BRANCH

[Australia: kangaroo hunting and numismatics.] Autograph Letter Signed from Robert Barton, Assayer, Royal Mint in Melbourne, to ‘Grubbe’, giving advice on hunting kangaroo and duck.

Author: 
[Australia: kangaroo hunting and numismatics] Robert Barton (1839-1930), assayer, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint in Melbourne, Australia
Publication details: 
'Royal Mint [Melbourne, Australia] / 21 May 1875'.
£120.00

Barton, who was born in London, joined the Royal Mint’s Melbourne branch as one of two assayers on its opening in 1869; in 1887 he was promoted to Superintendent, and in 1895 to Deputy Master, holding that position until his reitrement in 1904. See his entry in the Encyclopaedia of Australian Science and Innovation. In case Barton has misspelled the name, the recipient may be William Dawson Grubb (1817-1879) or his son Frederick William Grubb (1844-1923), who have a joint-entry in the Australian Dictionary of National Biography. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Signed ‘Robert Barton’.

[Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League: Frances J. Balfour, Hon. Sec. of Sheffield & District Branch.] Autograph Letter Signed (possible spoof) to ‘Mr. Sayers’ [A. H. Sayers], requesting contribution so branch can become ‘influential & successful’.

Author: 
Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League; Frances J. Balfour, Hon. Sec. of the Sheffield & District Branch [Rev. A. H. Sayers of Monmouth]
Publication details: 
Dated ‘Sheffield & District Branch / Arcadia / March 31st. 09’. On letterhead of Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League, Caxton House, Tothill Street, Westminster, London, S.W.
£120.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Considering the tone of the letter, the similarity between the signatories name and that of the prominent suffragist Lady Frances Balfour (1858-1931), and the fact that there is no record of a Sheffield branch of the WNASL, nor of a place in Warrington called ‘Arcadia’, nor of any Balfours living there, one must strongly suspect that this letter is a spoof, perhaps written by in some such scenario as a pro-suffrage child of a member of the WNASL, having got hold of one of the organisations blank letterheads. Or perhaps not.

[Lady Augusta Spencer-Churchill, as Chairman, British Legion Women's Section.] Two Typed Letters Signed (both 'Augusta Spencer-Churchill') to 'Mrs Everett' of the Legion's Kettering Branch, regarding a funfair, and her award of an OBE.

Author: 
Lady Augusta Spencer-Churchill [née Warburton] (1854-1941), wife of Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill (1853-1911), half-brother of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and close relation of Winston Churchill
Publication details: 
ONE: 28 Grosvenor Street, London SW1; 16 November 1934. TWO: Queensmead, Windsor; 9 January 1935. Each on letterhead of the British Legion, Women's Section, Haig House, 26 Ecclestone Square, London, SW1.
£56.00

Each 1p, 4to. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn, and each folded three times. On the letterhead she is referred to as 'The Lady Edward Spencer-Churchill O.B.E.' Chairman of the British Legion. Women's Section. ONE: 16 November 1934. Having been informed by 'Miss Gerds' that the recipient 'would like to know if I am coming by Car or by train on December 1st, to open your “Fun Fair,”' she states that she is 'not sure how long it would take to motor from London', but thinks it would be quicker by train. 'I see a good one arrives at 2-47!' TWO: 5 January 1935.

[ Sir Basil Thomson, head of the Metropolitan Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID). ] Typed Note Signed ('Basil Thomson'), as Assistant Commissioner, Special Branch, to 'Mrs. Vickers', giving instructions for her arrival at Folkestone.

Author: 
Sir Basil Thomson [ Sir Basil Home Thomson ] (1861-1939), head of the Metropolitan Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), intelligence officer (working with MI6), prison governor, colonial ad
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Metropolitan Police, Special Branch ('Letters should be addressed to the Assistant Commissioner.'), Scotland House, Westminster, S.W.1. [ London ] 14 October 1919.
£35.00

For information regarding Thomson's eventful career (he interrogated Mata Hari) see his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p., landscape 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Typed onto the letterhead is the reference 'A. L. K.' The note reads: 'Dear Mrs. Vickers, | Certainly I will. If you will ask for Sergeant Tansley when you arrive at Folkestone he will see you through. I will warn him of your coming.'

[ Lieut-Col. Arthur Campbell Yate, traveller and soldier. ] Autograph Card Signed and Two Autograph Letters Signed (all 'A. C. Yate') to Sir H. T. Wood, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, on papers on the Indian Branch of the Red Cross and Indian Army

Author: 
Lieut-Col. Arthur Campbell Yate (1853-1929) of Beckbury Hall, Shifnal, traveller, soldier, author, and Honorary Secretary, Central Asian Society [ Sir Henry Trueman Wood; Royal Society of Arts ]
Publication details: 
The three items on letterheads of Beckbury Hall, Shifnal. Postcard: 5 March 1915. Letters: 10 and 13 December 1916.
£120.00

According to his long obituary in The Times, 13 June 1929 ('Central Asian Politics'), Yates's 'studies of the affairs of the Indian borderland, Central Asia, and the Middle East were probably excelled by few retired officers of the Indian Army in wealth of detail and personal knowledge of events and personalities spread over the last half-century'. See also his long entry in Who Was Who. The three items are in fair condition, on aged and worn paper with rusting from paperclip. They carry the stamp and docketing of the Society. The card - signed 'A. C. Yate (Lt..

[ Printed pamphlet, inscribed by the author. ] An Address, delivered at the Third Anniversay of the Bath District Branch of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, On June the 6th, 1839; by John Smith Soden, President of the Meeting.

Author: 
John Smith Soden [ Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, Bath District Branch ]
Publication details: 
Bath: Printed by Mary Meyler and Son, Abbey Church-Yard. 1839.
£90.00

15pp., 8vo. Unbound pamphlet. Aged and worn. In manuscript at head of title-page: 'Dr Ainsworth from the Author'. In a short preface Soden explains that several members of the Association have asked him for a copy of his address, and that, although he does nto think it worthy, he has 'therefore had a small impression printed for private circulation only, in order to save the trouble of transcribing, [...]'. Scarce: only three copies on COPAC (BL, Bristol and Aberdeen).

[Female suffrage; printed pamphlet.] Women's Wrongs.

Author: 
F. W. Newman [Francis William Newman (1805-1897), younger brother of Cardinal John Henry Newman], Secretary, Bristol and Clifton Branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage
Publication details: 
Published for the Bristol and Clifton Branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage. ['L. Arrowsmith, Printer, Quay Street, Bristol.'] Undated [1870].
£280.00

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium with drophead title. In fair condition, lightly-aged, disbound with slight damage to spine. Newman poses the question: 'Why has our law been so unjust to women? - Because woman never had a voice in the making of it, and men, as a class, have not realized the oppression of women as a class.

[Printed pamphlet by the Children's Branch, Home Office, Whitehall.] Retarded and Mentally Defective Children.

Author: 
S. W. Harris [Children's Branch, Home Office, Whitehall, London]
Publication details: 
Children's Branch, Home Office, Whitehall, S.W.1. [London] 27 January 1926.
£30.00

6pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with two slight rust stains from staple. Shelfmarks, stamp and label of the Board of Education Reference Library. Divided into five sections: Causes of Incapacity; Importance of early recognition of Mental Defect; Definition of Mental Defect, under the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913; Methods of dealing with mentally defective children; Procedure. No copy found on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat.

[Three printed Home Office pamphlets.] 'Education in Reformatory and Industrial Schools', 'Disposal of Reformatory and Industrial School Boys to Farm Service in England and Wales' and 'Reformatory and Industrial Schools. Working of Financial Scheme'

Author: 
[S. W. Harris, Children's Branch, Home Office, Whitehall; Arthur H. Norris, Chief Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial Schools]
Publication details: 
All London. ONE: Printed under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office, By Jas. Truscott & Son, Ltd., Suffolk Lane, EC. 1919. TWO: Printed by His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1920. THREE: Children's Branch, Home Office, Whitehall. 1925.
£80.00

All three with shelfmarks, stamp and labels of the Board of Education Reference Library, London. ONE: Arthur H. Norris, 'Home Office. Education in Reformatory and Industrial Schools. Circular letter of H.M. Chief Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial Schools, to the Managers and Staff of the Schools.' 1919. [2] + 8pp., 8vo. Stitched. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. London. The only copy on COPAC at the London Schooll of Economics. TWO: Arthur H. Norris, 'Home Office. Disposal of Reformatory and Industrial School Boys to Farm Service in England and Wales. Circular letter to H.M.

Autograph Letter Signed from the conservationist Ethel Haythornthwaite, thanking Lord Chorley [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley] for his speech to the Sheffield branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England.

Author: 
Ethel Haythornthwaite (1894-1986) and her husband Lt-Col. Gerald Haythornthwaite (1912-1995), pioneering conservationists [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley (1895-1978), 1st Baron Chorley [Lord Chorley]]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, Sheffield and Peak District Branch. 10 June 1945.
£56.00

2pp., landscape 12mo. 28 lines of text. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with slight damage to one corner. Addressed to 'Dear Professor Chorley', the letter begins: 'I do feel we owe you a very great deal for coming on Saturday. Every body seemed pleased with the meeting and that was mainly due to the chief speaker. They liked what you said and who said it.' Considering the demands on Chorley's time, she is grateful to him for not cancelling the engagement, and for the fact that he did not 'pour coals of fire' on her head for the 'silly mistake about the train'.

[Printed Second World War pamphlet.] Homeward Bound. Issued by the Quartermaster General's Branch (Movements Directorate) G.H.Q. (India). Cover and sketches by Capt. A. S. Morris, R.E.

Author: 
The Quartermaster General's Branch (Movements Directorate) G.H.Q. (India) [Brigadier V. Boucher; Captain A. S. Morris, Royal Engineers]
Publication details: 
'GIPD - M 2079 Army - 12-12-44 - 5,000.' 12 December 1944.
£120.00

[6] + 28pp., 12mo. In coloured illustrative wraps. Morris's illustrations are light and fresh, the first being a caricature of 'the enemy': a sour-looking bespectacled Japanese army officer. The first section, which it illustrates, is on 'Security' and concludes: 'Remember that in disposing of household effects, releasing servants from employment, etc., you may easily give away too much information.

Typed Letter Signed from John Papworth to Mrs Ena Driberg, wife of the Labour MP Tom Driberg

Author: 
John Papworth (b.1921), English economist and activist, personal adviser to the President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda [Ena Mary Binfield, née Lyttelton, wife of Tom Driberg of Bradwell Lodge, Essex]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the British Asian and Overseas Socialist Fellowship (London Branch). 15 November 1957.
£36.00

1p., 4to. Fair, on aged paper, with one small burn-hole to margin. Addressed to 'Mrs. T. Driberg, | Bradwell Lodge, | Bradwell juxta Mare, | nr. Southminster, | Essex.' He thanks her for receiving 'an African boy from Northern Rhodesia and some members of my family', and 'showing us the details of your charming house so unhesitatingly'. He discusses the 'astonishing contrast the house is to the landscape around it.

Three printed reports of meetings held at the Council House, Chichester, of the West Sussex branch of the British 'War Agricultural Committee' (two from 1915 and one from 1916) and one report from the 'War Agricultural Executive Committee'.

Author: 
[Herbert Padwick, Chairman, War Agricultural Committee, West Sussex Branch; First World War; British farming; women and agriculture]
Publication details: 
The three 'War Agricultural Committee' reports: 16 November and 22 December 1915, and 9 February 1916. 'War Agricultural Executive Committee' report: 29 January 1917. All meetings held at the Council House, Chichester [West Sussex Committee].
£350.00

All four items clear and complete, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Item One: Report of WAC meeting of 16 November 1915. Folio, 6 pp. Includes 'Reports from District Sub-Committees' and section on 'Enlistment as to Skilled Agricultural Labourers'. Also section on 'Women's County Committee'. Item Two: Report of WAC meeting of 22 December 1915. Folio, 4 pp. Sections on 'Instruction in milking to women' and 'Employment of women on farm work'. Signed in type as Chairman by Padwick. Item Three: Report of WAC meeting of 9 February 1916. Folio, 4 pp. Signed in type as Chairman by Padwick.

Handbill headed 'STOLEN POSTAL ORDER FORMS | STOLEN POSTAGE STAMPS NEGOTIATED BY MEANS OF STAMP SAVINGS SLIPS'.

Author: 
E. H. Bourne, Director, Investigation Branch, Personnel Department [THE POST OFFICE; ROYAL MAIL; POSTAL HISTORY]
Publication details: 
[London,] 20 January 1939.
£56.00

Two pages. On both sides of a piece of paper roughly twelve and a quarter inches by eight inches wide. Illustrated on both sides. An unusual piece of Post Office ephemera, and something of a period piece, on aged paper, with fraying to extremities. Begins 'The object of these instructions is to secure the apprehension of men and women who are negotiating stolen postal order forms and stolen penny stamps, the proceeds of thefts from Post Office. [...]'.

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'.

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