Autograph Letters

Art dealer (1825-1910; DNB). 2 pages. 16mo biofoliate. In good condition. The recipients name is spelt 'Bewick' at the beginning of the letter and 'Bewicke' at the end. 'Dear Mrs Bewick | I came up from Southampton on Saturday. I am starting for Lancashire in a few minutes | I shall be back on Wednesday and off the following day | I can see you here if you can call about 5.30 | Yours sincerely | Wm Agnew'.

Prime Minister of Latvia. On slip of paper approximately one inch by three inches. In good condition, with one crease, and neatly glued to docketed piece of green card. Signed 'G. W. Bisseneeks".

Poet and novelist, basketmaker and bookseller (1807-1874). One page, 4to, one nick not affecting text, fold marks and signs of having been laid down, mainly good. He has made "few alterations in the Poem, which if you think an improvement, may be adopted. I am afraid that so much practise in writing prose is creeping into and tinging my poetry. I do not truly like this 'Desolate Hall' and yet I can do nothing better at present". He has had no review in the "Literary Gazette" as yet, and comments on the "mass of new books that every corner of the columns have been crowded . . . Mr.

Headmaster of Harrow School and Master of Trinity College Cambridge (1835-1918). 2 pages, 16mo, bifoliate with mourning border. In good condition but with crease to one corner. He sends five (corrected from eight) letters of introduction, 'with the hope that they may prove of some little use. | Pray accept my earnest good wishes for a happy tour, & a complete recovery of health -' Signed 'H. Montagu Butler'.

Actor and lessee of the Surrey Theatre (1774-1831; DNB). The recipient is the songwriter and dramatist Thomas John Dibdin (1771-1841; DNB). 2¼ inches by 4¼. Creased, grubby and with a closed tear not affecting signature. Reads 'meeting. - | Yrs | Dr Sir | very truly | R W Elliston | To | Thos Dibdin | &c &c &c'.

(Letter [1945]) He is jumping at Daniel George's offer to take any reviews that Day-Lewis could do without. His doctor has ordered rest. (Note) He is returning an article he cannot use in "Orion". (Card) He would like to see a broadcast George has made. With: autograph note signed from Daniel George, 29 January 1945, acknowledging receipt of the books he is to review, hoping his health is improving. And: Christmas Card signed by Day-Lewis and Rosamund Lehmann (1944), containing a poem by Day-Lewis and a design by Paul Cross. 4 items,

2 pages, 8vo, both with Royal Air Force letterhead bearing the motto 'PER ARDUA AD ASTRA'. Not in good condition - creased, frayed, torn and discoloured - but a marvellous and immediate piece of history, regarding what one authority describes as the 'strategic bombing [...] principally against the Ruhr, on which No.149 concentrated during the winter of 1940-1'. The letter begins 'Dear Mum, | Just a line to thank you for the photographs, I think that one of you is very good.

For Keppel (1809-1904) see the DNB. On a slip of paper, 1 inch by 2¾, probably cut from a letter. Grubby and creased, and docketed in ink 'Admiral Keppel'. Mounted on a long slip, together with the signature of his brother 'Edwd. S[outhwell]: Keppel' (b. c. 1801), Rector Of Quidenham, Norfolk, on a piece cut from another letter, 1¼ inches by 3. This second signature is in better condition and is preceded by "Dear Sir | Yours very truly'. Two items,

For Hamilton (1777-1859), Treasurer of the Royal Institution and one of the Trustees of the British Museum, see Boase's 'Modern English Biography'. He was secretary to Lord Elgin in Constantinople, recovered the Rosetta Stone from the French and aided in collecting and removing the Elgin Marbles from Athens. 3 pages, 16mo. Creased but in good condition. Begins by saying that a few years ago Stuart introduced Charles Rothschild to him, 'but it was probably at the request of his brother, as he has now asked me to introduce him to you'.

Captain Charles Dickson Inglis, R.N. (born c.1835; fl. 1898), is best known for his offer in 1887 to buy South Georgia in the Falkland Islands for the purposes of sheep-farming. This collection of his correspondence is neatly bound in a crude octavo volume, and is preceded by a manuscript index by him. Items in good condition overall, with minor discoloration and spotting, mainly caused by the glue used in mounting the photographs. All the letters are 8vo and smaller, several of them being cropped at the head, but with the cropped strips loosely inserted.

Suffragette. "Yours affectionately, [typed] Emmeline Pethick Lawrence [autograph], c.4 x 1".Year added in another hand.

Educationalist and biographer of Kitchener and Edward VII. All items are in good condition, but bear traces of rust from paper clips. The card is 1 page, 12mo, with printed letterhead, and carries two stamps and postmark on reverse. He is going to London the next day and will stay till Thursday. He will be happy to see Grinling on Sunday or Monday if convenient and he will try to be at home. The letter is 1 page, 8vo. In it he thanks his correspondent for the 'interesting papers which I will return'.

English historian and biographer of Pepys (1899-1985). All six letters are 1 page, 8vo. In poor condition: creased, frayed and discoloured, with ruststains from a paperclip. All six are signed 'Arthur Bryant' and three are addressed to Mrs Cecil Roscoe, presumably the recipient's husband's name. Two of the letters are addressed to Roscoe at the Society of Women Journalists, Stationers' Hall. In the first letter Bryant says he would be pleased to address the Society. He might however be forced to cancel, 'owing to my absence from the country on Service duty'.

Author (1839-1902), 2pp., 8vo, laid down on card, small tear not affecting text. He is trying to arrange a visit, and gives some idea of when he can make it, saying that he has to go to Glasgow (where he was U.S. consul 1880-5) and Brighton on certain days. He asks her to telegraph possibilities. He is pleased to have heard from "Mrs Webb" that an accident had no serous consequences.

English historian and archivist (1776-1854; DNB) who superintended the publication of the 'State Papers of Henry VIII'. Fragment of letter, 2 inches by four, in good condition, on laid paper signed 'H. Hobhouse' beneath part of salutation 'Yr obed. Sert.' with 'Basseterre | Guadaloupe' beneath.

Sarah, late heiress of Sir Thomas Cave, Bart., of Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, and then wife of Henry Otway, became Baroness Braye in her own right in 1839. She died in 1862, aged ninety. 3 pages, 8vo, the first page with a mourning border. In good condition with the reverse of the second leaf attached to a docketted piece of paper.

English writer and editor (DNB), son of the biologist Thomas Henry Huxley and father of the novelist Aldous Huxley. One page, 8vo, in good condition. Docketed 'not acknowledged'. 'Having secured a clear evening on May 10th I look forward to attending the dinner of the Titmarsh Club, & beg to enclose cheque for my subscription 12/6. I do not propose to bring a guest.'

Provides invaluable information on the traditions of Charterhouse, the ancient charitable London institution. Maugham may well be the translator of Charles Tilt's 1828 edition of Friedrich Christian Accum's A Practical Essay on Chemical Re-agents. 4 pages, 16mo, grubby but in otherwise good condition. The first page has a mourning border. 'Saturday was the anniversary of the feast devoted to the memory of the founder, and the brothers, in health, feasted in the banquetting hall, and I dare say enjoyed themselves. I am on the sick list and was happily excused.

Medical journalist and reformer (1835-98), editor of the British Medical Journal. 2 pages, 8vo, in good condition, docketed in pencil. The recipient is not the celebrated collector of autographs but a physician of 13 Salisbury Street, Strand. 'I am staying at Weybridge & shall expect to be in town only for an hour on Thursday & shall hardly be able to have the pleasure of seeing your friend, but if you or he should write to me I shall be very glad if I can in anyway be of service to you.'

Fellow of the Linnaean Society, Naturalist and first curator of the Letchworth Museum. 2 pages, 8vo, in good condition, but with slight damp damage to one margin not affecting text. Closely written. 'I thought you would like to know that our Naturalist's 'Society' & Museum here are progressing & I believe we are doing a good educational & scientific work, even in war time. | We now have a membership of 220'. Goes into detail about grades of membership. 'We should welcome you personally & should also like someone associated with the G[reat]. N[orthern]. R[ailway].

Director of the Tate Gallery (1869-1936). 1 page, 8vo, grubby and creased, with otherwise-blank verso docketed and attached to piece of card. 'Both our funds and our space are extremely limited and Mr Warne Browne's 'Catch of Pilchards', though a pleasant subject picture, is scarcely of national importance and my Board would not consider purchasing it. | It might possibly be of interest for a local Museum such as the Truro Gallery or the Passmore Edwards Art Gallery, Newlyn. I am returning the reproduction | Yours very truly | Charles Aitken | Director'.

Presumably Richard Pigot (1774-1868) who is described in Boase, Modern English Biography, as being a colonel in the dragoon guards at the time of writing and a general from 1851. 2 pages, 8vo. In good condition, but with one margin still adhering to the remains of a stub. 'I enclose you a letter to my old friend Lord Anglesey in favour of Mr Frederick Foster [...] I shall feel obliged to you by your interesting yourself in his behalf to obtain any vacancy that may occur in the Ordnance as a Messenger.

Chief Naturalist of the National Park Service and Superintendent of Yosemite National Park. One page, 8vo, slightly stained but in good overall condition. Russell is replying to Epps's request for information about the National Park System, 'particularly those areas which are classed as "nature preserves"'. He says that he is sending a number of publications under separate cover, and that with this letter he encloses copies of the 'Antiquities Act' of Congress, 1906 and 'Dr. Kendeigh's article' (neither of which are present).

Anglo-French actor best remembered for having presented Charles Dickens with the Swiss chalet he erected in the garden at Gadshill and in which he wrote Great Expectations. The recipient was a lawyer and antiquary. The signature is on a slip approximately two inches by four and a half, presumably part of a letter or envelope, and laid down on a piece of card. Miniscule loss to part of slip, but text unaffected. Inscribed 'Fred. Ouvry Esq. | Ch. Fechter', with the signature underlined and overlined by Fechter.

Naturalist, Fellow of the Royal Society and Scientific Director, the Zoological Society. The fragment is approximately two inches by five, good condition. It reads 'Yours sincerely, | Edw Hindle | (Edward Hindle) | Scientific Director.'

Naturalist, Fellow of the Royal Society and Scientific Director, the Zoological Society. The fragment is approximately two and a half inches by five: paper slightly discoloured. It is mounted on a piece of paper and reads 'With kind regards, | Yours sincerely, | Edw Hindle | (Edward Hindle) | Scientific Director.'

Victorian chemist and politician who presided over a government enquiry into the working of the civil service known as the Playfair Scheme. 2 pages, 8vo, in good condition though creased, and with remains of blank conjugate leaf adhering to large sheet of blank paper. 'My dear Dr Dewar | Many thanks for your kind congratulations. I am not yet in Office [of Postmaster General, to which he was elected in this year] - not I believe for ten days more, so I am unable to do more than send your letter to the Secy. The former P[ost]. M[aster]. G[eneral]. still rules.'

Politician and rugby player (DNB). The five letters all one page, 16mo, and each with two staple holes and in good condition. The autograph poem is on a printed bifoliate menu for the Cricket Society Spring Dinner (6 April 1962), 16mo, slightly discoloured. The letters relate to various Cricket Society Dinners. He agrees to attend the 1961 Spring Dinner at the Lords Tavern, but his private secretary P. Barling declines on his behalf an invitation to the autumn dinner as he is out of the country recovering from an operation.

British Tory Prime Minister (DNB). One page, 16mo, on mourning paper, creased but in good condition. The foot of the leaf, which would have borne the recipient's name, has been neatly torn away. 'My dear Sir, | We shall be very glad to see you on Monday, & the Three oclock Train will bring you here in good Time | Yrs Faithfully | Palmerston'.

British civil engineer of the Victorian period (DNB). One page, 16mo, good condition, with remains of four pieces of gummed paper still adhering to blank reverse. Expresses his sincere regret at learning of the death of his 'old friend' the correspondent's husband. 'May the God of all consolation be very present with you and your family.' According to his DNB entry Fox was strict in his religious observances.