Irving

[Ellen Terry, distinguished Shakespearian actress of the Victorian and Edwardian period.] Intimate Autograph Letter Signed (‘Nellaline’), sending her ‘very little heart [to George Meredith’s daughter]’.

Author: 
Ellen Terry [Dame Alice Ellen Terry] (1847-1928), distinguished Shakespearian actress of the late-Victorian and Edwardian periods, acted opposite Henry Irving
Publication details: 
17 March 1889; on letterhead of 22 Barkston Gardens, Earls Court, S.W. [London]
£80.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. An attractive and unusual item of correspondence, neatly written out in her distinctive handwriting. 1p, 12mo. On leaf of onion paper, carefully laid down on thicker backing. In good condition, slightly discoloured. Folded three times for postage. Reads: ‘A little little heart! So little! but anything “in the way of” a heart should not be flouted, nor scouted, & so I pray you to accept my very little heart - / It’s not worth the thanking for, only don’t send it back to me. / Nellaline. / March 17: 89:’.

[Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, leading late-Victorian and Edwardian playwright.] Autograph Inscription Signed, with quotation from his play ‘Lady Bountiful’.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), leading English late-Victorian and Edwardian playwright, after beginning as an actor in Sir Henry Irving’s company at the Lyceum Theatre, London
Publication details: 
23 February 1897. On letterhead of 63 Hamilton Terrace, N.W. [London.]
£56.00

See his appreciative entry in the Oxford DNB, concluding with praise of his ‘undeniable’ achievements. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with the blank reverse carrying very slight staining to one edge from glue from mount. Folded once. Neatly and firmly written, with the underlined signature with a deliberate upwards slope. Clearly sent in response to a request for an autograph. Reads: ‘ “A man dies but once, a woman twice - the first time when she marries, and then, as at the last, wondering at the thereafter.” / Lady Bountiful. / Act IV. / Arthur W. Pinero. / 23rd. February 1897.’

[Dame Ellen Terry.] Autograph Note Signed (‘Ellen Terry:’), announcing that she has ‘found it!’

Author: 
Ellen Terry [Dame Alice Ellen Terry] (1847-1928), leading English actress of the late-Victorian and Edwardian periods
Publication details: 
7 December 1897; on letterhead of the Grand Hotel, Manchester.
£32.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB, and in particular the section headed ‘A great actress’. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Very nice letterhead with engraving of the imposing hotel. In her large, bold hand, the note reads: ‘I have found it! / & am so glad - / Hoping you are much better / Yrs. sincerely / Ellen Terry: / 7 December . 97:’.

[Elsa Shelley, American dramatist and actress.] Two Typed Letters Signed to theatre historian W. J. Macqueen-Pope, giving and asking for news, and announcing her approaching arrival in England.

Author: 
Elsa Shelley (c.1903-c.1971), Russian-born American dramatist and actress, wife of producer Irving Kaye Davis (1900-1965) [W. J. Macqueen-Pope (1888-1960), theatre historian]
shelley
Publication details: 
ONE: 7 December 1951; 685 West End Avenue, New York, on her letterhead. TWO: 15 December [1946?]; on Cunard Line letterhead of R.M.S. Mauretania.
£120.00
shelley

See the recipient's entry in the Oxford DNB. Both letters signed ‘Elsa’. ONE (7 December 1951): 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. Thirty-eight lines of text. She received his letter while wishing to contact him, and wonders if this is a coincidence. ‘And my wanting to write you grew out of an intense yearning to be in London again’.

[‘Too serious an affair for the taste of the ordinary playgoer’: Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, English playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mrs. Hughes’, regarding matters including his play ‘The Thunderbolt’.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), leading English playwright, after beginning as an actor in Sir Henry Irving’s company at the Lyceum Theatre, London
Publication details: 
12 May 1908. On letterhead of 14 Hanover Square, W. [London.]
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The valediction reads ‘Yours alway faithfully / Arthur W. Pinero’, and it is written with quite a flourish: the ‘y’ of ‘faithfully’ hooks downwards in a long squiggle, exrending downwards past the right of the termination of Pinero’s signature, which rises upwards, being dotted above and below the signature’s underlining. He feels that her ‘kind letter is all the more welcome inasmuch as it gives signs’ that she is recovering from her recent illness.

[Irving Wardle, theatre critic.] Autograph Letter Signed to Gerald Wynne-Rushton, giving advice on offering a play, with reference to a letter he has received from Emyr Humphreys, producer of BBC TV production of Saunders Lewis’s ‘Siwan’.

Author: 
Irving Wardle [John Irving Wardle] (born 1929), theatre critic and champion of Harold Pinter [Gerald Wynne-Rushton (1894-), Catholic writer]
Publication details: 
16 March [no year, but between 1960 and 1963]; on letterhead of the Observer, London.
£45.00

Wardle worked as Kenneth Tynan’s deputy on the Observer between 1959 and 1963. Wynne-Rushton had published a play titled ‘The Gull’s Way’ in 1930, and a book on the papacy for Catholic publishers Burns, Oates and Washburne two years later. 2pp, 4to. In fair condition, folded three times, with wear and loss along one fold line of the second leaf, resulting in loss of a few words of text. Signed ‘Irving Wardle’ and addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Rushton’, identified as G. W. Wynne-Rushton by associated correspondence.

[Edmund Gwenn, English actor who won an Oscar for his role as 'Kris Kringle' in the Hollywood film 'Miracle on 34th Street'.] Three Autograph Letters Signed to 'Mr. Stuart', in one describing Henry Irving as the actor who impressed him most.

Author: 
Edmund Gwenn [Edmund John Kellaway] (1877-1959), English actor who worked with Alfred Hitchcock and won an Oscar for his role as Kris Kringle in the 1947 Hollywood film 'Miracle on 34th Street'
Publication details: 
21, 23 and 26 January 1939. The first from the University Arms Hotel, Cambridge; the other two from the Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton.
£250.00

The three letters in good condition, lightly aged, tipped-in onto a leaf removed from an album. The first 1p, 12mo; the other two each 1p, 8vo. All three signed 'Edmund Gwenn'. In the first he thanks him for his 'great courtesy during my visit', and for reproducing 'that old programme'. In the second letter he acknowledges 'a further proof of your kindly interest', received at his hotel after sending his first letter. The article was 'extremely interesting', as was 'the Photograph of Irving in his robes', a copy of which, he asks to purchase.

[Andreas Andersen Feldborg, Danish author.] Three Autograph Letters Signed, in English, to Rev. Edward Duke, regarding his English and continental travels,friends (Sir Richard Colt Hoare and Walter Scott), works. With two printed subscription lists.

Author: 
Andreas Andersen Feldborg (1782-1838), Danish author in England, friend of Robert Southey, teacher of English at University of Göttingen [Edward Duke (1779-1852), antiquary]
Publication details: 
The three letters from Germany. 'Frankfort on the Main'; 18 January 1826. Göttingen; 30 December 1826 and 12 March 1827.
£500.00

Feldborg is mentioned several times in Southey's correspondence, and at one point contemplated translating Southey's life of Nelson into Danish. See Duke's entry in the Oxford DNB. The three letters are in fair condition, a little brittle and lightly aged and worn, with a closed tears along fold lines. The third letter has loss to second leaf from breaking of seal. Excellent energetic letters, giving a good indication of Feldborg's character and the circle he moved in while resident in England.

[Sir Henry Irving, illustrious Victorian actor-manager.] Autograph Signature ('Henry Irving:') on printed circular invitation to act as stewerd at the Annual Dinner of The Actors' Benevolent Fund, made out by Irving to the novelist Hall Caine.

Author: 
Sir Henry Irving [John Henry Brodribb] (1838-1905), illustrious Victorian actor-manager [Hall Caine, novelist]; Artists' Benevolent Fund
Publication details: 
Lyceum Theatre [London], 29 April 1891.
£70.00

1p., 4to. On bifolium. Aged and worn, with small spots at head and foot. Irving's signature is firm and bold. The only other words in his autograph are 'Dear Hall Caine', but there is slight offsetting of other writing by Irving on the blank second leaf. The circular is an invitation to be 'placed on the list of Stewards on the occasion of the Annual Dinner of "The Actors' Benevolent Fund," of which I am the President'. Irving will be in the chair, and the dinner will take place at the Whitehall Rooms, Hotel Metropole.

H. B. Irving [ Harry Brodribb Irving ], actor-manager and criminologist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('H B Irving') to 'Mr Forsyth [ Neil Forsyth, General Manager, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden ]

Author: 
H. B. Irving [ Harry Brodribb Irving ] (1870-1919), actor-manager and criminologist; the eldest son of Sir Henry Irving [ Neil Forsyth, General Manager, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 'Mr. H. B. Irving & Co. ('Under the Direction of Messrs. Nixon & Zimmerman'). 29 June 1906.
£50.00

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with light pencil line by Forsyth through first page. She hopes that she is not 'asking too much' in requesting 'two stalls or a box for the premiere of “Eugene Oneghin” - Friday evening'. If 'not impossible', he would like 'a lunch to be present that night. He asks to be sent word to the Garrick Club.

[ Sydney Ffoulkes, composer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Sydney ffoulkes'), a letter of condolence to the widow of fellow-composer Herman Finck.

Author: 
Sydney Ffoulkes, composer associated with the actor Sir Henry Irving and the BBC [ Herman Finck [ born Hermann Van Der Vinck ] (1872-1939), composer and conductor ]
Publication details: 
4 Seaford Mansions, Jevington Gardens, Eastbourne. 21 April 1939.
£40.00

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. He has learnt with 'the deepest regret' of his 'old friend's passing'., and sends his condolences. He will be unable to attend the funeral service, as he had 'a bad fall & fractured two ribs'. He concludes: 'Herman was a great fellow, & nobody will ever replace him -'. Finck's 'In the Shadows' was one of the last songs played as RMS Titanic went down.

[ Sir Henry Irving. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('H Irving') to 'Lord Gray', regarding a theatre box.

Author: 
Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905), eminent Victorian actor-manager
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 15A, Grafton Street, Bond Street, W. [ London ] 15 February [ no year ].
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. In a difficult hand. He hopes there is 'no misunderstanding about the box for tonight', which is reserved in the recipient's name at the theatre: '& you have only to ask for your box'. He ends: 'We shall meet tonight I hope after the play.'

Inscribed offprint of review by Irving Ribner of Roland M. Frye's 'Shakespeare and Christian Doctrine', titled 'A Chain of Fallacies'.

Author: 
Irving Ribner [ Harry Levin; William Shakespeare; Roland M. Frye ]
Publication details: 
'Reprinted from Tulane Drama Review Vol. 10, No. 4, Summer, 1966'.
£25.00

10pp., 12mo, paginated 265-274. Stapled. In good condition, on lightly-aged shiny art paper, with vertical crease. Inscribed at head of first page: 'For Harry Levin | - with regards - | Irving Ribner'. Frye's book was published by Princeton University Press in 1963. From the papers of the American critic Harry Levin (1912-1994). Scarce: no copy of this offprint on COPAC.

[ Offprint, inscribed by author Irving Ribner of Tulane University. ] 'Marlowe's Edward II and the Tudor History Play'.

Author: 
Irving Ribner of Tulane University [ Christopher Marlowe; John Hopkins University, Baltimore; A Journal of English Literary History, ]
Publication details: 
[ Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press. ] 'Reprinted from ELH, A Journal of English Literary History, Vol. 22, No. 4, December, 1955.'
£35.00

11pp., 8vo, paginated 243-253. Stapled. In good condition, lightly aged. Inscribed at head of first page: 'Very cordially, | Irving Ribner'. No copies of this offprint found on either WorldCat or COPAC.

[ Irving Montagu of the Illustrated London News and Punch. ] Three Autograph Letters Signed (one 'Irving Montagu' and two 'Montagu') to Edward Draper

Author: 
Irving Montagu (1842-1901), war correspondent and artist of the Illustrated London News and Punch [ Edward Draper, London solicitor and writer on the theatre ]
Publication details: 
Two from Briar Cottage, Shepherds Bush, 2 and 7 January 1893. One on letterhead of 64 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square [ London ]. 'Saturday' [no date].
£56.00

The three items in fair condition, on aged and worn paper, the last two items with traces of grey paper from mounting adhering. ONE: From Charlotte Street. 'Saturday' (undataed). Signed 'Irving Montagu'. 2pp., 8vo. Arranging to dine at Draper's in the face of a clashing invitation. TWO: From Briar Cottage, 2 January 1893. 4pp., 12mo. Signed 'Montagu'.

[ Laurence Irving, Hollywood set designer. ] Two Typed Letters Signed ('Laurence' and 'Laurence Irving') to 'Teddy' [ set designer 'Edward Carrick',i.e. Edward Craig ], regarding the film industry and his membership of the Society of Art Directors.

Author: 
Laurence Irving (1897-1988), Hollywood set designer, artist and RAF Squadron Leader, grandson of the actor Sir Henry Irving [ 'Edward Carrick' [ Edward Craig (1905-1998) ],; Society of Art Directors ]
Publication details: 
Both on his letterhead, 11 Apple Tree Yard. 23 August and 24 November 1949.
£220.00

Both items in good condition, lightly-aged. ONE: 2pp., 4to. Having returned from 'a rather long painting expedition to France' he finds that 'circumstances have arisen in regard to the administration of the Society' [ the Society of British Film Art Directors and Designers, of which Craig was a leading light], and in the light of these circumstances Irving feels compelled to resign. 'It is [...] unlikely that I shall design any more films.

[Sir Henry Irving.] Eight collotype proof sepia engravings, seven showing him - five of them in character - and the other a scene of a dilapidated building.

Author: 
Sir Henry Irving [John Henry Brodribb] (1838-1905), English stage actor and actor-manager
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£120.00

The eight images are arranged in four pairs, each on the central pages of an 8vo bifolium. Dimensions of page: 24.5 x 16cm. Dimensions of image: 9 x 14cm. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Irving is shown in five roles, including Lear, Shylock, and Becket. Also present are two portraits of Irving out of character, and a picture of the exterior of a dilapidated building. Presumably intended for an early twentieth-century biography.

[Washington Irving's brother-in-law Henry Van Wart.] Signed bill, 'To Mess. P. Irving & Co | Merchants | Liverpool', 'In re Peter Irving & In re Washington Irving', carrying bankruptcy order; and Promissory Note; both payable to Messrs. Lewis C & Co.

Author: 
Henry Van Wart (1784-1873), American-born founder of the Birmingham Stock Exchange, England, and husband of Sarah Irving, sister of Washington Irving (1783-1859), American author and diplomat1
Publication details: 
Both items dated from Birmingham [England], the bill on 1 November 1816, and the promissory note on 1 July 1817. Both signed boldly by Henry van War
£1,000.00

 

[Printed auction catalogue.] Catalogue of the Valuable Library and the Collection of Old Play-Bills and Theatrical Prints of Sir Henry Irving, Deceased. [...] Commander of the Saxe-Ernestine Order, Late of 17 Stratton Street, W.

Author: 
[Sir Henry Irving [John Henry Brodribb] (1838-1905), British actor-manager; Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods, London auction house; Christies auctioneers]
Publication details: 
Revised Edition. Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods, at their Great Rooms, 8 King Street, St. James's Square. Monday, December 18, 1905 and following day.' [London: Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Limited.]
£150.00

8vo., 69pp. Unbound as issued. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and worn paper, with worn and chipped printed front wrap still present, with ownership inscription at head (''). 482 lots, with several of the books ticked in pencil. Included, as lots 95 to 112A, are 'specially printed copies of the various Lyceum Plays, as arranged for the Stage by SIR HENRY IRVING; they contain numerous manuscript alterations in the text in the handwriting of the great Actor, and are in consequence of very great interest'.

Autograph Journal, by Amy Mary Irving Driberg, mother of the Labour Party politician Tom Driberg [Baron Bradwell], titled 'Tom - School' and containing entries on his schooldays.

Author: 
Amy Mary Irving Driberg [née Bell] (d.1939), of Uckfield Lodge, Crowborough, mother of Tom Driberg [Thomas Edward Neil Driberg, Baron Bradwell] (1905-76), journalist and Labour Party politician
Publication details: 
Entries dating from 27 September 1910 to 30 July 1918.
£180.00

14pp., 12mo. In ruled notebook bound in black cloth. Titled 'Tom - School' at head of first page, with small section cut away from the front cover to make this visible. In fair condition on lightly-aged paper, with one slightly dogeared corner and light staining to blank leaves at the rear. Written while Driberg was between the ages of five and thirteen, and with the handwriting more untidy towards the end.

Beekeeping Diary of Amy Mary Driberg of Uckfield Lodge, Crowborough, mother of Labour politician Tom Driberg, containing dated and initialled autograph entries, and detailed accounts of honey taken, sold and given away, with a few ephemeral items.

Author: 
Amy Mary Irving Driberg (d.1939) [née Bell], of Uckfield Lodge, Crowborough, wife of J.J.S. Driberg, and mother of Labour politician Tom Driberg (Baron Bradwell) (1905-76) [beekeeping; apiculture]
Publication details: 
[Uckfield Lodge, Crowborough, Sussex.] Dated between 1 July 1932 and 4 July 1938.
£450.00

142pp., 4to. In a ruled notebook, bound in black cloth, with marbled endpapers. In fair condition, on aged paper, in worn binding with loss to a corner of a board. Starting at one end of the notebook is the diary of autograph entries, each dated and initialled by Mrs Driberg. In 1932 Mrs Driberg, a formidable Scottish widow in the last years of her life, has five hives (numbered 1 to 4, with a fifth observation hive), with a sixth hive (No. 5) added by 1934.

Autograph Letter Signed ('John S. Hart') from the American author and educator John Seely Hart, Principal of the Central High School, Philadelphia, to 'G. Harry Davis', accepting his election as an honorary member of the Irving Literary Institute.

Author: 
John Seely Hart (1810-1877), American author and educator, Professor of Languages at Princeton, Principal of Central High School, Philadelphia [G. Henry Davis, Secretary, Irving Literary Institute]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Central High School, Philadelphia; 15 May 1856.
£60.00

1p., 12mo. Fair, on aged paper. The letterhead features a steel engraving of the monolithic Central High School. Hart has received Davis' letter informing him that he has been 'elected an Honorary Member of the "Irving Literary Institute".' He asks Davis to 'communicate to the members of the Institute my thanks for the honor conferred, & say that I accept it with sincere pleasure.' Hart writes 'Mr. G. Harry Davis, | Secretary &c -', but the middle name is given as 'Henry' in printed texts.

[Printed] Index to the Life and Letters of Washington Irving

Author: 
[Washington Irving; J. Munnings]
Index to the Life and Letters of Washington Irving
Publication details: 
London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, 1864.
£450.00
Index to the Life and Letters of Washington Irving

Separately published from four volume edition (1862-4), pp.308-347, 8vo, printed paper wraps, darkened, wear at spine and corners, minor foxing, mainly good. Bentley (Turner) Index 1110, ascribed to J. Munnings. A bookseller on viaLibri reveals that an index is anticipated in the fourth volume of the Life and Letters published by Bentley, 1862-4. No mention is made of this Index in either COPAC or WorldCat's listings of copies of the Life and Letters. Very scarce.

Menu and programme for the 'Stourbridge Shakespearean Celebration. First Annual Dinner.'

Author: 
Stourbridge Shakespearean Celebration [Henry Irving; Herbert Beerbohm Tree; J. Forbes Robertson; Sidney Lee; Frank R. Benson]
Publication details: 
Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge, Wednesday 23rd April, 1902. J. T. Ford, Printer, Stourbridge.
£100.00

12mo: 20 pp. On art paper. Attached with yellow string in decorative printed card wraps. Good: lightly foxed in dusty wraps, with minor staining to blank inside wrap. The wraps, printed in red, blue and gold, feature a photo of Shakespeare's funerary bust within an embossed decorative border. Nicely printed with photos of Shakespeare's birthplace. Features the menu, a 'Toast List', a programme of music, lists of committee and patrons and extracts. Of interest are the three pages of letters, including dated communications from Henry Irving, J.

Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Joseph Hatton
Publication details: 
No place; December 1901.
£20.00

Piece of grey card, dimensions roughly 5 1/2 inches by 4 inches. In poor condition: grubby and discoloured, and crudely mounted on a piece of card. Novelist and journalist (1841-1907). Clearly in reply to a request for an autograph, Hatton has written, in a large hand, 'With pleasure - | Yours very truly | Joseph Hatton | Dec 1901'. Neatly docketed with a number '30' in a circle.

one autograph note signed to Mrs [?] Pagée,

Author: 
Henry Brodribb Irving
Publication details: 
9 December 1893, on letterhead of the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin.
£25.00

English actor-manager (1870-1919), elder son of the celebrated Henry Irving. "My wife has asked me to send you the . I do so with the greatest pleasure. [...]". Discoloured, with heavy creasing to margin, and traces of previous mounting on reverse of blank second leaf.

autograph letters signed (x 2).

Author: 
Tom Heslewood
Publication details: 
one 1910 and one 1940.
£20.00

Actor and costume designer (1868-?). The first letter, docketted "Alas poor Tom -", to Miss Grosvenor, 4 December 1940, 18 Selwood Terrace., 2 pp, 8vo. He apologises for not being able to attend any of her at homes. "I have been at Plymouth & Cardiff the last fortnight with H. B. Irving [Henry Brodribb Irving, 1870-1919] arranging his new play". The second letter, to L. E. Berman, 21 April 1940, with embossment 52 Temple Fortune Hill, 2 pp, 12mo, in stamped envelope addressed in autograph. He thanks him for forwarding the letter from Barking.

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