AUTOGRAPH

Autograph Letter Signed ('W. Howitt') from the English author William Howett [to the editor of the Literary Gazette William Jerdan?], requesting a favourable review [of his 'Popular History of Priestcraft'].

Author: 
William Howitt (1792-1879), English poet and author, originally a Quaker, friend of Elizabeth Gaskell and advocate of spiritualism [William Jerdan (1782-1869), editor of the Literary Gazette]
Publication details: 
Nottingham. [1833.]
£56.00

1p., 16mo. On aged paper, with minor damage on removal from album. He requests 'the favour of an early notice in your journal, of the accompanying little volume if it be fortunate enough to meet your approbation'. The work has 'no object but to serve true religion & true liberty'. In a postscript he requests a 'copy of the paper containing the notice'. Howitt practised as a chemist in Nottingham between 1822 and 1836, when he moved to Esher, Surrey.

Autograph Letter Signed from the English playwright and comic author Tom Taylor to 'Col: Cunningham' [later Sir Alexander Cunningham], regarding a painting of the Countess of Pembroke, and Cunningham's collection of pictures.

Author: 
Tom Taylor (1817-1880), English playwright and art critic at The Times, whose play 'Our American Cousin' was being performed when Lincoln was assassinated [Sir Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Local Government Act Office, 8 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall. 24 November [no year].
£95.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. Untidily-written by Taylor, with several ink smudges. The letter begins: 'Dear Col: Cunningham | I find recorded, in my catalogues, no other portrait of Eliz: Countess of Pembroke & her son, except the one in the Earl of Pembroke's possession at Wilton House. There is a repetition of the group of mother & son in that picture, with the Earl in it, in Wilton House. Lord Normanton has a head of the Lady, painted at the same time, apparently'.

Typed insurance valuation by auctioneers Christie, Manson & Woods of the art collection and library of the Labour Party politician Tom Driberg [Baron Bradwell]. With typed and manuscript material relating to bequests to a number of celebrated friends

Author: 
Tom Driberg [Thomas Edward Neil Driberg, Baron Bradwell] (1905-1976), journalist and Labour Party politician [Sir John Betjeman; Michael Foot; Joan Littlewood; Stanley Orme; Lord Paget of Northampton]
Publication details: 
Valuation: Christie, Manson & Woods, 8 King Street, St James's, London. 1973.
£350.00

Valuation: 29pp., 4to, in a brown folder bound with green ribbon. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. With a few manuscript additions. The title reads: 'T. DRIBERG, ESQ., 601 MOUNTJOY HOUSE, BARBICAN, LONDON, E.C.2. | VALUATIONS FOR INSURANCE | CHRISTIE, MANSON & WOODS.

Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Palgrave') from Sir Francis Palgrave, Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, to his son Inglis, complaining of 'avalanches of business' and difficulties over a 'future residence' and helping 'Frank' [his son F. T. Palgrave]

Author: 
Sir Francis Palgrave [formerly Cohen] (1788-1861), English archivist and historian of Jewish descent, Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, 1838-61; his son Sir Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave (1827-1919)
Publication details: 
'Rolls [Rolls House, Chancery Lane] - | 15 June [no year]'.
£56.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Palgrave begins: 'My dear Inglis/ | I have had such avalanches [last word underlined] of business - and most of a confidential nature - that I have really been unable to write to you. By confidential business I mean business of a class which I cannot open to mhy clerks - and what must be either copied by my own hands or at home - If it had not been for Fanny Brown in addition to her sister I do not know what I should have done'.

Holograph copy of poem (signed 'R. M.') by Richard Mant, beginning 'Bow, Britons, Bow the haughty head' ['War Song'], written out for Anna Maria, wife of George Parker, Vicar of Bampton, and like Mant a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford.

Author: 
Richard Mant (1776-1848), Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore [Anna Maria [née Parker], wife of George Richards (1767-1837), Vicar of Bampton; Oriel College, Oxford]
Publication details: 
Oriel College, Oxford. 15 June 1803.
£265.00

3pp., 4to. On bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with half of a black wax seal, 'For | Mrs. Richards | Bampton.' This copy was made within a month of the composition of the poem, for the wife of a fellow Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. The recto of the second leaf carries the following note by Mant: 'with Mr. Mant's best compliments to Mrs. Richards. | Oriel Coll. June 15th. 1803.' Beneath this, in a contemporary hand (presumably that of Mrs Parker): 'Afterwards Bishop of Down & Connor'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('V. D. Vroom') from the Democratic Party Governor of New Jersey, Peter Dumont Vroom, to the State Treasurer Charles Parker, informing him that he has issued travel warrants for two women, Hannah Alloways and Mary Ann Daniels.

Author: 
Peter Dumont Vroom (1791-1873), Governor of the State of New Jersey, 1829-1832 and 1833-1836; Democratic member, House of Representatives, 1839-1841 [Charles Parker, Treasurer of New Jersey]
Publication details: 
Somerville [New Jersey]. 29 May 1835.
£180.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium, with address on reverse of second leaf: 'Charles Parker, Esqr. | Treasurer | Trenton. | N.J.', together with red circular Somerville postmark, and docketing. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with light contemporary staining to second leaf, from which the seal has been cut away. The letter begins: 'I have issued warrants for the two following visitors - vizt. | 1. Hannah Alloways. Burlington Co. Warrant dated 20 May '35. | 2. Mary Ann Daniels - Cumberland - [Warrant dated] 29 May '35.

Autograph Letter Signed ('M: A: Lower') from the Sussex antiquary Mark Anthony Lower to Lord Londesborough

Author: 
Mark Antony Lower (1814-1876), F.S.A. M.A., Sussex historian who founded the Sussex Archaeological Society [Albert Denison Denison (1805-1860), 1st Baron Londesborough]
Publication details: 
Lewes [Sussex]. 23 May 1851.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Written in a bold, attractive hand. The letter begins: 'It was with much regret that I was compelled to forgo the honour of attending your Lordship's Conversazione on Wednesday.' He was called to Hastings that day by '[u]navoidable business', but hopes to have 'during the continuance of the Exhibition, an opportunity of waiting on your Lordship'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Vera Meynell') from Lady Vera Meynell, wife of the typographer Sir Francis Meynell, to 'Dear Jack' [the anthropologist J. H. Driberg], asking him to 'let bygones be bygones' and visit her at Toppesfield, 'Hitler permitting'.

Author: 
Lady Vera Meynell [née Vera Rosalind Wynn Mendel] (1895-1947), wife of Sir Francis Meynell (1891-1975), publisher and typographer, founder of the Nonesuch Press [Jack Herbert Driberg (1888-1946)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 39 Woburn Square, WC1 [London]. 5 July [no year, but during the Second World War].
£65.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Jack | It is a long time since we met - but perhaps that is my fault. If so, will you let bygones be bygones - and come over to Toppesfield some time?' She suggests a date, 'Or any Sunday lunch in the immediate future', stating that 'after July, all plans are "Hitler permitting"!' Driberg has noted his acceptance of the invitation up one margin. [Driberg was a Lecturer in Anthropology at Cambridge University from 1934 to 1942. His brother was the colourful Labour MP Tom Driberg.

Holograph poem by John S. Broad of Newcastle-under-Lyme, titled 'Forbearing Love' ('Heap coals of fire upon the guilty head'), with covering Autograph Letter Signed ('John S Broad'), expressing the hope that the poem will 'answer your purpose'.

Author: 
John S. Broad [John Samuel Broad (b.1809)], Vicar of St Georges, Newcastle-under-Lyme [Victorian provincial poetry]
Publication details: 
Poem from Newcastle-under-Lyme, undated. Letter from Newcastle, 26 December 1843.
£95.00

Both items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Poem: 1p., 4to. Titled at head: 'Forbearing Love | Romans XII 19-21.' Signed at foot: 'John S. Broad | Newcastle under Lyme'. The poem consists of 24 lines in six four-line stanzas. The first stanza reads: 'Heap coals of fire upon the guilty head, | And melt its malice down; | Let flames of love around it be outspread | And charm away its frown.' The last stanza: 'Thus shall it win its conquering way in peace, | Raise trophies free from blood; | Thus make the storms of sinful passion cease | And bow the heart to God!' Letter: 1p., 12mo.

Autograph Note Signed ('Jas. Martineau') from the Unitarian minister James Martineau, thanking 'Mr. Odgers' for 'correcting my correction'.

Author: 
James Martineau (1805-1900), English Unitarian minister, brother of the writer Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
Publication details: 
35 Gordon Square, London, WC. 13 January 1894.
£28.00

1p., 16mo. In fair condition, on lightly-ruckled paper. The note reads: 'Dear Mr. Odgers, | You were quite right, and I thank you for correcting my correction. I do not know what possessed me to make it.'

Typed Letter Signed ('Handley Dunelm') from Handley Carr Glyn Moule, Bishop of Durham, to Sir Michael Sadler, Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds, regarding the use of his name by the disreputable publicist Sydney Walton, for his 'Bible Crusade'.

Author: 
Handley Carr Glyn Moule (1841-1920), Anglican Bishop of Durham from 1901 to 1920 [Sir Michael Ernest Sadler (1861-1943), Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds; Sydney Walton (1882-1964), publicist]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 10 November 1915.
£30.00

1p., 4to. With mourning border. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper with minor wear at the beginning of one crease. Moule writes that he is 'quite prepared to receive and of course to attend to any communication from Mr. Sydney Walton', but that he must 'distinctly decline responsibility in detail [last three words underlined] for the work of the Bible Crusade'. He 'willingly expressed' his 'cordial personal sympathy with its aims when its founder [i.e.

Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'H. Montagu Butler') from Henry Montagu Butler, successively Headmaster of Harrow School and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, declining an interview with [Sydney Walton of] the Morning Post.

Author: 
H. Montagu Butler [Henry Montagu Butler] (1833-1918), headmaster of Harrow School, 1859-85, and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1886-1918 [Sydney Walton (1882-1964), publicist]
Publication details: 
Both on letterheads of Trinity College, Cambridge. 7 and 12 May 1913.
£80.00

Each 3pp., 12mo, on bifoliums with the first page headed 'Private'. Both in fair condition, on lightly-aged paper with minor staining from paper clip. Letter One: He hopes he will not 'appear wanting in courtesy to yourself or to the Editor of the Morning Post if I say frankly that I had much rather not have any conversation about my coming birthday, which certain old Harrow pupils and friends propose so kindly to celebrate.' He 'must beg' Walton to 'make allowance for my feeling of reserve on so delicate a matter'.

Holograph poem (signed 'G J W A E') by George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, titled 'Remembrance & Hope | addressed to my dearest Caroline', lamenting the depression of his sister Caroline-Anne Agar-Ellis over their mother's death.

Author: 
George James Welbore Agar-Ellis (1797-1833), 1st Baron Dover, politician and art patron, and his sister Caroline-Anne Agar-Ellis (1794-1814), children of Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden
Publication details: 
Dated 'April 1814'.
£180.00

2pp., 4to. Fair, on aged paper, with a thin strip from a stub adhering to one edge on the reverse. Previously folded into a packet, and docketed in a contemporary hand 'by Agar Ellis'. 24 lines in heroic couplets. Agar-Ellis's sister Caroline-Anne would die at Roehampton on 12 May 1814, a month after the writing of this poem, which links her demise with that of their mother, Caroline, daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough, a few months before (23 November 1813).

Autograph Card Signed from Frederic Harrison to Elbridge H. Goss of Melrose County, Massachusetts, regarding 'the President's fine message'. With two neatly-mounted photographs of Harrison, from magazines.

Author: 
Frederic Harrison (1831-1923), jurist, positivist and author [Elbridge H. Goss of Melrose County, Massachusetts]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Elm Hill, Hawkhurst. 18 October 1831.
£35.00

The card is in fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, neatly and attractively tipped-in onto a 4to leaf which also carries a photograph of 'FREDERIC HARRISON' cut from a magazine, with both items placed within ruled borders. Laid down on a second 4to leaf, and also within a ruled border, is a second photograph of Harrison, captioned 'FREDERIC HARRISON | Author of "The Creed fo a Layman." (Apologia Pro Fide Mea).' Both photographs and mounts are in very good condition. The card is addressed to Goss at the Melrose Savings Bank, Melrose, Massachusetts.

Typed Letter Signed ('Raglan') from Fitzroy Richard Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan [Lord Raglan] to fellow anthropologist J. H. Driberg, regarding a proposed stay at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Author: 
FitzRoy Richard Somerset (1885-1964), 4th Baron Raglan [Lord Raglan], President, Royal Anthropological Society [Jack Herbert Driberg (1888-1946), Lecturer in Anthropology, Cambridge University,1934-42
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Cefntilla Court, Usk, Monmouthshire. 11 October 1938.
£35.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Having been 'very comfortable' at Trinity College, Cambridge, as a guest of Bernard Thomas, Raglan thinks it will be 'very pleasant' to stay there again. He gives details of his proposed itinerary, makes suggestions regarding his motor-car, and accepts an invitation to 'dine in Hall'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('E J Lindgren') from Dr Ethel John Lindgren to fellow-anthropologist J. H. Driberg, concerning a book by another author, accepted for publication by the Council of the University of Cambridge in 1904, and returned in 1928.

Author: 
Dr Ethel John Lindgren (1905-1988), anthropologist [Jack Herbert Driberg (1888-1946), Lecturer in Anthropology, Cambridge University, 1934-42; brother of Labour MP Tom Driberg (1905-76)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 34 Causewayside, Fen Causeway, Cambridge. 8 November 1939.
£35.00

2pp., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. She asks him if he can 'shed any light' on a book or paper (not named), 'or indicate what amount of interest it is likely to have': 'The author wrote it in 1904, added to it in 1907. Council [of the University of Cambridge] accepted it for publication in 1916. It was returned to the author, at his request, in 1928!' She could send it to Driberg, 'to look through, if you like (or rather if you are willing!)' A postscript regarding Sir E. E. Evans-Pritchard, emphatically underlined, reads: 'Is it true that E-P is married???'

Autograph Letter Signed ('Basil A. Yeaxlee') from the English educational pioneer Basil Yeaxlee [Basil Alfred Yeaxlee] to the anthropologist J. H. Driberg, regarding his difficulty in acquiring a copy of 'Island India goes to School' by E. R. Embree.

Author: 
Basil Yeaxlee [Basil Alfred Yeaxlee] (1883-1967), English pioneer in the field of adult education [Jack Herbert Driberg (1888-1946), anthropologist, brother of colourful Labour politician Tom Driberg]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 109 Woodstock Road, Oxford. 9 May 1939.
£35.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He begins: 'My bookseller has sent me tonight "Island India at School" - Chicago University Press $2 [in fact 'Island India at School', E. R. Embree et al, 1934], and therefore, presumably, C.U.P. in this country.' He apologises for troubling Driberg unnecessarily: 'But yesterday they told me that they couldn't even trace it in Publishers' Catalogues.' Postscript reads: 'I hope I'm not robbing you of your proper style & title. I feel that it might be "Dr."

Autograph Journal, by Amy Mary Irving Driberg, mother of the Labour Party politician Tom Driberg [Baron Bradwell], titled 'Tom - School' and containing entries on his schooldays.

Author: 
Amy Mary Irving Driberg [née Bell] (d.1939), of Uckfield Lodge, Crowborough, mother of Tom Driberg [Thomas Edward Neil Driberg, Baron Bradwell] (1905-76), journalist and Labour Party politician
Publication details: 
Entries dating from 27 September 1910 to 30 July 1918.
£180.00

14pp., 12mo. In ruled notebook bound in black cloth. Titled 'Tom - School' at head of first page, with small section cut away from the front cover to make this visible. In fair condition on lightly-aged paper, with one slightly dogeared corner and light staining to blank leaves at the rear. Written while Driberg was between the ages of five and thirteen, and with the handwriting more untidy towards the end.

Autograph Letter Signed ('A Hayward') from the essayist and translator Abraham Hayward to the editor of the Athenaeum Charles Wentworth Dilke, regarding a delayed communication, a 'd[amne]d foreigner', and payment for a female contributor.

Author: 
Abraham Hayward (1801-1884), English essayist and translator [Charles Wentworth Dilke (1789-1864), editor of the Athenaeum]
Publication details: 
Place not stated. 'Monday' [no date].
£80.00

1p., 4to. Addressed on reverse, with red wax seal, to 'C. W. Dilke Esq:'. Hayward writes that he is enclosing a note (not present), which was sent to him 'in one to me received only today though apparently written on Wednesday last. A d - d foreigner kept it in his pocket in the interim.' Clearly referring to a fee for an article, he continues: 'The lady will be quite satisfied with what you name, but I suppose it may stand over till she does something else'.

[10 printed items] Schedule of Contract for Carpenters' [Bricklayers'; Slaters'; Plasterers'; Plumbers'; Painters'; Glaziers'; Smiths'; Cast-iron and Metal] Work for the Service of the War Department, at [blank] in the South-west and Sussex District.

Author: 
[Ten printed Schedules of Contract for work for the service of the War Department, in the South-West and Sussex District; W. H. Dudley; Robert Stratton; George Wheeler; Isle of Wight; Hurst Castle]
Publication details: 
All ten schedules: 'London: Printed by Harrison & Sons. 1858.'
£850.00

The collection is of great interest, providing a mass of information regarding the Victorian building trade. The owner of the volume, W. H. Dudley, would appear to be a War Office official, and, as described at the end of this entry, it contains manuscript details of two contracts. The ten printed schedules - totalling [34 + 17 + 14 + 10 + 12 + 13 + 12 + 10 + 16 + 11 =] 149 pp., folio - are uniform in design and format, bound together in a contemporary half-binding, with brown leather spine and corners, and marbled boards. All ten are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, in worn binding.

Caricature by 'Ape' of 'Vanity Fair', titled 'Anecdotes', depicting the essayist and translator Abraham Hayward. With Autograph Note in the third person from Hayward to Viscountess Combermere.

Author: 
'Ape' [Carlo Pellegrini (1839-1889)], Vanity Fair caricaturist [Abraham Hayward (1801-1884), English essayist and translator; Mary Cotton [nee Mary Woolley Gibbings] (d.1889), Viscountess Combermere]
Publication details: 
The Vanity Fair caricature printed [London, 1875] by 'Vincent Brooks Day & Son, Lith.' Hayward's autograph note: '8 St. James St [London] | June 9 [no year]'.
£75.00

The 'Ape' cartoon: 21.5 x 32.5 cm. In good condition, on aged paper, with a neat horizontal fold 4 cm up from the bottom. Hayward's autograph note: 1p., 32mo. In good condition, on aged paper. It reads: 'Mr Heywood presents his compliments to Viscountess Combermere and has much pleasure in accepting her invitation to luncheon on Wednesday 21 June. | 8 St. James St | June 9'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('W F Butler') from Sir William Francis Butler, Irish officer in the British Army, to an unnamed correspondent, discussing the 'great mediaeval Sin' that was committed by the English in Ireland.

Author: 
Sir William Francis Butler (1838-1910), Irish officer in the British Army in the Red River and Asante [Ashanti] campaigns, member of the Irish privy council and supporter of Charles Stewart Parnell
Publication details: 
On letterhead of North Camp, Aldershot. 13 May 1894.
£80.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'My dear Sir'. England and Ireland are not named in the letter, but subject of the letter is clear from the context. He has read 'with very great pleasure' the pamphlet which the recipient sent him. 'You are correct in surmising that for the present at least I take no part in the political question of the day - but my views show no change'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('T. W. Holderness') from Sir Thomas William Holderness to Sir Henry Marshman Havelock-Allan, regarding his appointment as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, and his predecessor 'poor Ritchie' [Sir Richmond Ritchie]

Author: 
Sir Thomas William Holderness (1849-1924), member of the Indian Civil Service and Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India [Sir Henry Marshman Havelock-Allan (1830-1897); Sir Richmond Ritchie]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the India Office, Whitehall. 24 October [1912].
£65.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Tipped in onto a leaf removed from an album. Holderness's predecessor Sir Richmond Ritchie (1854-1912) had died ten days before the writing of the letter, as a result, according to the Oxford DNB, of the undermining of his health by 'unremitting hard work [...] over several years'. Holderness begins the letter: 'It is very good of you to congratulate me on succeeding to poor Ritchie's responsibilities.

Manuscript 'Report on the Road from Frimley to Yorktown [Surrey, England]' 'Ewart' [Sir John Spencer Ewart, while a Sandhurst cadet], with coloured manuscript map and four other field sketches by him; with sketches by 'Sterling' and 'Gordon'.

Author: 
Lieut-Gen. Sir John Spencer Ewart (1861-1930), KCB, Adjutant-General to the Forces in the British Army [Frimley, Surrey; Yorktown House; Aldershot; Sandhurst]
Publication details: 
Report on War Office 'Form 33'. Ewart's four additional sketches dated 1880 and 1881, the other material undated.
£280.00

The collection, deriving from the Ewart family papers, is in good condition, on aged paper, with fraying to the extremities of the report. Sir John Spencer Ewart, son of General Sir John Alexander Ewart, Colonel of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, entered Sandhurst in 1880, and left the following year, with the sword of honour, to join the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. (For more information about Ewart and his father, who also obtained 'special distinction' at Sandhurst, see their entries in the Oxford DNB.) ONE. Manuscript 'Report'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Granville') from Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, vice-president of the Board of Trade, to John Lewis Ricardo, Member of Parliament for Stoke upon Trent, about the 'irregular' nature of certain evidence.

Author: 
Granville George Leveson-Gower (1815-1891), 2nd Earl Granville, Liberal Home Secretary, 1851-1852 [John Lewis Ricardo (1812-1862), Member of Parliament for Stoke upon Trent; Thomas Rowe Edmonds]
Publication details: 
Bruton Street [Mayfair, London]. 31 May 1851.
£56.00

1p., 4to. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. Granville explains that 'Edmonds' (the economist Thomas Rowe Edmonds (1803-1889)?) asked him before the House of Commons Committee about giving Ricardo 'the evidence - the Committee saw it was quite irregular', but if Ricardo 'can manage to call on me at the Bd. of Trade tomorrow (Saturday) at about 12 o clock, I will show you what you want'. Postscript reads: 'Pray come at all events on Monday at one to the Committee'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Granville') from Liberal Foreign Secretary Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, to a 'Baron', stating his position on whether Louis Napoleon's 'mischievous motions' will bring about war in Europe.

Author: 
Granville George Leveson-Gower (1815-1891), 2nd Earl Granville, Liberal Home Secretary, 1851-1852 [Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808-1873), Napoleon III, Emperor of the French; France]
Publication details: 
Bruton St [Mayfair, London]. 20 February 1852.
£90.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Of great interest, as giving the informal position of the British Home Secretary on what was at the time the most important problem facing him. Granville would only last as Foreign Secretary for a week after writing this letter, as Russell's Liberal Government would fall on 27 February. Ironically, his elevation to the post of Foreign Secretary the previous Boxing Day had been due to Russell forcing Palmerston's resignation over his unauthorized recognition of Louis Napoléon's coup d'état. The letter is addressed to 'My dear Baron'.

Delicate coloured field plan of 'Part of Hartford Bridge Flats [now near the site of Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire] surveyed and drawn by J. A. Ewart [later General Sir John Alexander Ewart], 35th. Regt. in 12 hours'.

Author: 
General Sir John Alexander Ewart (1821-1904), KCB, Colonel of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and hero of the Indian Mutiny and Crimean Campaign [Hartford Bridge Flats, Hampshire; 35th Regiment]
Publication details: 
[Hartford Bridge Flats, Hampshire.] Undated, but between 1838, when Ewart was gazetted to the 35th Regiment, and 1848, when he exchanged to the 93rd Highlanders.
£95.00

On a piece of thick paper, 36.5 x 38 cm. In fair condition, on aged and spotted and dusty paper, flattened out after being tightly furled, with one short closed tear in margin repaired with archival tape. The field plan is delicately drawn in ink to a 'Scale of four inches to one mile', and coloured in green, blue, grey and red.

Typed Letter Signed ('A J Sylvester') from Lloyd George's private secretary A. J. Sylvester [Albert James Sylvester] to Sir Charles Starmer, regarding 'Mr. Lloyd George's visit to Cober Hill Guest House'. With copy of Starmer's typed letter.

Author: 
A. J. Sylvester [Albert James Sylvester] (1889-1989), Secretary to three Prime Ministers, David Lloyd George, Andrew Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin [Sir Charles Starmer; Cober Hill, Scarborough]
Publication details: 
Thames House, Millbank, SW1. On House of Commons letterhead. 12 May 1933. Copy of Starmer's reply dated the same day.
£80.00

Both Sylvester's letter and the copy of the letter by Starmer to which it is replying are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, each with punch holes to one margin. Starmer, who at the time of writiing was proprietor of a large group of newspapers, had begun his career on the 'Northern Echo'; he had for many years been a Liberal member of parliament, standing down in 1931 due to ill health. Cober Hill Guest House was at that time an early experiment in what would become the children's home or retreat. For clarity's sake this description begins with the copy of Starmer's letter: 1p., 4to.

Eleven manuscript items, from the papers of Thomas William King, York Herald, relating to the claim to the dormant baronetcies of Mackenzie of Tarbat and Royston by Alexander Mackenzie of Tasmania, uncle of the Dowager Lady Filmer.

Author: 
Thomas William King, York Herald [William Anderson, Marchmont Herald; Helen [née Monro; 1810-1888], Dowager Lady Filmer; Alexander Mackenzie of Tasmania; Mackenzie of Tarbat and Royston]
Publication details: 
Mostly London and Edinburgh, 1858.
£320.00

In 1826 Lieut-Col. Alexander Mackenzie, eldest son of Colonel Robert Mackenzie of Milnmount, assumed the dormant baronetcies of Tarbat and Royston [ALEXANDERMACKENZIE OF ROYSTON CROMARTY TARBET GRANDVILLE.], despite their having been forfeited under attainder in 1763. On his death without issue in 1841 his only brother Sir James Sutherland Mackenzie also assumed the titles. He died unmarried and insane on the 24 November 1858. The claim to which the present documents relate does not appear to have been pursued, and the baronetcies have remained dormant.

Autograph Letter Signed ('W B Sprague') from the American Congregational clergyman and author Rev. Dr W. B. Sprague [William Buell Sprague], in part a letter of introduction for Solomon Stoddard of Northampton, Massachusetts

Author: 
Rev. Dr W. B. Sprague [William Buell Sprague] (1795-1876) of Albany, New York, Yale-educated American Congregational and Presbyterian clergyman and compiler of Annals of the American Pulpit
Publication details: 
Albany [New York]. 13 April 1832.
£120.00

1p., 4to. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, laid down on the remains of a leaf of grey paper from an album. Sprague has only just received his recipient's letter, 'with its invaluable accompaniment', presuming that it was detained at New York for more than two months. He will send a proper letter in a fortnight; in the meantime he writes 'to introduce to you my worthy and much respected friend Mr Solomon Stoddard of Northampton, a direct descendant of the venerable divine whose name he bears [i.e.

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