NINETEENTH

[Hugh Macmillan, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Langbridge’, regarding a subscription, his admiration for the recipient’s writing, and ‘this glorious spot’.

Author: 
Hugh Macmillan (1833-1903), Scottish minister, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland
Publication details: 
29 August 1900; Loch-an Eilan, Aviemore, Strathspey [Scotland].
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo, on bifolium. Sixty lines of text. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Langbridge’ and signed ‘Hugh Macmillan’. The handwriting is hard to read. Begins: ‘At this distance from post-offices I cannot get a postal-order conveniently to send a subscription of 10/6d. half-a-guinea for your Presentation’. He will organize payment on his return, and asks for his name to be put down on rhw subscription list.

[H. R. Haweis [Hugh Reginald Haweis], cleric and musicologist, editor of Cassell’s Magazine.] Autograph Card Signed to John Bacon of Blackburn, regarding his next work, and the provision of photographic portraits of him.

Author: 
H. R. Haweis [Hugh Reginald Haweis] (1838-1901), Church of England cleric and musicologist, editor of Cassell’s Magazine, husband of the illustrator Mary Haweis (1848-1898)
Publication details: 
‘Amber House July 11’ [with St John’s Wood postmark of 11 July 1882].
£50.00

See his entry, and that of his wife, in the Oxford DNB. Plain postcard addressed by Haweis to ‘John Bacon Esqr / 48 Griffin St / Wilton / Blackburn’. In fair condition, discoloured and worn. Reads: ‘Dear Sir. / My next work will be duly advertised. My photographs can be got from Fry & Co. 68 East St. Brighton (& my wife’s also). Thanks for all kind words. / H R Haweis. / Amber House July 11’.

[William Bodham Donne, Librarian, London Library, Examiner of Plays, Lord Chamberlain’s Office.] Printed offprint of synopsis of Royal Institution talk: ‘On the Works of Chaucer, considered as Historical Illustrations of England in the 14th Century.’

Author: 
W. B. Donne [William Bodham Donne] (1807-1882), journalist, Librarian of the London Library, Examiner of Plays in the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, friend of Edward FitzGerald [Royal Institution]
Publication details: 
'Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, April 25, 1856.' [London.]
£45.00

The present item differs from the version published on pp.248-254 of the ‘Notices of the Proceedings’, vol.2 (1854-1858), and no other copy has been traced. Drophead title: ‘Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, April 25, 1856. / Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Bart. D.C.L. F.R.S. Vice-President, in the Chair. / W. B. Donne, Esq. / On the Works of Chaucer, considered as Historical Illustrations of England in the 14th Century.’ 10pp, 16mo, paginated [1]-10. In very good condition, lightly aged. Stabbed as issued, with no wraps, and unopened. Begins: ‘MR.

[Sir Edward Malet, British diplomat.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mrs. Vaughan Williams’, explaining why he cannot accept her invitation, and sending tickets to ‘some tableaux vivants’ at the house of the Princesse Caraman-chimay.

Author: 
Sir Edward Malet [Sir Edward Baldwin Malet] (1837-1908), diplomat, successively Consul-General in Egypt, and British Ambassador to Belgium and Germany
Publication details: 
2 April 1884, on letterhead of the ‘Legation d’Angleterre’ (British Embassy in Brussels).
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. An area torn away at the head of the first leaf (with the loss of one word of text) has been skilfully repaired with archival paper; otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. He apologizes for being unable to ‘come to your at home tomorrow as I can not go to any parties till after the funeral of the Duke of Albany’. He asks her to ‘accept and make use of’ tickets ‘for some tableaux vivants which are to take place tomorrow night at the house of the Princesse de Caraman-chimay.

[Sir James Philip Lacaita [Giacomo Filippo Lacaita], Anglo-Italian politician and scholar.] Printed offprint of synopsis of Royal Institution talk: ‘On Dante and the “Divina Commedia.”’

Author: 
Sir James Philip Lacaita [Giacomo Filippo Lacaita] (1813-1895), Anglo-Italian politician and scholar [Royal Institution of Great Britain]
Publication details: 
‘Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, May 18, 1855.’ [London.]
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Although reset, the text of the present five-page synopsis does not appear to differ from that printed on pp.118-433 of the ‘Notices of the Proceedings’, vol.2 (1854-1858). No other copy of this offprint has been traced. In very good condition, lightly aged. Drophead title: ‘Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, May 18, 1855. / Rev.. John Barlow, M.A. F.R.S. Vice-President and Secretary, in the Chair. / James Philip Lacaita, Esq. LL.D. / On Dante and the “Divina Commedia.”’ 5pp, 16mo, bifolium, paginated [1]-5.

[Sir Lyon Playfair, chemist and Liberal politician.] Printed offprint of synopsis of Royal Institution talk: ‘On the Food of Man in relation to his Useful Work.’

Author: 
Sir Lyon Playfair [Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair; Lord Playfair] (1818-1898), chemist and Liberal politician, born in India of Scottish extraction [Royal Institution of Great Britain]
Publication details: 
'Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, April 28, 1865.' [London.]
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The full lecture, fifty-four pages in length, was published for Playfair in Edinburgh by Edmonston & Douglas in 1865, with the subtitle ‘Lecture delivered at the Royal Society, Edinburgh, 3d April 1865, and Royal Institution, London, 28th April 1865.’ Although reset, the text of the present three-page synopsis does not appear to differ from the version printed on pp.431-433 of the ‘Notices of the Proceedings’, vol.4 (1862-1866). No other copy of this offprint has been traced. In very good condition, lightly aged.

[Rollo Russell, meteorologist, son of Lord John Russell and uncle of Bertrand Russell.] Autograph Postcard Signed.

Author: 
Rollo Russell [Francis Albert Rollo Russell] (1849-1914), meteorologist and scientific writer, son of Liberal Prime Minister Lord John Russell and uncle of philosopher Bertrand Russell
Russell
Publication details: 
No date, but with Haslemere postmark of 8 May 1895. In autograph: 'Dunrozel. Haslemere.'
£45.00
Russell

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11.5 x 9 cm plain post card with printed half penny stamp. In fair condition, lightly aged, with dog eared corner and spike hole (through part of address on one side and blank space at bottom left on message side). Addressed by Russell to ‘The Secretary / Society of Arts / John St / Adelphi / London / W.C.’ Reads: ‘Dunrozel, Haslemere. / In reply I beg to say I shd like the Journal “supplied in a bound volume at the conclusion of the Vol. in Nov.” / J. A. R. Russell’.

[Ruby Miller, actress, one of the ‘Gaiety Girls’.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Popie’ (the theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope), regarding BBC TV, ‘the Gaiety fiasco’ and ‘Gaiety Girls who married out of the peerage & retired into the country’.

Author: 
Ruby Miller [Ruby Laura Rose Miller] (1889-1976), actress, one of George Edwardes' 'Gaiety Girls' [W. J. MacQueen-Pope [‘Popie’] (1888-1960), theatre historian]
Publication details: 
16 July 1957; on her letterhead.
£50.00

See her entry and his in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Signed ‘Ruby’. Begins: ‘Popie, darling, / What are we coming to? / You - as a pierrot with the “Fol-de-Rols”! / BBC/TV must be mad not to let you do a talk on the St. James’s. / But after the Gaiety fiasco I can believe anything of them.

[Herbert Thurston, SJ, Roman Catholic liturgical scholar and member of the Society for Psychical Research.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding Samuel Butler and the ‘Oxford theory’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Author: 
Herbert Thurston [Herbert Henry Charles Thurston] (1856–1939), Jesuit priest, Roman Catholic liturgical scholar, andt member of the Society for Psychical Research [Samuel Butler; William Shakespeare]
Publication details: 
3 December 1930; on letterhead of 114 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, London, W.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The recipient is not identified. Addressed to ‘My dear Sir’ and signed ‘Herbert Thurston’. He begins by thanking him for ‘the nice things you say’, and continues: ‘I fear I have no defence as regards Samuel Butler. I knew that he had written on the Sonnets and that some people thought highly of his book but I have never seen it. The fact was that I was provoked into talking up the question by some friends who have recently become obsessed by the Oxford theory.

[F. D. Maurice [John Frederick Denison Maurice], Anglican theologian, one of the founders of Christian Socialism.] Printed offprint of synopsis of Royal Institution talk: ‘Milton considered as a Schoolmaster.'

Author: 
F. D. Maurice [John Frederick Denison Maurice] (1805-1872), Anglican theologian, one of the founders of Christian Socialism [John Milton; Royal Institution of Great Britain]
Publication details: 
'Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, January 30, 1857.' [London.]
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The full text of Maurice’s lecture was printed posthumously on pp.268-299 of his ‘The Friendship of Books and Other Lectures’ (1880). Although reset, the text of the present six-page synopsis does not appear to differ from that printed on pp.328-333 of the ‘Notices of the Proceedings’, vol.2 (1854-1858). No other copy of this offprint has been traced. In very good condition, lightly aged. Drophead title: ‘Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, January 30, 1857. / William Pole, Esq. M.A. F.R.S.

[Berta Ruck, popular writer of romantic fiction.] Typed Letter Signed to the theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope, asking for advice and praising his later book, with observations on reminiscence.

Author: 
Berta Ruck [Amy Roberta Ruck, Mrs. Oliver Onions] (1878-1978), prolific writer of romantic fiction, born in India of Welsh extraction [W. Macqueen-Pope [‘Popie’] (1888-1960), theatre historian]
Publication details: 
2 June 1950; Pomona, Aberdovey, Merioneth.
£56.00

See her entry and his in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and slightly creased at extremities. Addressed to ‘My Dear Mr. MacQueen Pope’ and signed (in block capitals) ‘BERTA RUCK’.

[Sibell, Lady Wyndham (previously Countess Grosvenor).] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Sibell Grosvenor’) to the opera singer Madame Albani, discussing the death of her father-in-law the Duke of Westminster.

Author: 
Lady Wyndham [previously Sibell Mary Grosvenor (née Lumley, daughter of the Earl of Scarborough), Countess Grosvenor] (1855-1929), wife of George Wyndham [Dame Emma Albani (1847-1930), opera singer]
Publication details: 
‘Epiphany [6 January] 1901’; on letterhead of the Chief Secretary’s Lodge, Phoenix Park, Dublin.
£60.00

See the entry on her second husband George Wyndham in the Oxford DNB. Wyndham had been appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland a few months previously (October 1900). His plans were ambitious, but after some success they would flounder, leading to a nervous breakdown: within four years of the present letter the Prime Minister Arthur Balfour would write to Lady Wyndham that was ‘utterly ruined’ and ‘really hardly sane’. See also the ODNB entry on the recipient. 4pp, 12mo, with text concluding crossways at top of first three pages. Bifolium with mourning border. In fair condition, lightly aged.

[Edward Hubert Fitchew, artist & editor; Nelson] Autograph Letter Signed to Herbert Wrigley Wilson, discussing the printing of a book (‘Nelson and His Times’ by Beresford and Wilson, 1898). With two pages covered in notes in another hand (Wilson’s?).

Author: 
Edward Hubert Fitchew (1851-1934), artist and editor [Herbert Wrigley Wilson (1866-1940), journalist and naval historian; Her Majesty’s Printing Office, London]
Nelson
Publication details: 
10 January 1898. On letterhead of Her Majesty’s Printing Office, 6 Middle New Street, Fetter Lane, E.C. [London].
£220.00
Nelson

An interesting item, providing a sidelight into the process of Victorian scholarly editing and publication. Fitchew’s letter is 2pp, 4to, on the outer pages of a bifolium; the inner pages being filled with notes (citations?) in a minuscule hand, possibly the recipient’s. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, and folded for postage. Addressed to ‘H. W. Wilson’ and signed ‘E. H. Fitchew’. The letter begins: ‘Dear Mr. Wilson / I think it is possible we may want a little more letterpress, but probably not much. Up to end of pt. 7 we have used 82 slips.

[Edmund Yates, journalist and author, friend of Dickens, proprietor of The World newspaper.] Autograph Note Signed to ‘A. Williams Esqre.’, regarding an ‘extract from the Liverpool Mercury’.

Author: 
Edmund Yates [Edmund Hodgson Yates] (1831-1894), Scottish journalist and author, friend of Charles Dickens, proprietor of The World newspaper
Publication details: 
8 April 1879; on embossed ‘Old Father Time’ letterhead of ‘Time Monthly Magazine’, 1 York Street, Covent Garden, London WC.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged; folded for postage. Addressed ‘To / A. Williams Esqre.’ from ‘Edmund Yates.’ Written in purple ink. Reads ‘Dear Sir / I am much obliged to you for your politeness in forwarding me the extract from the Liverpool Mercury. / Faithfully your’s, [sic] / Edmund Yates.’

[Charles Gilpin, Quaker politician, Liberal Member of Parliament for Northampton, friend of Kossuth and Garibaldi]. Autograph Note Signed, explaining to ‘Mr J Holden’ that he has mistaken his identity.

Author: 
Charles Gilpin (1815-1874), Quaker politician, Liberal Member of Parliament for Northampton, abolitionist, prison reformer, friend of Kossuth and Garibaldi, who both stayed at his London home
Publication details: 
29 April [no year]. On embossed letterhead of 10 Bedford Square [London].
£45.00

The address from which this letter is sent is said to have been 'the English home of Louis Kossuth and Garibaldi'. 1p, 12mo. On aged paper, and with strip of discoloration from glue along the inner edge, the detaching of the item from its mount having caused a little wear to a couple of words of text. Reads: ‘Dear Sir, / Northampton is the only Constituency I have represented in Parliament - I am not [last word underlined] the author of the work you allude to / Yours truly / C Gilpin’.

[Beauchamp Tower, inventor and railway engineer.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Dick’ [Sir Richard Harington], describing the contest for North Sea Trophy, and the presentation by the German emperor, written from the winning yacht ‘Dianthus’.

Author: 
Beauchamp Tower (1845-1904), English inventor and railway engineer [Sir Richard Harington (1861-1931), Puisne Judge in High Court of Justice, Fort William, Bengal]
Publication details: 
‘Yacht “Dianthus” / Copenhagen / June 29th / 1899’.
£180.00

In this letter Tower describes his personal experience of the winning of the North Sea trophy by C. L. Salaman’s 35-ton yacht Dianthus. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper chipped at head. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘My dear Dick’ and signed ‘Beauchamp Tower’. A long letter with 105 lines of text. He begins by congratulating Harington ‘on getting an Indian judge ship which will enable you to marry, though I and all your other friends will be very sorry to lose you’.

[Blanchard Jerrold, journalist and author.] Signature and autograph paraphrase of passage from his ‘Life of Napoleon III - Vol 2.’, written out for an album.

Author: 
Blanchard Jerrold [William Blanchard Jerrold] (1826-1884), journalist and author
Publication details: 
No place or date, but after the book’s publication in 1874.
£56.00

Part of leaf from autograph album, cut into an irregular shape. In fair condition, on lightly aged and discoloured paper, with film of dried glue from mount on blank reverse. The passage, which curiously enough does not correspondend with the printed text, reads (with three mistakes scored through): ‘Life of Napoleon III - Vol 2. / The Government, it is true, endeavoured to prevail upon Queen Hortense to request him to give his word that he would remain in America for ten years; but she replied that Prince Louis was master of his own actions & she would not endeavour to influence them.

[Sir Stafford Northcote, Conservative politician.] Two Autograph Letters Signed, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, giving instructions while away at Balmoral to his private secretary Sir John Arrow Kempe.]

Author: 
Sir Stafford Northcote [Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh] (1818-1887), Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1874-1880 [his private secretary Sir John Arrow Kempe (1846-1928)]
Publication details: 
7 and 8 September 1876; from Balmoral [Scotland] on cancelled letterhead of 11 Downing Street, Whitehall [London].
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Both addressed to ‘Dear Kempe’. ONE (7 September 1876): 1p, 12mo. Signed ‘St N’. He asks Kempe to get him ‘Mr Gladstone’s pamphlet’, and would also ‘like to have Mr. Evans’ recent work about Bosnia and Herzegovina, published I think by Longman.’ He ends with news of his plans, and asks in a postscript: ‘What do you say to the Revenue returns?’ TWO (8 September 1876): 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Signed ‘Stafford H. Northcote’. He will be travelling from Balmoral ‘to Sir J.

[Gladstone and photography: ‘It is a process he particularly dislikes’.] Autograph Letter Signed from his private secretary Spencer Lyttelton [to A.G.L. Rogers, Secry, Liberal Publications Dept], conveying Gladstone's refusal to sit for a portrait.

Author: 
Spencer Lyttelton [George William Spencer Lyttelton] (1847-1913), private secretary to Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone, outstanding cricketer for Cambridge University [A. G. L. Rogers]
Publication details: 
14 October 1893; on letterhead of 10 Downing Street, Whitehall.
£65.00

Lyttelton was Gladstone’s private secretary during three of his terms as prime minister. The recipient Arthur George Liddon Rogers (1864-1944, son of the editor of the economist Thorold Rogers) is not named, but the item is from his papers, and was written while he was Secretary of the Liberal Publication Department, a position to which he was appointed in November 1891. 2pp, 12mo. Signed ‘Spencer Lyttleton.’ In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage.

[Thomas Burt, trade union leader and Radical Member of Parliament.] Three Autograph Letters Signed and one Secretarial Letter Signed to A.G.L. Rogers, Secretary of the Liberal Publication Department, regarding the composition of publicity leaflets.

Author: 
Thomas Burt (1837-1922), trade union leader and Radical Member of Parliament; General Secretary, Northumberland Miners' Association [A. G. L. Rogers, Secretary, Liberal Publication Department]
Publication details: 
2 June 1892; and 2 and 11 February, and 11 October, 1893. The first two on House of Commons letterhead; the third on letterhead of the Reform Club, Pall Mall; the fourth from Cromer, on letterhead of the Board of Trade [Whitehall, London].
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Under Gladstone Burt served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, 1892-1895. From the papers of Arthur George Liddon Rogers (1864-1944), son of the editor of the economist Thorold Rogers, and written while Rogers was Secretary of the Liberal Publication Department (a sort of public relations department), a position to which he was appointed in November 1891. The four items, all addressed to ‘Dear Mr Rogers’ and signed ‘Thos Burt’, are all bifoliums in good condition, folded for postage. ONE (2 June 1892): 2pp, 12mo.

[John Pyke Hullah, English composer and Professor of Vocal Music at King’s College, London.] Autograph Note Signed (‘John Hullah’), forwarding to ‘Mrs. Tail’ a note from ‘Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, about the Bach Choir’.

Author: 
John Hullah [John Pyke Hullah] (1812-1884), English composer and teacher of music, Professor of Vocal Music at King's College, London, and also at Queen's College and Bedford College
Publication details: 
18 May 1878; on letterhead of Grosvenor Mansions, Victoria Street, S.W. [London]
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which quotes Gordon Cox as stating that Hullah was ‘the fountain head of music education in the nineteenth century’. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Handwriting and signature in a bold attractive hand. Reads: ‘Dear Mrs. Tail / I have the pleasure to send you a few lines fm Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, about the Bach Choir. / I am, dear Madam / Always Your’s [sic] Truly / John Hullah’.

[‘A Princess instead of a Queen’: Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, as Dean of Windsor and Queen Victoria’s domestic chaplain.] Long Autograph Card Signed and Secretarial Letter Signed, both to Canon Jacob, the card regarding a royal visit.

Author: 
Randall Davidson [Randall Thomas Davidson, Baron Davidson of Lambeth] (1848-1930), Archbishop of Canterbury [Philip Jacob (1804-1884), Archdeacon of Winchester]
Publication details: 
Secretarial Letter of 28 May 1887; Autograph Card of 18 July 1887. Both on letterhead of the Deanery, Windsor Castle.
£90.00

In 1883 Queen Victoria appointed Davidson Dean of Windsor and her domestic chaplain. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both items in good condition, lightly aged; the letter folded for postage. Both addressed to ‘My dear Jacob’ and both signed ‘Randall T Davidson’. ONE: Autograph Card Signed. Marked ‘Private’. Eighteen lines of text, covering both sides. Begins: ‘I talked the whole matter over so fully last night with Sir H.

[One Victorian painter writes to another.] Autograph Letter Signed from James Sant, RA, to George Lance, regarding a portrait over which he has been ‘going hard’.

Author: 
James Sant (1820-1916), RA, English portrait painter noted for his portraits of children [George Lance (1802-1864), English still-life painter]
Publication details: 
7 March 1856; [?].
£50.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium, the second leaf being blank, apart from the end of the signature ‘Jas Sant’, which has extended across from the bottom right corner of the reverse of the first leaf. In good condition, lightly aged, with the reverse of the second leaf laid down on a rectangle of grey paper cut from a leaf of an album. Addressed to ‘G. Lance Esqr.’ The letter begins: ‘My Dear Sir / My best thanks for your note. Depend upon it I will look to myself and in doing so look to yr.

[‘I think we must do something’: Augustine Birrell, author and Liberal Party politician.] Four Autograph Letters Signed and one Autograph Note Signed to A. G. L. Rogers, Secretary of Liberal Publication Department, regarding public relations plans.

Author: 
Augustine Birrell (1850-1933), author and Liberal Party politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1907-1916 [A. G. L. Rogers, Secretary of the Liberal Publication Department]
Publication details: 
Letters undated: two on letterhead of The Pightle, Sheringham, Norfolk; one from The Pightle on cancelled letterhead of The Clyffe, Corton, Lowestoft; one on letterhead of 3 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn [London]. Note: 14 January 1894; from New Square.
£180.00

While his entry in the Oxford DNB notes that Birrell was a loyal supporter of Gladstone in the early part of his parliamentary career, it does not allude to his intimate involvement during that period in what would now be called the public relations of his party, as evidenced by this correspondence, which comes from the papers of Arthur George Liddon Rogers (1864-1944), son of the editor of the economist Thorold Rogers, and written while Rogers was Secretary of the Liberal Publication Department, a position to which he was appointed in November 1891.

[Marcus Ward & Co., chromolithographic printers, London and Royal Ulster Works, Belfast.] 36 attractive chromolithographic prints of autumn leaves, each on a separate card, laid down in album by Marcus Ward & Co.

Author: 
Marcus Ward & Co., chromolithographic printers, London and Royal Ulster Works, Belfast [chromolithographs]
Marcus Ward
Marcus Ward2
Publication details: 
No date [1870s?]. In album with printed title-page of ‘London: Marcus Ward & Co., / And / Royal Ulster Works, Belfast.’
£350.00
Marcus Ward
Marcus Ward2

An attractive collection of chromolithographs, suited to display. The plates are all in good condition, laid down on the aged and sometimes damaged leaves of a small 4to (17 x 21 cm) album with good tight bevelled-edged binding in dark brown cloth, on which an embossed stylized pattern of foliage and two storks is printed in black with the word ‘ALBUM’ on the front cover and blind-stamped on the back cover. The album has an ornate title page, printed in red, with illustration of flowers, branches and a butterfly, together with the word ‘Album’ and publishers’ details.

[Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Limited, London publishers.] The first number and the only one printed of the periodical ‘What to read / A guide to the best in periodical literature books of the hour & books for all time’.

Author: 
Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Limited, London publishers [A. Fenwick; W. Macdonald; Charles Weekes; George Sampson; Tolstoy; Gilbert White of Selborne; Rudyard Kipling]
Publication details: 
5 November 1902 (vol. 1, no. 1). Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Limited, London. Printed by C. F. Hodgson & Son, London; ‘Published for the Proprietors by A. FENWICK, at 18 Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London.’
£100.00

Stapled periodical in black and white: iv + 12 pp, 4to. The outer leaves carry advertisements, with the front leaf paginated i-ii and the back leaf iii-iv. Engraved masthead at top of front cover. Containing thirteen articles between ‘Foreword’ (the journal aims ‘to address itself to all who, caring to read about Books, care especially to read about the Best - about those which are, beyond question, always worth reading and worth writing about’) and ‘Editorial Notices’, including ‘Books and Life’ by W. Macdonald, ‘The Birth of a Classic’ (i.e.

[Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné, Swiss historian of the Reformation and Protestant cleric.] Autograph Letter Signed, in French, to ‘Miss Caroline Thompson, Bedford’, discussing the true importance of his ‘livre sur la Réformation’.

Author: 
Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné (1794-1872), Swiss historian of the Reformation and Protestant cleric [Caroline Thompson of Bedford]
Publication details: 
2 December 1866. La Graveline, Genève [Geneva, Switzerland].
£120.00

2pp, 16mo. Twenty-four lines of text. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘Merle d’Aubigné’ and addressed ‘A Miss Caroline Thompson, / Bedford’ at foot of second page. Begins by stating that his ‘livre sur la Réformation est peu de chose’. What is important is how it shows that God transforms hearts, ‘et plusieurs personnes de divers pays m’ont écrit: “En voyant comment Luther trouva Christ, par la bonté de Dieu je l’ai trouvé moi même!”’ He continues with reference to Claudine Levet and Calvin.

[Royal General Annuity Society, London, S. J. Aldrich, Secretary.] Printed ‘Lady’s Ticket’ to the ‘Anniversary Festival’ with impressions of ten wax seals of eminent Victorians, with names and dates in contemporary manuscript, laid down on reverse.

Author: 
Royal General Annuity Society, London, S. J. Aldrich, Secretary; Sir Denis Le Marchant; Sir Edward Crofton; Sir Stratford Canning; Sir John Cunningham; Sir Edward Kerrision; Sir James Graham
Seals
Seals2
Publication details: 
Ticket to ‘Anniversary Festival’ of the Royal General Annuity Society, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street (‘George Hudson, Esq., M.P. in the Chair’) dated 16 February 1848. Seals variously dated to 1847, 1848 and 1850.
£120.00
Seals
Seals2

Not only an interesting item of sigillography, but also a nice item relating to Victorian philanthropy. Eight red wax seals and two black, of varying sizes. Laid down in three rows on reverse of 15 x 11 cm card, tastefully printed in blue, red and gold, with facsimile of the signature of the Secretary, S. J. Aldrich. Originally ten seals were present, those that remain in good condition, most with good impressions of crests.

[Salt-Hill Society, Burnham and Stoke, Buckinghamshire.] Large poster giving the 15 ‘Rules and Articles’, and listing those who agree with ‘the before-mentioned Articles’.

Author: 
Salt-Hill Society, (Instituted 1783) for the protection of Persons and Property from Felons & Thieves, Within the Hundreds of Burnham and Stoke, Buckingham; Edmund J. Craske, Treasurer [Eton College]
Publication details: 
Following ‘General Meeting, held at the Public Hall, Slough’, 3 March 1914. Printed by Spottiswoode and Co., Ltd., Eton College. [Buckinghamshire]
£56.00

A scarce item relating to provincial history and printing. A similar poster, from 1897, is offered separately, and is the only other item relating to the Salt-Hill Society present on ViaLibri. Large poster, printed on one side of 45 x 76 cm sheet of discoloured and brittle wove paper. The item is complete, but there are numerous long tears along the four fold lines (which might be easily repaired with archival tape).

[Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley, England cricket captain in the first Ashes series against Australia.] 15 manuscript items of banking correspondence between Darnley (8 signed items), his attorneys Wadeson & Malleson (6) and bankers Coutts & Co (1).

Author: 
Ivo Bligh (1859-1927), 8th Earl of Darnley, England cricket captain in the first ever Ashes series against Australia, 1882-3; his attorneys Wadeson & Malleson, London; his bankers Coutts & Co, London
Publication details: 
All items from 1901. The Earl of Darnley, Cobham Hall, Gravesend, Kent; Coutts & Co, 59 Strand, London, WC; Malleson & Co, 7 Devonshire Square, Bishopsgate Without, London, EC.
£420.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The correspondence dates from the year 1901, Bligh having acceded to the earldom on the death of his elder brother Edward on 31 October 1900, and the material consists of what is probably the first set of banking instructions, mainly relating to his ‘accession account’, with recipients of payments ranging from the Dowager Countess to Rochester Golf Club. 10pp, foolscap 8vo; 2pp, 4to; 10pp, 12mo. The fifteen items range in size from foolscap 8vo to 12mo. Four items (letters to Coutts from Wadeson & Malleson) are typed and the rest are in manuscript.

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