bookselling

Autograph Letter Signed ('R. Surtees') from the antiquary Robert Surtees to the Darlington bookseller Joseph Sams, with autograph draft of announcement by the latter.

Author: 
Robert Surtees (1779-1834), antiquary and topographer [Joseph Sams (1784-1860), Darlington bookseller]
Autograph Letter Signed ('R. Surtees') from the antiquary Robert Surtees
Publication details: 
17 April 1831.
£56.00
Autograph Letter Signed ('R. Surtees') from the antiquary Robert Surtees

4to, 1 p. In bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf with circular 'RUSHYFORD' postmark in black ink. On aged and creased paper, with traces of mount adhering on second leaf. Giving details of the 'allowance to the Trade', which he admits is 'small', for volumes in large and small paper. 'Only 500 Copies being printed it is not worth my while to push the sale by a large allowance'.

Autograph Signature of the satirist John Wolcot ('J: Wolcot'), made when 'entirely blind', with autograph note by quaker and radical author Thomas 'Clio' Rickman.

Author: 
John Wolcot (1738-1819), English satirical author under the pseudonym 'Peter Pindar' [Thomas 'Clio' Rickman (1760-1834), quaker, radical author and friend of Thomas Paine]
Signature of the satirist John Wolcot
Publication details: 
Signature dated by Rickman to 3 July 1809.
£165.00
Signature of the satirist John Wolcot

12mo, 2 pp, the autograph being on one side and Rickman's on the other. Fair, on aged paper, with traces of previous mounting on one side. Large bold signature 'J: Wolcot' with biographical note on one side, and the note, signed 'Clio Rickman', on the other: Written by the celebrated Peter Pindar, when entirely blind, on my calling on him the 3d of July 1809 my boy with me'.

Speech of Sergeant Talfourd on Literary Property delivered in the House of Commons, on the 18th of May, 1837.

Author: 
Sergeant Talfourd [Thomas Noon Talfourd] (1795-1854), English judge and writer [Copyright Bill, 1837]
Speech of Sergeant Talfourd on Literary Property
Publication details: 
[1837.] London: Published by Sherwood and Co., Paternoster-row. [Bradford , Red lion-ct. Fleet-st.]
£185.00
Speech of Sergeant Talfourd on Literary Property

8vo, 16 pp Disbound. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with the final page a little discoloured. Ownership inscriptions of 'Charles Hall Hemphill' and 'James | May 1837'. A significant work: a milestone in the history of copyright law. According to the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, this speech introducing Talfourd's Copyright Bill 'was considered the most telling made in the House during that session'. No copy listed on COPAC, and WorldCat lists three copies (all foreign).

Three catalogues of publications by the Religious Tract Society ('Illustrated Gift Books', 'The "Pen and Pencil" Series' and general catalogue for September 1906) together with three ephemeral items relating to the Society.

Author: 
[The Religious Tract Society; Victorian booktrade]
Three printed catalogues of publications by the Religious Tract Society
Publication details: 
The general catalogue dated to September 1906, another item from 1899, and the rest undated. [London: Paternoster Row.]
£125.00
Three printed catalogues of publications by the Religious Tract Society

All items unbound. Texts clear and complete. On aged and dusty paper, with some spotting and one item creased at extremities. ITEM ONE: General catalogue (4to, 68 pp). In original yellow printed wraps. ITEM TWO: Catalogue of 'Illustrated Gift Books' (12mo, 12pp). Numerous vignettes. The front page, bearing an engraving of a seagull, headed in red 'Sold by W. EARDLEY, Crewe'. ITEM THREE: 'The "Pen & Pencil" Series.' (12mo, 10pp). Illustrations, including one of the Bishop's Rock Lighthouse. ITEM FOUR: Handbill advertisement (8vo, 4 pp) for 'The Annotated Paragraph Bible'.

Valuable Works Lately Published, or in course of publication, by Treuttel and Würtz, and Richter, 30, Soho Square.

Author: 
Treuttel and Wurtz, and Richter [Treuttel et Würtz; Wuertz], foreign booksellers in London
Valuable Works Lately Published , , ,  by Treuttel and Würtz, Printed Catalogue
Publication details: 
July, 1833. [ Treuttel and Würtz, and Richter, 30, Soho Square.]
£56.00
Valuable Works Lately Published , , ,  by Treuttel and Würtz, Printed Catalogue

12mo, 16 pp. Unpaginated. Unbound and unstitched. Stabbed as issued. Fair, on lightly aged and worn paper. Extensive descriptions of 62 items, from 'The Mother's Manual; or Illustrations of Matrimonial Economy' to 'History of Russia, and of Peter the Great. By General Count Philip de Segur'. Five items 'In the Press' on the last page. Scarce: no copy in the British Library or on COPAC.

Manuscript Letter, signed 'Spotttiswoode & Co., to Hudson, regarding copies of his 'The Second War of Independence in America'.

Author: 
Spottiswoode and Co., Printers & Lithographers, New-Street Square, London [Eduard Maco Hudson, American historian]
Spottiswoode and Co., Printers & Lithographers, Letter
Publication details: 
28 November 1867; on Spottiswoode and Co. letterhead.
£56.00
Spottiswoode and Co., Printers & Lithographers, Letter

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Nineteen lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. They have '300 Bound Copies' of the book 'on hand', 'the remainder have been sold, producing £3. 1 6'. States the cost of shipping the books to Hudson.

Autograph Note Signed ('Grantley') to unnamed bookseller, requesting 'trout-fly books'.

Author: 
John Richard Brinsley Norton (1855-1943), 5th Baron Grantley [Lord Grantley], British peer and numismatist [trout fishing]
John Richard Brinsley Norton, Baron Grantley, Letter
Publication details: 
28 September 1886; on letterhead of Grantley Hall, Ripon, Yorkshire.
£65.00
John Richard Brinsley Norton, Baron Grantley, Letter

12mo, 1 p. Aged, grubby and creased, with slight loss to bottom left-hand corner, and closed tear to one margin. Requesting 'one or two choicest leather trout-fly books with plenty of pages, but not those with printed descriptions of flies'.

Printed notice of relocation, and advertisement for new publications.

Author: 
James Blackwood & Co., London publishers and wholesale stationers
Publication details: 
[Circa 1910.] London: James Blackwood & Co., 12/14 Heneage Lane, Bevis Marks, E.C.
£45.00

4to, 4 pp. Bifolium. Nicely printed with vignette of flowers and ribbons on first page. Fair, on aged paper. The firm, boasting establishment in 1849, is described on the first page as 'late of Lovell's Court, Paternoster Row, E.C.', where the announcement is made 'that they have Transferred their Business to the Above Address'. Six new editions of works are advertised on the following two pages, with details given of contents. The last page advertises 'Blackwood's Diaries for 1911' and 'Blackwood's New Series of Scribbling Diaries'.

Catalogue of Books published by James Blackwood & Co., Publishers & Wholesale Stationers.

Author: 
James Blackwood & Co., Publishers and Wholesale Stationers [trade catalogues]
Publication details: 
[Circa 1910.] London: James Blackwood & Co., 8. Lowell's Court, Paternoster Row, E.C. [amended in manuscript to '12/14 Heneage Lane. E.C.']
£75.00

12mo, 24 pp. Unbound. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with rusting to staples. Hundreds of titles, in such series as 'The Unique Library', 'Choice Readings. Books suitable for presents, etc.', 'Universal Library of Standard Authors', 'Blackwood's Edition of the Poets', 'Library of Thoughtful Books' and 'Choice Books for Young Persons'.

Typed Letter Signed, in English, to R. W. C. Vail of the Roosevelt House Library and Museum, with typed invoice.

Author: 
Edouard Champion, Paris bookseller, publisher and autograph dealer, 'Seul Agent (France, Belgique, Suisse) du British Museum'
Publication details: 
Both items dated 11 July 1924, and both on his letterhead.
£125.00

Both items fair, on lightly-aged paper. Both with list of Champion's publications down the left-hand margin, and with the list continuing in the letter to the blank second page. Letter: 4to, 1 p. He is sending 'a few documents which I have so far collected' relating to the Marquis de Chamilly. 'It is a long time since I last heard from the ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION, and am always at your entire disposal.' Invoice: Landscape 8vo. 12mo, 1 p. Containing five Chamilly letters, totalling 268 francs.

Autograph Note in the third person to Simco. With priced list (by Simco?) of engravings on reverse.

Author: 
John Chamberlaine (c.1745-1812), antiquary [John Simco (c.1749-1824), London bookseller]
Publication details: 
Brompton. Friday Morng' [c.1812?].
£95.00

12mo, 1 p. On bifolium. Good, on aged paper. Addressed, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Mr. Simco | Warwick St. | Golden Square.' Asking Simco to send a book 'by the Bearer', as well as ' a remittance upon his account of Holbein', as 'he has some large payments to make at the beginning of next week'.

Ten catalogues (five of the first firm and five of the second) of autograph letters, manuscripts, historical documents.

Author: 
Myers & Co. (Booksellers) Ltd.; Winifred A. Myers (Autographs) Ltd.
Publication details: 
Myers & Co. (Booksellers) Ltd., 102, New Bond Street, London, W.1: 1941, 1955 (2), 1956 (2). Winifred A. Myers (Autographs) Ltd., 80, New Bond Street, London, W.1: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1965.
£100.00

The ten items are all in the same 12mo format, each stapled and in coloured printed wraps. Page range between 56 and 106. Internally good, with occasional chipping to the high-acidity paper wraps. Rusting staples. A total of c.4500 items, catalogued in detail by a pioneer in the field and a President of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association. Containing a mass of information about a wide range of individuals ans subjects, from 'Musicians' to 'Prime Ministers', George Gissing to George III, Lord Byron to Florence Nightingale, and Robert Browning to Napoleon Bonaparte.

Sammlung historisch-beruehmter Autographen, oder Facsimile's von Handschriften ausgezeichneter Personen alter und neuer Zeit.

Author: 
Ad. Becher [German autograph collecting; autographs; facsimiles]
Publication details: 
Erste Serie. [all published] Stuttgart: Ad. Becher's Verlag. 1846.
£60.00

Quarto. Not paginated, but consisting of around 240 leaves containing approximately 280 numbered and well-executed facsimiles. In original brown cloth decorative binding. On aged paper in worn binding, with front board detached with first seven leaves. No letterpress, apart from title and alphabetical index. Apparently published in England under the title 'A Collection of three hundred Autograph Letters of Celebrated Individuals of all Nations, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. [...]'. COPAC only lists a copy at Aberdeen.

Typed Letter Signed ('G. R. Hall Caine') to Sir Thomas Moore of Hatchards bookshop, regarding 'the rehabilitation of this business'.

Author: 
Gordon Ralph Hall Caine [G.R. Hall Caine](1884-1962), Chairman and Managing Director, Argosy & Sundial Libraries Limited, of London and Liverpool [son of the novelist Hall Caine (1853-1931)]
Publication details: 
23 June 1947; on Argosy & Sundial letterhead.
£95.00

8vo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. On creased and lightly-aged paper. He is glad that Sir Thomas appreciates 'the seriousness of our position', and the reasons for asking Hatchards 'to release Mr. Edgeley to us for approximately six months in order to enable him to concentrate mainly upon the rehabilitation of this business'. Not a minor matter; according to one source the firm had '2,217 branches and 1.3 million books in circulation by 1934'.

Manuscript transcript of 'the entry of the Hunting Journal of 1816. [18]17', addressed to Triphook, giving costs for printing '20 Copies of Belvoir Hunt'.

Author: 
[Robert Triphook, London bookseller (d.1868); Belvoir Hunt; hunting; printing]
Publication details: 
Undated [1818?].
£56.00

Landscape 8vo, 1 p. On aged and discoloured paper, with four spike holes. Neatly written out, in a contemporary hand. Addressed on reverse to 'Mr. R. Triphook'. Pencil annotations on both sides. Headed 'The following is the entry of the Hunting Journal of 1816. 17 -'. First item (of six): 'Setting Press & Printing 20 Copies of Belvoir Hunt 1816.17 13 Sheets & 1/2 Demy, Pica & long Primmer with Tables fine ink. @ 83/. Pr Sheet } 56. 0. 6'. At foot of page: '1817-18 - furnished by R.

Typed Letter Signed to "Sydney Gutman. The Bermondsey Book[shop]".

Author: 
Frank Harris, author
Publication details: 
C/o The American Express Company, 2 rue du Congres, Nice. A.M. December 15, 1925.
£235.00

One page, 4to, punchholes, edges discoloured, mainly good condition. Two small additons in his hand. He thanks Gutman for his cheque and order for "three sets of Oscar Wilde" of which he can immediately supply two, the other to come from storage. One copy sent is the "Brentano's edition of New York" and he wonders if Gutman would prefer "my German editon. He has written to "Heath" [bookseller, partner of Gutman's] about copies of James Thomson's poems on his hands.

Autograph Receipt Signed (J. Stockdale, publisher)

Author: 
T. Bensley.
Publication details: 
31/01/95
£85.00

Printer (d.1833). One page, c.7 x 3", signs of laying down, some marking but text decipherable. "Recd Jany 31, 1795, of Mr. John Stockdale by a Note at Ten Months) the Sum of Four Hundred & Seventeen Pounds 18/- for Printing & Hotpressing Perry's Pocket Dictionary, as per Bill delivered./ T. Bensley./ £417.18.0" Prob. William Perry's "General Dictionary of English Language" (Stockdale, London, 1795).

Autograph Letter Signed ('Julian B. Arnold') to Raffin, commenting on the state of the American book trade.

Author: 
Julian Biddulph Arnold, author, and son and biographer of Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) [Alain Raffin]
Publication details: 
20 September 1921; 5132 Kimbark Avenue, Chicago, Illinois [on cancelled letterhead].
£85.00

4to, 2 pp. Twenty-seven lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged and slightly creased paper. He cannot help Raffin find an American publisher for his book 'Mystery, Mirage and Miracle' (privately printed for the author in London in 1921), although he finds its style 'delightful', and its subject matter 'one which deeply interests me'. 'The book-market is in a very strained condition - a sort of transition period with all the publishers "sitting on the fence", and the public refusing to by any books except a few which have the luck to become fashionable'.

Autograph draft of letter to the Editor of the Daily Chronicle, rebutting in strong terms the claim that Knowles was editor of the Contemporary Review.

Author: 
Alexander Strahan [Alexander Stuart Strahan] (1833-1918), English publisher [Sir James Thomas Knowles (1831-1908); Alfred Tennyson]
Publication details: 
14 February 1908; on letterhead of Oakhurst, Ravenscourt Park, W.
£150.00

12mo (17.5 x 11 cm): 5 pp. On two bifolium letterheads and half of a third. The text of each page is clear and complete on aged and lightly-spotted paper, but gaps between the various sections indicate that the draft is incomplete. Begins 'Sir | I see that in your obituary notice of Sir James Knowles inn today's paper you say that he was the Editor of the Contemporary Review from 1870 to 1877. | This is news to me. I was the Editor and proprietor of the Contemporary Review all these years, and I think I ought to know the facts of the matter.

Typed Letter Signed ('Holbrook Jackson') to G. S. Tomkinson of Whitville, Kidderminster.

Author: 
George Holbrook Jackson (1874-1948) [Sir Geoffrey Stewart Tomkinson (1881-1963); Lovat Fraser; Flying Fame; Fleuron; New Age Press; fine printing; bibliography]
Publication details: 
26 February 1925; Regent House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2.
£100.00

8vo: 2 pp. 32 lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He is willing to help Tomkinson with his book 'Modern Presses', but would not 'have time to be responsible for the writing of any chapters'. Offers to answer 'a questionnaire' regarding 'Flying Fame', and directs Jackson to his 'articles on the work of Lovat Fraser in the "Bookman", the "Fleuron", and "To-day".' Paragraph discusses the 'New Age Press', which 'was not a Press at all, but a publishing business'. In the last paragraph changes his mind, and offers to write a brief chapter.

Printer's trade catalogue, titled 'Cut Book. Showing a few of the many cuts carried in stock and for sale by The Enterprise Printing House, Corfu, N.Y.' Containing more than a hundred vignettes, with prices.

Author: 
The Enterprise Printing House, Corfu, New York [American trade catalogue]
Publication details: 
Undated [late Victorian or Edwardian]. Corfu, New York State.
£200.00

8vo (23 x 15 cm), 32 pp. Stapled. Outer pages in blue. In fair condition, with a little damp-staining at the head of the first leaf (with minimal effect on the text), and a tiny dab of the same staining continuing at the corner of each leaf (not affecting the text). Title-page on cover illustrated by C. H. Dennis, showing Uncle Sam sharpening a razor of 'GOOD CUTS'. Note on page 2 begins: 'THIS CUT BOOK contains a few of the many varieties and styles of cuts which we carry in stock and use on your printing free of charge. We have many more and are constantly adding new designs. [...]'.

Alphabetical and Descriptive Catalogues of the Publications of the Presbyterian Board of Publication.

Author: 
The Presbyterian Board of Publication, Philadelphia [Joseph P. Engles, Publishing Agent; trade catalogues]
Publication details: 
Undated [circa 1860]. Philadelphia: Joseph P. Engles, Publishing Agent, No. 821 Chestnut Street.
£200.00

12mo: xxvi + 64 + [i] pp. Unbound. Stitched as issued. Last leaf blank. Text clear and complete. On aged paper, with heavy wear to outer leaves, and staining to first and last half-dozen leaves. Ownership inscription of Charles Ira Gordon Skeen of Covington, Virginia, along outer margin of title. Two vignettes: the first on the title (three boys entering an library and being handed books by an adult) and the second at the head of the Descriptive Catalogue (family at the dining table). The main body of volume (pp.1-61) consists of the Descriptive Catalogue, in small type, of 553 items.

Autograph Letter Signed ('H. O. Coxe') to <Innes?>.

Author: 
Henry Octavious Coxe [H. O. Coxe] (1811-1881), Bodley's Librarian, 1860-1881 [The Bodleian Library, Oxford]
Publication details: 
16 January 1879; Bodleian Library.
£65.00

16mo, 3 pp. Bifolium. Thirteen lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged paper with heavy staining to outer pages. Clarifying the position regarding 'new editions with additions'. The Bodleian is entitled to copies of these, 'unless the additions are separate - then we can only claim the new matter'. Explains that the Library's 'agent in London', Eccles of Great Russell Street, 'receives for us, or collects, as it may be the of the Publishers'. Docketed in pencil in a contemporary hand on the blank reverse of the second leaf.

Autograph Letter Signed ('W. P. Greswell') to an unnamed bookseller [Thomas Thorpe?].

Author: 
William Parr Greswell (1765-1854), Anglican clergyman and bibliographer [Thomas Thorpe, London bookseller]
Publication details: 
4 October 1821; Denton near Manchester.
£75.00

4to, 2 pp. Thirty lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged and grubby paper. One closed tear and minor traces of mount to extremities. An interesting letter, casting light on the relationship between bookseller and knowledgeable client in Georgian England. He gives the conditions under which he would be interested in buying a few items from the booksellers monthly catalogue.

Autograph Letter, third person, to "Mr Andrews" (no further information).

Author: 
[ Andrews, bookseller and bookbinder [?]] Lord M[oun]t Edgcumbe
Publication details: 
Twickenham, 27 Feb. (no year).
£75.00

Four pages, 8vo, vestiges of an album page on final page, text clear and complete. He is sending some MSS. to be bound up, giving detailed instructions. He reminds Andrews of previous work, and insists on secrecy. He asks him to post (and pay for) a "foreign letter", and asks "how the Opera succeeds & if the men singers are liked. In a postscript he asks for the third volume of "Johnson's Life" since he has nearly finished the second.

Elizabeth: or, The Exiles of Siberia. Translated from the French of Madame Cottin.

Author: 
Madame Cottin [Whittingham Press, Chiswick]
Publication details: 
Chiswick: From the Press of C. Whittingham, College House. Sold by R. Jennings, Poultry; T. Tegg, Cheapside; A. K. Newman and Co. Leadenhall Street; London: J. Sutherland, Edinburgh; and Richard Griffin and Co. Glasgow. 1822.
£180.00

12mo: 123 + [iv] pp. Engraved title (dated 'Octr. 1823') featuring engraving Heath from design by Corbould. Four pages of publisher's advertisements at rear. In contemporary green leather binding with decorative gilt spine and pattern to edges of boards, marbled endpapers and marbling to edges. Contemporary ownership inscription of 'Miss L. Smith'. A tight, sound copy, on lightly-aged paper, with light staining to engraved title, and wear to binding. COPAC only lists copies of this edition at Durham, St Andrews, Oxford and the British Library.

Wytsman's catalogue no. 9, in French, titled 'Entomologie'.

Author: 
P. Wytsman, science bookseller, Brussels [entomology]
Publication details: 
P. Wytsman, Librarie Scientifique, 1, Rue de l'Arbre, Bruxelles.
£35.00

8vo, 8 pp. Unbound. An unopened leaf, folded twice to make four leaves. Text clear and complete. On aged and worn paper.

No. 20 of the 'Bibliotheca Entomologica'.

Author: 
Felix L. Dames, German natural history publisher and bookseller
Publication details: 
Berlin: Tasuben-Strasse 47. 1892.
£35.00

8vo, 90 pp. Stitched and unbound. 3328 priced items. Text clear and complete. On aged paper.

Trade catalogue, in French, of books in 'Anthropologie et Zoologie', sold by H. Welter, 'Export-Agent and Dealer in Second-Hand Books'.

Author: 
H. Welter, Paris and Leipzig bookseller ('Librarie universitaire française et étrangère, ancienne et moderne') [bookselling; trade catalogues; anthropology; zoology]
Publication details: 
Catalogue Mensuel No 61. - 1893'. Paris: H. Welter, 59, Rue Bonaparte, 59. ['Imp. Mazereau. - Tours. - E. Soudée, Successeur.']
£56.00

12mo, 32 pp. Stapled. Text clear and complete. On aged and worn paper, with rusted staples causing the outer bifolium to detach. Items 2067 to 2786, with 'Supplément. Deutsche Werhe.' (Items from the firm's Leipzig branch.)

Autograph Letter Signed to Lord Harmsworth, presenting a copy of ' "Ye Pepys Journall" 1665-1954', containing a 'List of Portraits Commissioned and Painted', and biographical information, including an account of the her bookselling mother.

Author: 
Margaret Grose, artist [Samuel Pepys; Samuel Johnson; Cecil Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth; Francis Grose]
Publication details: 
Letter: 2 June 1955; addressed from ' "Ye Pepys Journall", 37. St Martin's Court, W.C.2.' Journal: 'C. E. Gray, Kennington, London'
£56.00

Letter: 12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper, with small rust stain at head from paperclip. She is writing to Harmsworth ('President, Dr Johnson's House') to ask him to accept a copy of 'my Journal in which mention is made of my Portrait of Dr Samuel Johnson which hangs in the Garrett of Dr Samuel Johnson house this was presented by H. B. Wheatley whom I knew for many years.' On a visit to the curator of Johnson's house she was 'pleased to see the picture still hands in its original place'.

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