SIR

[Sir George Biddell Airy, Astronomer Royal who established the Greenwich Meridian.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Francis Baily Esqre’, announcing a meeting of the 'Standard Commission'.

Author: 
Sir George Biddell Airy (1801-1892), mathematician and Astronomer Royal who established the Greenwich Meridian
Publication details: 
‘Royal Observatory Greenwich / 1851 Feb 8 [amended from ‘Jan 27’]’.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage and with an unobtrusive crease to one corner (not near signature). Reads: ‘Sir / A meeting of the Standard Commission will be held at Sir John Lubbock’s Bank, St. Mildred’s Court, Mansion house Street, on Thursday Feb 11, at 11 o’clock in the forenoon, when your attendance is particularly requested. / I am, Sir, / Your obedient servant / G B Airy’.

[Sir Charles Adam, Admiral of the Royal Navy and Lord of the Admiralty.] Manuscripts (presumably both Autograph) giving itemised lists of fees incurred in 'two appeals' by ‘Captn. Chas. Adams - Royal Navy’ and ‘William Adam Esr.’

Author: 
Sir Charles Adam (1780-1853), Admiral of the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars, Lord of the Admiralty and Member of Parliament, son of William Adam (1751-1839) of Blair Adam, Kinross
Publication details: 
Items in Captain Charles Adam’s list dating from November 1805 and March 1807. Items in William Adam’s list dating from July 1805, January and December 1806 adn July 1808. [Kinross, Scotland?]
£50.00

Sir Charles Adam was great-grandson of the architect William Adam, and his father (also William Adam) was a friend of Sir Walter Scott. See the entries for Charles Adam and his father in the Oxford DNB. William Adam had a son - Charles’s brother - named William George Adam (1781-1839), but the reference to ‘Wm. Adam Esqr. Senior and Junior’ appears to suggest the father. Each of the two items is 1p, 4to. They are on different paper stock. Both in good condition, lightly aged. Both endorsed with modern note in pencil: ‘enclosed in Spottiswoode to W. A. - 23 July 08’. ONE: ‘Captn. Chas.

[Conquest of Cayenne, 1809.] Manuscript Petition to King George III, signed by Thomas Sevestre, surgeon of HMS Confiance, asking permission to 'enjoy the Privileges' of a Portuguese order. With seal of Portuguese ambassador Sousa Coutinho.

Author: 
Conquest of Cayenne, 1809 [French Guiana conquered by the Portuguese under British leadership]; Sir Thomas Sevestre (1784-1842) [Sir James Lucas Yeo (1782-1818)]
Publication details: 
Certified correct in London on 31 March 1810.
£250.00

The Conquest of Cayenne - part of Britain’s strategy of using its naval power to attack French colonial interests in the Napoleonic Wars - is described in the fifth volume of William James’s ‘Naval History of Great Britain’ (1827). Britain was only able to contribute HMS Confiance, but its captain James Lucas Yeo was put in charge of the whole expedition, and he and his crew performed with distinction (see Yeo’s entry in the Oxford DNB).

[Allan Cunningham, Scottish poet and author.] Signed Autograph Manuscript of the words to his ‘The Mariners Song’ (‘A wet sheet and a flowing sea’).

Author: 
Allan Cunningham (1784-1842), Scottish poet and author, superintendant and secretary to Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841)
Publication details: 
Without date (any time from 1822) or place (London?).
£100.00

See Cunningham’s entry in the Oxford DNB. Neatly written out in his distinctive hand. The present holograph gives the words to one of his most popular songs (an American version substitutes ‘Columbia’ for ‘Old England’). It was first published in the London Magazine in August 1822, and by 1834 was well-enough known to be discussed - and dismissed as ‘Puling nonsense’ - in ‘Sailors and Saints, by the Author of the Naval Sketch Book [i.e. William Nugent Glascock]’ (1834). 1p, 4to, on gilt-edged leaf of wove paper extracted from an album.

[Sir Stanley Matthews, great English footballer.] Autograph Signature on postcard with Blackpool Football Club letterhead.

Author: 
Sir Stanley Matthews (1915-2000), great English footballer who played outside right for Stoke City and Blackpool
Publication details: 
No date. On letterhead of Blackpool Football Club Limited, by whom Matthews was employed between 1947 and 1961.
£23.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The postcard, which is blank on the reverse, has been cut down into an irregular shape, roughly rectangular and approximately 11 x 7.5 cm. At the head is the printed Blackpool FC letterhead (‘All communications to BLOOMFIELD ROAD GROUND, BLACKPOOL). Two strips of glue from tape flank the firm signature ‘Stanley Matthews’, which rises slightly and is underlined. Otherwise in good condition, lightly aged.

[Sir George Christie, longtime chairman of the Glyndebourne opera festival.] Typed Letter with Autograph passages, to ‘Mr. Hedley’, stating that he and his wife are ‘thrilled [at his knighthood] - first and foremost for Glyndebourne’s sake’.

Author: 
Sir George Christie [Sir George William Langham Christie] (1934-2014), for a third of a century chairman of the Glyndebourne opera festival, founded by his father John Christie (1882-1962)
Publication details: 
26 June 1984; on letterhead of Glyndebourne, Lewes, Sussex.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded twice for postage. The letter reads (with autograph parts in square brackets): ‘[Dear Mr. Hedley,’] / Thank you. / Mary and I are of course thrilled - first and foremost for Glyndebourne’s sake. / [It was charming of you to write. / Yours sincerely, / George Christie / P.S. I’m afraid I dont ever send autographed photographs. Sorry to disappoint you.] / [P]PS Please forgive typescript.’

[Sir George Henschel, baritone and conductor.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mrs Dickens’, agreeing to sing ‘one number’ at her ‘Hospital Matinée’.

Author: 
Sir George Henschel [Isidor Georg Henschel] (1850-1934), German baritone, conductor, pianist and composer, who settled in England, a close friend of Johannes Brahms
Publication details: 
6 May 1901; on letterhead of 46 Bedford Gardens, Campden Hill, Kensington, W. [London]
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper, with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, folded for postage. With good large firm signature. The main body of the letter reads: ‘Dear Mrs Dickens / I shall be very glad to sing one number, my “Young Dietrich” at your Hospital Matinée on June 14th. With love from house to house / Sincerely / Yours / Geo. Henschel’.

[Sir George Henschel, baritone and conductor.] Two items: Autograph Letter Signed, thanking the London Correspondent of the Birmingham Daily Post for a complimentary review; and printed circular, signed and addressed to the musicologist Marion Scott.

Author: 
Sir George Henschel [Isidor Georg Henschel] (1850-1934), German baritone, conductor, pianist and composer, who settled in England, a close friend of Johannes Brahms [Marion Margaret Scott (1877-1953),
Publication details: 
LETTER: 30 April 1913; on embossed letterhead of The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, S.W. [London] PRINTED CIRCULAR from 6 Sutherland House, Marloes Road, W.8 [London] Dated by Henschel 27 February 1930.
£75.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The items are unrelated. Both are in good condition, lightly aged, and each folded once for postage. LETTER: 2pp, 12mo. On grey paper. Addressed to ‘The London Correspondent of the Birmingham Daily Post’ and signed ‘George Henschel’.

[Sir Adrian Boult, distinguished English conductor.] Autograph Card Signed to ‘Miss Minshull’, arranging a meeting at Lincoln’s Inn.

Author: 
Sir Adrian Boult [Sir Adrian Cedric Boult] (1889-1983), distinguished English conductor at the BBC and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Publication details: 
Undated, but with Chelsea postmark of 6 July 1929.
£35.00

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.' On card with stamp, crest and ‘POST CARD’ printed in red. In fair condition, lighly worn. Addressed to ‘Miss Minshull / 1 Claverley Grove / Finchley N.3.’ Reads on the other, crosswise: ‘Please excuse a hasty scrawl: can you come to Lincoln’s Inn at 5 on Wed? Dont answer if all right. / I am so glad you’re able to do it: it will be fine I think. / Adrian C. Boult / 11 Chelsea Embankment / S.W.3.’

[Sir Adrian Boult, distinguished English conductor.] Two items: Typed Letter Signed to C. Holme-Barnett on Birmingham conductors; and printed list of members of the ‘Orchestra at The Coronation of Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’.

Author: 
Sir Adrian Boult [Sir Adrian Cedric Boult] (1889-1983), distinguished English conductor, at the BBC and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Publication details: 
LETTER: 16 September 1964, on letterhead of 13 Queen Anne Street, London, W.1. PRINTED LIST: For coronation, ‘In the Abbey Church of St. Peter, Westminster / On Wednesday, the 12th day of May, 1937’.
£150.00

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.' The two items are unrelated. LETTER: 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly creased. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘C. Holme-Barnett, Esq., / 54 Anchorage Road, / Sutton Coldfield, / Warwickshire.’ The salutation and valediction are in Boult’s autograph: ‘Dear Mr Holme-Barnett’ and ‘Yours sincerely / Adrian C. Boult.’ The letter concerns two Birmingham conductors.

[Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, and Cyril Smith, virtuoso concert pianist.] Two Items: A Typed Note Signed from Boult to ‘Mrs Brown’; and a printed programme for a Henry Wood Promenade Concert, signed by Boult and Smith.

Author: 
Sir Adrian Boult [Sir Adrian Cedric Boult] (1889-1983), distinguished conductor ( BBC and London Philharmonic Orchestra); Cyril Smith [Cyril James Smith] (1909-1974), virtuoso concert pianist
Publication details: 
LETTER: 19 January 1950; on letterhead of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Broadcasting House, London. PROGRAMME: for concert on 6 September 1947, in the 53rd Season of Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, by the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
£80.00

See Smith’s entry in the Oxford DNB, and Michael Kennedy's assessment of Boult, in his entry in the same work: 'In the music he admired most, Boult was often a great conductor; in the rest, an extremely conscientious one.' The two items are unrelated. LETTER: 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once for postage and with corners snipped diagonally to make an octagonal shape. Salutation and valediction are in Boult’s autograph: ‘Dear Mrs Brown’ and ‘Yours very sincerely / Adrian C. Boult’. PROGRAMME: 12pp, 8vo. Stapled.

[Keith Falkner, English bass-baritone, Director of the Royal College of Music, London.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to ‘Miss Scott’ [the musicologist Marion Scott], the first agreeing to sing at an 'At Home', the second while at work for the RAF.

Author: 
Keith Falkner [Sir Donald Keith Falkner] (1900-1994), distinguished English bass-baritone, Director of the Royal College of Music, London [Marion Margaret Scott (1877-1953), musicologist]
Publication details: 
ONE: 10 June 1928, from 60 Mayfield Road, Sanderstead, Surrey. TWO: 18 August 1941, ‘as from R.A.F. Middle Wallop. / Nr. Stockbridge. Hants.’, on cancelled letterhead of the Officers Mess, RAF ‘Woodlands’, Clamp Hill, Stanmore, Middlesex.
£120.00

See his entry and hers in the Oxford DNB. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged, and each folded once for postage. Neatly and firmly written. Both addressed to ‘Dear Miss Scott’ and signed ‘Keith Falkner’. ONE: 2pp, 12mo. Eleven lines. He will be ‘pleased to sing in the “Peasant Cantata” at the Union “At Home” on June 28th’ and asks to know ‘which version you will be doing as soon as you decide?’ He ends with thanks for her ‘kind sympathy - I do appreciate it very much’. TWO: 2pp, 8vo. Twenty-three lines of text.

[Christopher Hampton, English playwright and two-time Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Whitworth’, announcing his ‘new translation of “Uncle Vanya”’ and discussing a forthcoming interview.

Author: 
Christopher Hampton [Sir Christopher James Hampton] (b.1946), English playwright and two-time Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter
Publication details: 
28 October 1969; on letterhead of the Royal Court Theatre (The English Stage Company), Sloane Square, London.
£90.00

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and creased. Ten lines in a close, controlled hand. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Whitworth’ and signed ‘Christopher Hampton’. He writes to confirm that he will be free on the date he suggested he ‘might be able to come down to meet you’. He also gives an alternative date. ‘At the moment I’m working on a new translation of “Uncle Vanya”, which was to be finished by the end of November.

[ Sir Henry Mendelssohn Hake, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London.] Typed Letter Signed (‘H M. Hake’) to S. Hodgson recording portraits of George Cruikshank and Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson.

Author: 
Sir H. M. Hake [Sir Henry Mendelssohn Hake] (1892-1951), Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, 1927-1951 [George Cruikshank (1792-1878), caricaturist; Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson]
Publication details: 
11 June 1937; on letterhead of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
£56.00

1p, 4to. On discoloured and somewhat grubby paper, folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘S. Hodgson Esq.’ and signed ‘H M. Hake’. Hodgson has sent Hake ‘a manuscript fragment’, which does not seem to indicate either of ‘the portraits in the Gallery’. He has ‘looked up the record of portraits offered in the past but there is no mention of Mrs. Cruikshank or her executors.’ He asks a related question before turning to the subject of the physician Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson (1828-1896), who was in Hake’s opinion ‘more of a professional worthy than a national one’.

[A Scottish Royal Navy Midshipman in the Napoleonic Wars.] Autograph Letter Signed to his mother from Robert Kennedy Thomson of Daljarrock, giving news from HMS Imperieuse, and commenting on news from Scotland.

Author: 
Robert Kennedy Thomson of Daljarrock, Ayrshire, Scotland, Royal Navy Officer in the Napoleonic Wars [HMS Imperieuse; Sir Henry Duncan; Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Ricketts Rowley]
Publication details: 
‘H.M. Ship Imperieuse Port Mahon [Minorca] / Jany. 12th. 1813.’
£180.00

See Thomson’s entry in O’Byrne’s ‘Naval Biographical Dictionary’ (1849). He had entered the navy in 1811, ‘on board the Impérieuse 38, Capt. Hon. Henry Duncan’, and would retire with the rank of Lieutenant, after a reasonably eventful career, in 1829. In 1849 he was said by O’Byrne to be ‘a Captain in the Ayrshire Militia’. On 30 September 1864 the London Gazette listed him among the ‘Lieutenants on Reserved List, to be Retired Commanders’.

[R. J. Burn [Rodney Joseph Burn], English painter.] Three Autograph Letters Signed and one unsigned, to ‘Mr Lawrence’, regarding his work, his studio and ‘Mr Daniel’ [Sir Augustus Moore Daniel], the new Director of the National Gallery.

Author: 
R. J. Burn [Rodney Joseph Burn] (1899-1984), English painter, Member of the Royal Academy, senior tutor at the Royal College of Art [Sir Augustus Moore Daniel (1866-1950)]
Publication details: 
One dated 10 September 1928, the others without year, but around the same time. All from 2 Hill Way, Highgate N.6. [London]. One also with ‘Studio address / 7 Park Hill studios / Park Hill road / Hampstead’.
£150.00

After serving in the Great War, Burn (son of Sir Joseph Burn) studied at the Slade between 1918 and 1922, winning six prizes. After teaching in London at the Royal College, and in Boston, he offered his services to the war effort. After the war he went back to the Royal College, as a senior tutor. The four ot the items here are in fair condition, lightly worn and discoloured. Each is folded once for postage. Although only one is dated, the others appear to date from around the same time. ONE (‘Monday’): 1p, 4to. Unsigned.

[Richard Holt Hutton, literary editor of the Spectator.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir Lovelace Stamer, regarding arrangements for a ‘Congress’.

Author: 
R. H. Hutton [Richard Holt Hutton] (1826-1897), journalist and theologian, joint-editor of the Inquirer and National Review, and literary editor of the Spectator [Sir Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer]
Publication details: 
24 September 1875; on letterhead of ‘ “The Spectator” Office, / 1, Wellington Street, / Strand, London, W.C.’
£45.00

See Hutton's entry in the Oxford DNB, together with that of the recipient Sir Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer (1829-1908), Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly aged paper, with slight smudging on the first page. With two folds for postage. Addressed to ‘The Revd Sir Lovelace T Stamer Bart’ and signed ‘R H Hutton’. Twenty-five lines of text in a hand that must surely have proved as much of a challenge to Hutton’s compositors as to present-day readers.

[J. T. Delane [John Thadeus Delane, distinguished editor of The Times.] Autograph Letter Signed, to a brother of the Conservative politician William Forsyth, concerning a meeting proposed by Lord Clarendon.

Author: 
J. T. Delane [John Thadeus Delane (1817-1879)], editor of The Times, 1841-1877 [William Forsyth, Conservative politician; Lord Clarendon, Liberal Foreign Secretary]
Publication details: 
November 29 [no year, but between 1857 and 1870]. 16 Serjeants Inn [Temple, London].
£56.00

According to Delane’s entry in the Oxford DNB, he settled ‘from about 1847 at 16 Serjeants' Inn, Temple’. The addressee appears to be ‘W. Forsyth Esq’, and is named in the letter as a brother of the Conservative politician William Forsyth (1812-1899), who took silk in 1857, and hence also of the diplomat Sir Thomas Douglas Forsyth (1827-1886), both of whom have ODNB entries. 2pp, 12mo, with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded twice for postage, in the neat remains of a windowpane mount.

[H. Brereton Baker, distinguished English chemist.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, Secretary of the Royal Society of Arts, London], agreeing to give three Cantor lectures.

Author: 
H. Brereton Baker [Herbert Brereton Baker] (1862-1935), distinguished English inorganic chemist [Sir Henry Trueman Wood (1845-1929), Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, London]
Publication details: 
30 July 1913; on letterhead of Latchmoor House, Gerrard?s Cross, Bucks.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightl aged. Folded once for postage. The recipient is not named, but the letter has at its head the date stamp of the Royal Society of Arts, London, and is docketed by Wood. Signed ?H. Brereton Baker?. He agrees to give ?the three Cantor lectures as you suggest, provided they can begin after the 3rd. week in February?. He gives the subject as ?Catalysis in its scientific and industrial aspects?. A pencil note at the foot gives dates for the lectures as ?Mch 16, 23, 30?.

[William Marsden, orientalist, First Secretary to the Admiralty who broke the news of the victory at Trafalgar.] Autograph Signature ‘Wm Marsden’ to printed Admiralty order, addressed to Commodore Darby, regarding overmanning with 'young Gentlemen'.

Author: 
William Marsden (1754-1836), Anglo-Irish orientalist, numismatist, and linguist, and Royal Navy official, First Secretary to the Admiralty, 1804-7 [Admiral Sir Henry D'Esterre Darby (1749-1823)]
Publication details: 
Admiralty Office [Whitehall, London]. 6 May 1802.
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that ‘it fell to him in October 1805 to wake Lord Barham, as first lord of the Admiralty, with the news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson’. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with creasing at head. Folded into packet. 1p, folio, and docketed on reverse: ‘Admiralty Order of 6 May 1802 respecting Bearing Boys of 1st Class recd. 1 July 1802 -’. Signed by Marsden, and addressed by him ‘To / Commodore Darby / &c. &c.

['The most respected soldier of his time' after Wellington: Sir George Murray.] Autograph Letter in the third person, sending a copy of his ‘speech on the Catholic Relief Bill’.

Author: 
Sir George Murray (1772-1846), distinguished British soldier and Tory politician, Wellington’s quatermaster-general during the Peninsular War, Governor of Sandhurst [Catholic emancipation]
Publication details: 
5 April 1829. 5 Belgrave Square [London].
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that he 'was after Wellington the most respected soldier of his time in Britain, whose opinion carried immense weight both at home and abroad and not only on military matters'. 2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight creasing at head. Reads: ‘Sir George Murray has to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Wrights letter of the 4th.

[Sir Stratford Canning, Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr Lelane’ (sic, i.e J. T. Delane, editor of The Times), regarding the ‘hot water’ the ‘Sultan’ of Turkey finds himself in.

Author: 
Sir Stratford Canning [Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe] (1786-1880), diplomat, Envoy to the United States, Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire [John Thadeus Delane (1817-1879), editor of The Times]
Publication details: 
‘Grosvenor Square [London] / Friday Aug 19.’ No year, but seemingly written after his retirement in 1858.
£120.00

See his entry, and that of Delane, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with neat remains of a windowpane mount adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Lelane’ (sic) and signed ‘Stratford de R.’ Having heard that Delane was in town he writes to say that he was ‘gratified by the complimentary terms in which I was mentioned in the Times two or three days ago.

[Sir Charles Trevelyan and the Union of Democratic Control.] Typed Note Signed ('Charles Trevelyan') to E. Dinnage of Cambridge, enclosing a receipt ‘for payment of literature already sent’.

Author: 
Sir Charles Trevelyan [Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet] (1870-1958), Liberal politician, a founder of the anti-First World War group the Union of Democratic Control
Trevelyan
Publication details: 
11 February 1915. On letterhead of The Union of Democratic Control, 37 Norfolk Street, Strand, W.C., London.
£65.00
Trevelyan

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that after his resignation from government in protest against the impending war, ‘Around him he rallied those few brave, independent spirits who shared his views. Together they helped to found the Union of Democratic Control, in A. J. P. Taylor's judgement 'the most formidable Radical body ever to influence British foreign policy' (A. J. P. Taylor, Politicians, Socialism and Historians, 1982, 103). Trevelyan became the union's principal advocate in the Commons.

[The Alien Office, Whitehall.] Eleven Manuscript Affidavits, sworn and signed by emigrants from Europe before six London magistrates including Sir George Farrant and David William Gregorie, who also sign.

Author: 
[The Alien Office, Whitehall] London magistrates William Beckett, Sir George Farrant, David William Gregorie, Edward Markland, William Lorance Rogers, William Archibald Armstrong White
Publication details: 
[Alien Office, Whitehall.] Between 1824 and 1829. All but the last at the London police offices at Bow Street, Great Marlborough Street, Hatton Garden, Queen Square.
£600.00

An interesting collection of eleven items from the reign of George IV, giving a view of administration of immigration in London (and one item from Manchester, Number Six below). The Alien Office was created as a department of the Home Office to implement the Aliens Act 1793, which attempted to control the influx of foreign visitors and refugees caused by the turmoil in France. It ceased to exist following the Registration of Aliens Act 1836. created to control the influx of French refugees and suspected revolutionaries.

[‘Nor will I lose a farthing for all the Generals in the Kings dominions’.] Autograph Letter Signed from future Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Dashwood, concerning prize money for the Danish ship the Venus, captured by him at the Battle of Copenhagen, 1807

Author: 
Sir Charles Dashwood (1765-1847), Royal Navy Vice-Admiral who served during the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and War of 1812 [Battle of Copenhagen, 1807]
Publication details: 
‘Franchise [HMS Franchise], Spithead / 16th Feby. 1808.’
£250.00

See his long obituary in the Gentleman’s Magazine, December 1847. This letter, which concerns the prize money for the capture of the 36-gun Danish fifth-rater the Venus, captured by Dashwood at the Battle of Copenhagen, 1807. 2pp, 4to, on the first leaf of a bifolium, the reverse of the second leaf is addressed, with two postmarks, to ‘James Sykes Esqe / Arundle St / London’, and docketed ‘C. Dashwood / 16 Feb 1808 / Recd 17 do’. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight damage to second leaf from breaking open of the wafer. Folded for postage.

[Sir Charles Stewart Scott, diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia.] 'Private & most Confidential' Autograph journal of ‘Charles: S: Scott’, largely written while an attaché in Paris (Franco-Austrian War, 1859), also in Dresden and Copenhage.

Author: 
Sir Charles Stewart Scott (1838-1924), diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia, 1898-1904 [Franco-Austrian War (Second Italian War of Independence), 1859; American Civil War; Princess Alexandra]
Publication details: 
The first three-quarters from Paris, 18 June to 16 November 1859. The last quarter from Dresden and Copenhagen, 1860 to 1863.
£2,500.00

The papers of Sir Charles Stewart Scott (an Ulsterman: see his entry in the Ulster Dictionary of Biography) are held by the British Library. The present journal, described by its writer as ‘Private & most Confidential’, covers the very start of his career, from Paris in 1859 to Copenhagen in 1863.

[‘The Sicilians are not quite so well disposed towards us’: Edward Foord Bromley, Royal Navy surgeon and source of Tasmanian scandal.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir Sidney Smith, from HMS America at Palermo, describing the unsettled state of Sicily.

Author: 
Edward Foord Bromley (1776-1836), Royal Navy surgeon and Naval Officer at Hobart Town, Tasmania, putative embezzler [Sir Sidney Smith; HMS America; Sicily; Sicilians]
Publication details: 
‘H M Ship America Palermo. / Septr 11. 1813.’
£180.00

An excellent letter, describing the state of affairs in Sicily during the period of British occupation, 1806-1814. The recipient Sir Sidney Smith (see Oxford DNB) was second in command to Sir Edward Pellew, head of the Mediterranean squadron which included Bromley’s ship HMS America, a 76-gun third-rater, launched only three years before, in 1810. The present letter is written with the ship on the verge of a notable engagement (described in the European Magazine, March 1814, pp.245-247, quoting from the London Gazette). From Bromley’s entry by P. R.

[Old South Sea House and the Harvey family of Chigwell.] 113 manuscript items from the papers of William Peacock, John Read and James Swaine, attorneys tto William and Mary Harvey family, landlords, including 100 receipts, some itemized.

Author: 
Old South Sea House (Company of Merchants Trading to the South Seas), Threadneedle Street, London; Sir Eliab Harvey; William Harvey of Chigwell, Essex [The South Sea Bubble, 1720; Charles Lamb]
Publication details: 
Three receipts from 1735 and ninety-six from between 1742 and 1757. The Old South Sea House, Threadneedle Street and Bishopsgate Street, London. [Chigwell, Essex.]
£800.00

This collection of 113 items, dating from the middle of the eighteenth century, relates to a notable London landmark. Until the end of the nineteenth century the Old South Sea House, headquarters of the South Sea Company (Company of Merchants Trading to the South Seas and other Parts of America), stood on the corner of Threadneedle Street and Bishopsgate Street. A young Charles Lamb worked here for nearly six months in 1792, and wrote the first of the ‘Essays of Elia’ about the place.

[Admiral Sir Richard Rodney Bligh, Royal Navy officer in American War of Independence.] Autograph Letter Signed to the Admiralty, regarding ‘Her Majesty’s Sloop the Wasp under my Command’.

Author: 
Admiral Sir Richard Rodney Bligh (1737-1821), GCB, Royal Navy officer who saw service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars [HMS Wasp]
Publication details: 
‘Wasp, Portsmouth 1st. Decr. 1775.’
£180.00

Bligh’s entry in the Oxford DNB does not note his service on HMS Wasp, to which he was appointed in October 1774. According to one authority the ship ‘saw service out of Passage, County Cork, Ireland from [November 1774]. In October 1775 [Bligh] brought sixty volunteers from Ireland into Plymouth, and in June 1776 sailed from Portsmouth to Plymouth with money for the dockyard artificers.

[Duke of Newcastle (Henry, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne).] Autograph Signature, with that of Henry Saxby, to extracted manuscript document with debenture entry.

Author: 
Duke of Newcastle [Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln and 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC] (1720-1794); Henry Saxby
Publication details: 
Circa 11 October 1773. [London.]
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. While shunning the limelight, Newcastle was an influential figure in British politics; it was through his lobbying that his cousin Sir Henry Clinton was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in America during the American Revolution. According to Timothy Mowl's 1996 biography of Horace Walpole, Newcastle was 'famed for an unusually large penis', which he deployed on both sexes. On one side of a 12 x 19 piece of laid paper, with large triangle cut at top right (not near signature).

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