SECRETARY

[Printed pamphlet in defence of the British House of Lords.] Civilisation and the Constitution. A Catechism.

Author: 
Graham Bower [Sir Graham John Bower, RN] (1848-1933), Irish-born British colonial official, Imperial Secretary to High Commissioners for Southern Africa, 1884-1897 [Parliament; House of Lords]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [South Africa, 1880s or 1890s.]
£120.00

2pp., 4to. On the rectos of the two leaves of a bifolium. Signed in type at end 'GRAHAM BOWER.' On laid paper with 'SOUTHERN CROSS | FINE QUALITY' watermark, suggesting, with the typographic style, that it was written during the period of that he served as Imperial Secretary. Very good, on lightly aged and creased paper.

Autograph Letter Signed ('J W Croker') from John Wilson Croker [to George Pellew, Dean of Norwich], stating the opinion that King George IV's letters in Pellew's life of Lord Sidmouth 'give a higher idea of his powers of mind' than was the case.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), Anglo-Irish politician, Secretary to the Admiralty [Hon. Very Rev. George Pellew (1793-1866), Dean of Norwich; Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth; King George IV]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of West Molesey, Surrey. 15 February 1851.
£120.00

4pp., 12mo. Very good, on lightly-aged paper with watermarked date 1848. Addressed to 'My dear Dean'. As the letter clearly concerns Pellew's life of his father-in-law Lord Sidmouth (1847), with Croker referring to his own review of the book in the Quarterly Review, the reason for the gap between the date of publication of the book and the writing of the letter is unclear. Croker writes that he has received Pellew's 'last livraison & kind letter which gives a very just idea of the correspondence'.

Engraved circular letter and 'Balance Sheets for 1858 and 1859' of the Playground and General Recreation Society (including reference to a speech by Charles Dickens), forwarded by secretary Edward West to committee-member Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan.

Author: 
Edward West, Secretary, The Playground and General Recreation Society, London [Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan [née Frend] (1809-92), wife of mathematician Augustus De Morgan (1806-71); Charles Dickens]
Publication details: 
West's engraved letter: 97 Newgate Street, London; 31 January 1860. The balance sheets dated to end of the years 1858 and 1859.
£95.00

3pp., 4to. In bifolium. Good, on aged and lightly-creased paper. 'Mrs. de Morgan' in manuscript at the foot of the first page, and 'No 5' at the head. The first page carries the circular letter from 'Edwd. West, Secy.', engraved in copperplate. In sending the balance sheets he notes that 'the income is scarcely equal to the expenditure which is necessary for obtaining for the Society public support'.

Copy of printed War Office model 'RULES OF THE ---- VOLUNTEER CORPS.' [i.e. Volunteer Force] With details of the committee members under Viscount Ranelagh responsible for 'drafting model Rules and Regulations for the government of Volunteer Corps'.

Author: 
[The Rifle Volunteer Corps; The Volunteer Force, 1859-1908; The War Office, Whitehall; Sidney Herbert (1810-1861), 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, Secretary of State for War, 1859-1861; Viscount Ranelagh]
Publication details: 
'WAR OFFICE, 10th August, 1859.' ['V General No. 469'.]
£120.00

5pp., folio. In very good condition on lightly-aged paper. Copies of this document were sent by the War Office to the officers commanding the various corps, the Secretary of State considering that it would 'assist [them] in preparing Regulations for the government of the Corps under [their] Command'. For a full account of the subject see Hugh Cunningham's 'The Volunteer Force: A Social and Political History, 1859-1908' (1975). The cover page has in its top left-hand corner: 'V | General No. | 469', and carries a table of contents.

Four printed War Office documents relating to the formation of the Volunteer Force [called 'Rifle Volunteer Corps' and 'Volunteer Corps'], comprising a draft of the 'Rules', two printed circulars from Sidney Herbert and one from his secretary.

Author: 
[The Rifle Volunteer Corps; The Volunteer Force, 1859-1908; The War Office, Whitehall; Sidney Herbert (1810-1861), 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, Secretary of State for War, 1859-1861; Viscount Ranelagh]
Publication details: 
All four documents from the War Office [Whitehall, London]. The three circulars dated 8 September, 14 October and 20 December 1859; the 'Rules' dated 10 August 1859.
£280.00

The four items in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. For a full account of the subject see Hugh Cunningham's 'The Volunteer Force: A Social and Political History, 1859-1908' (1975). Item One: 'RULES OF THE ---- VOLUNTEER CORPS.' 5pp., folio (paginated to 6). The cover page has in its top left-hand corner: 'V | General No. | 469', and carries a table of contents.

Typed Letter Signed ('Kilmuir') from the Lord Chancellor David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir [Lord Kilmuir], to the Labour peer Lord Chorley, in 'expansion' of his 'somewhat cryptic remarks' in the previous night's House of Lords debate.

Author: 
David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe (1900-1967), 1st Earl of Kilmuir [Lord Kilmuir], Conservative Home Secretary (1951-4); Lord Chancellor (1954-62) [Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley]
Publication details: 
On House of Lords letterhead; 3 July 1956.
£56.00

2pp., 4to. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The first paragraph reads: 'In expansion of my somewhat cryptic remarks reported in col. 241 of the Official Report of last night's debate you may care to have the following note about the point which you raised.' There follow quotations relating to 'The summary offence [...] under subsection (1) of section 9 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act, 1949' and 'The indictable offence [...] under section 5 of the Perjury Act, 1911'. From the Chorley papers.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Granville') from Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, vice-president of the Board of Trade, to John Lewis Ricardo, Member of Parliament for Stoke upon Trent, about the 'irregular' nature of certain evidence.

Author: 
Granville George Leveson-Gower (1815-1891), 2nd Earl Granville, Liberal Home Secretary, 1851-1852 [John Lewis Ricardo (1812-1862), Member of Parliament for Stoke upon Trent; Thomas Rowe Edmonds]
Publication details: 
Bruton Street [Mayfair, London]. 31 May 1851.
£56.00

1p., 4to. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. Granville explains that 'Edmonds' (the economist Thomas Rowe Edmonds (1803-1889)?) asked him before the House of Commons Committee about giving Ricardo 'the evidence - the Committee saw it was quite irregular', but if Ricardo 'can manage to call on me at the Bd. of Trade tomorrow (Saturday) at about 12 o clock, I will show you what you want'. Postscript reads: 'Pray come at all events on Monday at one to the Committee'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Granville') from Liberal Foreign Secretary Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, to a 'Baron', stating his position on whether Louis Napoleon's 'mischievous motions' will bring about war in Europe.

Author: 
Granville George Leveson-Gower (1815-1891), 2nd Earl Granville, Liberal Home Secretary, 1851-1852 [Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808-1873), Napoleon III, Emperor of the French; France]
Publication details: 
Bruton St [Mayfair, London]. 20 February 1852.
£90.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Of great interest, as giving the informal position of the British Home Secretary on what was at the time the most important problem facing him. Granville would only last as Foreign Secretary for a week after writing this letter, as Russell's Liberal Government would fall on 27 February. Ironically, his elevation to the post of Foreign Secretary the previous Boxing Day had been due to Russell forcing Palmerston's resignation over his unauthorized recognition of Louis Napoléon's coup d'état. The letter is addressed to 'My dear Baron'.

Typed Letter Signed ('A J Sylvester') from Lloyd George's private secretary A. J. Sylvester [Albert James Sylvester] to Sir Charles Starmer, regarding 'Mr. Lloyd George's visit to Cober Hill Guest House'. With copy of Starmer's typed letter.

Author: 
A. J. Sylvester [Albert James Sylvester] (1889-1989), Secretary to three Prime Ministers, David Lloyd George, Andrew Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin [Sir Charles Starmer; Cober Hill, Scarborough]
Publication details: 
Thames House, Millbank, SW1. On House of Commons letterhead. 12 May 1933. Copy of Starmer's reply dated the same day.
£80.00

Both Sylvester's letter and the copy of the letter by Starmer to which it is replying are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, each with punch holes to one margin. Starmer, who at the time of writiing was proprietor of a large group of newspapers, had begun his career on the 'Northern Echo'; he had for many years been a Liberal member of parliament, standing down in 1931 due to ill health. Cober Hill Guest House was at that time an early experiment in what would become the children's home or retreat. For clarity's sake this description begins with the copy of Starmer's letter: 1p., 4to.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Welby') from Lord Welby [Reginald Earle Welby, Baron Welby] to Col. E. S. E. Childers, regarding his biography of his father the Liberal politician Hugh Culling Eardley Childers, 'the great Colonies' and the British Empire.

Author: 
Reginald Earle Welby (1832-1915), Baron Welby, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and President of the Royal Statistical Society [Hugh Culling Eardley Childers and his son Col. E. S. E. Childers]
Publication details: 
11 Stratton Street, London. 18 March 1901.
£80.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. With mourning border. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. At the time of writing the biography of the Liberal politician Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (1827-1896) by his son Col. Edmund Spencer Eardley Childers (1854-1919) had just been published, and Welby begins by thanking the Colonel for the gift of the book.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Jas. Millar') from James Millar, Assistant Secretary, British and Foreign School Society, a letter of introduction in English for Captain Walter Bromley to Marc-Antoine Jullien fils, editor of the Revue Encyclopedique,

Author: 
James Millar, Assistant Secretary, The British and Foreign Schools Society [Marc-Antoine Jullien fils (1775-1848), editor of the Revue Encyclopedique; Captain Walter Bromley (1775-1838)]
Publication details: 
London, 7 September 1826.
£120.00

2pp., 4to. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'Mons. Marc Julien [sic] | Redacteur de la Revue Encyclopedique &c &c'.Jullien's address has been added in another hand: 'Rue d'Enfer St. Michel No. 18'. The first paragraph reads: 'Dear Sir | I have the pleasure to introduce to you Captn. Bromley, who is a zealous advocate of the cause of general Education, & who is visiting Paris for a short time. He will deliver you a Copy of the 21st. Report of the B. & F.

Autograph Letter, in the third person, from Sir John Hobhouse [later John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton], requesting tickets for an exhibition at the British Institution.

Author: 
John Cam Hobhouse [Sir John Hobhouse] (1786-1869), 1st Baron Broughton, Whig politician and best friend of Lord Byron
Publication details: 
Berkeley Square [London]. 26 June 1843.
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium on mourning paper. In good condition, lightly-aged. Reads: 'Sir John Hobhouse presents his compliments and would be very much obliged to the Secretary of the British Institution to send him two tickets for the exhibition of this evening.'

Autograph Letter in the third person from Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, to the Secretary of the Royal Zoological Society [Philip Lutley Sclater], enquiring as to 'which steps are necessary to be taken' to become a member.

Author: 
Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, British Conservative politician [Philip Lutley Sclater (1829-1913), Secretary, Zoological Society of London]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Knowlsey, Prescot. 10 November 1869.
£30.00

1p., 12mo. With mourning border. (On his father' sdeath in October Derby had acceded to the title.) The letter reads: 'Lord Derby presents his compliments to the secretary of the Royal Zoological Society, and beign desirous of becoming a member of that body, would be much obliged to the secretary if he would inform him which steps are necessary to be taken for that object.'

Autograph Letter Signed ('Olinthus Gregory') from the English mathematician Olinthus Gilbert Gregory to Knight Spencer, Secretary, Surrey Institution[, regarding a series of lectures by his friend John Mason Good]. With engraved portrait of Gregory.

Author: 
Olinthus Gregory [Olinthus Gilbert Gregory] (1774-1841), Mathematical Master, Royal Military Academy, Woolwich [Knight Spencer, Secretary, Surrey Insitution; John Mason Good (1764-1827), lecturer]
Publication details: 
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. 26 March [1812].
£90.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper, with slight traces of mount on reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with three postmarks and docketing by Spencer, to 'Knight Spencer Esq. | Surry [sic] Institution | Blackfriar's Road'. Gregory is pleased to learn 'that there is a probability of Mr. Jones being able to accommodate us with apparatus for our proposed Lectures, upon such terms as are likely to square pretty well with the funds of the Surry Institution'.

Typed Letter Signed ('John Simon') from the British Chancellor of the Exchequer John Simon to J. J. Smith, regarding the exemption from military service of the only sons of widows.

Author: 
John Simon [John Allsebrook Simon] (1873-1954), 1st Viscount Simon, British politician, beginning as a Liberal and ending a Conservative, who served as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor
Publication details: 
14 Great College Street, Westminster. 16 February 1916.
£120.00

1p., 8vo. Fair, on aged and lightly-worn paper. The letter begins: 'If the only son of a widow, upon whose earnings the mother depends, does not volunteer, he will, if unmarried, and of military age, be entitled to appeal for exemption from the Military Service Act. Mr. Walter Long expressly stated in the House of Commons that it was the intention of the authorities to exempt such cases.' Simon goes on to discuss the position of 'the Local Tribunal', and to point out the position of those who attest. He has added in pen: 'Appeal must be made before March 2nd'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('D Green') from Duff Green, editor of the 'United States Telegraph', to the Hon. David Henshaw of Boston.

Author: 
Duff Green (1791-1875), American soldier, author and journalist, editor of the United States Telegraph [David Henshaw (1791-1852), United States Secretary of the Navy]
Publication details: 
Washington; 29 April 1829.
£150.00

1p., folio. Nineteen lines of text. Text of letter on the recto of first leaf of bifolium, with address on verso of second, with red postmark. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Green writes that Roberts is in Washington, but that although 'great exertions have been made for him' he does not believe he will be appointed. He refers to 'late developements [sic] in the 4th Auditors Office'. He asks if he can get his 'note renewed'; he finds himself 'hard pressed to make the arrangements for the next winter - buildg &c is expensive & I have much to bring up'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('J. T. Headley') from Joel Tyler Headley, Secretary of State of New York, [to his father], expressing his desire to return to the Auburn Theological Seminary in New York following a bout of ill health.

Author: 
Joel Tyler Headley (1813-1897), Secretary of State of New York, clergyman, author and newspaper editor [Auburn Theological Seminary, New York]
Publication details: 
Spencer; 8 August 1837.
£80.00

1p., 4to. Good, on lightly-aged lined paper. Headley's father - a Presbyterian clergyman - is not named, but the letter is addressed to 'Rev and dear Sir', with the valediction reading 'Respectfully & affectionately', and the context makes it quite clear that he is the recipient.

Two Autograph Letters Signed from the English osteopath J. J. Dunning to Admiral Milne.

Author: 
Dr John J. Dunning, Secretary, the British Osteopathic Association [Admiral Milne]
Publication details: 
23 and 24 March 1945; the first on letterhead of the British Osteopathic Association, cancelled to 140 Park Lane; the second on letterhead of the American Club, London.
£95.00

Both items 12mo, 1 p. Both good, on lightly aged paper. Pinned to one another. Letter One: He is'enclosing two leaflets on disc manipulation'. He has a third, 'fuller and illustrated', and if they interest Milne, he will be 'delighted'. Letter Two: He had 'much rather be found right than wrong', but would 'enjoy either experience, in meeting you again'. Could see Milne's 'pictures' after easter, and hopes to have 'one or two you may like to see as well'. Dunning had served in the United States Army Medical Corps before going to England to practice osteopathy.

Typed Letter Signed from the Conservative Home Secretary Sir William Joynson-Hicks to Morley Stuart, editor of the 'Cambridge Daily News', on the subject of teetotalism and revolution.

Author: 
Sir William Joynson-Hicks [later 1st Viscount Brentford] (1865-1932), Conservative Party Home Secretary, 1924-1929 [Morley Stuart, editor of the 'Cambridge Daily News']
Sir William Joynson-Hicks
Publication details: 
17 February 1927; on letterhead of the Home Secretary, Whitehall, London.
£38.00
Sir William Joynson-Hicks

4to, 1 p. Eleven lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Laid down on a leaf removed from an album. Stuart has sent him copy from his newspaper, with the remark of some un-named clergyman that "Teetotalism, at any rate in hard times like these, is dangerously likely to help on unrest and revolution". Far from being the 'cause of revolution', teetotalism enables people, in Joynson-Hicks's view, 'to save money which they would otherwise spend on alcoholic liquor', and so 'helps them to acquire a stake in the country and so forces a real bulwark against revolution.'

[Printed pamphlet.] The Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution, for the Relief of Aged and Necessitous Members and Widows of Members. Instituted 1849.

Author: 
[Leonard Courtney, Secretary, and J. M. Longley, Treasurer, The Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution (Inst. 1849]
The Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution
Publication details: 
[1907. The Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution, 11 Ironmonger Lane, Cheapside, E.C.]
£38.00
The Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution

12mo, 10 pp. Text clear and complete. On aged and worn paper, with pin holes and a spike hole. Includes list of the 'Board of Management for 1907', accounts, 'Statement of Accounts, December 21st, 1901, to December 20th, 1906. Compiled by Mr. J. M. Longley, Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.' Also 'Report Presented at the Half-Yearly General Court, 27th Dec., 1906.' The 'Result of Poll', 'December Election, 1906', by Courtney, contains lists naming 'Successful Candidates' and 'Unsuccessful Candidates'.

Autograph Card Signed ('George Hamilton') from the Conservative politician Lord George Hamilton to 'Mr. Constable'.

Author: 
Lord George Hamilton (1845-1927), Secretary of State for India, 1895-1903, and First Lord of the Admiralty, 1885-1886 and 1886-1892
Lord George Hamilton
Publication details: 
15 December 1903; on letterhead of 17 Montagu Street, Portman Square, London.
£38.00
Lord George Hamilton

On both sides of the card, which is not addressed, having fitted inside an envelope. Aged, but with text clear and complete. Inviting Constable to play golf with him at Littlehampton. He can be there at 12.28 pm. 'I go to Coates on Friday'.

[Printed pamphlet.] An Address delivered in the Chapel of the Protestant Dissenters' Grammar School, Mill Hill, on Occassion of Public Day, June 18th, 1845.

Author: 
Algernon Wells [Rev. Algernon Wells (1793-1850), Secretary of Mill Hill Grammar School, and to the Colonial Missionary Society] [Evangelical Dissenters]
An Address delivered in the Chapel of the Protestant Dissenters' Grammar School,
Publication details: 
London: Printed by J. Unwin, 31, Bucklersbury. 1845.
£125.00
An Address delivered in the Chapel of the Protestant Dissenters' Grammar School,

12mo, 15 pp. Stitched and unbound. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper. Described by Wells as 'an attempt, however feeble, to set forth the character and design of that interesting establishment', Mill Hill Grammar School, and 'designed to exhibit favourably a Public Grammar Education, rendered select by strict religious oversight; and to show the importance that Evangelical Dissenters should possess a permanent Institution for securing such an education for the sons of their more respectable families'.

Typed Letter Signed by J. Wilson Taylor, Honorary Secretary, The Pilgrims [The Pilgrims Society of Great Britain], to G. R. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
J. Wilson Taylor, Honorary Secretary [1919 to 1943], The Pilgrims Society of Great Britain
Typed Letter Signed by J. Wilson Taylor, Honorary Secretary, The Pilgrims
Publication details: 
31 December 1926; on letterhead of The Pilgrims [The Pilgrims Society of Great Britain], Hotel Victoria, London.
£56.00
Typed Letter Signed by J. Wilson Taylor, Honorary Secretary, The Pilgrims

4to, 1 p. Thirteen lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged and lightly-creased paper. The letterhead features an engraving of Chaucer with a lion and eagle. Stating that 'the Pilgrims Society has no funds available' to pay for the sending of 'a representative to the Conference that you are holding with the object of preserving the Old Cottages of England', although 'individual Pilgrims might be willing to subscribe' and the Society is 'in full sympathy with your object'.

[Printed pamphlet.] The Incorporated Society of Auctioneers and Landed Property Agents. Report of the First General Meeting [...] 20th February, 1925, [...] and of the Inaugural Banquet [...] at The Savoy Hotel. [With mimeographed circular.]

Author: 
The Incorporated Society of Auctioneers and Landed Property Agents, London [Methuen A. Fluder, Secretary; Savoy Hotel]
he Incorporated Society of Auctioneers
Publication details: 
20 February 1925. Newnham, Cowell & Gripper, Ltd., 75, Chiswell St., E.C.1. [The Incorporated Society of Auctioneers and Landed Property Agents, London.]
£125.00
he Incorporated Society of Auctioneers

4to, 14 pp. In original brown printed wraps. Clear and complete. Good, on aged paper, with one central vertical fold, and horizontal mark to blank rear wrap. The description of the 'First General Meeting' covers the first three pages, with the report of the 'Inaugural Banquet' on the next four. On the last seven pages are the 'Report of Council (Presented by Mr. E. K. House.)' No copy at the British Library or on COPAC. The mimeographed circular (4to, 1 p), dated 9 March 1925, is a covering letter with a facsimile of Fluder's signature.

Five Typed Letters Signed and two Typed Notes Signed from Herbert Morrison to F. W. Pethick-Lawrence (one dealing with Churchill's 'outburst on the word Empire ' and another of his failure in the Labour leadership contest).

Author: 
Herbert Morrison [Herbert Stanley Morrison] (1888-1965), British Labour politician [Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence (1871-1961), 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence, Financial Secretary to the Treasury]
Publication details: 
The nine letters dating from between 1936 and 1957; all sent from London.
£220.00

All texts clear and complete, and good, on lightly-aged and worn paper. Several annotated in pencil, one extensively. Letter One: 27 January 1936; on letterhead of County Hall, London. 4to, 1 p. '[...] if it be the case that under a given government the finances are really getting into difficulty but that the Chancellor will not be frank with his colleagues and insist upon action, the civil servants concerned are put in somewhat of a difficulty.' Letter Two: 21 May 1943; on letterhead of the Home Secretary, Whitehall. 4to, 2 pp.

Letter, in the hand of a secretary, signed ('J W Croker') by John Wilson Croker, Secretary to the Admiralty, to Vice-Admiral Douglas, concerning 'Naval Occurences at Yarmouth', Captain Hawtayne of the HMS Quebec and Chaplain Forster of HMS Roebuck.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), Secretary to the Admiralty, Irish author and politician [Captain Charles Sibthorpe John Hawtayne of HMS Quebec]
Letter, in the hand of a secretary, signed ('J W Croker') by John Wilson Croker
Publication details: 
Admiralty Office; 26 July 1810.
£125.00
Letter, in the hand of a secretary, signed ('J W Croker') by John Wilson Croker

Folio, 2 pp. Fair, on aged paper, with a few short closed tears to extremities, and carrying traces of previous mount on reverse. On behalf of the Lords of the Admiralty Croker grants the Admiral's request for leave of absence to two individuals following 'the Naval Occurrences at Yarmouth'. In same hand as letter on reverse: 'Captain Hawtayne Quebec Two Days | Mr Forster, Chaplain Roebuck One Month'.

[Printed] Copy of a Letter addressed to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Home Department by the General Board of Health, Dated 20th July 1854; with a Digest of the Information [...] with regard to [...] Inventions for the Consumption of Smoke

Author: 
General Board of Health, Whitehall [Tom Taylor, secretary; Inventions for the Consumption of Smoke; Victorian pollution]
Inventions for the Consumption of Smoke
Publication details: 
London: Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty. For Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1855.
£125.00
Inventions for the Consumption of Smoke

Folio, 29 + [i] pp. Disbound. Text complete and clear. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. Faint accession stamp at head of title. 'In accordance with the request of Viscount Palmerston, conveyed in Mr. Fitzroy's letter of the 31st day of October 1853, the Board have instituted very extensive inquiries among those acquainted with the means for the prevention of smoke, a great part of the evidence thus received being given in abstract in the Appendix to this Report.' The appendix runs from p. 11 to p. 29. Scarce: the only individual copy on COPAC at Southampton.

Autograph Signature ('P. Francis:'), cut from letter, of Sir Philip Francis, the leading candidate for the authorship of the Letters of Junius.

Author: 
Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818), English politician and writer, the leading candidate for the authorship of the Letters of Junius
Autograph Signature ('P. Francis:'), cut from letter, of Sir Philip Francis
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£125.00
Autograph Signature ('P. Francis:'), cut from letter, of Sir Philip Francis

On piece of laid paper, 5.5 x 8 cm. Clear signature on lightly-aged and spotted paper. From the collection of James C. Webster, Secretary, Athenaeum Club, London, who has written, above the signature, 'Royal Society of L<...>', and beneath it, 'Sir Philip Francis | author of "Junius"'.

Five items relating to the Amalgamated Engineering Union, Birmingham Branch No. 304BE, including two minute books, 1943-1956 and 1957-1980; 'Proposition and Entrance Book', 1966-1976; and two unemployment benefit books, 1956-1978 and 1966-1979.

Author: 
Amalgamated Engineering Union, Birmingham Branch No. 304BE [trades unions; welfare benefits; British labour relations]
Publication details: 
Birmingham. 1943 to 1980.
£400.00

This small archive casts invaluable light on British labour relations at a local level during a turbulent economic period in postwar British history, with specific day-to-day information about persons and events. The two minute books, 1943-1980, are both 4to, with the first of around 200 pp and the second of around 150 pp. Both texts clear and complete, and some matter loosely inserted (including a letter from an individual pursuing a complaint against the branch). In worn bindings, with the boards of the second volume detached.

Secretarial Letter, signed 'William Guthrie' (Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland), to Charles Sharpe, carrying itemised details of 'the arrears &c due by the different Lodges' in Dumfriesshire.

Author: 
William Guthrie, Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Edinburgh [Freemasons; Freemasonry; Masonic]
William Guthrie, Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland to Charles Sharpe
Publication details: 
Edinburgh; 19 August 1802.
£280.00
William Guthrie, Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland to Charles Sharpe

4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Very good on lightly-aged paper. Minimal damage has been caused to the second leaf (affecting two or three unimportant words of text) by the breaking of the red wax seal. Addressed by Guthrie 'To Charles Sharpe of Hoddam Esqr [Hoddam Castle] | Provenance Grand Master for Dumfries Shire'. Small circular red ink postmark. Docketed. Guthrie's letter, in a secretarial hand but signed and with an initialed postscript by him, covers the two centre pages. He writes that 'a great proportion' of the lodges are in arrears, 'some of them 20 years and upwards'.

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