Autograph Letters

12mo, 1 p, 7 lines. Good, on light aged paper, with 1 cm closed tear to top corner (not affecting text, which is clear and entire). Reads 'I regret having to inform you that the Salford Mayoralty Seal has broken all to pieces in the process of hardening and that I am afraid that I am obliged to engrave another which I am proceeding with as expeditiously as possible'.

Landscape 12mo, 2 pp. 17 pages of text. Blue oval stamp at head. Good, on lightly creased paper, with small closed tear at head. Difficult hand. 'Bambridge is not a familiar name in Virginia. Very many of the early settlers died from malaria & other fevers soon after arriving.' Discusses the difficulty of genealogical research ('we have a hundred Counties in Virginia').

On a piece of pink paper, roughly 9 x 11 cm. Neatly laid down onto a piece of white paper. Very good. A reply to a request for an autograph. Reads 'I am | my dear Lady | Yours truly | [signed] Eliza Cook'. The signature is firm and bold, with a small part of the flourish beneath it shaved away.

12mo, 2 pp. Text complete and legible, on grubby and creased paper. Trace of grey paper mount adhering to blank verso of second leaf of bifolium. Crude caricature of a man's face in top left-hand corner of first page. Draper 'bolted from the Club last night' - Webber can 'guess the cause' - 'thereby depriving the committee of the unit necessary to form a quorum'. Had he not done so 'Marks would have shown you the drawing which he had brought down, finished, for your inspection.' Webber will 'bring it with me to the Circle to-morrow.

Letter One (12mo, 1 p; on creased, aged paper with closed tear at head): date (1878) illegible, on letterhead of the 'Office of "Tinsleys' Magazine," | 8, Catherine Street, Strand, W.C.' A most unusual way of declining an invitation. He thanks Draper for his kindness and is 'truly grieved' that he 'cannot come to-day - I gave my boots a holiday yesterday, which they want to pass with a worthy cobbler.

12mo, 1 p. Text clear and entire, on lightly creased blue paper, with a thin docketed strip neatly cut away at the foot of the letter. Traces of cream paper mount adhering to the blank reverse. Presumably refers to the play 'Alone in London', which debuted at the Olympic Theatre in 1885. Buchanan trusts that Fenn 'will be present in production of my new play & Miss Jay's debut on Wednesday next'. He asks whether to send the stalls, 'or do you get them from the Office? It will be indeed disappointing if you do not come, this time.'

On printed postcard, with a postmarked postage stamp. Addressed by Crockett. Aged and creased, with paperclip markings. Asks to see a copy of 'The Maple Leaf', 'so that I may have an idea as to the sort of thing you want for the Xmas. no.'

12mo, 2 pp. In poor condition, creased and with frayed edges and a closed tear to the second leaf of the bifolium, to which there is also slight loss. Text clear and entire, apart from one word. Addressed to 'Dear old Boy' and 'old fellow', from 'Your <?> Brother'.

All five items are 12mo, 1 p, and in good condition, with the text entirely legible, but with slight discoloration to the extremities and to the blank second leaves of four of the letters. Letter One (17 May 1898): Concerns a letter by Sir William White, regarding which Knowles has not written as 'it seemed to me there was nothing to write about - & I am compelled to write so many letters!' Knowles 'did not at all think that Sir W. White intended any disparaging reflection in your competence by saying that you were <?> not a man "technically trained in naval architecture" '.

Both letters good, on lightly aged paper. Both items concern Canning's article on 'International Relations' in the October 1877 issue of 'The Nineteenth Century'. Letter One (12mo, 4 pages, bifolium with mourning border). Knowles hopes Canning has received the proof of the article from the publishers Spottiswoodes. A judicious bit of sycophancy follows.

Letter: 12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. Text clear and entire, but with the outer pages grubby. He has 'no wish to annoy other members of the Court family', so it will 'go no further'. 'It is cool of Miss Court to talk thhe confidence of her own home, when she made the statement to Mrs Bulkeley in her own drawing-room.' Suggests that Draper send 'the Postmistress' a 'reminder'. 'She is so accustomed to threatening letters from her creditors' lawyers that she possibly may disregard this.' Asks him to 'make her understand that withholding an apology may have sharp consequences'.

3pp., 12mo, good condition. "It is not in my power to let any MS go out the Library or Muniment Room, without the consent of the Chapter . . . I should be glad if you would send me a formal application . . . describing the MS so as to identify it exactly . . . "

Dimensions of card roughly 8.5 x 11 cm. Good, with slight creasing. Twenty lines of text. Congratulating Hammerton on his appointment as editor of the 'London Magazine'.

4to: 2 pp. Text clear and entire on lightly creased, grubby and dogeared paper. Titled by Cousinéry 'Création d'un Musée des Travaux Publics, Envoi d'une Note à ce sujet.' The note is not present.

12mo: 2 pp. Very good. 'The Association for establishing depots of cheap food for the poor' has been formed, 'under the auspices of Lord Brougham, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Sir John Villiers Shelley, and others,' and Jerrold asks whether Raikes would 'permit us to add your name to the list of patrons', a position which 'entails no pecuniary responsibility whatsoever.'

12mo, 4 pp. Good. A bifolium, attached by a strip along the inner margin to a leaf removed from an autograph album, docketed 'Mrs. Hobart Hampden, Authoress of "The Changed Cross" '. Postscript written vertically across the upper part of the first page. Concerns a photograph of the recipient's mother: a 'sweet souvenir of such a rare & precious jewel as your dear & beautiful Mother; whom we feel it such a privelidge [sic] to see and to know'.

12mo: 1 p. Text clear and entire on creased and slightly grubby paper. Asks Hyde Clark to 'make the preliminary report you suggest, & speak with Mr Crompton'. He feels that 'the thing is to be accomplished; & that there will be honour & profit to all who may concern themselves in the undertaking'. Asks to hear from Hyde Clarke 'in a few days'. The subject of the letter is unclear.

12mo, 3 pp. Good, with traces of previous brown-paper mount adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf of the bifolium. His 'time is too fully occupied' for him 'to attend the meeting of the Aborigines Protection Society'. Discusses the parliamentary prospects of 'Mr. Baines' motion relative to the emigration of certain inhabitants of the Eastern district of the Cape'. 'In the meantime however I hope Mr is aware that he is fully at liberty to call on Mr. <?> the Librarian of this Dept. who is authorized to submit to him Captain Stockenstrom's despatches on this subject'.

12mo, 1 p, 14 lines. Good, on aged and lightly creased paper. Small red oval monogram in top left-hand corner. In French. As he was about to come and see her 'on est venu me chercher pour des affaires urgentes. il faut que je sorte à l'heure même'. The only news is that 'le ministre des finances refuse très inhumainement la petite maison d'Angivillers. S'il persiste, il y aura, plus que jamais, impossibilité de Loger plus à l'aise les Personnes qui réclament contre la première Distribution'.

12mo, 2 pp. On foxed and aged paper. He has not seen Fawcett that night, despite 'looking out' for him. He would like to talk with him before the following Monday, and if Fawcett writes, he can visit him 'at any time'. 'I can easily drive over, if you will give me your new address.'

12mo, 1 p, 16 lines. In French. Very good. Cancelling an appointment, and sending 'l'article que vous m'avez demandé pour la Revue': 'vous êtes parfaitement libre de tailler, couper, et rogner'.

12mo, 4 pp. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. The 'appointment of examiners' is entirely a matter for 'the Commissioners of Intermediate Education'. However Trevelyan will be glad 'to send the papers on to the proper quarter, and will do so accordingly'. He is 'much obliged' to Fawcett for his 'kind expressions about my proceedings here. It is a very queer post, and I always feel as if on the brink of an appalling escape.' He has been 'much struck' with the success of Fawcett's policy at Trinity College, Dublin. The Trevelyans 'spent some days in Salisbury in 1879.

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on aged paper. A formal letter in the third person. Windham 'is almost ashamed' of sending Sharpe 'anything so trifling as what accompanies this note'. His justification for doing so is the 'wish of having his opinions stated with tolerable correctness on a subject to which Mr Sharpe, as a matter of some interest at the moment, may happen in some degree to have turned his thoughts.' Sharp's name was often misspelt by contemporaries, and he is listed in the index to the online Oxford DNB as 'also known as Sharpe, Richard'.

Seven lines on one side of a piece of aged wove paper, roughly 12.5 x 10 cm. A hurried, smudged communication. Reads 'My Dear Sir | I have the ill luck to be obliged to attend a Council of the Royal Academy. We commence business punctually [last word underlined] at 8 oClock - Confound the R.A.!!! | Truly yrs | [signed] F Chantrey | Tuesday Morng'.

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on lightly aged paper, with traces of a paper stub neatly adhering to the blank bottom right-hand corner of the verso. Apologising for his 'long neglect of the subject of your last notice - the Mill Hill Medal. The truth is I am scarcely able to find strength and spirits for the work I have to do, and so am constantly involved in difficulties as to time like those to which extravagant people fall into as to money'. He hopes 'to be able to enjoy the pleasures of our anniversary dinner', although he does not feel he deserves them.

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on lightly aged paper. In French. Difficult hand. Regarding 'la société musicale et littéraire de Meaux', of which he approves. 'Malheureusement plusieurs obstacles s'opposent à ma bonne volonté.' As a gesture of good will, he asks the Society to accept 'quelques ouvrages'.

Good firm signature on slip of paper roughly 2.5 x 10 cm. Laid down on slightly larger rectangle of grey paper cut down from leaf of autograph album. A little ruckled, otherwise very good.

12mo, 1 p. Good, on lightly aged and ruckled paper. Laid down on a piece of grey paper removed from an autograph album. Accepting an invitation, and informing the recipient that 'Mrs Callcott has recovered from her last attack - but she is still slightly affected at times, and is very weak.'

12mo, 3 pp. Good, on browned and lightly creased paper with some wear to extremities. In French. Long thorough order with instructions for delivery, casting light on the logistical problems encountered in international trade in nineteenth-century Europe. Pražak is sending 'six pièces d'or à vingt francs, ou une somme de 120 francs en or', and gives a list of four books he would like sent to him. There follows a discussion of the problems of delivering the books to Prague.

Irregularly shaped piece of paper, consisting of the front and sides of an envelope. Roughly 14 x 18 cm. Good, but with long vertical closed tear to right of signature, neatly repaired on reverse with archival tape. Reads 'London June Twelve 1832. - | Lady Frederick Bentinck | Bedford Hotel | Brighton | [signed] G. Bentinck.' Red ink postmark, circular and topped with crown, reading 'FREE | 12 JU 12 | 1832 | +'. Remains of red wax seal at foot. Docketed 'Bentinck' along right-hand edge.