WATERLOO

[The Great Duke of Wellington, conqueror of Napoleon at Waterloo, and two-time Tory Prime Minister.] Manuscript Letter in the third person, apparently written by a secretary.

Author: 
The Duke of Wellington [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] (1769-1852), conqueror of the French in the Peninsular War, and of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo; two-time Tory Prime Minister
Publication details: 
'London March 7 1842.'
£80.00

One of the great figures in world history. See his entries in Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Oxford DNB. On one side of piece of laid paper rougly 11 cm squarer, with partial watermark ‘J G’. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with traces of mount on blank reverse. Folded twice. Reads: ‘London March 7 1842 / F M The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to Miss Busby / Not being resident at Oxford he has no Controul [sic] over any matter relating to the Bodleian Library. / Miss Busby should apply to the Vice Chancellor.

[The Duke of Wellington, British soldier, conqueror of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo.] Manuscript letter by a secretary, on his behalf, to 'Mr: Briggs', suggesting a meeting with 'the Gentleman mentioned in Mr. Briggs's note'.

Author: 
The Duke of Wellington [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] (1769-1852), conqueror of the French in the Peninsular Campaign, and of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo; prime minister
Duke of Wellington
Publication details: 
27 November 1826. London.
£120.00
Duke of Wellington

1p, 4to. In fair condition, on aged and somewhat brittle paper, with unobtrusive repair to one corner. Folded three times. Certainly not in Wellington's distinctive hand. Reads: 'The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to Mr: Briggs and begs to acquaint him that he is going out of Town this night. / But he will be happy to receive the Gentleman mentioned in Mr. Briggs's note at the Ordnance Office Pall Mall on Friday next at three oClock. / London / 27th: Novr: 1826.' See Image.

[Lord Fitzroy Somerset, later Lord Raglan.] Secretarial Letter, Signed by him, regarding the application to purchase a commission by Captain Thomas Monck Wilson, 59th Foot, on behalf of his son Charles.

Author: 
Lord Fitzroy Somerset, latterly Lord Raglan [Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan], Private Secretary to the Duke of Wellington, commander of British troops in the Crimean War
Publication details: 
'Horse Guards [Whitehall, London] / 1st August 1846'.
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper with nicks and small closed tears to extremities. Addressed to ‘Thos. M. Wilson Esqre / the Captain 59 foot’, and signed ‘Fitzroy Somerset’. The document is in a secretarial hand, only the signature being in Somerset’s autograph.

[The Duke of Wellington, conqueror of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo.] Autograph Valediction to Letter, with signature 'Wellington' .

Author: 
The Duke of Wellington [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] (1769-1852), conqueror of the French in the Peninsular Campaign, and of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo; prime minister
Wellington
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£50.00
Wellington

One of the great figures of world history. On one side of 10 x 3.5 cm piece of wove paper, cut from the end of a letter, with blank reverse. In fair condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of glue at right (away from signature) and central horizontal fold (over signature). Evidently cut from the letter in response to a request for an autograph. Reads 'Your obedient servant / Wellington'. See Image.

[The Duke of Wellington, conqueror of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo.] Autograph Signature 'Wellington' on front of an envelope addressed by him to 'M General / Henry Thomas'. Sealed with red wax.

Author: 
The Duke of Wellington [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] (1769-1852), conqueror of the French in the Peninsular Campaign, and of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo; prime minister
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£65.00

One of the great figures of world history. A 12 x 8 cm envelope, with the front panel addressed in Wellington's distinctive forward-sloping hand to 'M General / Henry Thomas'. Under this is a line wih three loops, and at bottom left the good clear signature 'Wellington'. The envelope is in fair condition, lightly aged and worn, and has been ripped open with military decisiveness. On the reverse is a government seal in red wax, of which the only clear impressions are the unicorn and a fragment of text at the head: '[...]R . IN . CHIEFS . OF [...]'.

[Sir Thomas Picton and Sir Garnet Wolseley, book owned by two military heroes.] Vol. 2 of Turpin de Crissé’s ‘Essai sur l’Art de la Guerre’, with Picton’s signature, twice, Wolseley’s bookplate, and an Autograph Note Signed by Wolseley on Picton.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Picton (1758-1815), hero of Napoleonic Wars and Battle of Waterloo, ‘Tyrant of Trinidad’; Sir Garnet Wolseley [Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley] (1833-1913)
Publication details: 
The book published in Paris, 1754. Neither man's autograph dated.
£550.00

See the entries on the two men in the Oxford DNB. Above the half-title, in a large untidy hand Picton has made the ownership signature ‘Lieutenant General Sir Th Picton’, and there is the same signature by him in a much smaller hand above the illustration at the head of p.1. Facing the half-title, on the reverse of the front free endpaper, is the elaborate armorial bookplate of ‘Field Marshal Viscount Wolseley / of Wolseley County of Stafford / Baron Wolseley of Cairo’.

[General Sir Andrew Francis Barnard, army officer and courtier.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘A F Barnard’) to ‘Augustus’, providing information regarding pictures [in the royal collection], and ‘the Clue to their History’.

Author: 
General Sir Andrew Francis Barnard (1773-1855), distinguished Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army, decorated for his services during the Napoleonic Wars, and Equerry to King George IV
Publication details: 
18 December 1842; Canford [i.e. Canford House, Dorsetshire].
£60.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From 1821 to the end of his life Barnard served as a courtier, notably as Equerry to King George IV, and it would appear that the present item is written in response to an enquiry made to the recipient of the letter regarding paintings in the royal collection. He writes from Camford House, where Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV, had taken up residence. 4pp, 12mo. On bifolium with thin mourning border. In fair condition, on aged paper. Folded twice.

[ Sir John Shelley, HRH Duke of York ] Valediction only of Autograph Letter Signed "J Shelley" to [HRH The Duke of York, Field-Marshall, C in C ] referring to recent victory of Waterloo.

Author: 
Sir John Shelley [ 6th Baronet (1771–1852), landowner, Member of Parliament and amateur cricketer.]
Publication details: 
[Docketed ] 7 August 1812
£56.00

Valediction of Letter only, 19 x 9cm, laid down on similar sized piece of paper, from collection of similar valedictions most of which mention the Duke of York as recipient. Text: "news from Ld Wellington, at which I sincerely rejoice | I have the honour to be Sir | with the greatest respect & attachment | Yr obdt Servt | J Shelley." Docketed by HRH (probably) or secretary (Date and Sender) and from a large collection of similar valedictions (similarly docketed), so often to the Duke of York ("Royal Highness" etc) that they may reveal the fate of his incoming correspondence, or part of it..

[John Bunnell Davis, physician, founder of the Universal Dispensary for Children [now Royal Waterloo Hospital.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Jno B Davis M D') [to the trustees], tendering in odd terms his resignation from the 'valuable Institution'.

Author: 
John Bunnell Davis (1777-1824), physician, founder in 1816 of the Universal Dispensary for Children [now Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women], London
Publication details: 
'103 Great Surry [sic] Street | Blackf[riar]s [London]. | July 1 1824'.
£250.00

For Davis see Munk's Roll, the Gentleman's Magazine for January 1825, and I. S. L. Loudon's paper 'John Bunnell Davis and the Universal Dispensary for Children' (BMJ, 5 May 1979). The Universal Dispensary for Children, founded by Davis in 1816 and open to the under-twelves, was as Loudon points out 'the first major institution in England devoted solely to the care of sick children, 35 years before the first children's hospital in Liverpool, and 36 before Great Ormond Street'.

[ The Wesleyan Conference, Sheffield, 1875. ] Autograph Letter Signed from Stephen P. Harvard to 'Mr. Walker', reporting on doings at the Conference.

Author: 
Stephen P. Harvard (d.1905), Wesleyan Methodist minister and author [ The Wesleyan Conference, Sheffield, 1875; Rev. Walker of Liverpool ]
Publication details: 
Carver Street, Sheffield. 12 August 1875.
£180.00

Regarding the Sheffield Wesleyan Conference of 1875 see the article in the Spectator, 14 August 1875, 'The Wesleyan Ultramontanes', and the long review of the conference minutes in the London Quarterly, no.45, vol.89. The present item is 2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. An interesting gossipy letter from a committee member at the conference, satirising two of the others present as 'Mr. Pepys in Conference' and 'Those who approve'. 2pp., 12mo.

[ Textiles; French ]Collection of 105 items of correspondence, in French, 1815 and 1822 by various companies to Messrs Henry Pierre Delacroix et Fils, textile manufacturers of Elbeuf, Normandy, including accounts and political and social references.

Author: 
Messrs Henry Pierre Delacroix et Fils, textile manufacturers of Elbeuf, Normandy
Publication details: 
Written between May 1815 and October 1822. Addressed to Messrs Henri Pierre Delacroix et Fils of Elbeuf, Normandy, from various French locations (principally Paris).
£550.00

105 items of correspondence, in French, in various formats (mainly 8vo). In good condition on lightly-aged paper. Each text clear and complete. The whole contained in a grey paper folder with 'Juillet 1818' on the front wrap. Each item unobtrusively numbered in neat red pencil. Featuring a wide range of the correspondents, as few write more than once. Occasional letters docketed. Accompanied by a modern abstract by a French-speaker, reflecting the difficulty of the various hands contained in the collection.

[ Alfred Bunn, lessee of the Theatre Royal, Birmingham. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('A Bunn') to '- Perkins Esq', apologising for 'The dreadful bustle attendant on producing "Waterloo"'.

Author: 
Alfred Bunn (1796-1860), theatre manager and librettist [ the Theatre Royal, Birmingham ]
Publication details: 
'Birmm: [i.e. the Theatre Royal, Birmingham ] | Oct. 13: 1824'.
£56.00

The Oxford DNB's entry on Bunn states that from 1819 to 1824 he held the lease of the Theatre Royal, Birmingham. 1p., 8vo. Bifolium. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to '- Perkins Esq'. In fair condition, with light signs of age and wear. Bunn begins his letter: 'My dear Sir, | The dreadful bustle attendant on producing "Waterloo" must be my apology. The Music & Manuscript are herewith sent - & not a note or a syllable of either has been copied.' He thanks 'Mr Howes for his kindness', which he offers to reciprocate, 'whenever in my power'.

[ Lord William Pitt Lennox. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Willm P. Lennox') to an unnamed recipient, regarding the sale of a copyright to the London publishers Hurst & Blackett.

Author: 
Lord William Pitt Lennox (1799-1881), British Army officer and author [ Hurst & Blackett, London publishers ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Hall Place, Tunbridge. 16 July 1863.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition. The subject of the letter is probably Lennox's Fifty Years' Biographical Reminiscences', published by Hurst and Blackett in 1863. Lennox is 'extremely flattered' at the contents of the recipient's letter, but has 'disposed of the copy right to Messrs Hurst and Blackett. 13. Gr. Marlborough St.', to whom he refers the recipient. 'Had I been in London I would have done myself the pleasure of expressing my thanks in person'.

Autograph draft reply by the Duke of Wellington, on printed circular invitation to 'the Anniversary Dinner of the Governors' of the London Hospital, from secretary William John Nixon.

Author: 
Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), 1st Duke of Wellington; William John Nixon (c.1820 to 1910), Secretary and House Governor of the Royal London Hospital
Publication details: 
The Circular dated from 'London Hospital, 9th April, 1847.'
£500.00

The circular on 1p., 4to, on recto of first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. It reads: 'MY LORD, | The House-Committee and Stewards for conducting the Anniversary Dinner of the Governors of this Charity, present their compliments with the enclosed Card of Invitation for THURSDAY, the 22nd of APRIL, and request to be favored with your Lordship's [corrected in manuscript to 'Grace's'] Company on that day.

[Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), 1st Duke of Wellington.] Autograph Letter, in the third person, to 'Quarter Master Jones', regarding his request to be 'removed from half to full pay'.

Author: 
Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), 1st Duke of Wellington
Publication details: 
London. 8 February 1829.
£500.00

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, on aged paper, with a nineteenth-century repair to short closed tears. The letter reads: 'The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to Quarter Master Jones and begs leave to inform him in answer to His Letter of the 3d Inst, thaht He must apply to the General Comm[andin]g. the Army in Chief; the Duke has nothing whatever to say to the Details of the Army or to the Selection of Gentlemen to be removed from half to full pay. | London Feb. 8. 1829'.

[Lieutenant-Colonel John Vandeleur, 10th Royal Hussars.] Autograph Letter Signed to the Military Secretary FitzRoy Somerset [Raglan]l, re. an application from one of his adjutants named Gladstone. Docketed with Autograph Note on subject by Somerset.

Author: 
Colonel John Vandeleur (c.1793-1864) of the 10th Hussars, Aide de Camp to General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur (1763-1849) in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo [Lord Fitzroy Somerset (1788-1855)]
Publication details: 
Dorchester. 17 May 1839.
£80.00

1p., 4to. On bifolium. Very good on lightly-aged paper. Green date stamp of the Commander in Chief's Office. Docketed on reverse of second leaf with barely legible note by Somerset (he had had to learn to write with his left hand after losing his right arm at Waterloo), beginning 'Inform Messrs Cox of the intention'. Vandeleur considers that it 'would be a very great Indulgence to Mr. Gladstone to allow him the indulgence he asks provided it can be done without inconvenience to the Service'.

Five Autograph Letters Signed (one 'Alex Comfort' and four 'Alex C') from the poet and sexologist Alex Comfort to John Rogers, regarding poetry, including a discussion of whether poetry is 'finding a language in England, rather than losing one!'

Author: 
Alex Comfort [Alexander Comfort] (1920-2000), poet, novelist, doctor and sexologist
Publication details: 
Three from Havengrove, Tudor Road, Barnet; one on letterhead of Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, and another on letterhead of the Royal Waterloo Hospital, London. All undated [c.1942]
£220.00

Item One: From Havengrove. On reverse of printed 12mo prospectus for the first issue of 'Poetry Folios' magazine (which appeared in 1942), edited by Comfort and Peter Wells. 1p., 12mo. Fair, on aged and creased paper. He thanks him for his letter. 'It is appreciation of this kind that makes one want to go on writing. [...] I wish I could meet you.' Item Two: From Havengrove, on letterhead of 'Poetry Folios'. Undated. 2pp., 12mo. Fair, on lightly-creased and aged paper.

[Handbill] The Chapter of Generals

Author: 
Anon. [Napoleonica]
Publication details: 
[Printed by W. Clindon ...], no date (trimming of item led to loss of address - prob. Haymarket, but printer not in BBTI
£150.00

One page, c.11 x 23cm, fold marks, irregularly trimmed with loss of most of imprint, heavy staining, but text clear and complete.

Draft manuscript, docketed 'Answers to Queries', giving detailed information (by a secretary for a British minister?), regarding the nature and set-up of the newly-restored Bourbon government in post-Napoleonic France.

Author: 
[The Bourbon government in post-Napoleonic France; 1816; Duke of Wellington; British Foreign Office]
The Bourbon government in post-Napoleonic France
Publication details: 
On paper with Britannia watermark and 'W M | 1816'.
£350.00
The Bourbon government in post-Napoleonic France

Folio, 4 pp. Bifolium. Text clear and complete. On aged and creased paper, with some wear and chipping to extremities. Previously folded into a packet docketed in a contemporary hand 'Answers to Queries'. The first page begins with 'Ansr. 1.', a list of ten ministers, from '1. The Duke of Richelieu President of the Council of Ministers & of the Privy Council & Min: Sec: of State having the Dept. of Foreign Affairs.' and ending with '10. Director general Count Pradel'. P. 1 also features 'Question 2 | Answer A', beginning 'The Members of the Govt.

Manuscript, on paper watermarked 1810, a detailed table titled 'Present <Stat>ement of His Majesty the King of Prussia's Army'.

Author: 
[The Prussian Army (Königlich Preußische Armee), 1810]
Present <Stat>ement of His Majesty the King of Prussia's Army
Publication details: 
[Circa 1810.]
£325.00
Present <Stat>ement of His Majesty the King of Prussia's Army

Landscape folio leaf (32.5 x 40.5 cm), 1 p. On paper watermarked 'JOHN HALL | 1810'. Neatly ruled to make a complex, detailed table, in three columns of 31 rows each. The table has a central vertical fold, with the left hand side of the reverse mounted on a leaf removed from an autograph album. In poor condition, with around an eighth of the total area of the paper and text lacking, mostly from the bottom right-hand corner. Despite the loss the table (presumably prepared for the British War Office) contains a mass of valuable information.

Collection of papers relating to the military career of General Sir William Cator, from the Peninsular War to the Crimean War (during which he was Director-General of Artillery). Comprising three commissions, a printed memoir, five manuscript items.

Author: 
General Sir William Cator (1785-1866), K.C.B., Royal Artillery, Director-General of Artillery during the Crimean War [British Army; Peninsular War]
Collection of papers relating to the military career of General Sir William Cato
Publication details: 
London, Constantinople and other places. From c. 1853 to c. 1866.
£450.00
Collection of papers relating to the military career of General Sir William Cato

An short account of Cator's career is to be found in the Gentleman's Magazine for June 1866. This collection of nine items is of particular importance, considering the fact that - remarkably for such a distinguished figure - he was not accorded a Times obituary, and has no entry in the Dictionary of National Biography. The absence of biographical material may be due to the contemporary criticism of Cator's department for its handling of the provision of supplies during the Crimean War. All items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with texts clear and complete.

[printed form filled out in manuscript] St. John the EVANGELIST, Waterloo Road, District Church. [...] A Bill of Dues for the Burial of a STRANGER. [i.e. 'John Thomas Gardiner'] [signed by the sexton, 'R Booker']

Author: 
R Booker, Sexton, St. John the Evangelist, Waterloo Road, Lambeth
A Bill of Dues for the Burial of a STRANGER
Publication details: 
20 November 1835.
£28.00
A Bill of Dues for the Burial of a STRANGER

On one side of a slip of laid paper, roughly 21 x 8 cm. Printed form for burial in the 'SECOND GROUND.' (amended in manuscript to 'Third'). Gardiner is said to be 'Above [amended from 'Under'] the Age of 10 Years.' Printed charges are for Ground and Bell, Rector, Clerk, Sexton, and Registrar'; with 'Extra Digging' added in manuscript, with '4 OClock Precisely'. Printed note at foot: 'N.B. The Sexton is directed not to enter an Order for any funeral until the Fees are paid.' St.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Jos: Thackwell') to Hayter.

Author: 
Sir Joseph Thackwell (1781-1859), English army officer [Sir William Goodenough Hayter (1792-1878), Liberal politician]
Publication details: 
2 February 1855; 16 Montague Square, London [United Services Club].
£56.00

12mo, 1 p. Fair, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Written while Hayter was Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury under Palmerston. Thanking him for his letter, and informing him that he will be communicating Hayton's 'kindness' to William Ryan, who, he is sure, 'will gladly accept the appointment'.

Circular letter, printed in facsimile of Wellington's handwriting; dated, addressed, and with the gaps filled in in Wellington's hand to Robert Aberdein.

Author: 
Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), 1st Duke of Wellington, Anglo-Irish soldier and politician, the vanquisher of Napoleon Bonaparte [Robert Henry Aberdein (died 1860), Coroner for East Devon]
Publication details: 
31 July 1851; London.
£80.00

12mo, 3 pp. Good. Folded twice and with the blank verso of the second leaf of the bifolium a little grubby. A formal letter in the third person, declining to present a petition to the House of Lords, on the grounds that 'The Duke has no relation whatever with [Honiton]'. The date, and the words 'Mr Aberdein', 'Honiton', ', which he retains' and 'Robert Aberdein Esq' are in Wellington's hand.

Autograph Letter Signed "Le Duc de Basano" to William Smith, English Member of Parliament

Author: 
Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano, French statesman and journalist.
Publication details: 
Paris, 17 October 1814.
£125.00

In French. Three pages, 4to, poor condition but little of text lost or obscured. There is a note, probably in Smith's hand, on the address panel "acknowledgment of the letter by Genl Macaulay". He wants to revisit England and is grateful for the hospitality expended to his wife. by the Smith family. A "M. Guillon negociant de bourgogne et l'ami de mes amis" is to visit England and de Bassano asks for his good offices on his behalf.

A sermon. Autograph Manuscript

Author: 
Rev. G.R. Gleig.
Publication details: 
Ash, 21 Nov. 1824.
£350.00

Vicar of Ash, Kent, later chaplain-general of the forces, author (DNB). Manuscript sermon in Gleig's hand, apparently unpublished. C. 20 pages, 8vo to mainly 4to, additions and corrections in his hand, with some cutting and pasting (hence variable page size). "No.1" appears on the bottom of the first page, with place and date (above), presumably indicating a series.

Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mrs Mellersh' [wife of the historian H. E. L. Mellersh?].

Author: 
Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington
Publication details: 
14 October 1925; on letterhead '11, TITCHFIELD TERRACE, | REGENTS PARK, N.W.8.'
£25.00

The seventh Duke was born in 1885 and died in 1972. Two pages, 4to. In good condition although creased and dusty. He thanks the Mellershes for their hospitality during a lecture at Cheltenham. He also thanks Mellersh for 'the cutting from the "Echo": 'There are a good many inaccuracies in it some of which are fairly [rather] misleading, but I do not think it is worth while putting in a correction. They give me a very large space which is very kind of them.'

Autograph Note Signed to illegible correspondent.

Author: 
Rev. G.R. Gleig.
Publication details: 
Place illegible, 7 April [no year].
£50.00

Later chaplain-general of the forces, author (DNB). One page, 8vo, remnants of laying down process on blank conjugate leaf, letter in good condition. "I will be happy to supply your place on Sunday morning [presumably taking a service] - & much regret the cause of your absence. / I too have had my gout, but it is pretty well over."

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