WILLIAM

[William I, King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, as Erfprins (hereditary prince).] Autograph Letter Signed (‘G. F. Pr Hed.d’Orange’), in French, to Lord Auckland, while in exile in England, expressing thanks and condoling upon a sad event.

Author: 
William I, King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, and Grand Duke of Luxembourg [Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau (1772-1843)]; Lord Auckland [William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland (1745-1814)]
William I
Publication details: 
No date or place. [Written while in England, c. 1795.]
£650.00
William I

The recipient is not named (the salutation is to ‘Mylord’), but William ends with compliments to ‘Lady Auckland’, and the letter also contains a reference to Eden Park. 1p, landscape 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, laid down on part of leaf cut from album. Signed ‘G. F. Pr Hed.d’Orange’. The mount is captioned, in a contemporary hand, ‘George [sic] Prince of Orange (Holland) date 1798’.

[John Pye, line engraver.] Autograph Letter Signed, offering the artist William Carpenter his vote ‘at the forthcoming election for Sec[re]t[ar]y of the Artists’ Annuity Fund'.

Author: 
John Pye (1782-1874), line engraver, praised by Turner, promoter of professional associations and co-operative movements [William Carpenter (1818-1899), painter; Artists’ Annuity Fund, London]
Pye
Publication details: 
21 June 1839. 42 Cirencester Place, Fitzroy Square. [London]
£180.00
Pye

Pye was an active figure in nineteenth-century British art. According to his entry in the Oxford DNB he was the engravers’ ‘best spokesman’, hoping ‘to raise the fortunes, status, and public profile of engravers by means of professional association and co-operation’. He was the author of a number of works, including 'Patronage of British Art' (1845). His collection of prints after Turner was acquired by the British Museum in 1869, and the proofs of Turner's ‘Liber Studiorum’ followed in 1870. His notebooks are in British Library.

[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)’.

[The growing First World War pensions crisis discussed by a member of the government.] Autograph Letter Signed from William Hayes Fisher [the future Lord Downham] to Willoughby Hyett Dickinson, discussing the problem ‘full of difficulty’.

Author: 
William Hayes Fisher [Lord Downham] (1853-1920), Conservative politician, President of Local Government Board and Minister of Information in Lloyd George's War Cabinet [Sir Willoughby Hyett Dickinson]
Publication details: 
25 October 1915. 13 Buckingham Palace Gardens, S.W. [London.]
£90.00

See Fisher’s entry in the Oxford DNB. Earlier in 1915 he had joined the Asquith government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board, and he would retain this post until June of 1917, when Lloyd George would promote him to the cabinet as President of the Local Government Board. The recipient Willoughby Hyett Dickinson (1859-1943), later an influential proponent of the League of Nations, began his career as a Liberal MP. He was knighted in 1918, and elevated to the peerage as Baron Dickinson of Painswick in 1930, the same year in which he joined the Labour Party.

[Anne Cobden-Sanderson; suffragette; Hammersmith Publishing Company] Pro Forma Invoice [Printed Heading] Bought of the Hammersmith Publishing Company sent to anarchist Ambrose Barker.

Author: 
[Anne Cobden-Sanderson; suffragette; Hammersmith Publishing Company]
Doves
Publication details: 
River House Hammersmith [handwritten]; printed 7 Hammersmith Terrace, W. excised. See image
£180.00
Doves

Obl.12mo, 20 x 13cm, foxing but text legible. Dated 6 Oct 1903 with details in Anne Cobden-Sanderson's hand (as other handwritten detail) of two items purchased by Barker, both by J.W. Mackail and printed at the Chiswick Press: Socialism & Politics and Parting of the Ways. I've found no substantial discussion of the Hammersmith Publishing Company. See image for full text.

[W. H. Smith, newsagent and politician, the ‘Sir Joseph Porter’ of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore.] Autograph Letter Signed to George Townsend Warner, discussing a request to fish in his private stream.

Author: 
W. H. Smith [William Henry Smith] (1825-1891), founder of the fortunes of the British chain of newsagents, Conservative politician, First Lord of the Admiralty [George Townsend Warner (1865-1916)]
Publication details: 
5 March 1891; on letterhead of 10 Downing Street, Whitehall. [London.]
£50.00

From the first Smith has been considered as the model of the ‘Sir Joseph Porter’ of Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘HMS Pinafore’, and Disraeli himself is said to have referred to him as ‘Pinafore Smith’. See Smith’s entry in the Oxford DNB. The present item is signed ‘W. H. Smith’, addressed to ‘Mr Townsend Warner’, and headed ‘Private’. The recipient is the historian and Harrow housemaster George Townsend Warner (1865-1916), father of the novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once.

[Sir Stanley Rous, association football referee and 6th President of FIFA.] Typed Note Signed (‘Stanley Rous’) to the BBC sports commentator Max Robertson.

Author: 
Stanley Rous [Sir Stanley Ford Rous] (1895-1986), Secretary of the Football Association, 6th President of FIFA, referee [Max Robertson [William Maxwell Robertson] (1915-2009), BBC sports commentator]
Rous
Publication details: 
26 May 1955; on letterhead of the Football Association, 22 Lancaster Gate, London W2.
£35.00
Rous

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight creasing to one corner. Folded once. In addition to the signature ‘Stanley Rous’, the salutation ‘Dear Max’ is written in Rous’s autograph. (Robertson’s full Wandsworth address is typed out at the head.) The note reads: ‘The enclosed translation of an article which appeared in a Continental newspaper has just been handed to me. I sent it on at once, in case it is of help to you.’ See image

[‘I may yet be a burden to the Royal Literary Fund’: Sir John Fortescue, military historian and Royal Librarian at Windsor.] Autograph Letter Signed, joking about his lack of success as an author while sending £5 to the Fund’s chairman Lord Curzon.

Author: 
Sir John Fortescue [Sir John William Fortescue] (1859-1933), military historian, Royal Librarian at Windsor Castle [Lord Curzon [George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston]; Royal Literary Fund]
Publication details: 
28 March 1913; on Windsor Castle letterhead.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Begins: ‘Dear Curzon, / I have sent, with great pleasure, a fiver to the Literary Fund in honour of your chairmanship; but not [last word underlined] as a successful man of letters.’ He explains that had he been dependant on his books for a livelihood, he would ‘long ago have starved, and, by the Grace of the present Government, I may yet be a burden to the Royal Literary Fund.’ Curzon has minuted the letter at the head of the first page: ‘Hon J Fortescue £5’.

[Lord Albemarle, Whig politician.] Autograph Signature (‘Albemarle’) to a long secretarial letter to the surgeon William Barnard Boddy, describing in detail the state of his cataracts, and discussing possible treatment.

Author: 
Lord Albemarle [William Charles Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle] (1772-1849), Whig politician, Master of the Horse who travelled with Queen Victoria to coronation [William Barnard Boddy (1796-1884)]
Publication details: 
24 October 1845; Quidenham, near Kenninghall, Norfolk.
£120.00

An interesting item from a medical point of view, with a well-informed patient describing and discussing his condition, symptoms and treatment options. Three years after the writing of this letter the appropriately-named Boddy, who is addressed here as ‘W. Barnard Boddy Esqr / 3. Saville Row. Walworth’, published ‘Diet and Cholera’ (London, 1848). 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Fifty-five lines of closely-written text. The signature is large and shaky, and the use of an amanuensis is understandable in the light of the content of the letter.

[Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, sixteenth president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.] Autograph Note Signed (‘Benj. S. Ewell’) to ‘Mr. Walter G. Webster’, in response to a request for an autograph.

Author: 
Benjamin S. Ewell [Benjamin Stoddert Ewell] (1810-1894), Confederate army officer, civil engineer, and sixteenth president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
Publication details: 
7 June 1872; on letterhead of the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
£150.00

William and Mary owes its survival to Ewell: he rebuilt it from ruins after the American Civil War, and every morning during several years of closure he is said to have rung the assembly bell to keep the memory of the college fresh. The present item is 1p, landscape 8vo. It is in poor condition, on brittle high-acidity paper, with significant chipping to all the edges except the bottom one, which has resulted in the loss of a few letters of text, and to the engraved illustration of the college in the letterhead. The letter reads: ‘Mr. Walter G.

[William Taylor Adams (‘Oliver Optic’), author and academic, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.] Autograph Signature (‘William T Adams / “Oliver Optic”’, in attractive copperplate.

Author: 
William T. Adams [William Taylor Adams, pseudonym ‘Oliver Optic’] (1822-1897), academic, author of more than one hundred books, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Adams
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£30.00
Adams

Adams was the author of more than one hundred books. He was criticised by Louisa May Alcott for his use of slang and depiction of ‘low’ characters such as bootblacks, elements which make him sound like a proto-Mark Twain, and should attract renewed attention today. Without date or place. On 4.5 x 9.5 cm slip of wove paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of mount adhering to blank reverse.

[Sir Charles Oman, military historian.] Three Autograph Letters Signed (all ‘C. W. C. Oman’), as Librarian of All Souls College, to ‘Mr Harlow’ of Rhodes House Library, regarding his proposal about ‘the long series of Cape Parliamentary proceedings’.

Author: 
Sir Charles Oman [Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman] (1860-1946), English military historian and Librarian of All Souls College, Oxford [Professor Vincent Todd Harlow, Keeper, Rhodes House Library]
Publication details: 
2, 7 and 21 June 1937. All three on the letterhead of the Library of All Souls College, Oxford.
£90.00

See Oman’s entry in the Oxford DNB. Each letter 1p, 12mo. Each folded once. All three in good condition, lightly aged. The correspondence concerns Harlow’s proposal, according to the letter of 2 June 1937, ‘that All Souls College should present to the Rhodes House Library the comparatively few yearly numbers of the Cape Parliamentary proceedings 1875-1910 which are not already in either the Bodleian or the Rhodes House shelves - keeping for the College the residuence, a broken set of about 200 volumes’.

[Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Labour politician and campaigner for women’s suffrage, husband of Emmeline Pethick.] Autograph Note Signed (‘F W Pethick-Lawrence’) thanking Thomas Lloyd Humberstone for his ‘booklet on the Public Schools’.

Author: 
Lord Pethwick-Lawrence [Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, born Frederick William Lawrence] (1871-1961), Labour politician and campaigner for women's suffrage, husband of Emmeline Pethick
Publication details: 
13 October 1944; on letterhead of 11 Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn, W.C.2. [London]
£35.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Thomas Lloyd Humberstone (1876-1957) was an educationalist and prominent member of the Convocation of the University of London. The booklet referred to is his ‘The Public School Question’, which he printed himself in 1943. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Reads. ‘Dear Humberstone / Thanks for your booklet on the Public Schools which I have read with interest / Yours truly / F W Pethick Lawrence’.

[William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal Prime Minister and the ‘Grand Old Man’ of Victorian politics.] Autograph Signature franking front panel of envelope.

Author: 
William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), Liberal Prime Minister under Queen Victoria and the ‘Grand Old Man’ of Victorian politics
Gladstone
Publication details: 
Basingstoke postmark, 20 October 1864.
£28.00
Gladstone

Information regarding this major figure in British history is not far to seek. On 11.5 x 5.5 cm panel cut from front of envelope. In fair condition, with a few traces of glue at centre and short closed tear to right-hand edge; none of this anywhere near the signature. The letter is addressed in another hand: ‘The Solicitor General / Hackwood Park / Basingstoke’, with last word deleted. Signed in the customary manner at bottom left: ‘W E Gladstone’. Basingstoke postmark in blue, and cropped frank in red. See image.

[W. H. K. Wright: Victorian armorial bookplates.] Two Original Illustrations of Designs for Armorial Bookplates, one ‘Presented to Mr Edward Morrall Quay House Bridgenorth’.

Author: 
W. H. K. Wright [William Henry Kearley Wright], (1844-1915), poet, editor of the Western Antiquary [Victorian armorial bookplates; Edward Morrall of Quay House, Bridgnorth; M. J. Morrall]
Wright
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but late Victorian.
£120.00
Wright

Each of the two items attributed to Wright in pencil note on reverse. Both in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: On 11 x 17.5 cm piece of paper. At head: ‘Book Plate of Morrall A[?] vox stellarum vox Dei’. At foot: ‘M. J. Morrall’. (Unlikely to be the Brooklyn architect of this name active at this time.) Up left-hand margin: ‘Mr. Edward Morrall / Mayor 1885-6’. Down right-hand margin: ‘Presented to Mr Edward Morrall Quay House Bridgnorth’. Full achievement, from crest to motto, with colours indicated. TWO: On back of 9 x 11 cm printed ‘at Home’ card.

[Provincial Georgian Art Connoisseurs.] Two Autograph Memoranda, both signed by ‘W. Hayward’, recording an exchange of paintings (by Correggio, Hobbima, Du Jardin, et al) with ‘Dr. Maddy’ [Edwin Maddy, LLD, Mayor of Gloucester].

Author: 
[Provincial Georgian Art Connoisseurs: ‘Dr Maddy’, i.e. Edwin Maddy, LLD, Mayor of Gloucester, and W. Hayward]
Publication details: 
Both dated 'Gloster 20th. Octr. 1841'. [Gloucester.]
£56.00

Interesting artefacts of provincial Georgian connoisseurship and picture dealers. If genuine (unlikely, given the period) the paintings would be of considerable interest. Given the exchange of cash, ‘W. Hayward’ could well be a visiting picture dealer. Both memoranda in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: 1p, 8vo. Folded four times. Reads: ‘Gloster 20th. Octr. 1841 | Exchanged with Dr. Maddy the following pictures viz / Waterfall &c. - Berghem / Landscape - Hobbema / for / Landscape - K. Du Jardin / Perseus & Andromeda - S. Rosa / and / Cash - £100 / W. Hayward’. TWO: 1p, landscape 12mo.

[Lord Charles Beresford, Royal Navy admiral and British Member of Parliament.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Charles Beresford’) to Sir Richard Temple, regarding the ‘grievance’ of General Sir Henry Ramsay over his pension.

Author: 
Lord Charles Beresford [Admiral Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford] (1846-1919), British admiral [Sir Richard Temple (1826-1902); General Sir Henry Ramsay (1816-1893)]
Publication details: 
7 November 1888; on letterhead of 100 Eaton Square, S.W. [London]
£56.00

See the entries for Beresford and Temple in the Oxford DNB (in an unfortunate omission, Ramsay - ‘The King of Kumaon’ - is not represented in that work). 3pp, 12mo. Ruckled, with second leaf laid down on a piece of card, and damage along the gutter repaired with archival tape. Twenty-nine lines of text. Signed ‘Charles Beresford’. He has received ‘a long explanatory letter from General Sir Henry Ramsey [sic] containing the explanation of a grievance by which he has lost £300 a year since 1884.

[William Govett Romain, as Second Secretary to the Admiralty.] Autograph Signature (‘W. G. Romaine’) with accompanying text filling in printed 'communication' appointing William Mullice ‘Gunner, 2d Class, Additional’ on board HMS Cumberland.

Author: 
W. G. Romaine [William Govett Romaine] (1815-1893), English barrister, civil servant and colonial administrator [William Mullice]
Publication details: 
11 April 1861; on board ‘H.M.S. “Excellent” / WW Portsmouth.’
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, tall 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged; folded twice. In the following transcription the manuscript parts are in square brackets: ‘By Command of the Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c.

[William Harrison Ainsworth, Victorian historical novelist and close friend of Charles Dickens.] Autograph Signature for an autograph hunter: ‘W. Harrison Ainsworth | Dunmow. | July 19th. 1855.’

Author: 
W. Harrison Ainsworth [William Harrison Ainsworth] (1805-1882), Victorian historical novelist and close friend of Charles Dickens
Publication details: 
19 July 1855; Dunmow [Essex].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 16 x 10 cm rectangle cut from leaf of an autograph album. On lightly aged wove paper, with crease to one corner avoiding the writing. Boldly written: ‘W. Harrison Ainsworth / Dunsnow. / July 19th. 1855.’ Nothing else written on either side of the leaf. See image.

[Sir William Stirling Maxwell, art historian and book collector.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Dean’ (i.e. Henry Hart Milman, Dean of Saint Paul’s), regarding the drafting of their dissent to the parliamentary ‘Report of the Oaths Commission’.

Author: 
Sir William Stirling Maxwell (1818-78), 9th Baronet of Pollok, Scottish author, art historian, book collector [Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868), Dean of St Paul’s; Edward Pleydell Bouverie; Lord Lyveden]
Publication details: 
6 June 1867. On embossed letterhead of the House of Commons Library.
£50.00

See the entries on the two men in the Oxford DNB. The document to which Stirling Maxwell refers in this letter can be read as ‘Dissent (No. III.)’ on pp.xiii to xxii of the parliamentary ‘Report of the Oaths Commission. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty.’ (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1867). There were five dissenters to the report: alongside Stirling Maxwell and Milman were Robert Lowe, Lord Lyveden, and Edward Pleydell Bouverie. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of glue from mounting to blank reverse of second leaf.

[Richard Ingrams, journalist, founder of ‘Private Eye’ and the ‘Oldie’.] Autograph Card Signed to ‘Mr Kinnane’ (manuscript dealer John A. Kinnane), regarding ‘the interesting Cobbett item’, an Elgar postcard, and his interest in G. K. Chesterton.

Author: 
Richard Ingrams [Richard Reid Ingrams] (born 1937), journalist and author, co-founder and second editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye, and founder and editor of The Oldie [John A. Kinnane]
Publication details: 
24 February 1984; on his letterhead, Forge House, Aldworth, near Reading.
£25.00

On both sides of a 14.5 x 10.5 cm plain postcard. In good condition, with large firm signature ‘Richard Ingrams’. He thanks him for ‘the interesting Cobbett item’ and would like ‘your Elgar postcard’ if available. Ends: ‘Enclose cheque. Cobbett always welcome. Also G. K. Chesterton.’ Ingram had published an anthology of Cobbett in 1974, and would publish a biography of him in 2005, and a book on Chesterton in 2021.

[Queen Victoria’s third daughter Princess Helena, later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Helena’), explaining the delay in thanking ‘Col: Colville’ for sending an ‘excellent’ sketch.

Author: 
Princess Helena [Helena Augusta Victoria] (1846-1923) of the United Kingdom, later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Queen Victoria [Colonel Sir William James Colville (1827-1903)]
Publication details: 
24 January 1898; on letterhead of Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park.
£45.00

The princess was the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. See her entry in the Oxford DNB. Colville, who was ‘Master of the Ceremonies’ to Queen Victoria, was a talented amateur watercolourist. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. She apologises for the delay in thanking him for ‘the Sketch you so kindly have sent me. Believe me I am not ungrateful. I have had the house full for the last 10 days have not had a moment to myself.’ She considers the sketch ‘excellent’.

[Lord Harlech, Conservative politician.] Typed Letter Signed (‘W Ormsby Gore’) to Sir Frederick Lugard, regarding ‘the Oil Palm industry in Southern Nigeria’.

Author: 
Lord Harlech [William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore (1885-1965), fourth Baron Harlech], Conservative politician and banker [Sir Frederick Lugard [latterly Lord Lugard] (1858-1945), Governor of Hong Kong]
Publication details: 
3 May 1925; on letterhead of the Colonial Office, Downing Street, S.W.1 [London]
£35.00

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly worn. Folded three times. Greeting him as ‘Dear Sir Frederick’, he thanks him for having ‘prepared and sent to me your most valuable memorandum on the Oil Palm industry in Southern Nigeria’. He is in the process of discussing the question with the Colonial Secretary (Leo Amery), and Lugard’s views ‘come at a most opportune time for him to consider’.

[John Henry Robinson, RA, eminent line engraver noted for his portraits.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘J. H. Robinson’) to ‘Mr Cooke’ (the artist Edward William Cooke), on personal matters including Conrad Cooke’s health, and plans to meet.

Author: 
John Henry Robinson [J. H. Robinson] (c.1796-1871), RA, eminent line engraver noted for his portraits [Edward William Cooke (1811-1880), artist; his son Conrad William Cooke (1843-1926), engineer]
Publication details: 
16 April 1864; New Grove, Petworth [Surrey].
£65.00

See the entries for Robinson and Cooke in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, folded twice. Addressed to ‘My dear Mr Cooke’. Cooke’s ‘friendly note’ about the time he ‘proposed setting out for Deal’ was received on the Thursday, and the Robinsons are ‘glad indeed to hear that your dear Mother is again restored to her usual health’. The Robinsons think that ‘change of occupation & fresh air together, may have the desired effect both as regards yourself & your son Conrad’.

[‘The Pentateuch [...] is throughout a mere fiction’. John William Colenso, Bishop of Natal, puts the case that will result in excommunication.] Long and substantial Autograph Letter Signed (‘J. W. Natal.’) to ‘Scudamore’, explaining his position.

Author: 
John William Colenso (1814-1883), controversial Bishop of Natal, subject of ‘The Colenso Case’, excommunicated from the Church of England [Rev. H. C. Scudamore; Robert Gray, Bishop of Cape Town]
Publication details: 
19 August 1862; Fowey, Cornwall.
£380.00

Colenso’s enormous significance in the history of Victorian theology and ideas is reflected by a long entry by Peter Hinchcliff in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[Catherine Gladstone, wife of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Cath Gladstone’), asking the editor of a newspaper to publish something of hers.

Author: 
Catherine Gladstone [née Glynne] (1812-1900), wife of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone
Publication details: 
‘Downing St. / Saturday.’ On cancelled letterhead of 21 Carlton House Terrace, S.W. [London]
£50.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB, where she is described as a ‘philanthropist’. 2pp, 12mo. With mourning border. A 4cm triangle of paper has torn away from the bottom of the letter, far below Mrs Gladstone’s slightly-smudged signature, otherwise in good condition, lightly aged and folded twice. Reads: ‘Downing St. / Saturday / Dear Sir. / You have often encourage me to appeal to you upon matters of charity. it will be very kind if you will give the enclosed [a] place in your Paper. / Yours truly / Cath Gladstone’.

[Oxford Militia; Col. William Gore-Langton, M.P. for Somerset.] Autograph Letter in the third person to army agents Messrs Cox and Greenwood, enquiring about arrangements for winter quarters for the Oxford Militia on their return from Ireland.

Author: 
Colonel William Gore-Langton [William Gore until 1783] (1760-1847) of Newton Park,, for 45 years Whig Member of Parliament for, successively, Somerset, Tregony and Somerset East [Oxford Militia]
Publication details: 
9 December 1799; Newton Park, near Bath [Somerset].
£38.00

See his entry in the History of Parliament, which quotes a contemporary source describing him as ‘one of the oldest reformers in the House’, ‘in favour of the ballot and the immediate abolition of slavery’. 1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded four times. Begins: ‘Colonel Gore Langton presents his Compliments to Messrs: Cox and Greenwood, and as the Oxfordshire Regiment of Militia are expected to return from Ireland about Christmas, he is very desirous of being informed whether any arrangement has been made respecting their Winter Quarters’.

[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.] Five items of printed ephemera including two versions of circular by H. C. Lacey on ?Endowment Fund? appeal and Typed Note Signed by director W. Bridges-Adams on New Shakespeare Company production.

Author: 
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; its director William Bridges-Adams (1889-1965); H. C. Lacey [Herbert Camden Lacey] (1871-1950)]
Publication details: 
The six items dating from between 1922 and 1923. Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and New Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon.
£100.00

For further information see Bridges-Adams' entry in the Oxford DNB (which reminds us that 'On 6 March 1926 the Memorial Theatre was burnt down, greatly to the relief of G. B. Shaw.'). The five items of ephemera are in good condition, lightly aged; the Typed Note by Bridges-Adams (Item Six below) is in fair condition, aged and worn. ONE and TWO: Two versions of the same circular headed ?SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON / ENDOWMENT FUND.?, both ?signed? by ?H C Lacey? (?Organising Secretary | H. C.

[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.] Two items of printed ephemera relating to 1923 ?Endowment Fund? to realise ?the intentions of the Founders? regarding ?the memorial theatre, library, reading room, art gallery, and lecture hall'.

Author: 
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Endowment Fund appeal, 1923
Publication details: 
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. Neither item dated, but both from 1923, and before ?National Shakespeare Day?, 8 November 1923.
£45.00

The two items of ephemera are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: Printed advertisement for ?National Shakespeare Day Appeal / for Tribute to Shakespeare / TO ENDOW THE MEMORIAL THEATRE, LIBRARY, / READING ROOM, ART GALLERY, AND LECTURE ROOM / Erected in the Poet?s Memory in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Town of his Birth.? Titled on front cover (with black and white illustration of rural scene) ?OUR ?COMMON HERITAGE.? / THE SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE, / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON.? 4pp, landscape 16mo. Bifolium.

[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.] Three items of printed ephemera, relating to the ?Endowment Fund? to realise ?the intentions of the Founders? regarding ?the memorial theatre, library, reading room, art gallery, and lecture hall'.

Author: 
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; H. C. Lacey [Herbert Camden Lacey], organising secretary; Endowment Fund appeal, 1923
Publication details: 
Item One dated 1 November 1923; Items Two and Three undated but from around the same time. Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.
£60.00

The three items of ephemera are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: Circular headed ?SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON / ENDOWMENT FUND.? Dated 1 November 1923, and with autograph signature (possibly by proxy) of ?H C Lacey? (?Organising Secretary | H. C. LACEY M.B.E.?). Shakespeare?s coat of arms printed in red ink at top right.

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