Search results

Author, Title, Summary Subject Price
William Farren (1786-1861), leading Georgian actor [James Robinson Planché (1796-1880), dramatist, antiquary and Somerset Herald; Olympic Theatre, London; George and John Smith of Yarmouth]

[William Farren, leading Georgian actor.] Joint (William & John) Autograph Letters Signed (both 'W. Farren') to George Smith of Yarmouth Theatre & his brother John, encouraging John to work on a play for J. R. Planché at the Olympic Theatre, London.

Farren's entry in the Oxford DNB concludes by describing him as 'a theatrical sophisticate, equally at home in period comedy and modern plays; he was, besides, one of the finest actors of his century'. From around 1821 Farren lived with the actress Mrs Faucit (Harriet Elizabeth Savill, née...

£120.00
Edward Dalziel (1817-1905) of the Brothers Dalziel, wood-engravers associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and Lewis Carroll [Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899), illustrator]

[Edward Dalziel of the Brothers Dalziel, London wood-engravers.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Edward Dalziel') to 'B Forster [sic] Esqr', i.e. illustrator Birket Foster, advising him to lay prints in the sun, and giving the address of printers.

A very nice association between two central figures in Victorian book illustration. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium addressed on reverse of second leaf, with Penny Red stamp and three postmarks, to 'B Forster [sic] Esqr | Cavendish Villa | Carlton Hill | St Johns Wood'. Endorsed with date. In good condition...

£250.00
Cavour [Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri] (1810-1861), Italian statesman, leading figure in the Risorgimento [Massimo Taparelli, Marquess of Azeglio (1798-1866)

[Cavour, Italian statesman and leading figure in the Risorgimento.] Autograph Letter Signed ('C Cavour'), in Italian, enclosing a letter for the Marquess of Azeglio, and inviting the recipient to contribute writing in a powerful 'organ of publicity'.

1p, 12mo. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium, the rest being blank. In good condition, lightly aged, with a hole on a blank part of the paper at the foot of the first leaf. Neatly written and signed 'C. Cavour'. Cavour begins by taking up an offer by the unnamed recipient, by asking...

History £250.00
Henry Williamson (1895-1977), English novelist, naturalist and ruralist, author of ‘Tarka the Otter’, his daughter-in-law and biographer Anne Williamson, wife of his youngest son Richard Williamson

[Henry Williamson, author of 'Tarka the Otter'.] Typed material prepared by his daughter-in-law Anne Williamson, intended to provide 'background information for an outline for biographical television treatment'.

Anne Williamson, author of two books on Henry Williamson and of his entry in the Oxford DNB, was married to his youngest son Richard (1935-2022). The present typewritten material (88pp, 8vo) consists of several drafts and duplicates of material intended for circulation to production companies...

£650.00
‘Ulster Scot’ [Rev. John Charles Fulton Hood (1884-1964), Deputy Assistant Chaplain-General to the Forces, husband of harpist Helen Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser; W. Vance Packman]

[‘Ulster Scot’ [Rev. J. C. F. Hood, Deputy Assistant Chaplain-General to the Forces.]] Newspaper cutting of letter to The Times from Hood, with Manuscript Letter from ‘Ulster Scot’ thanking him, and note [from W. Vance Packman] disputing facts.

Hood was married to the harpist Helen Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser (1889-1967), daughter of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser (1857-1930), the celebrated collector and singer of Hebridean songs. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: Manuscript Letter Signed by ‘Ulster Scot.’ 1p, 8vo. Begins: ‘...

£150.00
Sir James Anderson (1824-93), captain of SS Great Eastern during the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866 [Joseph Charles Parkinson; Isambard Kingdom Brunel]

[Sir James Anderson, captain of SS Great Eastern.] Autograph Letter Signed to J. C. Parkinson of the Daily News, on his return from laying first transatlantic cable, complaining of 'amateur advisers'. With East Indian Railway, Special Tourist Ticket

Four items from the papers of Joseph Charles Parkinson (1833-1908), journalist, civil servant and social reformer, contributor to the Daily News, All the Year Round, Temple Bar, and associate of Dickens and Wilkie Collins. The material relates to Parkinson's book 'The Ocean Telegraph to India: A...

Military and Naval History, Science, Medicine and Technology, Social history £450.00
The Stephenson Centenary, 1881; Thomas Pumphrey, Grocer, Newcastle-on-Tyne; George Stephenson (1781-1848), engineer, 'Father of the Railways'

[The Stephenson Centenary 1881'.] Well-designed lithographic poster, 'Presented as a memento of the Centennial Commemoration' by Thomas Pumphrey, Newcastle grocer, with central portrait of Stephenson surrounded by seven related engravings.

An extremely attractive memento, no other copy of which has been traced, either on OCLC WorldCat or COPAC. Lithographic printing in black on 57 x 44.5 cm piece of wove paper. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight creasing to margin at one edge, and the merest of spotting. Folded...

£250.00
Lord Derby [Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby] (1826-1893), Conservative politician who served as Foreign Secretary and Colonial Secretary [John Stuart Mill; Matthew Arnold]

[Lord Derby disassociates himself from John Stuart Mill.] Autograph Letter in the third person [to Matthew Arnold], expressing a willingness to join in ‘any mark of respect’, as long as it does not imply ‘an agreement in Mr Mill’s political opinions'

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Mill had died on 8 May, and in his 2018 biography, Timothy Larsen gives an account of the controversy over the efforts to have buried in Westminister Abbey. (In any event by his own desire Helen Taylor had her husband buried at Avignon.) 2pp, 12mo. With thin...

£120.00
Elizabeth, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth [ [née Lady Elizabeth Berkeley; Elizabeth Craven, Lady Craven] (1750-1828), playwright, travel writer and source of scandal

[‘The Beautiful Lady Craven’: Elizabeth, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth, playwright, travel writer and source of scandal.] Three Autograph Letters Signed, one asking ‘Mrs. Roe’ to look out for flannel and a mantua maker.

A friend of Horace Walpole, she was described by Boswell, after a dinner with her and Dr Johnson, as ‘the beautiful, gay, and fascinating Lady Craven’. See her entry in the Oxford DNB. The three items are laid down with eight other items (see the end of this description) on pieces of paper cut...

£180.00
‘Christopher Marie St John’, assumed name of Christabel Gertrude Marshall (1871-1960), author and campaigner for women’s suffrage, who lived in a ménage à trois with Edith Craig and Clare Atwood

[‘Christopher Marie St John’ [Christabel Gertrude Marshall], author and suffragist in menage à trois with Edith Craig and Clare Atwood.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Christopher St. John.’), proposing an article to ‘Mr Walbrook’ of the Pall Mall Gazette

The subject of the present letter is, as Marshall’s entry in the Oxford DNB explains, her ‘translation of a play by the first female dramatist, Hrotsvit. ‘Paphnutius’ was given a world première by Craig for the Pioneer Players in January 1914.’ The recipient, Henry Mackinnon Walbrook (1865-1941...

£120.00