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Author, Title, Summary Subject Price
John Phillips (1926-2017), flâneur and literary executor of Violet Trefusis (1894-1972; née Keppel), English socialite and author, lover of Vita Sackville-West ['Sasha' in 'Orlando' of Virginia Woolf]

[Violet Trefusis, lover of Vita Sackville-West.] Unpublished work privately printed by John Phillips: 'Letters from Violet Trefusis to John Phillips (1961-1968)'.

After a twelve-year 'amitié amoureuse' with Phillips, Violet Trefusis died in 1972, appointing him her literary executor and leaving him her last home, La Tour de Saint Loup. The present item – no other copy of which has been traced – is from a collection of Phillips's papers amassed by his...

£800.00
John Phillips (1926-2017), flâneur and literary executor of Violet Trefusis (1894-1972; née Keppel), English socialite and author, lover of Vita Sackville-West [Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer]

[Rudolf Nureyev: personal reminiscences of John Phillips.] Privately printed collection of 'Nureyev Notes August 1966', regarding 'Sleeping Beauty' at La Scala, Milan. Inscribed by Phillips to Barbara Reed.

After a twelve-year 'amitié amoureuse' with Phillips, Violet Trefusis died in 1972, appointing him her literary executor and leaving him her last home, La Tour de Saint Loup. The present item – only one other copy of which has been traced – is from a collection of Phillips's papers amassed by...

£250.00
Sir Hamo Thornycroft [Sir William Hamo Thornycroft, RA] (1850-1925), sculptor of statue of Oliver Cromwell outside Parliament [Helen Allingham (n?e Paterson; 1848-1926); Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo]

[Hamo Thornycroft [Sir William Hamo Thornycroft, RA.], sculptor of the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside Parliament.] Autograph Letter Signed to ?Mrs Allingham? [Helen Allingham, watercolourist and illustrator], regarding ?cards for RA?.

See the entries on Thornycroft and Allingham in the Oxford DNB. The letterhead is also of interest: 'One-Oak' is a notable example of the work of the Arts and Crafts architect A. H. Mackmurdo. 1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with traces of mount adhering to...

Art and Architecture £120.00 Hamo Thornycroft
Michael Davitt (1846-1906), Irish republican and agrarian campaigner, founder of the Irish National Land League, Member of the British Parliament [Irish Republican Brotherhood; Home Rule; Fenians]

[Michael Davitt, Irish republican politician.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Michael Davitt.') to W. M. Knox, regarding his 'direction' of the forthcoming newspaper 'Labour World'.

The present letter relates to the founding by Davitt – who inspired Mahatma Gandhi – of the newspaper 'Labour World', in which he was an early promoter of the British Labour Party. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once. The reverse of the second leaf carries...

History £200.00
Thomas Hood (1799-1845), English poet, author of 'The Song of the Shirt' and 'The Bridge of Sighs', member of John Scott's 'London Magazine' circle

[Thomas Hood, English poet.] Autograph Signature on valediction cut from letter.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Rectangle of paper, evidently cut from a letter for an autograph hunter. Reads: ‘Yours truly / Tom Hood’. See image.

Literature £25.00 Hood
W. Harrison Ainsworth [William Harrison Ainsworth] (1805-1882), Victorian historical novelist and close friend of Charles Dickens

[William Harrison Ainsworth, Victorian historical novelist and close friend of Charles Dickens.] Autograph Letter Signed, inviting ‘Mrs Barlow’ and her husband ‘Mr. Fred. Barlow’ to dinner on his daughters’ return.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Signed ‘W Harrison Ainsworth’. Signed ‘W Harrison Ainsworth’ and reads: ‘Dear Mrs Barlow / My Daughters return on the 30th. May[.] I therefore hope to have the pleasure of seeing you and Mr. Barlow at...

Literature £45.00 Ainsworth
Andrew Duncan, the elder (1744-1828), Scottish physician and Professor at Edinburgh University, joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh [Samuel Parkes (1761-1825), eminent chemist]

[Andrew Duncan, the elder, Scottish physician and Professor at Edinburgh University.] Autograph Letter Signed ('A Duncan Sen.') to 'Samuel Parks', i.e. the chemist Samuel Parkes, regarding the discourse he delivered at an award to Parkes.

For the recipient Samuel Parks, internationally-renowned chemist and member of twenty-one learned societies, see his entry in the Oxford DNB, which explains his presence in Edinburgh at the time of the letter by explaining that it was during a visit to the city in June 1825 that Parkes 'was...

£180.00
Angela Burdett-Coutts [Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, Baroness Burdett-Coutts] (1814-1906), the richest woman in Victorian England [A. M. Broadley [Alexander Meyrick Broadley] (1847-1916)]

[The richest woman in Victorian England: Angela Burdett-Coutts, philanthropist.] Autograph Letter Signed to A. M. Broadley, regarding a concert by the pianist Linda Dutton Cook.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB, from which the scandalous recipient, a high-society fixer, is unaccountably absent. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Fifty-seven lines of text, sloping upwards. Addressed to ‘Mr Broadley’ and signed ‘Burdett Coutts’. The...

£50.00
Edward Jesse [ (1780–1868), writer on natural history].

[ Edward Jesse ] Autograph Note Signed Ed Jesse to My dear Professor [not named], inviting him to dine with General Jones [...] head of the Rifles as the other guest.

One page, fold marks, very good condition. Would he dine with us next Thursday at 7 o'clock, to meet Genl Jones who distinguished himself so much in India [during the Indian Mutiny presumably] at the head of the Rifles. I have asked [?] shall play at [Cheat?] or Whist.

£35.00
John Bunnell Davis (1777-1824), physician, founder in 1816 of the Universal Dispensary for Children [now Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women], London

[John Bunnell Davis, physician, founder of the Universal Dispensary for Children [now Royal Waterloo Hospital.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Jno B Davis M D') [to the trustees], tendering in odd terms his resignation from the 'valuable Institution'.

For Davis see Munk's Roll, the Gentleman's Magazine for January 1825, and I. S. L. Loudon's paper 'John Bunnell Davis and the Universal Dispensary for Children' (BMJ, 5 May 1979). The Universal Dispensary for Children, founded by Davis in 1816 and open to the under-twelves, was as Loudon points...

£250.00