AUTHOR

[ Violet Fane ] Autograph Signatures Only Mary Montgomery Currie | (Violet Fane) | Sept. 1899

Author: 
Violet Fane, pseudonym of Lady Mary Montgomerie Currie (née Lamb,1843–1905), poet, a writer, and later an ambassadress.
Publication details: 
[Printed Heading] Hawley, Blackwater, Hants.
£45.00

One page, 12mo, good condition.

[Marie Belloc Lowndes, novelist, sister of Hilaire Belloc.] Autograph Letter in the third person, declining a dinner invitation on account of ill health.

Author: 
Marie Belloc Lowndes [Marie Adelaide Elizabeth Rayner Lowndes; Mrs Belloc Lowndes] (1868-1947), novelist, sister of Hilaire Belloc, author of Jack the Ripper novel 'The Lodger', filmed by Hitchcock
Publication details: 
30 May [no year]. On letterhead of 9 Barton Street, Westminster, S.W.
£30.00

1p, landscape 12mo In good condition, with glue stain to one corner. Folded once. 'Mrs Belloc Lowndes regrets, on the score of ill health, that she cannot have the pleasure of accepting Lord [Treghre?]'s kind invitation.'

[Angna Enters, American dancer, painter, author.] Sketch of dance costume in pencil and watercolour, captioned 'Fleur du Mal (Proust Sequence)', signed 'Angna Enters '56'. In envelope addressed by her to theatre historian W. J. MacQueen-Pope.

Author: 
Angna Enters [Anita Enters] (1907-1989), American painter, writer, dancer and mime, partner of Michio Ito, wife of Louis Kalonyme [Louis Kantor] [W. J. MacQueen-Pope, theatre historian]
Angr
Publication details: 
Signed and dated to 1957. Envelope with London postmark dated 18 January 1957 and her embossed address: 35 West 57th Street, New York.
£200.00
Angr

Enters exhibited her artistic work - including many sketches of her own costume designs - widely in the United States and Europe, and her work is held by several museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The present item is an attractive impressionistic sketch, in grey and black pencil, with watercolour wash in pink, light red and grey, showing a dancer with arms outstretched and heavy costume with full sleeves and train. Captioned by Enters at bottom left: 'Fleur du Mal (Proust Sequence)'. Signed at bottom left: 'Angna Enters '56'. On 23 x 15.5 cm laid paper.

[Noel Streatfeild, children's writer and author.] Typed Letter Signed to W. J. MacQueen-Pope - 'the horse's mouth as regards theatre history' - with queries for her 'book on ballet' relating to theatres in the Haymarket.

Author: 
Noel Streatfeild [Mary Noel Streatfeild] (1895-1986), children's writer and author [W. J. MacQueen-Pope (1888-1960), theatre historian]
Publication details: 
24 January 1958. On letterhead of 51A Elizabeth Street, Eaton Square, SW1 [London].
£65.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, on aged and creased paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Mr. MacQueen Pope, | Please forgive me for bothering you, but you are I know, the horse's mouth as regards theatre history.' She explains that she is 'in the throes of a book on ballet' for her publishers William Collins, and she asks him to help her with 'a problem in the section on early ballet in England'. The problem concerns 'the King's Theatre Haymarket' and 'the Italian Opera House'. She gives a facts and dates, asking 'was it all one and the same theatre?

[Angus Wilson, novelist, as British Museum librarian.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Angus Wilson.') to 'Rylands', regarding his letter to 'Noel', which he has asked 'Mr Greene' to show him.

Author: 
Angus Wilson [Sir Angus Frank Johnstone-Wilson] (1913-1991), novelist [British Museum, Department of Printed Books]
Publication details: 
12 October 1950; on letterhead of the Reading Room, British Museum, London, W.C.1.
£30.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly aged paper. Folded twice, resulting in offset ink smudging. Reads: 'Dear Rylands, | I am writing to you in case Noel is away. I have asked Mr Greene to show you my letter to Noel, if this is should [sic] be so. Anything you could do to help, would be kind and good, I think.

[Thomas Adolphus Trollope, prolific author, older brother of Anthony Trollope.] Autograph Signature ('T. Adolphus Trollope') on part of letter.

Author: 
Thomas Adolphus Trollope (1810-1892), prolific author with a renowned villa in Florence, elder brother of the novelist Anthony Trollope, husband of Theodosia Trollope and Frances Eleanor Trollope
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£25.00

On one side of 5 x 13 cm slip of paper cut from the end of a letter. In good condition, lightly aged, with central vertical fold. Laid down on piece of paper removed from album. Reads: '[...] I shall be delighted to come to you. | Yrs always faithfully | T. Adolphus Trollope'.

[Louise Chandler Moulton, American author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Louise C. Moulton') to 'Mr. Boyd', including holograph poem 'Has Spring Come Back?', which she has written that day for a party celebrating the engagement of Longfellow's daughter.

Author: 
Louise Chandler Moulton [born Ellen Louise Chandler] (1835-1908), American author and poet [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet]
Publication details: 
Letter: 31 December [1884]; 28 Rutland Square, Boston. Poem signed and dated 'S. C. M. | Dec. 31. 1884.'
£300.00

A nice item, in which, writing to a friend in London, Moulton describes, and encloses a holograph copy of, the poem she has written that very day for the following day's New Year's Eve party to celebrate the engagement of Longfellow's youngest daughter Anne Allegra to Joseph Gilbert Thorp Jr. (1852-1931). 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Aged, worn and creased, with damage resulting in loss of a couple of words of text, due to tearing of the letter away from mount. The letter covers three pages, the last written lengthwise, and is forty-six lines long.

[Alan Hadfield, sculptor and author.] Inscribed copy of his pamphlet 'An Essay on Bernard Shaw (being an account of one man's approach to our Anglo-Irish dramatist)'; with conclusion of Autograph Letter Signed to playwright Christopher Fry.

Author: 
Alan Hadfield (b.1904), sculptor and children's author under name 'Robin Dale', proprietor of the Northern Lights Press, Harrowgate [and latterly Devon] [Christopher Fry, playwright]
Publication details: 
Pamphlet by the Northern Lights Press, Devon, undated, but with inscription dated February 1975. Conclusion of ALS without date or place.
£50.00

Both items in good condition, lightly aged. PAMPHLET: 12pp, 8vo. Stapled in green wraps, printed on both sides of covers, and with drawing of Shaw by Hadfield, dated 1974, on front cover. Containing a few autograph emendations. Inscribed on front cover: 'To Christopher Fry, | from | Alan Hadfield, | Greetings! | Feby 1975'. A quirky and highly personal response to Shaw, combining anecdote, reminiscence and original poetry.

[Eleanor Farjeon, children's writer.] Typed chatty retelling of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, under the title 'The Simple Facts', and ending 'don't believe a word I say'. Signed by Farjeon 'From E. F.', with her address.

Author: 
Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965), noted children's writer, several of whose works were illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
Publication details: 
No date. 20 Perrin's Walk, N.W.3. [London]
£180.00

1p, 4to. Typescript with a couple of minor autograph corrections. Unpublished, but perhaps relating to her 1945 book 'Ariadne and the Bull'. At foot, in Farjeon's autograph: 'From E. F. | 20 Perrin's Walk | N.W.3.' In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with nicking and loss at edges. A chatty and entertaining retelling of the story. As an example of the tone, early on Farjeon writes: 'The Minotaur was a monster with the gigantic body of a man topped by a bull's head; his father was a bull and his mother was Pasiphae, Minos's Queen.

[Richard Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton), poet, author and Liberal politician.] Holograph poem (signed 'Richd M Milnes.'), titled 'The Fifteenth of December, 1840' [published as 'The Funeral of Napoleon']

Author: 
Richard Monckton Milnes [Lord Houghton] (1809-1885), poet, author, Liberal politician and book collector [Napoleon Bonaparte]
Publication details: 
Dated by Milnes at end: 'Paris. Jan. 1841.'
£220.00

2pp, 8vo. On a gilt-edged leaf of umwatermarked wove paper. In good condition, lightly aged. A fair copy in Milnes's autograph. A curious poem, in which Milnes's Napoleon-worship wins through over considerations of the futility of war. Retitled 'The Funeral of Napoleon', the poem was first published in 1841 in the Spectator, and in slightly different form in Milnes's 1844 collection 'Poems, Legendary and Historical'. There are a number of differences between the present version and that published in the Spectator. The final stanza is entirely recast.

[Sterling Heilig, American journalist.] Typed Letter Signed ('Sterling Heilig.') to Fleet Street journalist 'A. T. Q. C.', discussing his 'business of writing sensational letters to the American Sunday papers' and 'cribbing' (plagiarism).

Author: 
Sterling Heilig (1864-1928) of Philadelphia, American author, journalist and war correspondent [Fleet Street journalism; fin-de-siècle]
Publication details: 
'40 rue Laffitte, Paris, | September 29, 1894.'
£180.00

1p, 4to. On leaf of aged, worn and creased cartridge paper. Addressed to 'A. T. Q. C., | Care of The Editor of | The Speaker, 115, Fleet Street, E.C., London.' An interesting letter, touching on English and American journalistic practice, 'sensational' copy, plagiarism and fin-de-siècle Paris. The context is not entirely clear: one reading is that the recipient reported on or reproduced in the Fleet Street newspaper the Speaker one of Heilig's 'sensational letters to the American Sunday papers', only to have it 'cribbed' by Pearson's Weekly.

[Ursula Bloom, novelist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Ursula'), regretting that a 'Foyle lunch' will prevent a meeting, she being 'really dreadfully worried' about a problem with the recipient's sight.

Author: 
Ursula Bloom (1892-1984), popular novelist, author of more than five hundred books
Publication details: 
'Sunday'. On her letterhead, 191 Cranmer Court, S.W.3. [London]
£56.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, creased and lightly aged. Folded twice. Letterhead printed in red, with illustration of quill pen, inkstand and lighted candle. Written in purple ink. The recipient is not named and the letter begins: 'My dear, | I am horrified to find I have made some awful mistake in my diary & am at the Foyle lunch on Wednesday to stand in for someone else who may not turn up, so I can't break with it. I could cry, for I feel that I have let you down & so wanted to see you to hear how you really are'. She is 'worried to death' about the recipient's sight.

[P. C. Wren, novelist, author of 'Beau Geste'.] Typed Letter Signed ('P C Wren') to 'Miss Mills', explaining that he is sending her his autograph 'on one of my own private book-plates'.

Author: 
P. C. Wren [Percival Christopher Wren] (1875-1941), writer of adventure fiction, best remembered for his novel 'Beau Geste'
Publication details: 
3 January 1928. On letterhead of the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth.
£32.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded once. Her letter has been forwarded to him and he has 'much pleasure in sending you my autograph. In order to make it a little more personal, I am sending it on one of my own private book-plates.'

[William Black; Shakespeare's daughter] Part of Autograph Manuscript Draft of his novel 'Judith Shakespeare, A Romance' (concerning William Shakespeare's daughter). With emendations, and variations from published version.

Author: 
William Black (1841-1898), Scottish novelist and journalist [William Shakespeare and his daughter Judith]
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but part of the manuscript of a book published in London in 1884.
£250.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded twice. 68 lines of text, written in a minute, neat hand. Folded twice. Black has numbered the page at top right '206'. The text begins: '[...] seemly and maidenly thing [...]', and ends 'she seemed to know beforehand what he had to say.' Black's entry in the Oxford DNB describes his 1884 novel 'Judith Shakespeare: A Romance' (published in America with the subtitle 'Her Love Affairs and Other Adventures') as 'a romance about the dramatist's daughter'.

[Juliana Horatia Ewing, children's author.] Autograph Letter Signed (in her view 'Not an elegant signature!'), writing in high spirits to [Marion?] regarding 'our "Play"' with 'a round chess board' (illustrated), quoting from Alice in Wonderland.

Author: 
Juliana Horatia Ewing [née Gatty] (1841-1885), Victorian children's author
Publication details: 
1 February 1880; Ecclesfield.
£320.00

4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with the conclusion and signature ('Juliana Horatia Ewing. | (Not an elegant signature!)') of the letter cross-written at the head of the first page. Drawing of a 'round chess board', with explanation, on second page. An excellent intimate letter, to a family member or friend whose name is not clearly written (Marion? Marnie?). She begins by acknowledging her 'very delightful' letter, and expressing pleasure at 'the prospect of our "play" in town'.

[Sir Charles Scudamore, celebrated physician.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Chas Scudamore') to Sir Thomas Gery Cullum of Hardwick House, discussing his writing and dire financial situation, and making a 'humiliating' appeal for the deferment of a debt.

Author: 
Sir Charles Scudamore (1779-1849), celebrated physician and medical author [Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
28 December 1833; Wimpole Street [London].
£250.00

Scudamore's entry in the Oxford DNB does not refer to the financial difficulties which he describes in this interesting letter, surprising in the light of his royal patronage and success as an author. 3pp, 4to. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmark and seal in black wax, to 'The | Revd. Sir Thomas Cullum | Bart | Hardwick House | Bury St Edmunds'. Forwarded, in another hand, to 'Sir T G C | No 3 | Porto del Popolo | Rome'. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor trace of mount adhering. Folded four times.

[Harriet Martineau, 'the first female sociologist'.] Unpublished Signed Autograph humorous poem beginning 'What terrible confusion | Ladies make on points Malthusian', with note to Lady Cullum joking that it will be dedicated 'to the Lord Chancellor'

Author: 
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), writer and journalist, Whig social theorist and campaigner for women's rights, considered 'the first female sociologist' [Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875) of Hardwick House]
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£350.00

An amusing unpublished jeux d'esprit by Martineau, revealing a lighthearted aspect of her character. 1p, 16mo. Bifolium, addressed by Martineau on reverse of second leaf 'To | Lady Cullum.' In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once.

[Ethel Mannin, novelist and travel writer.] Five Typed Cards Signed and one Autograph Card Signed to Frederick Staerck, discussing her thoughts on 'decadence', civilisation, cultivating her garden, and the loss of the creative urge.

Author: 
Ethel Mannin [Ethel Edith Mannin] (1900-1984), novelist and travel writer, Bohemian and socialist
Publication details: 
Between 2 April 1973 and 30 December 1978. One from 'Miss E. Mannin, Overhill, Brook Lane, Shaldon, Teignmouth, Devon'. Two others 'From E. M.'
£350.00

Six long cards, full of interesting content, including surprising thoughts on the 'decadence' of the world, her desire to 'cultivate [her] garden' both in a literal and Voltairean sense, and the fact that the creative urge has left her. All six are signed 'Ethel Mannin'. The penultimate card is in autograph, the others typewritten. Four addressed to Staerck at Maidenhead, two to him on the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland. The collection is in good overall condition: the first has a smudged autograph note up one margin.

[Isa Craig, Scottish author and reformer.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Isa Craig.') [as Secretary, National Association for the Promotion of Social Science] to Professor W. B. Hodgson, asking for his 'Paper & Speech on Ed[ucatio]n. of Girls'.

Author: 
Isa Craig [Isa Knox; Isabella Craig Knox] (1831-1903), Scottish author and reformer [Professor William Ballantyne Hodgson (1815-1880); National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, London]
Publication details: 
10 April 1866. On letterhead of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science [London].
£56.00

1p, 12mo. Aged and creased, with closed tears and chipping repaired on reverse with archival tape. Reads: 'Dear Dr Hodgson. | Could you kindly send me your paper & speech on Edn. of Girls. We are waiting for it now & very anxious to finish up. | Yours sincerely | Isa Craig.'

[Countess of Blessington (Marguerite Gardiner), Irish author and literary hostess.] Autograph Note in the third person to editor Samuel Carter Hall, wishing 'to consult him, about having an Enquiry executed'.

Author: 
Marguerite Gardiner [née Power], Countess of Blessington (1789-1849), Irish author and literary hostess, beauty and lover of Count d'Orsay [Samuel Carter Hall [S. C. Hall] (1800-1889), editor]
Publication details: 
'Saturday Evening' [no place or date, but on paper with watermarked date 1831].
£100.00

1p, 12mo. Bifolium. Addressed on reverse of the second leaf, with broken seal in red wax, 'To / | S. C. Hall Esqre | 59 Sloane Street'. In fair condition, on aged paper. Folded by Blessington into a diamond-shaped packet. Reads: 'Saturday Evening. | Lady Blessingtons Compts. To Mr Hall, and requests that he will call on her, as soon as may suit his convenience, as she wishes to consult him, about having an Enquiry executed.'

[James Lumsden ('Samuel Mucklebackit'), Scottish author.] Autograph Letter Signed to Edinburgh surgeon Alexander Miles, describing how his family is 'totally ruined' and appealing for help. With copy of his 'Lays and Letters from Linton'.

Author: 
James Lumsden ['Samuel Mucklebackit'] (1839-1909), Scottish dialect poet and author [Alexander Miles (1865-1953), Scottish surgeon, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh]
Publication details: 
Letter: 13 July 1897. Book: Haddington: William Sinclair, 63 Market Street. Edinburgh: John Menzies & Co. [1889].
£50.00

LETTER: ALS 'To Dr Alexander Miles F.R.C.S.E.' 13 July 1897. 1p, 4to. Signed 'James Lumsden (late of Nether Hailes) | now – 34 Royal Park Terrace | Edinburgh', with postscript signed in initials. Written on the blank reverse of the second leaf of a bifolium advertisement for Lumsden's 'The Battles of Dunbar and Prestonpans, and other selected poems' (1896), on which Lumsden's address is given as 34 Royal Park Terrace, Edinburgh. Aged and worn, with closed tears along fold line. A long letter, one of many similar which Lumsden wrote in his distress.

[Florence Montgomery, Victorian novelist and children's author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Florence Montgomery') to her cousin Lilian Levi (née Yorke), regarding the death and funeral of their relative 'Coutie' [Ormond?].

Author: 
Florence Montgomery (1843-1923), novelist and children's author
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Cadogan Place, SW [London] 4 January [1921].
£35.00

Florence Montgomery's 1869 novel 'Misunderstood' was admired by Henry James, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and George Du Maurier, and was childhood reading of Vladimir Nabokov. It has been adapted for cinema twice (in Italy in 1966, in Hollywood in 1984). The present item is 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In envelope addressed to 'Mrs. William Levi | Woughton Hall | Bletchley'. (The recipient Lilian Maud Levi was the granddaughter of Sir Henry Cunningham Montgomery, and the daughter of the Dean of Worcester Grantham Munton Yorke.) The postmark gives the year as 1921.

[Violet Markham, author and social reformer, to art historian Benedict Nicholson.] Typed Letter Signed ('Violet Markham'), thanking him for 'drawings of St. Nectaire', discussing France and French 'betrayal of the Allied cause'.

Author: 
Violet Markham [Violet Rosa Markham], author, social reformer and campaigner against women's suffrage [Benedict Nicholson (1914-1978), art historian]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 8 Gower Street, Bloomsbury [London]. 3 December 1942.
£65.00

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to 'B. Nicholson, Esq., | Brooks's, | St. James's Street, S.W.1.' (Nicholson was the son of Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West.) She begins by thanking him for his 'kind letter and charming gift of your drawings of St. Nectaire', adding: 'as an author my vanity is flattered by your appreciation of “Romanesque France”'. She is glad she has helped 'a certain number of people in getting to know some of the beauties of France', but feels 'something of a fraud about the book as without the help of my friend Mr.

[John Mortimer, author and barrister, creator of 'Rumpole of the Bailey'.] Two Typed Letters Signed and one Autograph Card Signed to the playwright Christopher Fry, suggesting meetings and commenting on his busy schedule

Author: 
John Mortimer [Sir John Clifford Mortimer] (1923-2009), author, dramatist and barrister, creator of 'Rumpole of the Bailey' [Christopher Fry (1907-2005), playwright]
Publication details: 
All three on letterheads of Turville Heath Cottage, Henley-on-Thames. Letters dated 11 November 1995 and 1 March 1997. Card undated.
£56.00

All three items in good condition, with both letters lightly-creased at the foot. ONE: TLS. Signed 'John Mortimer'. 11 November 1995. 1p, 8vo. He was delighted to receive Fry's letter and would 'like to visit a writing group with which you're connected. If I'm free on May 10th I'll come. I'm just waiting to hear about a trip to Florida – so do let the committee write to me. I'll know by then more clearly what I'm doing.' TWO: TLS. Signed 'John', with Mortimer deleting the typed word 'sincerely'. 1 March 1997. 1p, 8vo. He found it 'a delight' to hear Fry's 'lecture at the RSL'.

[Robert Hamilton of Ipswich, Irish army physician and medical author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('R: Hamilton') to Sir Charles Brian Blagden, Secretary, Royal Society, praising that body in regard to a 'trifling performance' presented to its library.

Author: 
Robert Hamilton (1749-1830) of Ipswich, Irish army physician and medical author [Sir Charles Brian Blagden (1748-1820), medical officer in the Army and Secretary of the Royal Society, London]
Publication details: 
Ipswich; 10 February 1788.
£250.00

1p, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with broken seal in red wax, to 'Dr. Blagden | Secry. to the | Royal Society | London'. After thanking Blagden for the trouble he has taken 'in transmitting the thanks of the R: Socy. To me for the trifling performance I sent to the Library', Hamilton continues: 'I consider myself as honoured by its reception.

[Sheila Kaye-Smith, novelist.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Miss Greenwood', explaining her reason for doubting the possibility of making a film 'setting out the Christian attitude towards divorce'.

Author: 
Sheila Kaye-Smith (1887-1956), novelist
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Little Douce Grove, Northiam, Rye, Sussex. 26 January [no year]
£60.00

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly aged paper, with pin holes to one corner and a few drops of light staining. She thanks Greenwood for her letter, but does not feel that her 'Valiant Woman' has any 'chance of making a successful film, for the very reasons you say it ought to'. She explains: 'In this country there would not be a large enough public for a film setting out the Christian attitude towards divorce, as popular sympathy is mostly on the other side'. Nevertheless she is sending Greenwood's letter to her agent 'Mr. A. D.

[Charles Causley, Cornish poet.] Three Typed Letters Signed (all 'Charles Causley') to Ian McPherson, discussing proposed readings, and the difficulty of fitting in 'teaching and writing comitments with other activities'.

Author: 
Charles Causley [Charles Stanley Causley] (1917-2003), Cornish poet [Ian McPherson]
Publication details: 
All three on Causley's letterhead, 2 Cyprus Well, Launceston, Cornwall. 9 December 1974; 20 July 1975; 2 December 1976.
£80.00

All three 1p, landscape 12mo. All in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: 9 December 1974. He thanks him for 'the invitation […] But as I'm teaching full-time here now, this would be very difficult to arrange as far as schools visits would be concerned. (I asked the Arts Council to take my name off the schools list, but they don't seem to have done so).' He suggests a 'reading during the holiday break, perhaps. One aimed principally at adults, I mean.' The 'London Poetry Secretariat/Arts Council link-up' might 'provide some kind of subsidy'.

[Mrs Sarah Ellis (Sarah Stickney Ellis), Victorian author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Sarah S. Ellis') to the female editor of a magazine, apologising for delay in article on 'Java Sparrows' and announcing 'a better story in the Child's department'.

Author: 
Mrs Sarah Ellis [Sarah Stickney Ellis, born Sarah Stickney] (1799-1872), Quaker (later Congregationalist) author of numerous books, several on woman's place in society
Publication details: 
Rose Hill [Lord Street, Hoddesdon]. 4 April [no year].
£120.00

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. The female recipient is unidentified, but would appear to be the editor of a magazine, enquiring after the progress of a 'paper' Ellis has agreed to write on 'Java Sparrows'. Ellis explains that she has 'begun a better story in the Child's department which it is consequently necessary to finish first', to appear 'in the number for June', but that 'your paper shall certainly come next'. The handwriting is not altogether straightforward, but Ellis appears to say here that 'stories will not always [write?] up when [necessary?]'.

[Elizabeth Missing Sewell, nineteenth-century religious author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Elizabeth M Sewell') to 'My dearest Annie'

Author: 
Elizabeth M. Sewell [Elizabeth Missing Sewell] (1815-1906), nineteenth-century author of religious and educational books
Publication details: 
Bonchurch [Isle of Wight]. 13 July 1868.
£90.00

See Sewell's entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, landscape 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The letter reads: 'My dearest Annie | Eliza tells me you wanted a copy of the French Book. I am so glad I happen to have one by me. - for I want you to have it from me. Please accept the book with love. | Yours very affly | Elizabeth M Sewell | Bonchurch. July 13th. 1868'.

[Nina Bawden, novelist and children's writer.] Autograph Signed Inscription on card.

Author: 
Nina Bawden (1925-2012), English novelist and children's writer
Publication details: 
Card with her letterhead, 22 Noel Road, London N1 8HA. No date.
£50.00

On one side of 10.5 x 14.5 cm grey-blue card. In very good condition. Inscription in blue ink, beneath the letterhead (which includes email address and phone number): 'This is for the Autograph Auction next March. | Good luck, | Nina Bawden'.

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