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Author, Title, Summary Subject Price
Frederic Vanson (1919-1993), Essex poet, journalist and lecturer, wife of the painter Olive Bentley [Christopher Fry (1907-2005), playwright]

[Frederic Vanson, Essex poet, journalist and lecturer.] 19 letters (12 in autograph and 7 typed), to the playwright Christopher Fry, with draft introduction by Fry to a proposed poetry collection by Vanson, and typescript of three of Vanson's poems.

An interesting and sprightly correspondence, mainly concerned with the practicalities of the vocation of a minor provincial poet. See David Gaskin’s obituary of Vanson, Independent, 27 July 1993, and Fry’s entry in the Oxford DNB. A second slice of Vanson material from the Christopher Fry papers...

£400.00
Col. Thomas Abernethie (c.1759-1840) of the Royal Marines [Duke of Wellington; Peninsular War; Madeira Wine, Portugal]

[‘Lord Wellington is in full pursuit of the French’: Col. Thomas Abernethie of the Royal Marines, 1811.] Autograph Letter Signed from Major Thomas Abernethie, Royal Marines, to Cox and Son, regarding a cask of madeira and news of the Peninsular War.

He receives the briefest of obituaries in the Gentleman's Magazine, July 1840: 'May 10. At Exeter, aged 81, Col. Thomas Abernethie, K.H. on the retired list of the Royal Marines.' 3pp, 4to. Bifolium. On aged and discoloured paper, with the usual damage to the second leaf from the breaking of the...

£150.00
High Court of Admiralty, London (Sir William Scott): The wreck of the Eliza (James Driver, Master), 4 August 1818 [Messrs Cobb & Son, Margate]

[High Court of Admiralty (Sir William Scott): the wreck of the Eliza (James Driver, Master), 4 August 1818.] Two manuscript documents: an affidavit by 'Messrs. Cobb & Son / Margate / by favor of Mr. Meagher', and a memorandum regarding a dispute.

The Eliza was on her way to Bristol from Memel in Prussia when she was wrecked on the Kentish Knock on 4 August 1818. The court is not named, but the second document contains a reference to 'the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court'. ONE: Affidavit headed ‘Eliza James Driver Master.’ 1p,...

£120.00
J. M. Barrie [Sir James Matthew Barrie], Scottish writer, author of 'Peter Pan'; Andrew Block, London bookseller; W. and G. Foyle Limited [Foyles], London booksellers

[J. M. Barrie [Sir James Matthew Barrie], Scottish writer, author of 'Peter Pan'.] Copy of numbered edition of 'Sir J. M. Barrie / His First Editions Points and Values By Andrew Block', with numerous knowledgeable manuscript annotations.

xiv + [1] + 38pp, 12mo. No.16/500. In blue cloth binding, titled in gilt on cover and spine. No dust wrapper. Printed on thick paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Annotated in pencil throughout, and with a page of annotations at the end. The handwriting is distinctive (and certainly not...

Literature £120.00 J. M. Barrie
Lord Grenfell [Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell (1841-1925)], British Army soldier, victor at Suakin and Toski in Mahdist War; Governor of Malta; Commander-in-Chief, Ireland

[Lord Grenfell [Francis Wallace Grenfell], British Army soldier, Governor of Malta, Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.] Autograph Signature (‘Francis Grenfell / Maj Genl’) cut from a letter for an autograph hunter.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 13 x 6.5 cm piece of thin paper, apparently cut from the end of a letter for an autograph hunter. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, folded twice. Reads: ‘Francis Grenfell / Maj Genl / April 16 / 1892.’ See image.

Military and Naval History £45.00 Lord Grenfell
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]

[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.

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’....

£120.00
Major John Lodington, Royal Marines, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Dominica, the Earl of Huntingdon [HMS Ardent; Messrs Cox & Son, Royal Marine Agency Office, London]

[Major John Lodington, Royal Marine, future Naval Officer at Dominica.] Two Autograph Letters Signed by him, and one by his wife, to Messrs Cox & Son, Royal Marine Agency Office, regarding a creditor's 'unpleasant letter', 'Monte Video Prize Money'.

Lodington would be ‘appointed naval officer at Dominica’ in 1814, and the last heard of him is in a letter of 1824 from the same place (offered separately), where ‘Lieut. Col. Lodington’ is awaiting trial, having been abandoned by the Governor, the Earl of Huntingdon. The three items are in good...

£100.00
Marie Descorches [Marie Louis Henri Descorches] (1749-1830; Marquis d`Escorches de Sainte Croix), French soldier and revolutionary diplomat, Ambassador to Poland and Ottoman Empire, Prefect of Drôme

[Marie Descorches, French revolutionary diplomat, formerly Marquis d`Escorches de Sainte Croix.] Two communications as ‘Préfet du Département de la Drome’: a Secretarial Letter Signed by him to Mayor of ‘Commune de Propiac’, and printed decree.

The two items are on variations of the revolutionary letterhead of the Prefect of the Drôme Department, with oval medallion illustration of a seated liberty with a phrygian cap on a stick, forearm leaning on the fasces and the words ‘Libérté’ and ‘Égalité’. The printed decree is in good...

French, History £180.00 DESCORCHES
Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley [as Earl of Mornington]; John Jeffreys Pratt, 1st Marquess Camden [as Viscount Bayham]; John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney of St Leonards

[Three Tory Statesmen, 1793.] Autograph Signatures of ‘Mornington’ [Marquis Wellesley, Wellington’s brother], ‘Bayham’ [Marquis Camden, Ireland connection] and ‘J. Th. Townshend’ [Viscount Sydney of St Leonards], on part of parliamentary document.

Richard Colley Wellesley (1760-1842), 1st Marquess Wellesley [as Earl of Mornington]; John Jeffreys Pratt (1759-1840), 1st Marquess Camden [as Viscount Bayham]; John Thomas Townshend (1764-1831), 2nd Viscount Sydney of St Leonards. See their entries in the Oxford DNB. On 5.5 x 15.5 cm strip...

History £180.00 Three Tory Statesmen, 1793.
Royal Navy, 1704 [Admiralty: Monthly Account of Cruizers and Home Convoys; House of Lords; Parliament]

[Royal Navy, 1704.] Printed House of Lords paper comprising Admiralty tables headed ‘A Monthly Account of Cruizers [Home-Convoys], from the First of January, to the First of November.’

A scarce piece of naval ephemera. Six copies on COPAC: Chetham’s Library, Lambeth Palace, NLS, Oxford, Society of Antiquaries and BL. According to ESTC, the journals of the House of Lords state that it was ‘presented to the House on 17 January 1705, and ordered to be printed 5 February 1705’. In...

Military and Naval History £220.00  Monthly Account