CIVIL

[Oxford University Labour Club: appeasers, trades unions and the Spanish Civil War, 1938.] Eight numbers of 'Oxford Forward', with articles by Raymond Postgate, Naomi Mitchison; John Strachey, Derek Tasker, Christopher Thornycroft, Philip Toynbee.

Author: 
'Oxford Forward', journal of Oxford University Labour Club [Naomi Mitchison; Raymond Postgate; Michael Sheldon; Nigel Harvey; John Strachey; Derek Tasker; Christopher Thornycroft; Philip Toynbee]
Publication details: 
New Series 1-8. 'Published by The Editorial Board of Oxford Forward, St. Michael's Hall, Oxford, and printed by The Alden Press (Oxford) Ltd., Oxford.' Eight issues. 23 April 1938 to 11 June 1938. New Series, Nos. 1, 2, 21, 4, 22, 6, 7, 8.
£400.00

'Oxford Forward' was the journal of the Labour Club in Oxford, which had 730 members in 1937. Eight sequential issues, with nos. 21 and 22 misnumbered for 3 and 5. [12 + 8 + 16 + 8 + 12 + 8 + 8 + 8 =] totalling 80pp., 4to. With illustrations and cartoons. In good condition, lightly aged, in green cloth binding lightly spotted with paint. Each number with the masthead in red, three issues also including the words 'Edition of University' in small print in the title. The front page of number 21 (7 May 1938) has 'ARMS FOR SPAIN' in large red letters at the foot.

[Oxford University Labour Club: appeasers, trades unions and the Spanish Civil War, 1938.] Eight numbers of 'Oxford Forward', with articles by Raymond Postgate, Naomi Mitchison; John Strachey, Derek Tasker, Christopher Thornycroft, Philip Toynbee.

Author: 
'Oxford Forward', journal of Oxford University Labour Club [Naomi Mitchison; Raymond Postgate; Michael Sheldon; Nigel Harvey; John Strachey; Derek Tasker; Christopher Thornycroft; Philip Toynbee]
Publication details: 
New Series 1-8. 'Published by The Editorial Board of Oxford Forward, St. Michael's Hall, Oxford, and printed by The Alden Press (Oxford) Ltd., Oxford.' Eight issues. 23 April 1938 to 11 June 1938. New Series, Nos. 1, 2, 21, 4, 22, 6, 7, 8.
£400.00

'Oxford Forward' was the journal of the Labour Club in Oxford, which had 730 members in 1937. Eight sequential issues, with nos. 21 and 22 misnumbered for 3 and 5. [12 + 8 + 16 + 8 + 12 + 8 + 8 + 8 =] totalling 80pp., 4to. With illustrations and cartoons. In good condition, lightly aged, in green cloth binding lightly spotted with paint. Each number with the masthead in red, three issues also including the words 'Edition of University' in small print in the title. The front page of number 21 (7 May 1938) has 'ARMS FOR SPAIN' in large red letters at the foot.

[Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Liberal Minister of War who kept Britain out of the American Civil War.] Autograph Letter Signed to Peter Jackson of the Caxton Press, about a petition opposing ‘the opening of the General Post Office on the Lord’s Day'.

Author: 
Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Liberal politician who as Minister of War in 1861 kept Britain out of the American Civil War [Peter Jackson of the Caxton Press]
Publication details: 
13 October 1849; Whitehall.
£80.00

Lewis’s entry in the Oxford DNB describes how, as Minister of War in 1861, successfully led the British cabinet to reject Lord John Russell and Gladstone’s calls for Britain to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy in the American Civil War. 1p, foolscap 8vo. Folded twice. In fair condition, on lightly aged laid paper, with slight chipping at the head. With J. Green & Son 1848 Britannica watermark. Signed ‘G. Cornewall Lewis’, and addressed to ‘Mr. Peter Jackson / The Caxton Press / Angel Street / St. Martin’s-le-Grand’.

[Albert D. Shaw, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.] Autograph Letter Signed to J. Rawlinson, regarding ‘the Resolution passed by the Board of Congregational Ministers of Manchester’, on the death of President Garfield.

Author: 
Albert D. Shaw [Albert Duane Shaw] (1841-1901), American government official and New York Republican Congressman, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic [Manchester, England]
Publication details: 
5 October 1881; on letterhead of the United States Consulate, Manchester [England].
£150.00

4pp, 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border (for President Garfield). 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, a little worn and creased. Folded once. Signed ‘Albert D Shaw / U.S. Consul’, and addressed to ‘J. Rawlinson Esq. / Hon. Sec. / Old Trafford.’ He is in receipt of ‘the Resolution passed by the Board of Congregational Ministers of Manchester and neighbourhood, expressing their heartfelt sympathy, and that of the Churches they represent with the American people in the Calamity which has befallen them in he death of President Garfield’.

[Lord Hankey [Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey], Secretary of Lloyd George’s War Cabinet.] Typed Letter Signed (‘Hankey’) to T. Lloyd Humberstone, regarding a book he is working on, and pressure to ‘cut out all reference to my diary’.

Author: 
Lord Hankey [Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey] (1877-1963), British civil servant, Secretary of Lloyd George’s War Cabinet [T. Lloyd Humberstone]
Publication details: 
11 June 1954. On letterhead of Highstead, Limpsfield, Surrey.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Thomas Lloyd Humberstone (1876-1957) was a prominent member of the Convocation of the University of London. The work referred to in this letter is probably Hankey's 'The Supreme Command', the two volumes of which would be published in 1961. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded three times. He is returning his letter and ‘its interesting enclosure’. Not having had any experience of the Central Office of Information, he is left with the impression ‘that they are not very well informed on questions of Military Organisation’.

[Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, sixteenth president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.] Autograph Note Signed (‘Benj. S. Ewell’) to ‘Mr. Walter G. Webster’, in response to a request for an autograph.

Author: 
Benjamin S. Ewell [Benjamin Stoddert Ewell] (1810-1894), Confederate army officer, civil engineer, and sixteenth president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
Publication details: 
7 June 1872; on letterhead of the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
£150.00

William and Mary owes its survival to Ewell: he rebuilt it from ruins after the American Civil War, and every morning during several years of closure he is said to have rung the assembly bell to keep the memory of the college fresh. The present item is 1p, landscape 8vo. It is in poor condition, on brittle high-acidity paper, with significant chipping to all the edges except the bottom one, which has resulted in the loss of a few letters of text, and to the engraved illustration of the college in the letterhead. The letter reads: ‘Mr. Walter G.

[William Govett Romain, as Second Secretary to the Admiralty.] Autograph Signature (‘W. G. Romaine’) with accompanying text filling in printed 'communication' appointing William Mullice ‘Gunner, 2d Class, Additional’ on board HMS Cumberland.

Author: 
W. G. Romaine [William Govett Romaine] (1815-1893), English barrister, civil servant and colonial administrator [William Mullice]
Publication details: 
11 April 1861; on board ‘H.M.S. “Excellent” / WW Portsmouth.’
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, tall 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged; folded twice. In the following transcription the manuscript parts are in square brackets: ‘By Command of the Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c.

[Paul Robeson, celebrated black stage and screen actor prominent in the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights Movement.] Autograph Signature ('Paul Robeson') written on photograph.

Author: 
Paul Robeson [ Paul Leroy Robeson ] (1898-1976), black American baritone singer and actor prominent in the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights Movement
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£25.00

On 11 x 17.5 piece of shiny art paper, cut from a programme. The signature ?Paul Robeson? is written across Robeson?s front, beneath his smiling face in a black and white photograph. Beneath the photograph is the caption: ? ?A voice like his is worth waiting ten years to hear, and an art like his comes once in a generation.? / THE TORONTO EVENING TELEGRAM?. On the reverse are part of the lyrics from two songs, the second being ?Short?nin? bread?.

[Sir Henry Taylor, poet, dramatist and civil servant.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Henry Taylor') to 'Mr Scott' [E. A. Scott] of Rugby School, regarding 'the predicament' of the lack of educational progress of his son [Henry Ashworth Taylor].

Author: 
Sir Henry Taylor (1800-1886), poet, dramatist and civil servant [his son Henry Ashworth Taylor (1854-1907); E. A. Scott of Rugby School]
Publication details: 
1 January 1872. East Sheen, [London] S.W.
£250.00

4pp, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded four times. Encouraged by Scott's response to his wife's letter, Taylor is 'encouraged to ask for yr. advice in the predicament in which we stand at present. My boy has made hardly any progress in the last term & stands only four fm. the bottom of the upper Fifth.' He explains that on a former occasion he was in favour of 'a change of house & of companions', but that 'the boy was exceedingly averse & I was induced by assurances of doing better to let him go back to Mr Arnold's'.

[John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, Churchill's 'Home Front Prime Minister' after whom Anderson Shelters are named.] Typed Letter Signed as Home Secretary to Sir James Marchant on 'the Government's plans for a war time regional organisation'.

Author: 
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley (1882-1958), civil servant and politician, 'Home Front Prime Minister' in Churchill's war cabinet [Sir James Marchant (1867-1956), eugenicist and social reformer]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Home Office, Whitehall, S.W.1. [London] 14 February 1939.
£150.00

Anderson served as Home Secretary, Lord President of the Council and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Marchant headed the National Vigilance Association and the National Council of Public Morals. 2pp, 4to. On two leaves stapled together. In fair condition, lightly aged, with some staining from rusted staples. Folded three times. A good letter, giving an indication of civil defence preparations on the eve of the Second World War.

[George Arbuthnot, civil servant, as Private Secretary to Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Charles Wood.] Autograph Letter Signed ('G. Arbuthnot') to unnamed editor, sending for publication a corrected copy of speech in reply to motion by Disraeli.

Author: 
George Arbuthnot (1802-1865), senior civil servant [Charles Wood (1800-1885), 1st Viscount Halifax, Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer]
Publication details: 
Downing Street [London]. 7 April 1849.
£50.00

According to his entry in the Oxford DNB, Arbuthnot 'served as private secretary successively to seven patronage secretaries; to the permanent head of the department, Sir Charles Spearman, and his successor, Sir Charles Trevelyan; to the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel; and to Sir Charles Wood, chancellor of the exchequer in Russell's administration'. The present item was written by Arbuthnot while holding the last position. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Laid down on part of a leaf from an album.

[Mary Zimbalist, film actress and disciple of Krishnamurti.] Collection of 28 letters and cards to playwright Christopher Fry, an intimate and affectionate correspondence on a number of topics.

Author: 
Mary Taylor Zimbalist (1915-2008), actress, socialite, fashion model, activist and disciple of Krishnamurti, wife of film producer Sam Zimbalist (1901-1958) [Christopher Fry (1907-2005), playwright]
Publication details: 
From Brockwood Park, Bramdean, Hampshire, and Ojai, California. Between 1978 and 2008.
£550.00

A total of twenty-eight items of correspondence, comprising: nineteen Autograph Letters Signed (two on the backs of cards), two Typed Letters Signed, and seven Autograph Cards Signed. In good condition. All signed 'Mary', and the large part addressed to 'Christopher', with a few to 'Kit' and one to 'Dear Phyl [i.e. Fry's wife Phyllis], dear Christopher'. The correspondence indicates a deep affection and long-standing intimacy.

[Oxford University Labour Club: appeasers, trades unions and the Spanish Civil War, 1938.] Eight numbers of 'Oxford Forward', with articles by Raymond Postgate, Naomi Mitchison; John Strachey, Derek Tasker, Christopher Thornycroft, Philip Toynbee.

Author: 
'Oxford Forward', journal of Oxford University Labour Club [Naomi Mitchison; Raymond Postgate; Michael Sheldon; Nigel Harvey; John Strachey; Derek Tasker; Christopher Thornycroft; Philip Toynbee]
Publication details: 
New Series 1-8. 'Published by The Editorial Board of Oxford Forward, St. Michael's Hall, Oxford, and printed by The Alden Press (Oxford) Ltd., Oxford.' Eight issues. 23 April 1938 to 11 June 1938. New Series, Nos. 1, 2, 21, 4, 22, 6, 7, 8.
£400.00

'Oxford Forward' was the journal of the Labour Club in Oxford, which had 730 members in 1937. Eight sequential issues, with nos. 21 and 22 misnumbered for 3 and 5. [12 + 8 + 16 + 8 + 12 + 8 + 8 + 8 =] totalling 80pp., 4to. With illustrations and cartoons. In good condition, lightly aged, in green cloth binding lightly spotted with paint. Each number with the masthead in red, three issues also including the words 'Edition of University' in small print in the title. The front page of number 21 (7 May 1938) has 'ARMS FOR SPAIN' in large red letters at the foot.

[ The original 'Big Ben'? Sir Benjamin Hall [ Lord Llanover ], Welsh civil engineer and politician. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('B Hall') to London solicitors Platt & Hall, stating his determination to defend 'the Petition presented against my return'

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Hall [ from 1859 Lord Llanover ] (1802-1867), Welsh civil engineer and politician, after whom 'Big Ben' is said to have been named
Publication details: 
No place. 1 July [ no year ].
£80.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Franked on reverse of second leaf, with broken seal in red wax, to the firm of London solicitors 'Mess. Platt & Hall | New Boswell Court | Carey Street', with Halls signature ('B Hall' between two horizontal lines) at bottom left. The letter itself reads: 'Gentlemen/ | I have just received a letter from Mess: Prothero & Philipps who state that you will call here to know my intention respecting the Petition presented against my return.

[ James Dredge Jr, civil engineer and co-editor of 'Engineering'. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('James Dredge') to 'Willy' [ presumably Stanhope Forbes of Newlyn's brother -see note below], condolences on death of his father, ruminating on mortality.

Author: 
James Dredge Jr (1840-1906), English civil engineer and co-editor with William H. Maw of the periodical 'Engineering'
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 'Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal, Edited by William H. Maw and James Dredge', 35 & 36 Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C. 8 December 1888.
£60.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Letterhead in black and red ink. In fair condition, aged and worn, with creasing at head. A sensitive letter of condolence, beginning: 'Dear Willy | I was so shocked to hear on Thursday of the great loss you have sustained, and I hesitated to write to you, for letters of condolence are such empty useless things. But on the other hand I dont want you to suppose that I feel indifferent to anything that touches you so closely & deeply.

[ Pamphlet; American Civil War; Fredericksburg ] The Nation's Hour: A Tribute to Major Sidney Willard, delivered in the West Church. December 21, Forefathers' Day

Author: 
[ Major Sidney Willard ] C.A. Bartol
Publication details: 
Boston: Walker, Wise and Company, 1862.
£150.00

Pamphlet, 58pp. 8vo, original printed wraps, with crude reinforcement of spine. wraps chipped, and partially stained, minor staining and foxing in contents. Front wrap inscribed "J. Bartlett, M.D." John Bartlett of "Quotations" fame married into the Willard clan but, although the signature resembles his, I've found no evidence for the M.D. THe volume concerns a Civil War soldier who perished in the Fredericksburg campaign.

[ 'Engineering', London journal. ] Autograph register of contributions compiled by editor Thomas Walley, in form of table of articles and authors, with meticulous printing and publication details.

Author: 
Thomas Walley (1872-1947), editor of 'Engineering', London journal founded in 1866 [ Lieut-Col. Percy John Cowan (1876-1954) and Herbert Henry Johnson (c.1875-1957), joint editors ]
Publication details: 
[ London: Engineering. ] Entries dating from 27 November 1925 to 17 January 1934.
£750.00

Walley has converted one volume of a printed diary ('The Business Year Book' for 1923, by the R. C. Maxwell Co., Trenton, New Jersey) into a continuous table listing all the articles contributed between 27 November 1925 and 17 January 1934. Entries are compiled with the meticulous attention to detail one would expect from an engineer, giving a range of information including the times of receipt of material to the minute, and even the typeface in which an article was printed.

[Spanish Civil War; News] Spanish Information Service texts and documents. A Weekly Resume of our Daily "Servicio Espanol de Informacion".

Author: 
[ Spanish Civil War; Newspaper; News Bulletin]
Publication details: 
No. 7 ONLY, Barcelona, 21 January 1938
£150.00

Four pages, folio, sl. spotted, paper yellowed, fold marks, minor chipping. Headlines include: Bishop of Teruel ...; Franco Imprisons the Peasants; Eighty Basques were shot on December 14; article by Antonio Ruiz Vilaplana, "The People in Rebel Teritory"; Franco will try to avenge his defeat, etc.

[ George Atherton Aitken, civil servant and man of letters. ] Autograph Note Signed ('George A Aitken') to Sir Richard Harington

Author: 
George Atherton Aitken (1860-1917), civil servant and man of letters [ Sir Richard Harington (1835-1911), 11th Bart ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Home Office, Whitehall, S.W. 30 June 1897.
£56.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Aitken is 'desired by Mr. Digby [his superior at the Home Office, the future Sir Kenelm Digby (1836-1916)] to forward to you a copy of the Workmen (Compensation for Accidents) Bill, as amended in Committee, together with the Amendments put down for consideration at the Report stage'. Aitken is described in his obituary in The Times, 19 November 1917, as 'one of the first authorities on the Queen Anne period of English literature'.

[ Bill for Removing the Civil Disabilities of the Jews, 1834. ] Contemporary manuscript transcript of the conclusion of the debate on the motion for the second reading of the bill.

Author: 
Bill for Removing the Civil Disabilities of the Jews, 1834 [ British Parliament; House of Lords ]
Publication details: 
[ 1834. ]
£220.00

21pp., 4to. On six loose bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Incomplete: paginated 23 to 32 (the last a mistake for 33).

[ Sir Frederick Snow, structural engineer. ] Two Typed Letters, one Signed 'Fredck. S. Snow' and the other signed on his behalf, to the Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, with typed synopsis of a proposed paper on 'Steel or Concrete Structures'.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Snow [ Sir Frederick Sidney Snow ] (1899-1976), civil and structural engineer, overall designer for Gatwick Airport
Publication details: 
Both on letterhead of Frederick S. Snow & Partners, Consulting Engineers, Ross House, 144 Southwark Street, London. 28 February and 23 March 1964.
£90.00

Five items: Snow's two letters and carbons of three of Mercer's replies (5 and 25 March, and 24 June 1964). ONE: Typed Letter from Samson, signed on his behalf, to the Secretary (i.e. G. E. Mercer), Royal Society of Arts, 28 February 1964. 1p., folio. Confirming that he wishes to give a paper on 'The Relative Merits of the use of Steel or Concrete in Structures', 'with a number of slides showing comparisons of various materials'. At the foot of the page is a signed note from Mercer to Sampson, dated 2 March 1964: 'Do we want this?

[ Printed item in publisher's cloth. ] Doctor Grattan. A Novel.

Author: 
William A. Hammond, Author of "Lal." [ William Alexander Hammond (1828-1900), Surgeon General of the United States Army during the American Civil War ]
Publication details: 
London: Richard Bentley & Son, New Burlington Street. 1885.
£50.00

417pp., 8vo. A fair copy, on lightly aged paper, a little loose in worn publisher's brown cloth binding, with gilt title on spine and decorative cross on front board, and green patterned endpapers. Blind stamp of the W. H. Smith Library, Strand, to front free endpaper. According to Hammond's biographer Bonnie Ellen Blustein, 'The complex plot of Doctor Grattan revolved around the relation of insanity to neurological impairment, and touched on the subjects of neuralgia, headache, kleptomania, and delusions.' This English edition of Hammond's book is now uncommon.

[ Northcote-Trevelyan Report, 1854. ] Six items: long letter from Herries to Northcote in defence of the civil service; Northcote's reply; Herries' rejoinder; letter from Frederick Goulburn to Herries; two printed papers by George Arbuthnot.

Author: 
Northcote-Trevelyan Report, 1854 [ Sir Charles John Herries; Sir Stafford Northcote [ Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh ]; George Arbuthnot; Frederick Goulburn; Civil Service reform ]
Publication details: 
The six items from 1854. Northcote's letter from the Pynes, Exeter; Herries from the 'I[nland]. R[evenue].' and 114 Piccadilly; Goulburn from the Board of Customs [ London ]; and one of Arbuthnot's papers 'Printed at the Foreign Office'.
£500.00

Lord Hennessy has characterised the subject of these items, the Northcote-Trevelyan Report of 1854, as 'the greatest single governing gift of the nineteenth to the twentieth century: a politically disinterested and permanent Civil Service with core values of integrity, propriety, objectivity and appointment on merit, able to transfer its loyalty and expertise from one elected government to the next'.

[ James Elmes, architect. ] Autograph Letter Signed to publisher Charles Ollier, requesting clarification on the question of the parcel of 'Mr Cooke'.

Author: 
James Elmes (1782-1862), architect, civil engineer and author [ Charles Ollier (1788-1859), publisher ]
Publication details: 
2 Childs Place, Temple [ London ]. 18 July 1827.
£50.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. He begins by explaining that he has been 'too much engaged' since last writing to Ollier 'to come so far westward', or he would not intrude on his time. He asks him to return 'the letter of Mr Cooke, that I enclosed to you, under cover and a line just to say, whether there were two parcels, as he mentions, or only the one, that I took, as he desires great care and a return of them'.

[ Sir Frederick Bramwell, engineer. ] Six Typed Letters Signed and four Typed Notes Signed (all ten 'Frederick Bramwell') to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, regarding matters relating to the Royal Society of Arts, including a royal visit.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Bramwell [ Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell ] (1818-1903), British locomotive and civil engineer [ Sir Henry Trueman Wood; Royal Society of Arts; Stockton and Darlington Railway ]
Publication details: 
All ten on letterheads of Bramwell & Harris, 5 Great George Street, Westminster, SW [ London ]. All ten dating from 1901.
£80.00

Each item 1p., 4to. The collection in good condition, on lightly aged paper. The correspondence shows the eighty-three-year-old Bramwell as an active member of the Society's Council. One letter relates a paper by 'Mr. Madgen' on 'the dwelling accommodation in London', another refers to the death of a 'charming colleague' named Cobb.

[ The Civil Service Life-Boat Fund. ] Two Autograph Volumes by Honorary Secretary Charles Dibdin, including minutes, accounts, lists of offices and addresses, and corrected printed lists of Civil Service employees.

Author: 
The Civil Service Life-Boat Fund, London, British charity founded in 1866, now named the Lifeboat Fund [ Charles Dibdin (1849-1910), Honorary Secretary ]
Publication details: 
[ The Civil Service Life-Boat Fund, London. ] 'Charles Dibdin | Honorary Secretary | 14 John Street, Adelphi, W.C.' 1892 and 1897.
£750.00

The Civil Service Life-Boat Fund (now the Lifeboat Fund) was founded by a group of civil servants wishing to donate a single lifeboat to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In 1866 they issued an appeal for £300 to government offices and raised the sum within a year. Since then the charity has supplied the RNLI with more than fifty lifeboats, which have saved nearly five thousand lives. The present two volumes, for 1892 and 1897, are uniform in heavily-worn halfbindings with black cloth spines and marbled boards.

[ César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer. ] Signed ('Cassini de Thury') Autograph Copy of Letter, in French, sent to 'M. Bayeux', regarding the Sieur du Tremblay.

Author: 
César-François Cassini de Thury (1714-1784), French astronomer and cartographer [ Daniel-Charles Trudaine (1703-1769), civil engineer ]
Publication details: 
Paris. 3 June 1751.
£450.00

1p., 4to. In very good condition, on lightly aged paper. Tipped into a paper wallet, on the front of which is written in a contemporary hand the entry from the1833 bookseller's catalogue from which it was purchased, indicating that the item was considered uncommon even at that time: 'Cassini, the Astronomer, relative to a Memoir of the Sieur du Tremblay. | A choice specimen of a scarce Autograph. | No 176 Thorpe's Catalogue 1833'. Cassini's copy letter, with nine lines of text, is written over the unsigned letter to which it is the reply..

[ Paul Robeson, African-American singer and actor. ] Autograph Signature, with that of his accompanist Lawrence Brown, on a photographic reproduction of a drawing of Robeson.

Author: 
Paul Robeson [ Paul Leroy Robeson ] (1898-1976), African-American singer and actor associated with the Civil Rights Movement; Lawrence Benjamin Brown (1893-1972), African-American pianist and arranger
Publication details: 
[ On Robeson's concert tour of the British Isles with Lawrence, 1934. ]
£56.00

The two signatures are on a reproduction of a drawing of Robeson, on a 15 x 11 cm piece of shiny art paper, cut from a programme from Robeson's 1934 tour of Britain. In good condition, lightly-aged. The head and shoulders portrait shows a moody Robeson in collar and tie. The two signature are at the foot of the image, with Robeson's, in blue ink, slanting downwards, and Brown's, in green ink, slanting upwards, around the line of Robeson's lapels.

[ Sir Robert Rawlinson, civil engineer. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Robert Rawlinson'), accepting a dinner invitation from Scottish artist Thomas Faed.

Author: 
Sir Robert Rawlinson (1810-1898), English civil engineer in the field of public health and sanitation [ Thomas Faed (1826-1900), RA, Scottish artist ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Lancaster Lodge, 11 Boltons, West Brompton, S.W. [ London ] 7 November 1877.
£25.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly-aged, with small part of paper mount adhering at head. Accepting a dinner invitation on 20 November.

[Printed volume.] The Pythouse Papers: Correspondence concerning the Civil War, The Popish Plot, and A Contested Election in 1680. Transcribed from MSS. in the possession of V. F. Benett--Stanford, Esq., M.P.

Author: 
William Ansell Day, editor [ The Pythouse Papers, 1642-1680, of V. F. Benett-Stanford, Esq., M.P. ]
Publication details: 
London: Bickers & Son, 1 Leicester Square. 1879. [ Wyman and Sons, Printers, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C. ]
£150.00

A total of 211pp., 8vo, paginated vii + xcviii + 105 + [1]. In red leather quarter-binding, with a coat of arms stamped in gilt on the green cloth front cover, and the title in gilt on the spine. Internally in fair condition, on lightly aged paper, in shaken and worn binding, with damage at head and tail of spine. Tastefully printed in a heavy style by Wyman and Sons. Day's 98-page introduction concludes by explaining thaht 'the documents now printed are in possession of Mr. Benett Stanford, the collateral descendant of Colonel Benett, and present member for Shaftesbury.

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