LONDON

['Death has taken a heavy toll': Sir Frank Dicksee, Victorian artist, President of the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to the widow of fellow-Royal Academician John Macallan Swan, accepting on behalf of the RA committee the gift of a bust.

Author: 
Frank Dicksee [Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee] (1853-1928), Victorian artist, President of the Royal Academy [Mary Anne Swan (née Rankin), wife of John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor
Publication details: 
10 May 1926; on letterhead of Greville House, 3 Greville Place, Maida Vale, NW6 [London].
£60.00

See his entry, and Swan's, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Seventeen stylish lines with bold signature. On first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed to 'Dear Mrs Swan' and signed 'Frank Dicksee'. Her letter gave him great pleasure and he has just had the opportunity of placing her 'very kind offer before the Council [of the Royal Academy]'. 'I need hardly tell you they are delighted to accept this valuable gift.

[Henry Luttrell [born Henry King], wit and poet.] Autograph Note Signed to Lady Theresa Lewis, accepting a dinner invitation.

Author: 
Henry Luttrell [born Henry King] (1768-1851), wit and poet [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
'B[rompton]. Square [London] / Monday March 20 [no year, but on paper watermarked 1847]'.
£50.00

See his entry and hers in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, folded once for postage. Written in the shaky hand of an old man, and reads: 'My dear Lady Teresa, [sic] / I accept, with very great pleasure your kind invitation to dinner on Saturday April 1st / ever faithfully Yours / H. Luttrell'.

['one of the Two Best Read Men in England': Abraham Hayward, author and translator.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir George Cornewall Lewis, regarding a memorandum to be published in The Times regarding a legal action with W. B. Ferrand.

Author: 
Abraham Hayward (1801-1884), Victorian man of letters and lawyer, whose translation of Goethe’s Faust was praised by Carlyle [Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863); William Busfeild Ferrand]
Publication details: 
‘Temple May 26’ [no year].
£120.00

The interesting context of the present item is explained in a quotation from Antony Chessell’s 2009 biography of Hayward (subtitled ‘one of the Two Best Read Men in England’ - the other was Macaulay) subjoined to this entry. See also the entries for Hayward and Lewis in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Sixty lines of text. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘My dear Lewis’ and signed ‘A. Hayward’. He begins by expressing regret that ‘any misapprehension has arisen from the introduction of Sir J Graham’s name in the Memorandum.

[Baron von Bunsen [Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen], Prussian Ambassador to the Court of St James’s.] Autograph Letter Signed and Autograph Note Signed to Lady Theresa Villiers, the letter with reference to a young child's party.

Author: 
Baron von Bunsen [Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen] (1791-1860), Prussian Ambassador to Court of St James’s [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
ANS: ‘4 Carlton Terrace [London] / Tuesday 24.’ ALS: ‘C. T. Thursday / 25’. Neither item has the full date.
£56.00

Written while Bunsen was Ambassador in London, 1841-1854. The recipient Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865) was the sister of the Liberal Foreign Secretary the 4th Earl of Clarendon, and successively the wife of the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842) and the Liberal politician Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), all of whom also have entries in the Oxford DNB. Both items in good condition, lightly aged, on pieces of gilt-edged paper, folded for postage. Bunsen is writing from part of what was known as ‘Prussia House’. ANS (‘Tuesday 24.’): 1p, 32mo.

['one of the Two Best Read Men in England': Abraham Hayward, author and translator.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Theresa Lewis, sending a gift of a ‘rarity’: a book limited to fifty copies.

Author: 
Abraham Hayward (1801-1884), Victorian man of letters and lawyer, whose translation of Goethe’s Faust was praised by Carlyle [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
‘Temple May 26’ [no year].
£56.00

See Antony Chessell’s 2009 biography of Hayward (subtitled ‘one of the Two Best Read Men in England’ - the other was Macaulay), along with his entry and Lady Theresa Lewis's in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Lady Theresa’ and signed ‘A Hayward’. He begins by confirming a visit. ‘I sent you a little book to-day which has at least the merit of rarity as only fifty copies have been printed.’

[Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd, author, judge and Radical politician.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘T Davis Esq’ regarding the acting of Henry Thomas Betty, son of 'the young Roscius'.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd (1795-1854), author, judge and Radical politician, friend of Charles Dickens and framer of modern British copyright law
Talfourd
Publication details: 
‘Serjeants’ Inn [London], 20 May, 1841’.
£180.00
Talfourd

Talfourd’s entry in the Oxford DNB notes that he was ‘particularly loved’ by Dickens, and that he ‘provided the archetype of the idealistic Tommy Traddles in David Copperfield; his children Frank and Kate gave their names to two youngsters in Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby.’ The subject of the letter is the actor Henry Thomas Betty (1819-1897), son of ‘the young Roscius’ Henry Betty (1791-1874), whose entry in the ODNB also see. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, and with slight traces of mount on reverse. Folded for postage. Begins: ‘My dear Sir, / Mr.

[Sir Francis Palgrave, archivist and scholar, Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir George Cornewall Lewis, regarding the assistance he can provide to Lewis's wife Lady Theresa Lewis's researches.

Author: 
Sir Francis Palgrave [born Francis Ephraim Cohen] (1788-1861), archivist, scholar, Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office [Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Chancellor of the Exchequer]
Publication details: 
'Rolls. [i.e. The Rolls House, Chancery Lane, London] 10 June 1850'.
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, and that of the recipient, who is not named, but is Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer, husband of the author Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865; ODNB), with whom he lived in Kent House in Knightsbridge. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. 3pp, 12mo. Signed ‘F. Palgrave’. Written in a difficult hand. Begins: ‘My dear Sir / I should never think of [?] upon Lady Theresa the labour of searching through our dusty records’.

[Sir Henry Ellis, Principal Librarian at the British Museum.] Autograph Letter in the third person to Lady Theresa Lewis, informing her that he has information relating to Lady Catherine Gray.

Author: 
Sir Henry Ellis (1777-1869), Principal Librarian at the British Museum, 1827-1856 [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
‘British Museum [London] / May 19. 1852’.
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, with that of the recipient Lady [Maria] Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), who lived in Kent House in Knightsbridge with her second husband Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Bart, Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer, her first husband having been the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. ‘Sir Henry Ellis presents his Compliments to Lady Theresa Lewis he has at last found the Letter, from the incumbent of Foxford, which gives the date of the Burial there of Lady Catherine Gray.

[Sir Henry Ellis, Principal Librarian at the British Museum.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir George Cornewall Lewis, regarding a reader's ticket for Henry Christian, and sending information for the recipient's wife the author Lady Theresa Lewis.

Author: 
Sir Henry Ellis (1777-1869), Principal Librarian at the British Museum, 1827-1856 [Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Bart, Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer]
Publication details: 
‘British Museum [London] / April 15. 1853’.
£120.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo, on first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Signed ‘Henry Ellis’ and addressed to ‘G. Cornewall Lewis Esq’. Begins: ‘My dear Sir / Mr Henry Christian will have a Card for our Reading Room sent to him this morning, and I will speak to Sir Frederic Madden to afford Mr. Christian the accommodation which he wishes to have in the MS.

[Sir Francis Palgrave, archivist and scholar, Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office.] Two Autograph Letters Signed and an Autograph Letter in the third person to Lady Theresa Lewis, aiding her in her biographical investigations.

Author: 
Sir Francis Palgrave [born Francis Ephraim Cohen] (1788-1861), archivist and scholar, Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Sir Francis Palgrave
Publication details: 
13 June 1850, 14 May 1851, 5 February 1852. All from the Rolls House [Chancery Lane, London].
£180.00
Sir Francis Palgrave

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, with that of the recipient Lady [Maria] Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), who lived in Kent House in Knightsbridge with her second husband Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Bart, Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer, her first husband having been the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). The three items are in good condition, lightly aged. Written in a difficult hand. ONE (13 June 1850, ‘Rolls House’): AL in the third person. 1p, 12mo. ‘Sir F.

[J. T. Delane [John Thadeus Delane, distinguished editor of The Times.] Autograph Letter Signed to the Earl of Clarendon, introducing Wimpore Cooke, who is going out to China as Times special correspondent, and asks what 'course' should be 'pursued'.

Author: 
J. T. Delane [John Thadeus Delane (1817-1879)], editor of The Times, 1841-1877 [Lord Clarendon [George William Frederick Villiers (1800-1870), 4th Earl of Clarendon, Liberal Foreign Secretary]
Publication details: 
6 April [1859]. No place.
£75.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of a bifolium, the second docketed ‘Mr. Delane / April 6/59 / Introd. Mr Wimpore Cooke - Times Correspt in China -’. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Addressed to ‘The Earl of Clarendon’ and signed ‘John T. Delane’. Reads: ‘My dear Lord, / I should be much obliged if you would receive the bearer, Mr.

[J. T. Delane [John Thadeus Delane, distinguished editor of The Times.] Autograph Note in the third person to Lady Theresa Lewis, declining a dinner engagement.

Author: 
J. T. Delane [John Thadeus Delane (1817-1879)], editor of The Times, 1841-1877 [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
Publication details: 
‘18 Serjeants Inn / December 8th.’ [no year, but between 1844 and 1863]
£45.00

See his entry, and hers, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Addressed to ‘The Lady Theresa Lewis’. Reads: ‘Mr Delane regrets sincerely that a previous engagement will prevent him from having the honour of waiting upon Sir G. Cornewall and Lady Theresa Lewis on Thursday the 13th. In 1844 Lady Theresa married her second husband, the future Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), her first having been the novelist Thomas Henry Lister. (1800-1842)

[George Ticknor, Professor of French and Spanish at Harvard.] Autograph Letter Signed [to the novelist Thomas Henry Lister?], presenting a copy of Prescott’s ‘Ferdinand and Isabella’, ‘written by a friend in America’ and liked by Hallam and Southey.

Author: 
George Ticknor (1791-1871), Professor of French and Spanish at Harvard [William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859), American historian; Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), English novelist]
Publication details: 
‘Brunswick Hotel [Jermyn Street, London] / May 26. 1838.’
£380.00

Signed ‘Geo. Ticknor’. The male recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of the author Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), successively wife of the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842) and the Liberal politician Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), all of whom have entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of a bifolium, with a trace of glue from mount to the second leaf. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage.

[Henry Francis Cary, translator of Dante, poet, author and Assistant Librarian at the British Museum.] Autograph Letter Signed [to the novelist Thomas Henry Lister], expressing thanks for the placing of one of his sons in a good situation.

Author: 
Henry Francis Cary (1772-1844), translator of Dante, poet, author and Assistant Librarian at the British Museum [Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), novelist]
Publication details: 
‘Brit. Museum. [London] / Decr 11th. 1837’.
£45.00

See Cary's entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. The recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of Lady Maria Theresa Lewis, and the letter is written to her first husband, the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), whose father Thomas Lister of Armitage Park was a childhood friend of Cary's (see his 1847 biography by his son).

[George Ticknor, Professor of French and Spanish at Harvard.] Autograph Signature and address of letter to Lady Theresa Villiers from cover of envelope.

Author: 
George Ticknor (1791-1871), Professor of French and Spanish at Harvard [Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), author]
George Ticknor
Publication details: 
With partial Boston postmark. No year [but between 1844 and ]
£80.00
George Ticknor

The recipient Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865) was successively wife of the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842) and the Liberal politician Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), all of whom have entries in the Oxford DNB. The present item is an 11.5 x 8 cm panel of light-brown paper from the front cover of an envelope. Part of a large Boston postmark is at the left, with a manuscript ‘2’ written over a few letters of the address. All in Ticknor’s hand, it reads: ‘Lady Teresa Lewis / South Place, / Knightsbridge / London, SW.’, with the signature ‘Geo: Ticknor’ at bottom left.

[Baron von Bunsen [Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen], Prussian Ambassador to the Court of St James’s.] Autograph Letter Signed, in English, to the English Foreign Secretary Lord Clarendon, regarding a railway journey with Count Groeben.

Author: 
Baron von Bunsen [Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen] (1791-1860), Prussian Ambassador to Court of St James’s [Lord Clarendon [George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon]
Publication details: 
‘Prussia House [i.e. Prussian embassy, London] Monday’. [Annotated: ‘Chev Bunsen / March 1854’.]
£50.00

Written while Bunsen was Ambassador in London, 1841-1854. See the recipient's entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo, on the first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with strip cut from second leaf, which is docketed ‘Chev Bunsen / March 1854 / Interieur’. The letter reads: ‘My dear Lord Clarendon / I shall not fail to be at the appointed time, to-morrow eleven o’clock, at the Railway Station, and bring Count Groeben with me (who is enchanted with your reception & concersation). / Every yours faithfully / Bunsen’.

[Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London.] Five Autograph Letters Signed (all ‘B. London’) to Thomas Maurice of the British Museum, two with detailed criticism of Maurice’s poem on Pitt the Younger.

Author: 
Beilby Porteus (1731-1809), Bishop of London [Thomas Maurice (1754-1824), Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, Anglican cleric and oriental scholar]
Publication details: 
1798, 1800 (2), 1806 and 1807 (the last apparently a mistake for 1806). The first from St James’s Square, the last from Clifton, the others from Sundridge [Kent].
£250.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. The five items are in good condition, lightly aged, with each on a 4to bifolium, and all folded for postage. In a neat and attractive hand. The text of each letter is on the first leaf, and the first two letters are addressed by Porteus on the reverse of the second leaf, each with broken seals in red wax. In Letters Four and Five Porteus lays out his objections to Maurice’s ‘Elegy on the late Right Honourable William Pitt’, published in 1806 under the name ‘T. M.’ ONE (St James’s Square, 10 April 1898): 1p, 4to. Addressed to ‘Revd. Mr Maurice / No.

[‘you are much too young & handsome to be convenient’: Edward Jerningham, high-society poet and playwright, protégé of Horace Walpole.] Unsigned Autograph Letter, flirting with unnamed male recipient, and giving details of his relation Lady Stafford.

Author: 
Edward Jerningham (1737-1812), high-society poet and playwright, protégé of Horace Walpole on whom Sheridan is said to have based the character of Sir Benjamin Backbite in ‘The School for Scandal’
Publication details: 
1798. No other details.
£280.00

Jerningham’s entry in the Oxford DNB, states that he died unmarried, ‘despite habitual flirtations with young actresses’; the present letter indicates that the members of the other sex were not exempted from his attentions. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, on a leaf of laid watermarked paper, folded for postage. Twenty-six lines of text. Dated ‘1798’ at top right, with ‘From Edward Jerningham the Poet’ above it. Unsigned, but in Jerningham's distinctive hand.

[Sir Adrian Boult, distinguished English conductor.] Autograph Signature 'Adrian C. Boult' on card.

Author: 
Sir Adrian Boult [Sir Adrian Cedric Boult] (1889-1983), distinguished English conductor, at the BBC and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
[Sir Adrian Boult
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£30.00
[Sir Adrian Boult

See Michael Kennedy's assessment of Boult, in his entry in the Oxford DNB: 'In the music he admired most, Boult was often a great conductor; in the rest, an extremely conscientious one.' Good bold signature ('Adrian C. Boult') is centred on one side of an 11.5 x 9 cm piece of card. The signature and the space around it are clear, but the discoloured card has a smudge on it, and carries traces of previous mount on reverse. At foot of signed side, in pencil:Sir Adrian Boult - Conductor of the B.B.C.Orchestra London / Famous English Conductor'. See Image.

[Sir Thomas Beecham, celebrated English conductor associated with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras.] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961), celebrated English conductor associated with the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras
Thomas Beecham
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£30.00
Thomas Beecham

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Beecham’s signature (‘Thomas Beecham’) on an otherwise-blank 12.5 x 5.5 cm piece of paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of mount adhering to the reverse. The signature, which has no flourish, is tighter than usual, and rising slightly. See Image.

['I write it as rapidly as I can, with my head full of Marcel': Pamela Hansford Johnson, writer and playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed to V. H. Collins, discussing her Proust-inspired BBC radio play 'Madame de Charlus'.

Author: 
Pamela Hansford Johnson [married name Pamela Helen Hansford Snow, Lady Snow] (1912-1981), writer and playwright, wife of the novelist C. P. Snow [Vere Henry Collins, author]
Publication details: 
31 December 1954. On letterhead of Nethergate House, Clare, Suffolk.
£56.00

An interesting letter, in which Johnson discusses her writing practice. See her entry and that of her husband in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. 2pp, 12mo. 27 lines of text. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight rust spotting from a paperclip. Folded twice for postage. On the topic of ‘Madame de Charlus’, one of the ‘Six Proust Reconstructions’ - plays by Johnson inspired by the work of Marcel Proust - just broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, she thanks him for his ‘most kind & pleasing letter’.

[Michael Sadleir, novelist, biographer and bibliographer.] Typed Letter Signed to V. H. Collins, apologising for a grammatical error, and informing him that he is ordering a copy of his book ‘The Choice of Words’.

Author: 
Michael Sadleir [Michael Thomas Harvey Sadleir, formerly Sadler] (1888-1957), novelist, biographer and bibliographer [Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), author and literary stylist]
Publication details: 
12 August 1953. On letterhead of [Constable & Co.,] 10 Orange Street, London WC2.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with a crease, dogeared corner and small nick. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘Michael Sadleir’. He is grateful to Collins ‘for pointing out the careless grammatical mistake of mine in the SUNDAY TIMES review. It is only too easy to slip into a conversational style (for I think that what I meant was perfectly clear) when writing rapid condensations for a newspaper.

[Astley Cooper [Sir Astley Paston Cooper], distinguished surgeon and anatomist.] Autograph Note Signed, requesting that the botanist and antiquary Dawson Turner vote for his nephew's membership of the Athenaeum club.

Author: 
Astley Cooper [Sir Astley Paston Cooper] (1768-1841), distinguished surgeon and anatomist [Dawson Turner (1775-1858), botanist and antiquary]
Astley Cooper
Publication details: 
‘Conduit St [London] / June 23rd / 1830.’
£80.00
Astley Cooper

The two men were both from Norfolk: see their entries in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo, on the recto of the first leaf a bifolium, the verso of the second leaf being addressed by Cooper to ‘Dawson Turner Esq / Yarmouth / Norfolk’, with postmark and ‘More to Pay 1d’ and ‘Post Paid’, and small seal with impression in red wax. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage, and minor traces of stub adhering to one edge. Reads: ‘Dear Sir, / You will greatly oblige me y voting for my Nephew Mr. Astley Cooper for the Athenaeum - / Yours very truly / Astley Cooper’. See Image.

[Astley Cooper [Sir Astley Paston Cooper], distinguished anatomist.] Correspondence with fellow-surgeon Nicholas Birch, comprising two Autograph Letters Signed and six Autograph Notes Signed.

Author: 
Astley Cooper [Sir Astley Paston Cooper] (1768-1841), distinguished surgeon and anatomist
Publication details: 
One dated 23 March 1827, two with 1824 postmarks; the rest undated.
£220.00

Giving an insight into the nuts and bolts of Georgian medical practice. See Cooper's entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient was the son-in-law of the apothecary William Complin (1729-1808), and lived in Mansell Street from the latter’s death until his own, and was possibly succeeded at the address by his son George, also a surgeon. The material is in good condition, lightly worn, on aged paper. All items 1p, 12mo, and four on bifoliums addressed on second leaf. All six signed ‘Astley Cooper’. ONE: ALS. ‘Tuesday’.

[Sir E. A. Waterlow [Sir Ernest Albert Waterlow], RA, English artist.] Autograph Letter Signed, responding to congratulations on his election to the Royal Academy from ‘Mr. Haynes King’, with two signed reproductions of his paintings.

Author: 
Sir E. A. Waterlow [Sir Ernest Albert Waterlow] (1850-1919), English artist [The Royal Academy of Arts, London]
Sir E. A. Waterlow
Publication details: 
Letter of 22 January 1903; on letterhead of 1 Maresfield Gardens, Fitzjohns Avenue, N.W. [London].
£220.00
Sir E. A. Waterlow

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The letter is 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight discoloration to margin at head and light rust spot. Reads: ‘Dear Mr. Haynes King, / It was extremely kind of you to write & congratulate me on my election as R.A. & I appreciate the attention very much.

[Birket Foster, artist, and Edmund Evans, engraver.] Proofs of three engravings by Evans from drawings by Birket Foster, which appeared in Maria Webb, ‘The Fells of Swarthmoor Hall’.

Author: 
Birket Foster [Myles Birket Foster] (1825-1899), Northumberland painter and illustrator; Edmund Evans (1826-1905), engraver
Birket Foster
Publication details: 
From book published in 1865 in London by Alfred W. Bennet, 5 Bishopsgate Without.
£250.00
Birket Foster

See the two men's entries in the Oxford DNB. Webb’s book contained four engravings from drawings by Birket Foster, the last (‘The Tomb of Thomas Lawson’) of which is absent. The first has ‘E. EVANS Sc.’ engraved into the plate; the other two, evidently the work of the same hand, are unattributed. Three proof engravings, on wove paper roughly 20.5 x 13.5. All in good condition, very lightly spotted and worn, and certainly suitable for display. ONE (the frontispiece): Captioned, ‘SWARTHMOOR HALL.

[Alexander Pope, Augustan poet.] Two large facsimile pages, each reproducing a proof of a page (69 and 70) from Pope’s ‘Epistles’, with facsimile of his autograph corrections.

Author: 
Alexander Pope, Augustan poet; John Murray, London publishers
Pope
Publication details: 
The original dates from the 1730s. The present facsimiles are mid- to late Victorian, and probably the work of the London publishers John Murray.
£280.00
Pope

Curious items. Yale has the originals of these pages, in an ‘Album, formerly owned by John Murray, containing items either by Pope or related to him, 1717-1855’, described as ‘original proof of two pages from Pope's Epistles, pages 69 and 70, with the author's corrections’. Each of the present items is printed on a 28.5 x 37.5 cm leaf of wove paper. A previous owner(lord Houghton in fact) thought highly-enough of them to include them in an album, as a profession white stub adheres neatly at the left of each.

['Zadkiel' (Richard James Morrison, ' the most famous astrologer of Victorian times').] Ten-year run of ‘Zadkiel’s Almanac’, 1851 to 1860.

Author: 
'Zadkiel', i.e. Richard James Morrison (1795-1874), 'the most famous astrologer of Victorian times'; Zadkiel’s Almanac, London
Publication details: 
1851 to 1860; London. 1851 and 1852 published by Hall & Co.; 1853 and 1854 by Piper Brothers & Co.; 1855 to 1858 by Piper, Stephenson & Spence; 1859 and 1860 by George Berger.
£450.00

Morrison’s entry in the Oxford DNB describes him as ‘the most famous astrologer of Victorian times’. The present nonce-collection contains ten yearly issues of ‘Zadkiel’s Almanac’, in workmanlike black-cloth binding. Some of the outer leaves heavily discoloured, and the whole somewhat worn, otherwise in fair condition. All in 12mo, and with much the same lay-out of the title-page. Occasional illustrations. Title-pages state print-runs between ‘Twentieth Thousand’ (1851) and ‘Forty-second Thousand’ (1855 and 1856).

[William Carruthers, FRS, Scottish botanist and paleobotanist.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Bernard Piffard] in his capacity as Keeper of the Botanical Department at the Natural History Museum, London, regarding the identification of specimens.

Author: 
William Carruthers (1830-1922), FRS, Scottish botanist and paleobotanist, Keeper of the Botanical Department at the Natural History Museum, London [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
19 December 1888. On letterhead of the ‘British Museum (Natural History), / Cromwell Road, / London: S.W’.
£56.00

2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged (blank second leaf slightly damaged). Folded twice. Recipient not named, but is from the Piffard papers. Good bold signature ‘W. Carruthers’. Reads: ‘Dear Sir / The enclosed specimens are all certainly fish coprolites. / I would have returned them sooner but I was anxious to see Mr Etteridge who I understood from Mr Brody said they were cones. / I have only to-day been able to see him, and hee says that he has no doubt about the these [sic] specimens being Coprolites.’

['The Father of British Physiology': William Sharpey, Professor at University College, London.] Autograph Signature on engraved ticket to his lecture on ‘Anatomy & Physiology’, made out for the microscopist Bernard Piffard.

Author: 
William Sharpey (1802-1880), Scottish anatomist and phyisologist ('the father of British physiology''), friend of Charles Darwin [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Sharpey
Publication details: 
University College, London. The ticket is 'Renewed 1st Octr. 1861 Perpetual 1 Jany 1852 Session 1861-62.'
£100.00
Sharpey

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. Signed ‘W Sharpey’ on ticket engraved in copperplate on one side of 15 x 10.5 cm card. In fair condition, a little worn and somewhat discoloured with age, and with short vertical crease to the left of the signature. Blind-stamped with ‘Treasury Seal’. The signature is at bottom right, with number of ticket (59) and the initials of the secretary ‘’ at bottom left. Attractively laid out, with text reading ‘University College, London. / Anatomy and Physiology. / William Sharpey, MD. / Professor. / Admit Mr.

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