TEXTILES

[Natural Indigo.] Lengthy correspondence of ten letters from Sir Lewis J. E Hay, ‘Retired Behar Indigo planter’ to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Lewis J. E. Hay [Sir Lewis John Erroll Hay] (1866-1923) of Park, indigo planter in Behar, India [G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
One letter from 1914, the other nine from 1915. Each on his letterhead, 42 Frederick Street, Victoria Chambers, Edinburgh.
£320.00

In one of the present letters Hay signs himself as ‘Retired Behar Indigo planter’, and the material provides an knowledgeable commentry on the colonial textiles industry at the beginning of the First World War. Some of the material was printed in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. The recipient George Kenneth Menzies (1869-1954) was Secretary to the Royal Society of Arts between 1917 and 1935. A total of 21pp, 4to. Each bears the stamp of the RSA, some with manuscript docketting.

[ Peter Fenwick, Merchant, Glasgow ] [Manuscript] Account Book for Jan-Mar. 1856 (post mortem) of Peter Fenwick, Merchant (textiles), Glasgow.

Author: 
[ Peter Fenwick, Merchant, Glasgow ]
Publication details: 
Glasgow, 1856.
£220.00

Disbound, Total [55]pp., folio, first page with closed tears and grubby, rest in good condition. Contents: P/[1]. Cash Book (mainly bank transactions; eg.

[Dionysius Lardner, Irish scientific writer, editor of the Cabinet Cyclopaedia.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Dion: Lardner') to Messrs Dickinson & Co, regarding a business proposal, with part of signed document about an 'article' 'fabricated from rags'

Author: 
Dionysius Lardner (1793-1859), Irish scientific writer, editor of the 133-volume Cabinet Cyclopædia, repeatedly trounced in controversies with Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Publication details: 
Letter: 18 August 1851; 56 rue de Lille [Paris]. Accompanying document without place or date.
£56.00

Both the letter and the accompanying document are in fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Both items signed 'Dion: Lardner'. ONE: Letter to Dickinson & Co. 1p, 12mo. He wishes to add 'these few lines' to 'the enclosed business letter' (not present), 'to aprise you that from the private knowledge I have of the parties interested in the business that I am of opinion that they are entitled to serious attention.

[Scottish seventeenth-century wholesale draper.] Itemised manuscript accounts, naming customers, fabrics, dates, lengths, sums.

Author: 
[Scottish seventeenth-century wholesale draper]
Draper
Publication details: 
8 June 1664 to 8 March 1664/5. No place given [Scotland].
£550.00
Draper

There is no indication of the author's identity, but one of the customers is named as 'Mr: Dougall Campball', and others include 'Balantine', 'Mr Connor', 'Mr Hall', 'Thomas Eson' and 'Tho Eison'. The sums involved are large, and the document would appear to suggest a wholesaler. 2pp, folio, on a leaf of laid paper with no watermark. Aged and worn, with chipping along one edge resulting in slight loss to some of the figures on one side of the leaf.

[ Sir John Pender, Manchester textile merchant and submarine telegraph cable pioneer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Jno Pender') [ to the physician Sir William Henry Allchin ], explaining why he cannot dine with 'the Directors of your Company'.

Author: 
Sir John Pender (1816-1896), Scottish textile merchant in Manchester and submarine telegraph cable entrepreneur [ Sir William Henry Allchin (1846-1912), physician ]
Publication details: 
'Manr. July 10/65', i.e. Manchester, 10 July 1865.
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. A square has been cut away at thee head of the leaf (probably to remove Pender's monogram), otherwise in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The recipient is not named but it is the physician Sir William Henry Allchin. The letter reads: 'On my arrival here last evening I found an invitation from the Directors of your Company to dine with them at Richmond on the 17th. inst. I regret that I will not be in Town at the time. The Card I fear by some mistake reached my hands late.' From the Allchin papers.

[Inscribed by author.] Two Letters to the Right Honourable the Earl of Sheffield; in which His Lordship's Report to the Meeting at Lewes Wool-Fair, and the Proceedings at a recent Meeting of Wool-Growers, at the Free Masons' Tavern, are examined; […]

Author: 
J. B. S. [ John Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield ]
Publication details: 
London: Printed by J. M. Richardson, 23, Cornhill, opposite the Royal-Exchange. 1816. [ Marchant, Printer, Ingram-Court, London. ]
£80.00

Full title, with motto: 'Two Letters to the Right Honourable the Earl of Sheffield; in which His Lordship's Report to the Meeting at Lewes Wool-Fair, and the Proceedings at a recent Meeting of Wool-Growers, at the Free Masons' Tavern, are examined; and the True State of the Wool-Question attempted to be shewn. | By J. B. S. | Veritas Nihil Veretur Nisi Abscondi.' A scarce item: no copies at the British Library or other deposit libraries and the only copies on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat at Edinburgh University and Senate House. [4] + 76pp., 8vo. Disbound, and with first leaf (half-title) loose.

[ Alfred Emmott, 1st Baron Emmott. ] Autograph Card Signed ('Alfred Emmott') to 'Holdsworth', undertaking to present a petition to the House of Commons.

Author: 
Alfred Emmott (1858-1926), 1st Baron Emmott, Oldham cotton magnate and Liberal politician
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Horton, Chipping Sodbury. 9 April 1904.
£28.00

In good condition, with slight crease to one corner. Informing him that he will be 'very glad to present your petition when the House re-opens'.

[ William Lawrence Balls, botanist. ] Ten Typed Letters Signed (all 'W Lawrence Balls') to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts

Author: 
William Lawrence Balls (1882-1960), FRS, botanist who specialised in cotton technology [ the Fine Cotton Spinners' and Doublers' Association, Limited, Manchester; Royal Society of Arts, London ]
Publication details: 
All on letterheads of the Fine Cotton Spinners' & Doublers' Association, Limited, St. James's Square, Manchester. Two from 1917 and eight from 1918.
£100.00

The ten letters total 4pp., landscape 8vo, and 6pp., 4to. The collection in good condition, lightly aged and worn. With stamps and annotations of the Royal Society of Arts. The correspondence relates to a lecture given by him by invitation, and its subsequent publication in the Society's journal. He originally suggests that it be titled 'The Application of Science to economic purposes, with illustrations from the Cotton Trade', thinking that it would 'attract people outside cotton circles', but is persuaded to alter this to 'Examples of Applied Science in the Cotton Industry'.

[ The Spanish textiles industry. ] Manufacturer's sample book, containing in excess of 2000 examples of clothing labels

Author: 
[ Spanish clothing labels; textiles; fashion industry of Spain ]
Publication details: 
Spanish. Undated (1920's onwards?). Containing loosely inserted material dating from 1949 and 1962.
£950.00

The collection consists of more than 2000 labels, laid down on 117pp of a substantial, heavy and thumb-indexed folio volume (38 X 27 X 7 cm), bound in brown cloth. The collection is in good condition, with the inevitable signs of age, in heavily aged and worn binding. Loosely inserted are seven pieces of card and one of paper, carrying around 50 more examples, and three more pieces of paper with sixteen examples of woven coloured ribbon, as well as three enlarged folded grid designs for the weaving of labels.

[ J. T. Maleville, nineteenth-century printer in Washington, DC. ] Menu printed on pink silk.

Author: 
J. T. Maleville, printer of Washington DC [ American printing ]
Menu
Publication details: 
'J. T. MALEVILLE, PRINT, 407 10TH ST.' [ Washington, DC] Undated [1880s?].
£80.00
Menu

Printed in black ink on one side of a 23.5 x 17.5 cm piece of pink silk. An interesting piece of American nineteenth-century printing, with only the printer's details giving a clue to the occasion of the dinner. Within a decorative border, and with Maleville's slug in bottom left-hand corner. A sumptuous 'service à la russe', with potages, hors d'oeuvre, poisson, relevé, entrées roti, entremets and dessert.

[ London linen trade in early-Victorian period. ] Autograph Letter in the third person from 'Miss A Dealtry' to Messrs Wilson of New Bond Street, linen drapers, placing an order and including a swatch of fabric.

Author: 
John Wilson of New Bond Street, London linen draper [ Anne Dealtry (d.1865) and Frances Dealtry [ 'the Misses Dealtry' ] of Bolnore, Cuckfield ]
Publication details: 
Bedford Square [ London ]. 29 November [ 1838 ].
£80.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium, addressed, with postmarks, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Messrs. Wilson | Linen Drapers | New Bond Street', and also docketed '1838 | Dealtry Miss A'. In frail condition, with the two leaves separated and closed tears and wear. Sewn with white thread onto the second leaf of the letter is a swatch of cloth - dark blue with white and red stripes - in a loop of circa 20 x 1.5 cm. The text reads: 'Miss A Dealtry wishes Mr.

[Printed prospectus.] The Yorkshire College, Leeds. Departments of Tinctorial Chemistry and Dyeing. Built, Equipped, and Endowed by the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers of the City of London.

Author: 
[The Yorkshire College, Leeds; Victoria University; the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers of the City of London; Board of Education Reference Library]
Publication details: 
Leeds: Goodall and Suddick, Ltd. 1903.
£120.00

16pp., 4to. Frontispiece and ten half-page black and white photographic illustrations. Stitched. In grey printed wraps. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with stamps, shelf-mark and red label of the Board of Education Reference Library. Loosely inserted is a printed circular (1p., 4to) from W. F.

[Printed items.] Nine pamphlets relating to the Yorkshire College, Leeds, Victoria University: five course prospectuses (including Agriculture and Day Classes), four reports (including Agriculture and Textile Industries, Dyeing and Art Classes).

Author: 
[The Yorkshire College, Leeds; Victoria College; Leeds University; Board of Education Reference Library]
Publication details: 
Five printed by McCorquodale & Co. Limited, Leeds, and three by Jowett & Sowry, Printers and Lithographers, 78 Albion Street, Leeds. Dating from between 1893-1894 and 1903-1904.
£500.00

The Yorkshire College of Science was founded in 1874, and merged with Owens College, Manchester, and University College, Liverpool, to form Victoria University ten years later. In 1904, King Edward VII granted Leeds University its own Charter as an independent institution. The nine items from the Board of Education Reference Library, and carrying its stamps, shelf-marks and red labels. All nine in fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Comprising: ONE. 'Department of Agriculture. Third Report, 1893-4.' 48pp., 8vo. In light-blue printed wraps. TWO. 'Department of Agriculture.

Manuscript report by Bathe & Kindon, floor cloth manufacturers, of the resolutions of a meeting of the London Floor Cloth Manufacturers, with manuscript draft of the unnamed recipients' long reply.

Author: 
Bathe & Kindon [later Kindon, Powell & Co.], floor cloth and table cover manufacturers, Swan St, Kent Rd, Bermondsey [the London Floor Cloth Manufacturers; Victorian interior design; textiles]
Publication details: 
Swan Street, Kent Road [Bermondsey, London]. 29 January 1853.
£160.00

The report is 3pp., 4to, on a bifolium. Signed on behalf of the firm: 'Hoping that this information of our proceedings will be satisfactory to you | We remain | Gentlemen | Your Obedt Servants | Bathe & Kindon'. The letter begins: 'Gentlemen - | A Meeting of the London Floor Cloth Manufacturers, was held yesterday - & the result was, a rise of 2d. pr Sq: Yard, on their respective prices - this was carried, after considerable discussion, whether the rise should be 2d or 3d - but the majority decided for the 2d - at present'.

Notebook containing a manuscript account of a visit to North America by a cotton broker acting for the Liverpool branch of the Manchester firm Reiss Brothers, with details of mills and merchants, recorded while trying to establish a hedging business.

Author: 
[Reiss Brothers, cotton merchants of Manchester and Liverpool, England; textiles industry in Canada and the United States of America; transatlantic trade]
Publication details: 
United States (New York and Boston) and Canada (Toronto and Montreal). 24 December 1938 to 10 February 1939.
£450.00

70pp., 12mo, in ruled notebook, with the main text on 51 rectos, 17 facing pages carrying notes, mostly in pencil, and 2pp. of memoranda at the other end of the notebook. In very good condition, in attractive gilt-tooled red morocco red leather binding, with all edges gilt and marbled endpapers. The first page headed 'Visit to U.S. Canada Dec.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Philip Fothergill') from the Yorkshire textile magnate Charles Philip Fothergill to Mark Bonham Carter, discussing the 'sudden crisis' that may follow the defeat of the Liberal Party at the next general electi

Author: 
Charles Philip Fothergill (1906-1959), Yorkshire textile magnate and Liberal Party politician [Mark Bonham Carter (1922-94), Baron Bonham-Carter, publisher and Liberal politician]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Eastburn House, Park Road, Dewsbury. 11 July 1948.
£120.00

4pp., 4to. 75 lines of neatly-written text. On creased aged paper, with a few closed tears (one of them 11cm long). He begins by praising Bonham-Carters 'objective & informed comments on American opinion' ('I hope you will feel encouraged to publish more of your findings'). 'But gratitude & a thirst for information & about American politics are not my only reason [sic] for writing. I wish you were in England, for I would very much enjoy an exchange of views with you about the position of the Party.

Autograph Testimonial Signed ('Sydney G Mawson') by the landscape painter and lecturer in textiles at Slade School of Art, Sydney G. Mawson, for

Author: 
Sydney G. Mawson (1849-1941), landscape painter and lecturer in textiles at Slade School of Art [H. Clarence Whaite (1895-1978), Head of Art Department, University of London Institute of Education]
Publication details: 
Langholen Lodge, Richmond, Surrey. 5 January 1924.
£56.00

Whaite was first cousin twice removed of his more famous namesake. He was himself an excellent artist and teacher, and there is a large collection of his work at the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester. 2pp., 12mo. Fair, on aged, creased paper with slight rust spotting. Mawson begins: 'Mr. H. Clarence Whaite first came under my notice a few years ago when attending my lecture on Decoration & Ornamental Design at the Slade School - and from the first I was much struck with his understanding and grasp of the principles[.] This enabled him to carry out work of exceptional merit.

Four folders of notes by Frank Mallalieu of D. & H. Mallalieu, Bailey Mill, Delph, Oldham, Lancashire, compiled while studying in the Department of Textiles Industries, Huddersfield Technical College, including graph patterns and cloth swatches.

Author: 
Frank Mallalieu of D. & H. Mallalieu Ltd, textile manufacturer, Bailey Mill, Delph, Oldham [Huddersfield Technical College, founded as Huddersfield Mechanics' Institution and now the University of ]
Publication details: 
Huddersfield Technical College; between 1929 and 1939.
£450.00

These items not only constitute survivals from one of the leading Lancashire textile manufacturers, in an era when the industry in that area was world-renowned, but also of what was considered to be one of the very best of the north of England's celebrated working men's colleges. A total of 507pp., 4to., in four folders. In addition to Frank Mallalieu's meticulous course notes, diagrams and calculations (with occasional tutors' markings), the contents include 99pp. of mimeographed course notes and 47 swatches of material.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Mel. Alcan'), in French, to 'Monsieur le Conseiller d'Etat Commissaire Général'.

Author: 
Michel Alcan (1801-1877), French politician and engineer who made numerous innovations in the field of textiles [Exposition Universelle de 1867, Paris, France]
Publication details: 
Paris le 13. Dbre 1866'.
£65.00

4to (27 x 21 cm), 1 p. Nine lines of text. Text clear and complete on lightly aged, creased and foxed paper. Small closed tear at edge along crease line (not affecting text). Bearing the numbered stamp of the Exposition Universelle de 1867, Commission Imperiale. Accepting the position, conferred on him by the Commission, of 'membre de Jury de l'Exposition dans la 55me. classe': 'J'accepte cette tâche de confiance, et ferai tous mes éfforts pour la remplir avec l'activité reclamée par le reglement concernant les travaux du Jury'.

Autograph Letter Signed to unnamed male correspondent.

Author: 
Lieutenant J. Longshaw, of His Majesty's Brig Tyrian [Ireland; Irish; textile; textiles; weaving]
Publication details: 
Tyrian July 3d. 1813 Spithead.'
£56.00

8vo: 1 p. Sixteen lines of text. The Tyrian arrived in Spithead the previous night 'with a Convoy', and the postal delay prevented him 'from fulfilling Mrs. P's Commission'. They 'remained three days in Ireland' and 'had a good passage there and Back': 'but as we may frequently have the trip, I shall keep it in Memory, I have bought over Two pieces. Enclosed are Patterns of Eight Yards each We call them Poplins, but these are Manufactured only at Dublin and by the Natives called '. States what he paid and sends respects. Docketed on reverse in a contemporary hand.

Twenty-eight Typed Letters Signed, seventeen Autograph Letters Signed, etc, to K. W. Luckhurst, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, and others.

Author: 
John Alexander Milne [Henry Stone & Son; the Medici Society; Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
1938-43; various letterheads, including 11, Old Cavendish St, W.1.; Greengates, Sunningdale, Berks; and 35 Grosvenor Square, W.1.
£200.00

British businessman (1872-1955), chairman of the Medici Society Ltd, chairman and managing director of Henry Stone & Son Ltd, printers. Very good. Mostly octavo, with a few quarto and 12mo. Some bearing the Society's stamp and others docketed. Occasional rust marks from paperclips. Mainly concerned with the day-to-day activities of the Royal Society of Arts, of which Milne was a prominent member, around the time of the Second World War. On 7 September 1939: 'I hardly anticipate that you are likely to have trouble in regard to occupation of the premises.

One Autograph Letter Signed and one Typed Letter Signed to W. Perry, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Leigh Bolland Ashton [Leigh Ashton]
Publication details: 
Typed letter: 19 November 1930; autograph letter, no date; both items on (different) Victoria & Albert Museum letterheads.
£75.00

Director (1897-1983) and Secretary, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1945-55. Both items one page, quarto. Both in very good condition. Typed letter bearing R.S.A. stamp. Both items concerning a projected lecture. TYPED LETTER: Perry will have a typescript by the end of the month, 'but as a good dea of my lecture is extempore you may find it rather shorter than you had anticipated. The written part will be roughly two thousand words.' Signed Leigh Ashton'. AUTOGRAPH LETTER: Perry will 'have to be content with the length of M.S. I send in. It may possibly run to 3000 but not more.

Autograph Letter Signed to Messrs. W. Ewart & Son, Belfast.

Author: 
Sir James Emerson Tennent [the Board of Trade, Whitehall]
Publication details: 
Office of Committee of Privy Council for Trade, Whitehall, 20 June 1864.
£80.00

Irish traveller, politician and author (1804-69; DNB). 1 page, 4to, on blue paper, with printed address for 'further communication' in top left-hand corner. Docketed with date of reply on verso of second leaf of bifoliate, with has remains of mounts in four corners. Creased with slight spotting, but in good condition overall. Ewart & Sons were linen manufacturers and the letter, in response to one of 18 June 1864, concerns the status of 'British Vessels and their Cargoes' in the 'Ports of the United States'. Signed 'J Emerson Tennent'.

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