal is 3.5 cm in diameter.

Autograph Letter Signed to Sir Henry [Trueman] Wood, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir George Duff-Sutherland-Dunbar
Publication details: 
12 November 1915; on War Office letterhead.
£23.00

British soldier and historian (1878-1962). One page, quarto. Very good. Bearing the Society's stamp. '[...] I will be permitted by my duties to have the honour of attending at the Royal Society of Arts on the 17th. Instant at 4.30 pm in order to receive the Medal awarded to me by the Society. | I have also to acknowledge with thanks the kind invitation of the Council to attend in the Council Room before the Meeting [...]'. Signed 'G Duff Sutherland Dunbar'.

Album containing 170 photographs of an unnamed British army officer and his family, compiled while on service in Africa, India and elsewhere.

Author: 
[Schoolmaster Cameron, 2/4th Battalion the East York Regiment] [the Raj; British Army; Victorian photography; Bermuda]
Publication details: 
From c.1900 to c.1920.
£950.00

170 photographs, on forty-one pages of a fifty-page album with leaf dimensions of 26 x 35.5 cm. The album is half-bound, with black leather corners and spine, and green faux-leather boards, aged and with loose leaves and worn binding. The photographs are often slightly faded, but are for the most part in good condition. Each page is entirely filled, the photographs ranging in size from 22 x 26 cm to 3 x 2 cm.

Studi d'Indianistica in Italia dal 1911 al 1938. [Indian studies in Italy from 1911 to 1938.]

Author: 
Giulia Porru [India; Indian studies in Italy; Italian bibliography]
Publication details: 
Pubblicazioni della R. Universita degli Studi di Firenze Facolta di Lettere e Filosofia. - III Serie - Volume X. Firenze [Florence] - Felice le Monnier - Editore - MCMXL-XVIII'.
£85.00

4to: viii + 257 pp. In original grey printed wraps. Internally tight, on lightly-aged and foxed paper. Wraps spotted and worn, with chipping to extremities. The preface describes the work as 'una bibliografia descrittiva degli studi di Indianistica fatti in Italia nel periodo che va dal 1911 al 1937.' A descriptive bibliography of Indian studies in Italy, 1911 to 1937. Scarce in Britain: COPAC lists copies at the British Library, Oxford and SOAS.

Six documents including Signed Articles of Agreement for Johnson ('of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew') to perform Government 'service as Gardener in India'; with two testimonials and letters from Mary, Countess of Minto, and Cecil Allanson.

Author: 
John Thomas Johnson, Assistant Curator of the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta, India [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Mary, Countess of Minto]
Publication details: 
1904-1935.
£250.00

The collection in good condition, with all but one of the six items carrying ring-binder punch holes. Item One, Articles of Agreement: Foolscap bifolium, 3 pp. Dated 16 September 1904. Printed seventeen-point agreement in the form of a manuscript facsimile. Signed by Johnson, Sir John Edge and Sir Stewart Colvin Bayley, and witnessed by 'W. Watson | R[oyal]. G[ardens] Kew' and 'Frank R. Marten | India Office'. Items Two and Three both with mourning border on letterhead of Minto House, Hawick. Item Two, Mary Countess of Minto ('M Minto') to Johnson. 4to: 1 p. 14 September 1914.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Sarath Kumar Ghosh') to unnamed male correspondent.

Author: 
Sarath Kumar Ghosh (born 1883), Indian writer
Publication details: 
26 March 1906; on letterhead '28 Elgin Avenue, [London] W.'
£60.00

One page, 12mo. Grubby, and with traces of previous mount adhering to reverse. Small circle containing '170' in red in top left-hand corner. He is sending his autograph, 'which I could not do while at . I am glad you have read some of my stories; I presume those now in book form as "1001 Indian Nights." '

Autograph Note Signed ('S. R. Lushington') to unnamed Post Office official, and with official directions on reverse.

Author: 
Stephen Rumbold Lushington (1776-1868), English politician and administrator in British India
Publication details: 
21 August 1836; Norton Court, Feversham [Faversham], Kent.
£28.00

On one side of an irregular piece of paper, dimensions 13.5 x 18 cm. Ruckled, and with traces of glue from mounting on reverse. Signature clear and complete, but with minor damage to signature caused by removal from mount. Reads 'I request that you will be pleased to order that all Letters for me may be sent here.' Docketed on reverse (with slight cropping along right-hand edge), '21 Augt. 1836. Feversham Rt Hon S. Lushington M.P.', beneath which, 'Mr Johnson | to be attended t specially | 22 Augt.', and 'ansd 22nd Augt | DWP316 | Attended to | [signed] <?> Laurence | 23 Augt 1836.'

Autograph Signature ('Napier of Magdala').

Author: 
Robert Cornelis Napier (1810-1890), 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, British army officer, Commander-in-Chief in India, 1870-1876.
Publication details: 
March 1884; place not stated.
£18.00

On piece of laid paper, dimensions 6 x 11 cm. Good. Clearly complying with a request for an autograph. Reads 'With much pleasure | [signed] Napier of Magdala | March 1884'.

Autograph Note in the third person, on the back of a note from J. H. Hall, Ruxley House, Bromley, Kent, asking for an autograph.

Author: 
Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere [Bartle Frere], first baronet (1815-1884), colonial governor
Publication details: 
Hall's note, 4 December 1883, on Ruxley House letterhead; Frere's reply, 17 December 1883, Wimbledon.
£56.00

12mo bifolium, with the second leaf blank. Very good. Hall's request, on the recto of the first leaf, reads 'Mr. J. H. Hall presents his Compliments to Sir Bartle Frere G.C. Bart & would feel extremely obliged by the favour of his autograph to add to a collection.' Frere's reply, on the verso, reads 'Wimbledon Decr 17th. 1883. | Sir Bartle Frere presents his compliments to Mr. J. H. Hall; He has received Mr. Hall's letter of Decr. 4: desiring to have his Autograph -'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('J. T. Calcutta.') to unnamed 'brother clergy[man] of the diocese'.

Author: 
John Thomas James (1786-1828), Bishop of Calcutta
Publication details: 
Calcutta. Feb. 14. 1828'.
£85.00

Two pages, quarto. Very good. 'It is great pleasure that I sit down to write to any one of my brother clergy of the diocese, as it seems an approach to that acquaintance with them which I hope before long to have an opportunity of making personally'. '[P]ressure of business' makes impossible 'any very specific answer' to the contents of his correspondent's letter, 'But they shall not be forgotten'. He will 'speak to the Military board as to the Bungalow appointed for public worship'. He laments that the 'situation with regard to the military' has not been adequately defined.

Autograph Letter Signed ('D. Calcutta') to 'The Revd Dr Jones, Bedfont, Staines, Midd[lese]x', together with an 'Address to the Lord Bishop of Calcutta', taken from the London Record newspaper, 24 July 1845.

Author: 
Daniel Wilson (1778-1858), Bishop of Calcutta
Publication details: 
Letter dated 'Islington May 7 [1832]'.
£80.00

LETTER: Two pages, 12mo. Very good. Addressed on verso of second leaf of bifolium. Three postmarks (two in red and one in black ink) and red wax seal. Written after Wilson's appointment as Bishop, but before his departure from Islington, where he was Vicar of St Mary's. Addressing his 'dear friend' he excuses his silence, which is 'merely for the physical impossibility of answering a tenth part of the letters I receive'. His 'house has been over-full - IS now - I have not a bed free | At any time, however, I am to be found at Breakfast at 9 - & shall rejoice to see you'.

Portrait, 'Engraved by H. Meyer, from an original Drawing by J. Jackson'.

Author: 
Thomas Fanshaw Middleton (1769-1822), D.D., F.R.S., Lord Bishop of Calcutta [Henry Hoppner Meyer; John Jackson]
Publication details: 
[London; 1815.]
£45.00

Dimensions of paper approximately 36 x 25 cms. Good, though lightly foxed and with corners a little dog-eared. His Lordship, in full-sleeved clericals, is seated, and bare-headed, looking to his right with a piercing stare. Dated 1815 by the National Portrait Gallery.

A Letter to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone upon a Land Scheme for Ireland.

Author: 
Charles Baron Clarke (1832-1906), British botanist [William Ewart Gladstone]
Publication details: 
London: Macmillan and Co. 1881.
£56.00

Octavo: twenty pages. Unbound and stitched. Good, but with outer leaves a little grubby and creased. The word 'rack-rent' on page six has been underlined and three exclamation marks placed beside it in ink. As well as important botanical works, Clarke numbered political economy and education among his interests.

Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mrs Matthews'.

Author: 
Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta
Publication details: 
25 September 1848; 'Bp's Palace | Calcutta'.
£56.00

English ecclesiastic (1778-1858). Two pages, octavo. Creased, and with one edge of verso adhering to leaf from autograph album. 'I hope you will excuse the great liberty I take in asking you to help me a little in finishing the Marbling, Enclosing, Ventilating &c of the Cathedral | I have been robbed of 20,000 by the Union Bank, so that I am compelled to solicit aid from the Congregation & kind friends in my extremity'. Signed 'D Calcutta'.

Two Autograph Letters Signed to G[eorge]. K[enneth]. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir John Benton
Publication details: 
Both letters 14 January 1918; Westeroft, Liverdale Road, Eastbourne.
£40.00

Scottish hydraulic engineer (1950-1927), of the India Public Works Department; Chief Engineer and Secretary to Government, Punjab Irrigation Branch. Both letters 12mo. Both very good, docketed and bearing the Society's stamp. LETTER ONE (two pages): Benton and a friend will make use of the two cards of invitation to A. Newland's paper on 'Water Power in Great Britain'.

Autograph Letter Signed to [G. K.] Menzies[, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts].

Author: 
Sir Frederick William Duke
Publication details: 
2 June 1923; on embossed letterhead 'INDIA OFFICE, | WHITEHALL, S.W.1.'
£35.00

British colonial administrator (1868-1924), Member of Council of India, 1914-19, and Permanent Under Secretary of State for India from 1919. Two pages, 12mo. Folded once. Very good, though lightly creased and a little discoloured. Docketed and bearing R.S.A. stamp. Referring to a previous letter he finds 'that the point that officials who have passed the advanced stage of your exam[inatio]n. in Book Keeping are exempted at the examination for Divisional Accountants in India is really not a new one,. You tell it yourself in your letter [...], so it was before the Govt. of India.

Autograph Card Signed to the Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Colonel Sir Charles Edward Yate
Publication details: 
Postmarked 19 January [1918]; on letterhead '17, PRINCE OF WALES' TERRACE, | KENSINGTON, W.'
£25.00

British colonial administrator and politician (1849-1940). Dimensions of card four and a half inches by three and a half inches. Bearing postmark and stamp. Docketed and bearing the Society's stamp. Good, but with creasing and closed tears along foot of card, affecting signature. Reads 'May I ask you kindly to send me a spare copy of the Journal for September. 21st. 1917 no. 3383 - giving the concluding portion of Professor lecture on Architecture - also the next number if not concluded in that.' Signed 'Chas. E. Yate'.

Autograph Letter Signed to [the Secretary, Royal Society of Arts].

Author: 
James Fuller Blumhardt
Publication details: 
Toynbee | St. Peter's Road | Bournemouth | 18 March /13' [1913].
£35.00

Linguist (died 1922), Professor of Hindustani and Reader of Hindi and Bengali, University College, London, and Teacher of Bengali at Oxford University. Two pages, 12mo. Very good though a little grubby. Docketed and bearing the Society's stamp. 'As I have not heard from you I am afraid there are no candidates for Hindustani - I have come here for a much needed rest, and, as no letters will be sent on from Gerards Cross, will you kindly write direct to this address in case a paper is required.' Signed 'J F Blumhardt'.

Four Autograph Letters Signed to the Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Charles Stuart Bayley
Publication details: 
14 December 1917, on India Office embossed letterhead; 21 June 1927 and 15 July 1927, both on embossed letterhead '39, TREGUNTER ROAD. | S.W.10.'; 14 April 1928, on letterhead of 'THE FRESCO CLUB, | OLD FLUSHING INN, | RYE, SUSSEX.'
£56.00

Indian civil servant (1854-1935) whose posts included those of Under-Secretary to the Governments of Bengal and India. All four items signed 'Chas. S. Bayley'. All four items one page, 12mo. The last three, all on grey paper, very good; the first somewhat grubby and creased, and with two paperclip rust stains in one corner. LETTER ONE (addressed to 'Mr. Digby'): He is returning Menzie's letter (not present) and feels sure that 'the Indian Section Committee will be pleased to learn that the Council have agreed to appoint a joint committee to consider the question of the Birdwood medal.

Typed Letter Signed to the Secretary of the Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Hormusjee Cowasjee Dinshaw
Publication details: 
21 January 1924; on letterhead 'COWASJEE DINSHAW & BROS.', 'Steamer Point, | Aden'.
£25.00

Parsee shipping magnate (1857-1939). One page, quarto. Creased and discoloured, with a little spotting. Reads 'I am your Society's Life member since past many years | I shall feel obliged if you can procure me some recipe for making anti-fouling paint for use no steel steamers bottoms.' Signed ''. Docketed as answered over the Society's stamp.

Autograph Note Signed to 'Mrs Adolphus'.

Author: 
Sir Robert Buckley Comyn
Publication details: 
New St. | Friday, morng' [no year].
£22.00

Judge (1792-1853) and author. One page, 12mo. In very good condition. Reads 'My dear Mrs Adolphus, | I lament to say that severe illness makes it impossible for me to leave the house, & consequently to dine with you & <?> today. I hoped better things yesterday. | Sincerely yours | Robert Comyn'.

Autograph Note Signed to 'Mr. Hearson'.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Robert Upcott
Publication details: 
13 March 1913; on letterhead '227, ST. JAMES' COURT, | BUCKINGHAM GATE, S.W.'
£26.00

Chairman of the Board of Indian Railways (fl. 1916). One page, 12mo. In very good condition, with one rough edge caused by removal from mount. 'It is my intention to be present at the dinner of Devonians in London on 3 May'. Signed 'F. R. Upcott'.

Autograph Signature on fragment of receipt.

Author: 
Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope, as Lord Mahon
Publication details: 
24/06/46
£45.00

Stanhope (1805-1875) was styled Lord Mahon until his father's death in 1855. Signed 'Mahon' on fragment of document (dimensions 3 inches by 4 inches). Ruckled and discoloured as a result of previous mounting. Until 1846 Mahon was Secretary of the Board of Control for India, and the document would appear to be a fragment of a receipt for his salary.

Syndicate content