Manuscripts

[Sir Robert Howard, playwright and politician.] Two Autograph Signatures (both ‘Ro: Howard’) among extensive manuscript endorsements of Exchequer document regarding ‘Sr Thomas Player in repaymt. of Loane.’

Author: 
Sir Robert Howard (1626-1698) of the Receipt Office, royalist politician, playwright, poet and friend of John Dryden [Sir Thomas Player (d.1686) of Hackney]
Sir Robert Howard
Publication details: 
[Exchequer Office, Whitehall.] 20 May 1679.
£120.00
Sir Robert Howard

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. Howard was Auditor of Receipt from 1673 to his death. The document is damaged, with the lower part torn away, leaving an area 23cm high and the same wide, but with part of one lower corner torn away. The paper is aged, and there are chipping and closed tears to edges. Howard’s two signatures (both ‘Ro: Howard’) are both undamaged, and the item is of some interest. On the front is the printed form, completed in manuscript, with ‘Sr. Thomas Player in repaymt. of Loane./’ in manuscript in right-hand margin.

[Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, Marshal of Italy, First World War Italian general who triumphed in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.] Autograph Signature: 'Generale A. Diaz'.

Author: 
Armando Diaz (1861-1928), 1st Duke della Vittoria, First World War Italian general, victor over the Austrians in Battle of Vittorio Veneto (1918); putative author of the Bolletino della Vittoria
ARMANDO DIAZ
Publication details: 
No place or date. (Before his ennoblement in 1921.)`
£75.00
ARMANDO DIAZ

A nice item, suitable for framing, relating to one of the best generals of the First World War. (He commanded one and a half million troops in the 1918 Battle of Vittorio Veneto, defeating the Austrians - a third of a million of whom surrendered - and closing the Italian Front.) Clearly given in response to a request for an autograph. The good bold signature ‘Generale A. Diaz’ sits slightly over the centre of an otherwise-plain 15 x 10 cm piece of wove paper, laid down on paper backing. In good condition, lightly aged, with two unobtrusive vertical fold lines. See Image.

[Alfred Parsons, landscape painter and garden designer.] Original pen and ink drawing of a clump of daffodils growing in front of mass of other foliage. Monogram signature on the drawing ‘AP.’, and with second full signature and date on mount.

Author: 
Alfred Parsons [Alfred William Parsons] (1847-1920), landscape painter, illustrator, and garden designer
Alfred Parsons
Publication details: 
‘Alfred Parsons. / Loseley Park. May 26th. 1893.’
£1,000.00
Alfred Parsons

An attractive and highly-finished production, in black ink, on 17.5 x 20.5 cm piece of wove paper, glued on the reverse at the four corners to a leaf extracted from the autograph album of the novelist George Meredith and his daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Parsons' monogram signature 'AP. in its two-bordered square is at the bottom left of the drawing, and there is an additional autograph signature with date to the right of the drawing on the leaf of the Meredith album: 'Alfred Parsons.

[King George VI [as Prince Albert].] Printed post card of portrait photograph by Olive Edis (Mrs Galsworthy), with [facsimile?] signature ‘Albert’.

Author: 
King George VI [as Prince Albert]; Olive Edis (Mrs Galsworthy) (1876-1955), photographer
King George VI [as Prince Albert)
Publication details: 
[Part of a photoshoot by Olive Edis, England, 1920.]
£90.00
King George VI [as Prince Albert)

A very nice print in grey tones. Landscape: 7.5 x 13 cm. With the words ‘POST CARD’ printed on the reverse. Image in very good condition; traces of black paper mount adhering to the reverse. A head and shoulders shot of the future king, taken from the left, with right shoulder slightly forwards, face turned to the right and eyes staring vacantly ahead over the viewer’s right shoulder. Clean-shaven with parting on left; arms folded across chest, smartly attired in double-breasted check lounge suit with white shirt and ‘oriental-knot’ tie.

[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.] Manuscript text of an 1862 telegram from ‘Prince Alfred to The Queen / Osborne’, asking for ‘the Fairy’ to be sent to Southampton.

Author: 
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha [Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh; 1844-1900], second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Publication details: 
Dated from Rugby, 26 February, with '1862' noted in blue pencil.
£80.00
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

An amusing piece of Victorian memorabilia. Written in pencil on one side of a slip of paper, roughly 14 x 7 cm, torn from the bottom of a leaf. Both sides of the paper are ruled, with the ruling on the reverse wider spaced. Confirming the fact that the item is a telegram is the fact that the word ‘Clerk.’ is printed at bottom right of the reverse, with the word ‘Railway’ in pencil at top right.

[Napoleonic Wars: Eleven-ship British North Sea Convoy, from Hull to Tønning, Duchy of Schleswig, Denmark (now Tönning, Germany), 1805.] Detailed and lengthy manuscript ‘Statement & Division of 11 Ships Freight to Tonning 1st Round 1805’.

Author: 
Napoleonic Wars: British North Sea Convoys [Hull to Tønning, Duchy of Schleswig, Denmark (now Tönning, Germany), 1805; Royal Navy]
Convoy
Publication details: 
No place or date, but an English document relating to a convoy from Hull, England, to Tonning [Tønning], Duchy of Schleswig, Denmark [now Tönning in Germany], in 1805.
£350.00
Convoy

An interesting indicator of the economic impact of the continental blockade in the year of the Battle of Trafalgar. Roger Knight provides an excellent overview of the background to the present document in his ‘Convoys: The British Struggle against Napoleonic Europe and America’ (2022), and in particular the fifth chapter, which deals with North Sea Convoys between 1804 and 1812.

[Irishman in the Royal Navy, 1825.] Two documents regarding the estate of Lieut. James Peter O’Ferrall of HMS Revenge: Letters of Administration and Power of Attorney, the later signed by the father Hugh O’Ferrall MD.

Author: 
[Irishman in the Royal Navy, 1825] Lieut. James Peter O’Ferrall of HMS Revenge, son of Hugh O’Ferrall, MD
rishman in the Royal Navy
Publication details: 
Letters of Administration dated 15 November 1825 ('Extracted by R: E Pownall Proctor Doctors Commons'). Power of Attorney, 21 November 1825.
£120.00
rishman in the Royal Navy

Both items in fair condition, with age and wear. ONE: Letters of Administration, 15 November 1825. Printed on square of parchment, with embossed seal appended and usual tax stamps. Completed in manuscript with regard to ‘Hugh O’Ferrall the natural and lawful Father of James Peter O’Ferrall late a Lieutenant belonging to His Majesty’s Ship Revenge at Sea Bachelor deceased’, whose estate is ‘Sworn Under One Hundred Pounds.’ Signed by three deputy registrars.

[1920s transatlantic ocean liner: RMS Transylvania, cruise ship with the Anchor Line.] Long Typed Letter from ‘Alex’ to his parents, written en route from Glasgow to New York, with account and diagrams of a sea rescue, and postcard of the liner.

Author: 
[1920s transatlantic ocean liner: TSS Transylvania (1925), cruise ship with the Anchor Line, requisi tioned by the Royal Navy in the Second World War, and torpedoed by the Germans in 1940
RMS Transylvania
Publication details: 
Letter from 'S. S. Transylvania' (en route from Glasgow to New York), 24, 26 and 29 November 1928. Postcard undated, but contemporaneous.
£180.00
RMS Transylvania

TSS Transylvania (the prefix stands for ‘Twin Screw Steamship’) was built in Glasgow for the Anchor Line and launched in 1925. She had three funnels, but two were redundant, only serving to render the ship more attractive to prospective passengers. In 1940 she requisitioned by the Royal Navy, and the following year she was torpedoed by the Germans, sinking with the loss of 36 lives. The letter is 13pp, 12mo; with neat single-space typing, on thirteen leaves.

[W. E. Henley, poet who wrote ?Invictus?.] Autograph Manuscript Signed (Holograph) of his poem ?My songs were once of the sunrise?, on letterhead of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier and mother of the ?lost boys? in ?Peter Pan?.

Author: 
W. E. Henley [William Ernest Henley] (1849-1903), English poet, famed for his poem ?Invictus? [Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier; J. M. Barrie; Peter Pan]
Henley
Publication details: 
Between c.1901 and 1903. On letterhead of ?Twenty Three, / Campden Hill Square, / Kensington.? (?Telephone 3041, Kensington.?) [London.]
£220.00
Henley

Henley?s poem ?Invictus?, with its conclusion ?I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul?, is one of the most popular in the English language, and has inspired individuals as diverse as Nelson Mandela and Ron Kray. See Henley?s entry in the Oxford DNB. He was a friend of both Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and J. M. Barrie, and his daughter Margaret inspired the ?Peter Pan? character ?Wendy?. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times for postage. The letterhead has a thin black mourning border. Henley?s poem featured as the ?Envoy?

[The Great War, Royal Army Medical Corps: A Medical Officer In Charge on the Western Front.] Typescript of Diary of Captain William John Henry, describing his service attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery, Wiltshire Regiment and Rifle Brigade.

Author: 
The Great War: Royal Army Medical Corps; Captain William John Henry M.B. Ch.B.; British Army; Royal Garrison Artillery; Wiltshire Regiment; Rifle Brigade; Battle of the Somme; Ludendorff Offensive
First World War
Publication details: 
Vols 1-3 cover the period 27 August 1915 to 12 July 1916; Vols 4-8 the period between 31 January 1918 and 7 June 1919. On the Western Front in France, with leave in Britain
£4,000.00
First World War

It is hard to do justice to this vivid, informative and well-written 250,000-word account of the author's First World War service as Medical Officer In Charge attached to three regiments on the Western Front, present during the Battle of the Somme, Kaiserslacht and Hundred Days Offensive. It is hard to conceive of a better account of the day-to-day activities of a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps on active service during the Great War.

[John Strongitharm, London commercial engraver. Engraver to the Prince of Wales.] Coloured Proof Engraving of the royal arms (lion and unicorn), beneath the words ‘LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S OFFICE’. With pencil instructions on the reverse.

Author: 
John Strongitharm (c.1758-c.1839), London commercial engraver, Engraver to the Prince of Wales [The Lord Chamberlain’s Office]
Strongitharm
Publication details: 
No date or place. [Early nineteenth century. John Strongitharm, 1 Waterloo Place, London.]
£320.00
Strongitharm

Strongitharm’s entry on the British Museum website is the main source of information about him. In 1841 ‘John Strongitharm’ is listed in the Royal Calendar among the ‘Queen’s Tradesmen’, ‘In the Department of the Lord Chamberlain’, as ‘Seal Engraver’. The present item is an well-executed and carefully hand-coloured steel engraving of the royal arms (lion and unicorn), topped by a banner with ‘LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S OFFICE’. Engraved in small letters beneath the image: ‘Strongitharm, Waterloo Place’. Printed on a somewhat-aged and lightly worn piece of thickish laid paper, 11.5 x 6.5.

[Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, French poet, author and fabulist.] Autograph Text of his poem ‘Le charlatan | fable’.

Author: 
Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794), French poet, author and fabulist
Florian
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£220.00
Florian

A nice original item, unsigned but certainly in Florian’s distinctive hand. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with neat white-paper mount adhering to one edge on the blank reverse. Foliated 93. Sixteen-line poem, beginning ‘Sur le pont-neuf, entouré de badauds, / un charlatan criait a pleine tete, / venez, messieurs, accourez faire emplette / du grand remede a tous les maux.’ In the last line the remedy is revealed as ‘un peu de poudre d’or’.

[Czech Classical Music and Culture of the early 20th Century.] Album of Dr Stanislava Weinerová, with Autograph Material relating to many Czech musical and cultural figures, including Jan Kubelik, Antal Stašek, Josef Suk, Pavel Ludikar.

Author: 
Czech Classical Music and Culture of the early 20th Century [Jan Kubelik, Antal Stašek, Josef Suk, Pavel Ludikar, Vratislav Vycpálek, Ceské Kvarteto, Ondríckovo Kvarteto, Dr Stanislava Weinerová]
zech Classical Music
Publication details: 
Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Material dating from between 1932 and 1970.
£950.00
zech Classical Music

51pp, 4to, of autograph material, including 33pp with inscriptions directly on the page, and 28 items (almost all with signed inscriptions) laid down, the latter consisting of publicity photographs, parts of programmes, an Autograph Card Signed and an original drawing. In a superior 4to album of 116pp, on 58 leaves of good watermarked laid paper. The final 32pp are blank. Twelve pages carry empty corner mounts, and there are also signs of leaves torn out and other evidence of removal of material. With stationer’s ticket of ‘JOSEF HODEK / UMELECKÉ KNIHARSTVÍ / JAROMER’.

[John Buckworth, Charles Duncombe, James Hoare; Royal Mint; counterfeit coins] Coppye Letter Signed by Buckworth, Duncombe and Hoare, as Commissioners for the Mint, to Lords of the Treasury[?], about a report of counterfeit gineys.

Author: 
J. Buckworth, Ch. Duncombe, Ja. Hoare, Commissioners for the [Royal] Mint
Guineas
Publication details: 
[Royal Mint], 19 Nov. [16]81.
£580.00
Guineas

One page, sm. folio, bifolium, closed tears repaired, fold marks, aging, and sl. foxing, BUT text clear and complete, if obscure at times, and semi-literate. SEE IMAGE. Text: May it please yr Lo[rdshi]ps | In obedience To your Lordships [referr...?] of ye 7th Instant, Re [?] to the offer of Mr Rog[e]r Haws[k]head.

[Evelyn Laye, English actress and singer, star of stage and screen.] Autograph Signature added at foot of pencil sketch of her by Kenneth Sephton.

Author: 
Evelyn Laye [née Elsie Evelyn Lay] (1900-1996), English actress and singer, star of stage and screen, associated with Noel Coward [Kenneth Sephton]
Laye
Publication details: 
No date or place. [1950s]
£90.00
Laye

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. After a stint as one of George Edwardes’ Gaiety Girls, she made her name in a number of revues, her performance in the lead role of the 1929 Broadway production of ‘Bitter Sweet’ prompting Coward to praise her grace and charm and assurance, which he said provoked one of the most prolonged outbursts of cheering I have ever heard in the theatre. She was less successful in Hollywood, starring in the Romberg/Hammerstein musical ‘One Heavenly Night’ (1931), a failure for Samuel Goldwyn.

[Pablo de Sarasate [Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués], Spanish violin virtuoso and composer.] Signed Autograph Inscription, in a large hand, on a page from the album of George Meredith’s daughter Mrs Sturgis.

Author: 
Pablo de Sarasate [Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués] (1844-1908), Spanish violin virtuoso and composer
Sarasati
Publication details: 
20 December 1893. No place.
£280.00
Sarasati

On one side of a 35 x 24 cm leaf of gilt-edged wove paper, extracted from the autograph album of novelist George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. In fair condition, lightly aged, with a small closed tear and slight creasing to extremities. Reads: ‘Recuerdo de un humilde artista en todas las Españas, y admirador de las bellísimas hijas de la Hermosisima Albiòn / Sarasata / 20 - 12 - 92’.

[Prince Philippe d’Orléans, Comte de Paris, Orléanist claimant to the French throne as King Louis Philippe II or Philippe VII.] Autograph Note in English, in the third person, to the novelist George Meredith.

Author: 
Prince Philippe d’Orléans, Comte de Paris (Louis Philippe Albert (1838-1894), Count of Paris], Orléanist pretender to the throne of France from 1848 as King Louis Philippe II or Philippe VII
d'Orleans
Publication details: 
‘Claremont 31/5/63’. 31 May 1863; Claremont House, Esher, Surrey.
£100.00
d'Orleans

From the autograph album of the novelist George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), later the wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Queen Victoria lent Claremont House to the Count of Paris’s father Louis-Phillipe, after his abdication and flight from France. On one side of an 11 x 7.5 cm piece of grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Written in a neat hand, it reads: ‘With the compliments of the Count de Paris and his thanks for the books send [sic] by Mr. Meredith. / Claremont 31/5/63’.

[George Hardinge, judge, poet, author and Member of Parliament.] Autograph Receipt Signed George Harding.

Author: 
George Hardinge (1743-1816) of Pyrton, Wiltshire, English judge, poet, author and Pittite Member of Parliament
Hardinge
Publication details: 
4 May 1792. Place not stated.
£56.00
Hardinge

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. The present item is on one side of a 21 x 8.5 cm piece of wove paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with one fold. Minor traces of two red wafers from previous mounting on blank reverse. Written out by Harding in his attractive hand (he was a stylish fellow: his obituary in the Annual Register stated that ‘no one had a finer choice of words and few a more graceful delivery’), the note reads: ‘Received May 4th.

[‘Général Revanche’: Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger, French army officer and Minister of War.] Autograph Signature (‘Gnl: Boulanger’) on back of calling card.

Author: 
General Boulanger [Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (1837-1891)], French Minister of War, nicknamed Général Revanche because of his calls for the Franco-Prussian War to be avenged
Boulanger
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£50.00
Boulanger

A nice item relating to a significant figure in French nineteenth-century history. Such was Boulanger’s popularity with the French working classes in the late 1880s that it was believed that he could make himself dictator. Stylish and dynamic signature ('Genl: Boulanger'), on back of 9.5 x 6.5 cm calling card. In good condition, lightly aged. The words ‘Général Boulanger’ are printed in large letters on the front of the card, and nothing else.

[Arts and Crafts architecture in the Potteries, 1908.] Blueprint of plans and elevations by the architect William Ford Slater for ‘3 HOUSES HIGH LANE BURSLEM / FOR MR: HARRY H. ROSE / 1/8th Scale’, for construction by John Henry Broadhurst and Son.

Author: 
[Arts and Crafts achitecture in the Potteries.] William Ford Slater (1866-1951), architect and surveyor; J. H. Broadhurst and Son [John Henry Broadhurst], builder of Burslem, Staffordshire.
Burslem
Publication details: 
J. H. Broadhurst & Son, Burlem, Staffordshire. 27 [June?] 1908. ‘John Henry Broadhurst / [June?] 27/08 / p pro J H Broadhurst & Son’.
£280.00
Burslem

In 1907 the ‘Builder’ describes ‘Mr. W. F. Slater, Overhouse-chambers, Burslem’ as a ‘Surveyor’, and in 1909 the ‘Electrical Review’ refers to him as an ‘architect’ at the same address. Five years later ‘Building News’ reports that Slater is ‘architect to the education committee’. In 1921 (‘The Surveyor’) he is the ‘surveyor, Urban Council Offices, Wolstanton, Staffs’, and in 1926 (‘Public Works Weekly Surveyor’) he is ‘architect to the corporation’.

[American War of Independence, 1782.] Manuscript folio leaf from British governmental [War Office?] ledger of payments to 'David Thomas Esq. / Carolina', re General Leslie and the British Army of the South, headed ‘Extraordinaries in North America’.

Author: 
American War of Independence, 1782: General Leslie and the British Army of the South: David Thomas, Carolina [Major General Alexander Leslie (1731-1794), British army officer]
American Revolution
Publication details: 
10 and 11 October 1782. [London, War Office? Regarding Carolina, North America.] With other accounts from 1826 on reverse.
£1,300.00
American Revolution

A valuable artefact of the American War of Independence: a leaf from a British War or Colonial Office ledger detailing payments to officials in General Leslie’s administration in Carolina in 1782.

[John Hollond or Holland, Navy; Manuscript] Breife [sic] Discourse of the Navy [?] Mr Holland

Author: 
John Hollond [ HOLLOND or HOLLAND, JOHN (fl. 1638-1659), naval writer. See fuller biography in Notes].
Hollond
Publication details: 
C17th[?]. See Image.
£750.00
Hollond

Incomplete. Part only of Hollond's First Discourse, [32]pp. [unnumbered], 9 x 23cm, unbound, some stitching, some staining sl. obscuring text, initial text faint, but all legible. Distributed in MS The (incomplete text covers pp.[2]-32 of The Naval Record Society printed text, concluding expected from poor men under. Numerous textual variants eg. [Naval Records text beholding; MS. beholden]. Apparently few copies of the MS version survive (see Naval Record Society text, p.lxxxii). Note: HOLLOND or HOLLAND, JOHN (fl.

[Laurence Olivier, Actor] Photograph and signature (below photograph) L Olivier.

Author: 
Laurence Olivier, Actor
Olivier
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£80.00
Olivier

Photograph and signature in attractive frame. See Image. Label on reverse: Waterloo Galleries, Waterloo Street, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1LA [...]. Photo, 9 x 13cm; Signature, 8.5 x 5cm.

[Sir Richard Owen, palaeontologist who coined the term ‘Dinosaur’, first Director of Natural History Museum, London.] Autograph Signature and address to William Gregson of the Temple.

Author: 
Sir Richard Owen (1804-1892), palaeontologist who coined the term ‘Dinosaur’, first Director of Natural History Museum, London, opponent Darwin and Huxley and the theory of evolution
Owen
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£56.00
Owen

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 9 x 5.5 cm rectangle cut from front of envelope. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on part of leaf from album, with the following in a contemporary hand: ‘R. Owen. the naturalist’. Light postmarking over address. Reads as follows: ‘Wm. Gregson, Esq: / 2 Tanfield Court, / Temple.’ Small signature at bottom left: ‘R. Owen.’ See image.

[John Randolph of Roanoke (1773-1833), Virginia congressman, Thomas Jefferson's spokesman, Andrew Jackson’s Minister to Russia, leader of the ‘Old Republicans’ or ‘Tertium Quids’.] Signed Autograph cheque to Jacqueline P. Taylor of Richmond City.

Author: 
John Randolph of Roanoke (1773-1833), Virginia congressman, Thomas Jefferson's spokesman, Andrew Jackson’s Minister to Russia, leader of the ‘Old Republicans’ or ‘Tertium Quids’ [Jacqueline P. Taylor]
Roanoke
Publication details: 
22 February 1829. [Roanoke.] Drawn on the Bank of Virginia.
£250.00
Roanoke

1p, landscape 12mo. Aged, worn and lightly discoloured. Laid down on larger leaf removed from an album. The text, all in Randolph’s hand, reads: ‘Pay to Jaqueline [sic] P. Taylor or bearer Fifty four Dollars 84 Cents / John Randolph of Roanoke / Decr. 22d. 1829. / To the Cashier of the Bank of Virginia’. Despite the name Jacqueline P. Taylor of Richmond City, Virginia, was male. See image.

[Lord Vere Beauclerk, Senior Naval Lord at the Admiralty and Member of Parliament.] Autograph Signature (‘Vere’) to Exchequer receipt for £30. With signature of witnesses Henry Woodall and ‘Ogborn’.

Author: 
Lord Vere Beauclerk [latterly Lord Vere (Vere Beauclerk, Baron Vere of Hanworth)] (1699-1781), Royal Navy officer, Senior Naval Lord at the Admiralty and Member of Parliament ; Henry Woodall; Ogborn
Vere
Publication details: 
3 May 1750. [His Majesty's Exchequer, London.]
£65.00
Vere

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. The signature (‘Vere’) is good and bold, at the bottom right of the document, as is that of first witness Henry Woodall (‘Hez Woodall’), but there is slight loss at the beginning of the signature of the second witness ‘[...] Ogborn’, and the left side of the document has been torn away also causing loss to printed text, and there is wear and pitting along the top and left edge. The customary printed document, completed in manuscript. 1p, 8vo.

[The man who saved William of Orange from capture: Brigadier General Henry Lumley.] Autograph Signature (‘H Lumley’) to Exchequer receipt for £25. With signature of witness John Letton.

Author: 
Brigadier General Henry Lumley (c.1658-1722), army officer and Member of Parliament, brother of Richard Lumley, first earl of Scarborough; John Letton
Lumley
Publication details: 
12 January 1716. [His Majesty's Exchequer, London.]
£120.00
Lumley

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament, the former of which notes his ‘high reputation for courage’ and his presence ‘at Neerwinden and Landen in 1693, covering the retreat on 19 July, and saving William III from capture by the enemy’. 1p, 8vo. On aged and worn paper, with chipping to edges and pitting along a horizontal central line, but with both signatures clear and unblemished. The customary printed document, completed in manuscript. Records in a secretarial hand, the receipt of £25 by ‘Hen: Lumley Esqr. attor to the Rt.

[‘The Hanging Judge’: the Earl of Norbury, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.] Autograph Signed endorsement, with that of Nathaniel Alexander, Bishop of Meath, to manuscript recommendation of ‘Alexander Hawthorne of Sackville Street, Glover’.

Author: 
John Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury (1745-1831), Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas between 1800 and 1827, known as ‘the Hanging Judge’ [Nathaniel Alexander (1760-1840), Bishop of Meath]
Norbury
Publication details: 
7 February 1829. Dublin.
£280.00
Norbury

Within a couple of years of his death Norbury’s nickname was given as ‘the hanging judge’ (see ‘The Georgian Era’, vol.2, 1833), and yet no mention is made of the fact in his entry in the Oxford DNB. The present document is 1p, 4to. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged.

[King Louis XVIII of France and Chateaubriand.] Secretarial Letter Signed by ‘Louis’, and with the signature of ‘Chateaubriand’, addressed to ‘Mon Cousin’ and expressing cordial sentiments, with reference to ‘le sacré collège’.

Author: 
King Louis XVIII of France and Chateaubriand [François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand]
Louis
Publication details: 
'Ecrit à Paris, le 25 Mars 1823.’
£950.00
Louis

See image. A nice item, linking two important figures in French history. 1p, foolscap 8vo, on the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium of unwatermarked gilt-edged wove paper. Aged and lightly creased, with short closed tears and wear at the head. The ten lines of neatly written text are neatly and clearly signed ‘Louis’, and there is a wavy and almost vertical line from the king’s signature to that of ‘Chateaubriand’ at bottom right of the page.

[King George III.] Seven examples of the king's signature on a page, six of them cut from parchment documents, the last two made while insane, with the last on a fragment of a warrant.

Author: 
King George III (1738-1820) of Great Britain and of Ireland, the mad monarch who lost America
George III
Publication details: 
One with annotated with date 28 March 1792, the others undated. None with place.
£1,250.00
George III

See image. It is hard to see how this collection could be bettered, the range of signatures from sanity to madness being of particular interest. All seven examples laid down on a folio leaf extracted from an album. The leaf is in poor condition, creased and with closed tears, but the parchment and paper bearing the signatures themselves in good condition, the six parchment items having the usual discoloration, but the example on paper in excellent condition.

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