NINETEENTH

[Newcastle and Berwick Railway, 1846.] Manuscript 'Minutes on projected Railways in the Manor of Tynemouth' by 'Thorp & Dickson', Alnwick attorneys, 'Read to Mr. Hudson' (i.e. George Hudson, 'the Railway King').

Author: 
Newcastle and Berwick Railway, 1846: Thorp and Dickson, Alnwick attorneys [George Hudson (1800-1871), 'he Railway King'; Duke of Northumberland; Manor of Tynemouth]
Publication details: 
?Alnwick October 23 - 1846?. ?Thorp & Dickson?.
£220.00

See Hudsons's entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, foolscap 8vo, on three leaves, with fourth covering leaf ('23rd Oct. 1846. / Copy / Railway Minutes / Thorp & Dickson / &c &c'). Attached at one corner with red ribbon. Headed: 'Alnwick October 23 - 1846 / Minutes on projected Railways / in the Manor of Tynemouth - / Read to Mr. Hudson, of which he requested a copy.' There are five minutes, the last covering two pages. The first three read: '1.

[Lady Florence Dixie, Scottish author, traveller, suffragist and war correspondent.] Autograph Signature and conclusion of a letter.

Author: 
Lady Florence Dixie [Lady Florence Caroline Dixie, nee Douglas] (1855-1905), Scottish author, traveller, suffragist and war correspondent
Lady Florence Dixie
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£45.00
Lady Florence Dixie

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. On a 9.5 x 3.5 cm slip of paper, cut from a letter and laid down on a slightly larger slip of card. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads '[...] that we should never think from proclaiming. / Yrs. v. truly / Florence Dixie / (Lady)'. See Image.

[Sir Frank Dicksee, Victorian artist, President of the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Orchardson, regarding a meeting by the committee for the Royal Academy summer exhibition, with reference to Onslow Ford.

Author: 
Frank Dicksee [Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee] (1853-1928), Victorian artist, President of the Royal Academy [Lady Orchardson [Ellen Orchardson, née Moxon] , wife of Sir William Quiller Orchardson, RA]
Publication details: 
14 December [no year, but before 1901]. On letterhead of Greville House, 3 Greville Place, St John's Wood, N.W. [London]
£65.00

See the entries for Dicksee and Lady Orchardson’s husband Sir William Quiller Orchardson (1832-1910), RA, in the Oxford DNB. Lady Orchardson (1853-1917) was the daughter of the London publisher Charles Moxon. The Orchardsons married in 1873. Among their four children was the painter Charles Moxon Quiller Orchardson (1873-1917), who studied in the Royal Academy Schools and was killed in action during World War One. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘Frank Dicksee’.

[Fanny Trollope, novelist and abolitionist.] Autograph Signature ('Frances Trollope')

Author: 
Fanny Trollope [Frances Milton Trollope; Mrs. Trollope] (1779-1863), novelist whose book on the United States caused great offence, and whose abolitionist writings inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe
Fanny Trollope
Publication details: 
'Carlton Hill [i.e. Carleton Hill, near Penrith, Cumbria] / 3d Feby 1843'.
£45.00
Fanny Trollope

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. Neatly written out on a 6 x 11 cm piece of paper, laid down on a slighty larger piece of card. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Frances Trollope / Carlton [sic] Hill / 3d Feby 1843'. Mrs Trollope had the house named Carleton Hill built in 1840, just outside the village of Carleton. The cold climate proved unbearable, and she sold the residence in the year of this autograph. See Image.

[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.

[‘The Tichborne Claimant’: the soi-disant Sir Roger Charles Doughty-Tichborne, held to be an imposter named Arthur Orton.] Signed Autograph inscription as ‘R. C. D. Tichborne’, with Signed Autograph inscription by Major-General Arthur Phelps.

Author: 
‘The Tichborne Claimant’ (d.1898): the soi-disant Sir Roger Charles Doughty-Tichborne (b.1829), held to be an imposter named Arthur Orton (b.1834); Major-General Arthur Phelps (1837-1920), Indian Army
‘The Tichborne Claimant’
Publication details: 
Inscription by the Tichborne Claimant dated 6 March 1893. Inscription by Phelps dated 9 December 1890.
£160.00
‘The Tichborne Claimant’

The Tichborne Case was very possibly the greatest scandal of Victorian England. See the entry for ‘Tichborne claimant’, with subheading for ‘Arthur Orton’ in the Oxford DNB. Trained as a civil engineer, Major-General Arthur Phelps (1837-1920), civil engineer, was a prominent homeopath, anti-vaccinationist, and anti-vivisectionist, who promoted his views as proprietor and editor of the Citizen newspaper. Each inscription is on one side of a single 11.5 x 18.5 cm piece of gilt-edged wove paper, presumably extracted from an autograph album.

[Princess Frederica of Hanover [Friederike Sophie Marie Henriette Amelie Therese], Anglo-German aristocrat.] Autograph

Author: 
Princess Frederica of Hanover [Friederike Sophie Marie Henriette Amelie Therese] (1848-1926), wife of Luitbert Alexander George Lionel Alphons von Pawel-Rammingen (1843-1932), Anglo-German aristocrats
Princess Frederica of Hanover
Publication details: 
‘Xmas 1909.’ No place.
£50.00
Princess Frederica of Hanover

Written on both sides of an 11.5 x 9 cm card, which has her armorial crest printed in black and gold at the top right of the first page. In a large flowing hand reads: ‘For my dear little Godchild Fredericà Taylor with affte. xmas Greetings / from her loving God-mother / Fredericà / Xmas 1909.’ See Image of verso (signature).

[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.

[American shipbuilding, Massachusetts, 1866.] Manuscript ‘Contract for building a Schooner’ between William Greenleaf Blackler of New Bedford and six Fairhaven carpenters, with all their signatures and that of witness Moses H. Delano.

Author: 
American Shipbuilding, New Bedford and Fairhaven, Massachusetts, 1866; William Greenleaf Blackler; Ebenezer Bryden; Benjamin Westgate; George F. Eldred; Charles H. Coombs; Moses H. Delano
Publication details: 
[Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States of America.] ‘made this day March 20th 1866’.
£220.00

Blackler’s papers are in the New Bedford Whaling Museum. 4pp, foolscap 8vo. Eighty lines of text, with last page written crosswise. On wove paper with stationer’s embossed mark. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper with light staining at edges. Text clear and entire. Begins: ‘Contract for building a Schooner made this day March 20th 1866 by and between Wm G.

['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).

[Sir Anthony Panizzi [Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi], Principal Librarian at the British Museum, London.] Autograph Signature to ornate printed copperplate receipt, completed to acknowledge a ‘Present’ by Bernard Piffard of Nova Scotia specimens.

Author: 
Sir Anthony Panizzi [born Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi in Italy] (1797-1879), Principal Librarian at the British Museum, London [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist; Nova Scotia]
Panizzi
Publication details: 
17 November 1858. On letterhead with royal crest of the British Museum, London.
£100.00
Panizzi

Now viewed in a favourable light, Panizzi was a controversial figure in his own time, being dubbed a ‘fat pedant’ by Thomas Carlyle, who was moved to press for the creation of the London Library as a result of the Italian’s high-handed behaviour. From the Piffard papers. 1p, 4o. On recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with short closed tears to both leaves on fold. Folded four times.

[Sir Edward Fry, judge and zoologist.] Autograph Letter in the third person, asking Bernard Piffard, microscopist etc, to send him a 'Micro-slide'.

Author: 
Sir Edward Fry (1827-1918), judge and zoologist, Lord Justice of Appeal [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist and microscopist]
Publication details: 
14 November 1885. On letterhead of 5 The Grove, Highgate [London].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. 1p, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Reads: 'Lord Justice Fry would be obliged if Mr Piffard would send him a Micro-slide of Conidia bearing Hyphae of Eurotium repens, isolated & stained by a new application of Iodine Vapour. He encloses 2/- in stamps.'

[Sir William Agnew, leading London art dealer and Liberal politician.] Autograph Note Signed inviting artist and sculptor John Macallan Swan to dine with ‘Mr Leslie and some few artists’.

Author: 
Sir William Agnew (1825-1910), proprietor of the leading London art gallery Thomas Agnew & Sons and Liberal politician [John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor]
Publication details: 
22 August 1905. On letterhead of 11 Great Stanhope Street, W. [London]
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin band of discoloration beneath the last line. Addressed to ‘J M Swan Esq R.A’. Reads: ‘My dear Mr Swan / Will you dine with me on Thursday June 1st. to meet Mr Leslie and some few artists? / I should be glad if you will. / Yours faithfully / Wm. Agnew’.

[Mrs Humphry Ward, novelist and anti-suffrage campaigner.] Autograph Note Signed ('Mary A. Ward') to 'Mr. Courtney', regarding an advertisement she wishes to have placed in the Daily Telegraph.

Author: 
Mrs Humphry Ward [Mary Augusta Ward, née Arnold] (1851-1920), novelist and anti-suffrage campaigner, wife of Thomas Humphry Ward (1845-1926), author and journalist
Publication details: 
3 March 1910; on letterhead of 25 Grosvenor Place, S.W. [London]
£56.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, but with traces of grey paper and glue from mount adhering to the blank reverse. Folded once. In her neat controlled hand, with good firm signature, the letter reads: 'Dear Mr. Courtney / I shall be so grateful if you will put this in to the Telegraph, to morrow: / Yours sincerely / Mary A. Ward'.

[Louis Alexander Mountbatten [formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg], 1st Marquess of Milford Haven.] Autograph ‘Note for Secretary’, with monogram Signature ‘LB’, regarding to the ‘relative positions of “Iris” & “Phoebe”’.

Author: 
Louis Alexander Mountbatten [formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg], 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (1854-1921), First Sea Lord, German prince related by marriage to the British royal family
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. With mourning border. In fair condition, aged and worn, with remains of white 'star' wafer mounts adhering to the four corners. Beneath the underlined heading 'Note for Secretary' reads: 'The relative positions of Iris & Phoebe do not appear to agree in papers marked (2) and (4) in my letter. Please let me know which is right. / LB.' Presumably Iris and Phoebe were ships.

[John Leech, Victorian artist and caricaturist who illustrated the ‘Christmas Carol’ of Charles Dickens.] Conclusion of Autograph Letter to the poet Martin Farquhar Tupper, with Signature.

Author: 
John Leech (1817-1864), Victorian artist and caricaturist who illustrated the ‘Christmas Carol’ of Charles Dickens [Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810-1889), popular and much-lampooned Victorian poet]
John Leech (
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£56.00
John Leech (

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. The present item, is on one side of an 11 x 6.5 cm slip of paper, cut from a letter and laid down on a 12.5 x 8 cm piece of card. In good condition, lightly aged. Very slightly smudged by Leech. Reads: ‘[...] very low. until I see / you Believe me / Yours Ever Faithfully / John Leech. / Martin . F. Tupper Esq / &c. &c. &c.’ See Image. Leech illustrated at least one book by Tupper (The Crock of Gold).

[John Marshall, President of the Royal College of Surgeons and Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to Bernard Piffard, regarding evolution, respiratory problems, an award in Dublin and Mrs Pickard’s health.

Author: 
John Marshall (1818-1891), President of the College of Surgeons and Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), microscopist and entomologist]
Publication details: 
28 April 1886; on letterhead of 10 Savile Row, W. [London].
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. Marshall’s handwriting is hurried and in places difficult to decipher. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Piffard’ and signed ‘John Marshall’. Piffard’s gift of ‘the Box of flowers, with [?]’ leads him to opine: ‘The Daffodils are lovely. - Why is Nature so beautiful? Can it be merely to please the Eye of Man?

[Jesse Collings, Liberal politician, advocate of free education and land reform.] Five Autograph Letters Signed to Bernard Piffard, regarding opposition to Lords of the Manor over enclosures, and 'Allotments and Small Holdings Associations'.

Author: 
Jesse Collings (1831-1920) of Birmingham, Liberal and Liberal Unionist politician, advocate of free education and land reform [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
Between 27 July 1885 and 22 March 1886. All from Edgbaston, Birmingham (the second a letterhead).
£150.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. A total of 9pp, 12mo. The recipient is 'B. Piffard Esq.' and the letters are all signed 'Jesse Collings'. ONE: 27 July 1885. 2pp, 12mo. He apologises for the delay in replying: 'I have been so over-pressed with Parliamentary and other work.' He will go into the matter of Piffard's letter at the 'Committee meeting of our Allotments & Small Holdings Association' that very day.

[Henry Doubleday, pioneering Quaker horticulturalist of Coggeshall in Essex.] Five Autograph Letters Signed to the entomologist Bernard Piffard, discussing various topics in natural history, common acquaintances and personal news.

Author: 
Henry Doubleday (1810-1902), pioneering Quaker horticulturist of Coggeshall in Essex [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
Between 1860 and 1874. All from Epping [Essex].
£180.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. A total of 10pp, 12mo. Aged and worn, with the first letter on creased grey paper, the second with one leading edge rolling inwards, and the last with a 2cm closed tear; but with text clear and entire. The recipient named as ‘B. Piffard Esq’. All signed ‘Henry Doubleday’. ONE: 14 July 1860. 2pp, 12mo. With reference to an excursion by Piffard to Maldon, and also stating that he ‘took a very fine female Deilephila Galei in our garden on Wednesday - it was at rest on a strawberry plant’. TWO: 7 March 1890. 1p, 12mo.

[Charles Napier Hemy, RA, painter based in Falmouth, Cornwall, regarded as the leading marine artist of his generation.] Autograph Letter Signed dealing with the disposal of unsold pictures.

Author: 
Charles Napier Hemy (1841-1917), RA, painter based in Falmouth, Cornwall, regarded as the foremost marine artist of his generation
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£150.00

An interesting letter, dealings with the practicalities of the artist’s profession in late Victorian/Edwardian England. Hemy was regarded as the leading English marine artist of his generation, with his paintings often selling for in excess of a thousand pounds. With the proceeds he built a grand house which he named Churchfield in Falmouth. 2pp, 16mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. The recipient - presumably his agent - is not named and there is no salutation. Signed ‘C. Napier Hemy.’ Begins: ‘Thanks for cheque enclosed. for which I send over page formal receipt.

[Charles Owen Waterhouse, entomologist, godson of Charles Darwin and Richard Owen.] Autograph Letter Signed to Bernard Piffard, micrscopist, regarding ‘British examples’ of the ‘cicada haematodes’.

Author: 
Charles Owen Waterhouse (1843-1917), entomologist, son of George Robert Waterhouse, godson of Charles Darwin and Richard Owen [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist]
Publication details: 
20 June 1881. On embossed letterhead of the British Museum [London].
£120.00

Waterhouse and his two younger brothers were all entomologists. He was named after his godfathers, Charles Darwin and Richard Owen. See his father’s entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. 2pp, 12mo. Addressed to ‘B. Giffard Esq’ and signed ‘ Chas. O. Waterhouse’. Begins: ‘Dear Sir, / Of Cicada haematodes we have several British examples in the Stephensian Cabinet. [i.e. [i.e. Robert Stephenson's cabinet of microscopic specimens] I have no doubt these specimens are British, and we have also two examples taken in the New Forest.

[‘The Lion Hunter’: Roualeyn George Gordon-Cumming, Scottish traveller and big game hunter.] Autograph Letter Signed, arranging for a portrait to be sent to the fencing master H. C. Angelo via a ‘pampered menial’.

Author: 
‘The Lion Hunter’: Roualeyn George Gordon-Cumming (1820-1866), Scottish traveller and big game hunter, whose trophies were exhibited around Britain [Henry Charles Angelo, fencing master]
Publication details: 
'232 Piccadilly [London] / Septem 28. 56' [1856].
£180.00

At the time of writing Gordon-Cumming’s trophies were being exhibited at this Piccadilly address, having previously formed part of the Great Exhibition. The recipient Henry Charles Angelo (1806-1866) was a member of the celebrated family of fencing masters, and was at this time teaching the art at the Cavalry College, Richmond. 2pp, 12mo. On the rectos of the two leaves of a bifolium, with the recipient’s name written lengthwise on the verso of the first leaf: ‘H. C. Angelo Esqr’. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice.

[Léon Gozlan, French novelist and playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Monsieur le President des Ministres’ [Soult or Thiers??]

Author: 
Léon Gozlan (1803-1866), French novelist and playwright
Publication details: 
‘rue Meslay - 46 / ce 7. juin 1840.’
£180.00

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with thin stub from previous mounting neatly adhering to inner edge. He explains that his request for an audience is ‘exclusivement littéraire’, and that it is as a ‘titre d’honneur de lettres’ that he hopes to obtain ‘la haute faveur’ of consideration of various factors ‘soumis à ces attributions’. From the celebrated collection of Baron Houghton (in Lot acquired at Chiswick Auctions)

[ John Brumfit, nineteenth-century City of London cigar merchant. ] Autograph account books ('Journal' and 'Cash') from the firm's foundation in 1864, with explanatory letter from the founder's grandson K. F. Brumfit, and trade letterhead.

Author: 
John B. Brumfit, nineteenth-century City of London cigar merchant [ subsequently John Brumfit Ltd
Publication details: 
London [ John B. Brumfit, Cigar Merchant, 86, King William Street, City. ].Journal: 1864-1870. Cash Book, 1864-1872.
£1,500.00

For more than a century the firm of John Brumfit Ltd of the City of London was one of Britain's leading cigar and tobacco merchants, its reputation international. The firm was founded in 1864 by John B. Brumfit, son of Charles Brumfit of No. 1 Pall Mall West. The items offered here are the journal and cash book written out by the founder at the firm's inception, together with two related items (Items Three and Four below).

[Sir William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of London after whom Cubitt Town is named.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding ‘modification of the construction’ of a roof, and arrangements regarding materials and labour.

Author: 
Sir William Cubitt (1791-1863), builder and engineering contractor, Lord Mayor of London, Conservative politician, who gave his name to Cubitt Town, Isle of Dogs, London
Publication details: 
8 September 1842. Gray’s Inn Road [London].
£150.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, with that of his namesake. (It is the the present Sir William Cubitt who owned ‘the famous Gray's Inn Road works ’.) 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged with two pin holes at one corner, and traces of mounts. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Sir’ and signed ‘William Cubitt’. Begins: ‘In working out the details of the roof, we find certain modification of the construction desirable which with your permission, the bearer Mr.

[Sir Frederick Ouseley, Professor of Music, Oxford University.] Autograph Letter Signed concerning requirements for an Oxford degree in music, appended to printed notice by him: ‘University of Oxford. Directions for Candidates for Degrees in Music.'

Author: 
Sir Frederick Ouseley [Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley] (1825-1889), Anglican composer, church musician and musicologist, Professor of Music at Oxford University
Publication details: 
Notice dated 'OXFORD, / March, 1878.' Autograph Letter undated, but from around the same time.
£75.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The ALS, whose recipient is not identified, is appended on the last page of the printed notice, which is 4pp, foolscap 8vo, on a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. The notice is headed 'University of Oxford. / Directions for Candidates for Degrees in Music.' and signed in type at the end 'Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, / Professor of Music. / Oxford, / March, 1878.' Divided into sections concerning a bachelor's and doctor's degree. The ALS, on the last page, reads: 'Dear Sir / You will see by this paper that your Dublin B.A.

[Matthew Ridley Corbet, ARA, neoclassical English painter.] Three Autograph Letters Signed (‘M. R. Corbet’) to John Macallan Swan, with regard to Giovanni Costa in Italy, Alfred Gilbert, William Cosmo Monkhouse and Edwin Freshfield.

Author: 
M. R. Corbet [Matthew Ridley Corbet] (1850-1902), ARA, neoclassical painter [John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor; William Cosmo Monkhouse; Alfred Gilbert; Edwin Freshfield]
Publication details: 
ONE: 28 October 1896; Casa Costa, Marina di Pisa, Italy. TWO: 4 December 1898. THREE: 18 March 1902. Items Two and Three on letterhead of Crow’s-nest, 54, Circus Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W.
£120.00

An interesting glimpse into the late-Victorian world of English art. Corbet and Swan were close friends - one of Corbet’s paintings remained in Swan’s family until the 1990s. See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. The three letters are addressed to ‘Dear Swan’ and signed ‘M. R. Corbet’. All three on grey paper, lightly aged and worn, with creasing to Letter One.

[Admiral Sir Thomas Sabine Pasley, Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard and Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth.] Autograph Letter Signed to an unnamed ‘Major’, rescheduling an engagement cancelled for 'the best possible reason'.

Author: 
Admiral Sir Thomas Sabine Pasley, 2nd Bart (1804-1884), senior Royal Navy officer, Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard and Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth
Publication details: 
2 December 1872. On letterhead of Moorhill, Shedfield, Fareham, Hants.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. With thin mourning border. Extraction from an album has resulted in some wear to the border at the right of the page: otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to ‘My dear Major’ and signed ‘Thos Sabine Pasley’. He is sorry the recipient ‘can’t come on Wednesday’, but he has ‘the best possible reason for not doing so’. He asks to be remembered ‘very kindly to your father on that day’. He asks if he can ‘come on Wednesday week’, as he has engaged a family (illegible) to meet him that day.

[Hamo Thornycroft [Sir William Hamo Thornycroft, RA.], sculptor of the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside Parliament.] Autograph Letter Signed to ?Mrs Allingham? [Helen Allingham, watercolourist and illustrator], regarding ?cards for RA?.

Author: 
Sir Hamo Thornycroft [Sir William Hamo Thornycroft, RA] (1850-1925), sculptor of statue of Oliver Cromwell outside Parliament [Helen Allingham (n?e Paterson; 1848-1926); Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo]
Hamo Thornycroft
Publication details: 
?22 Ja? [no year]. On letterhead of ?One-Oak, / 10, Redington Road, / Hampstead. N.W.? [London]
£120.00
Hamo Thornycroft

See the entries on Thornycroft and Allingham in the Oxford DNB. The letterhead is also of interest: 'One-Oak' is a notable example of the work of the Arts and Crafts architect A. H. Mackmurdo. 1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with traces of mount adhering to blank reverse. Folded twice. Initial ?H? of signature slightly smidged. Reads: ?Dear Mrs Allingham / I have only [?] got your note. / I enclose two cards for RA. Hoping to see you there / Yours very sincerely / Hamo Thornycroft?. See Image.

[Sir August Manns, German conductor in England, Director of Music at the Crystal Palace, London.] Autograph Signature to photographic portrait on cabinet card by Negretti & Zambra, Crystal Palace.

Author: 
Sir August Manns [Sir August Friedrich Manns] (1825-1907), German conductor who made his career in England, Director of Music at the Crystal Palace, London [Negretti & Zambra, Crystal Palace]
Sir August Manns,
Publication details: 
Dated by Manns to 1894. Cabinet card by Negretti & Zambra, Crystal Palace.
£100.00
Sir August Manns,

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The National Portrait Gallery possesses a carte-de-visite another portrait of Manns by Negretti & Zambra, which it dates to 1898, but does not hold the present item, which is a head and shoulders shot showing a white-haired Manns, bald on top, with bushy eyebrows and walrus moustache looking to one side in dark jacket and white shirt and tie. A 10 x 14.5 cm albumen print, presented in the customary style on a grey cabinet card, with the firm?s details embossed in white at foot, and the usual photographers? details printed on the reverse.

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