CHARLES

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. On first leaf of a bifolium of unwatermarked wove paper, with blank second leaf sunned and with stub from mount adhering. The unsigned note reads: 'A friend of Mrs. Norton's requests of Mr. Westmacott the favour of insertion of the enclosed in his journal | Friday'. In unobtrusive nineteenth-century hand at foot of page: 'Mrs. Shelly. [sic]'. For Norton and Westmacott see D. E. Latane's 'Two Letters from Caroline Norton to Charles Molloy Westmacott', Notes and Queries, March 2005.

Five black and white prints, all laid down on mount and in glass frame. Later prints (1940s) rather than the early silver gelatin ones. Each with manuscript caption at foot of mount, and Negative Number written in manuscript on reverse of frame. Each print in excellent condition. All five behind glass in worn plain black frames. From the papers of Charles Chilton, the creator and producer of the influential BBC Radio series 'Journey into Space' (1953-1958), which numbered among its admirers Stephen Hawking and Colin Pillinger.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly creased. Reads: 'Dear Charles | I spoke to Walter Shenson about your script. The Beatles have decided they do not want to do a Western after all, so he is returning the script to us. It is as simple as that.' Shenson had produced the Beatles' films 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964) and 'Help' (1965).

A significant document in the history of BBC Television, casting valuable light on production practices and internal procedure in the years following the end of the BBC's television monopoly. From the papers of distinguished producer Charles Chilton (1917-2013), best known for his radio series 'Journey into Space' and association with the Goon Show. The present item relates to the first of the BBC Television Training Courses.

On one side of a 38 x 24 cm piece of wove paper with watermarked date 1828. In fair condition, lightly worn and creased. The engraving is roughly 21 cm square, and shows three figures gathered around a table, their arms tangled as they reach forward to sign a document.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to 'Leicester Buckingham Esq'. Bentley writes that the matter of Buckingham's life of Mary Queen of Scots is 'just now brought to [his] attention'. 'If you are passing this way any day between 12 and 2 o'C you will be sure to find me, or my son, who will be able to discuss the subject with you'. He finds that he 'paid to Mr Wageman for a copy of the Miniature of the Queen executed for yuou at your desire, £3 . 3. 0', and asks to be sent this.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Addressed to 'Dear Dr.' and written in a neat and close hand. He gives a 22-line transcription of 'the extract [] from my vol[um]e. on Lead, p.177, published in 1870', headed 'Refining or Cupellation'.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Charles W. Dilke. | Emilia F. S. Dilke | Newnham | 10 June | 1891'. Written after the celebrated Crawford Scandal of 1886, which resulted in Dilke losing his seat in parliament, and becoming a music-hall figure of fun as a result of the revelations of his adulterous behaviour.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition. He has 'from week to week been purposing a visit to you to express my gratitude & sincere thanks for your kindness to me & the cure you accomplished'. He can only write his thanks, having been overwhelmed by 'the arrears of work that followed my illness', and leaving for Paris the following day.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged. He begins by thanking him for his 'kind note and ticket for the Private View at the Academy'. He explains that he 'must pay a visit to the Home Office at noon to report myself', and from there he will find his way to Burlington House. He hopes 'to learn from Mr Childers or one of the Under-secretaries when there is a likelihood of a day being fixed by the Queen for dubbing knights, and am in hopes that it may not be far distant, as I don't wish to be kept here for any lengthened time.' He explains that he came up to London 'on Genl.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Dear Dr Chepmell, | I received your note yesterday afternoon & have in consequence had much pleasure in giving my votes in favour of your friend Dr Grigg. | Your's very sincerely | Richard Wallace'.

The two items in good condition, lightly aged. Both 1p., 12mo. Each signed 'Owen Jones'. ONE: 25 February 1858. With the Society's stamp at top left. He is 'just now so much engaged' that he is 'unable to attend the meetings of the Copyright Committee which are held at a time when I cannot properly attend'. As a consequence he asks him to withdraw his name. TWO: 30 May 1863. The word 'Sent' at top right. He asks to be sent 'a card for the Convasazione [sic] for Baron Charles Texier a very distinguished frenchman now in London'.

1p., 4to. Aged and creased, with closed tears and damage to extremities. He will be 'very glad if you will instruct Allen's to send me a copy of your book. I will review it, though I cannot promise to do it in any particular month for the "U.D.C".' The organisation will be glad to 'enclose a number of your circulars, if you will have them sent. Not more than a thousand.'

2pp., 12mo. Aged and worn. He is extremely grateful for Chepmell's efforts on his behalf, and hopes he will accept 'cette petite terre cuite comme un faible temoignage de mes reconnaissances'. Dalou's association with the Paris Commune forced him into exile in England in 1871. He returned to France eight years later.

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. The letter begins: 'A press of necessary writ[in]g has retarded my acknowledgmt. of yr kind letter, & of the Copy of “Work & Leisure”.' She assures Parish 'most sincerely' that she thinks her 'little paper excellent - & that the true tribute to my dear, never-forgotten [?] goes both to my heart & to my judgment'. She is sure Parish's “Companion in travelling” will be entirely to the point'. She does not 'abound in suggestions for subjects.

For information on Graves see his generous obituary in The Times, 18 April 1944. Both items in fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with minor staining from paperclip to first leaf of letter. The work was not published, and although Graves states in Item One that the greater part of the text is 'in the hands of my typist', there is no record of its survival, or of the thousand related documents he states were sent to him by M. H. Spielmann. ONE: ALS from 'C L. G.' to 'Dear Evoe'. 4pp., landscape 8vo.

In addition to his achievements, Young is remembered for holding a dinner party in 1877, at which the Prince of Wales arranged to sit next to Lillie Langtry while her husband was discreetly seated elsewhere, thus beginning their affair. 2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and ruckled, with two small pinholes at head of first leaf, and traced of mount on blank reverse of second leaf. The letter begins: 'I have just got note from Mrs Langtry saying that she will have to go out of Town tomorrow morning and asking me to write to you to tell you'.

1p., 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with small pin hole to corner. The letter relates to celebrations of the anniversary of the Glorious First of June at Portsmouth (involving HMS Victory). He begins by expressing the hope that Wyllie has 'asked Lord Howe for the Function on June 1st? […] If not I have asked the Com[mande]r. in Chief to peform the Function, which he is agreeable to do.' It is 'desirable to know', as 'time is short', and 'The C in C wishes to ask him to lunch.

Signed at end 'C S Benning | Commdr K1'. HMS K1 was launched 14 November 1916. Following a court martial in August 1917, Benning was reprimanded for stranding her; at another court martial at the beginning of the following year he was cleared of any blame for her loss following a collision with HMS K4 off the Danish coast on 18 November 1917. An interesting letter, from the papers of marine artist W. L.

The recipient, Rev. J. H. Edgar, was headmaster of Temple Grove School, East Sheen. 2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with light traces of glue from mount to blank reverse of second leaf. An interesting letter, casting light on the collaborative process of Victorian taxonomy. Owen is 'truly obliged' to Edgar and his 'friend Mr. Mayor' (the classical scholar J. E. B.

On 10.5 x 3.5 cm piece of paper. In fair condition, lightly aged. Laid down on a piece of card, which has a vertical crease in having a minor effect on the slip itself. Wilkes's signature is above Forsters', beside the printed words 'Commissioners in Lunacy.'

The ascent of Mount Ararat took place in 1857, while Gordon was leading a mission of the Royal Engineers ('sappers') to delineate the border between Russian and Ottoman Armenia. While he did not himself reach the summit of Mount Ararat, he did toboggan down it. 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn. She thanks him for 'the interesting account of your meeting one of the sappers who attempted the ascent of Mount Ararat with my brother'.

The present item was written at the end of a period of great tribulation for Macready. As W. T. Price explains in his biography: 'Macready suffered repeated sorrows in his retirement. His wife died in 1852, and his two sons died in their youth, Walter Francis Sheil, aged 13, in 1853, Henry Frederick Bulwer, aged 19, in 1857.

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium with mourning border, on paper embossed with the Macready crest. In fair condition, lightly aged, with torn hole to one corner of the first leaf (not affecting text), presumably caused by removal from mount. The recipient is clearly a member of the Hawtrey family (and presumably a relation of Edward Craven Hawtrey of Eton), as the letter concludes with the Macready family's best wishes 'to Mrs. Hawtrey'. It must date from before Macready's departure for Cheltenham in 1860.

According to the Daily Telegraph, 2 November 2006 (see the end of this description), Lady Margaret Sackville was 'a poet who mixed with writers such as W B Yeats and Wilfred Scawen Blunt, was a friend of Lady Ottoline Morrell, a leading member of the Bloomsbury Set'. 167pp., 4to. Each page on the recto of a separate leaf, the whole bound with green thread through punch holes in margins. The first page worn and with label (of literary agent?) removed from head, otherwise in good condition, lightly aged and worn.

An interesting exchange, casting light on manegerial practices in late-Victorian theatre. ONE: Typed Letter Signed by 'W. Lestocq'. 2pp., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. A long letter, single-spaced. He has 'talked over the whole matter of the prospects of “The Christian” tour with Mr Frohman for next season, and he does not desire to send out a company on tour himself. Now I could of course let it on Mr Frohman's behalf or perhaps sell his rights and the production outright.' He gives details of his first choice if the latter course were pursued.

R. J. L. Kingsford, in his history of the Publishers Association, describes Young as 'a bookseller of outstanding character and ability, a friend of Arnold Bennett, and the discoverer of the literary distinction of George Sturt'. 1p., 12mo. Neatly and closely written. Headed 'private', and addressed to 'Dear John'. Young is apparently following a dinner (of the Publishers Association) at which George Bernard Shaw was present, and the subject of the letter would appear to be an exhibition Wilson's firm has mounted of books by the London publisher John Murray.

6 + [1]pp., folio. Side stitched and unbound. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with light staining at foot of first page. The contents of the document are given as follows: '1. - Account of Sums advanced, for Public Services, from the Civil List Revenues, pursuant to Addresses, not being part of its Ordinary Expenditure. | 2. - Account of Sums advanced, for Public Services, from the Civil List Revenues, not being part of its Ordinary Expenditure. | 3.

2pp., 12mo. The item comprises a note in Sumner's hand on the first page, beneath which, and continuing onto the second page, is an order in another hand for 34 books in eight categories, under the headings 'Bibles', 'Testaments' and 'C[ommon] Prayers'. Sumner writes: 'Revd. Sir. | I request you will send me the following books on the terms of the Society, by Lamport's Farnham Waggon.' The order, in another hand, begins: 'Bibles | 5 8o Medium Small Pica without Marg[inal] Ref[erences]. And Apocr[ypha]'.

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. Heavily aged and worn, with closed tears at fore-edge of first leaf and at gutter. The first edition (an eight-page edition followed), originally bound into the third number of Bentley's Miscellany, of which Dickens was the editor. Drawing on his experience as a parliamentary reporter, Dickens parodies the State Opening of Parliament. At the end of the main text, in smaller type, he refers to the work which had begun serialisation in the magazine in February of 1837: 'NOTE OF THE REPORTER.