CROKER

[John Wilson Croker, Anglo-Irish politician and author.] Autograph Letter Signed to John Gibson Lockhart, asking him to make an enquiry to Miss Mary Berry regarding Horace Walpole.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), Anglo-Irish politician and author [John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854), Scottish author and editor, biographer of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott; Horace Walpole]
Publication details: 
‘W. M. [West Molsey, Surrey] 19 May 49.’ [1849]
£120.00

See his entry in the History of Parliament, and his and Lockhart’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, with thin strip of dried adhesive from mount along one edge, and tiny bit of loss at foot beneath the signature. Folded for postage.

[James Smith, humorist, co-author with his brother Horace Smith of the celebrated ‘Rejected Addresses’ (1812).] Autograph Letter Signed to John Wilson Croker, regarding his post as Assistant Solicitor to the Board of Ordnance.

Author: 
James Smith (1775-1839), humorist, co-author with his brother Horace Smith [Horatio Smith] (1779-1849) of the ‘Rejected Addresses’ (1812) [John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), politician and diarist]
Publication details: 
‘18 Austin Friars [London] / 26 June 1826’.
£120.00

See his entry, and those of his brother and the recipient, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 4to. Bifolium. The letter had been torn in half, with loss of a strip of paper from the second leaf, resulting in damage to a couple of words from the valediction; it has been carefully repaired with archival tape, and is otherwise in fair condition, lightly aged, with slight fading of the ink on the first page. The large signature ‘James Smith’ is clear and undamaged. Addressed to ‘J. W. Croker Esq’. An interesting letter, casting light on the workings of the Georgian civil service.

[Theodore Hook, wit and hoaxer.] Autograph Letter Signed, to ‘Barker’, explaining the circumstances that free him to accept a dinner invitation.

Author: 
Theodore Hook [Theodore Edward Hook] (1788-1841), author, wit and hoaxer, accountant-general and treasurer of Mauritius, 1813-1817
Publication details: 
‘Friday Evg’ [no date or place].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, on an 11 x 14 cm piece of paper cut down from 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with minor traces of glue from mount adhering to the blank reverse. The letter reads: ‘My dear Barker / I shall be most happy to join your agreeable party - Croker to whom I was engaged for Monday goes on from Apethorpe to Belvoir instead of coming home[,] so I am at liberty - Milne is I believe on a visit to the Marquess of Bute at Luton. / Yrs most truly / Theodore S Hook’.

[Samuel Carter Hall, editor of the Art Journal.] Autograph Letters Signed and Autograph Note Signed to ‘Crofton’, i.e. Thomas Crofton Croker, the letter regarding ‘the Palatines’ and the note a ‘certificate’ at ‘the Antiquaries’.

Author: 
Samuel Carter Hall (1800-1889), Anglo-Irish journalist and author, editor of the Art Journal [Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Anglo-Irish antiquary, folklorist; George Godwin (1813-88), architect]
Publication details: 
The letter undated [circa 1843?] and the note 27 February [no year]. Neither with place.
£75.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. Each item 1p, 12mo, on a bifolium. Both in fair condition, lightly aged, and both folded twice for postage. Both addressed to ‘My dear Crofton’. LETTER: Signed ‘S C H’. Presumably while working on ‘A Week at Killarney’, the book he and his wife published in London in 1843, Hall asks for ‘one or two morsels about the Palatines’ (see ‘Killarney’, pp. 78-79, a peculiar race of strangers): ‘Why were they planted in Ireland? - when precisely? by whom precisely’. NOTE. Signed ‘S. C. Hall’. ‘Godwin tells me the certificate is not “up” at the Antiquaries.

[Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Anglo-Irish antiquary.] Autograph Letter Signed (to the editor of the Gentleman’s Magazine, John Bowyer Nichols), regarding mistakes in an article on Winchester House, London, with reference to Thomas Baylis F.S.A.

Author: 
Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Anglo-Irish antiquary [John Bowyer Nichols (1779-1863), part-editor of the Gentleman’s Magazine; Winchester House; Thomas Baylis FSA, of Pryor’s Bank, Fulham]
Publication details: 
‘Admiralty [London] / 23rd. March 1839.’
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly discoloured paper, with thin neat strip from windowpane mount adhering to edges. Sixteen lines in a neat and stylish hand. Signed ‘T. Crofton Croker’. The recipient is not named, but is clearly John Bowyer Nichols, editor of the Gentleman’s Magazine, in whose number for April 1839 appeared an article, with engraving, by ‘E. I. C.’, on ‘Winchester House, Broad-street, London.’ Croker begins his letter: ‘My dear Sir, / I return E. I. C’s account of Winchester House.

[ Octavian Blewitt, Secretary, Royal Literary Fund. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Octavian Blewitt') to 'Mr. Croker', regarding Brockedon's collection.

Author: 
Octavian Blewitt [ John Octavian Blewitt ], author and Secretary of the Royal Literary Fund [ John Wilson Croker (1780-1857); William Brockedon (1787-1854), painter, writer and inventor ]
Publication details: 
Place not stated . 'Saturday Morning.' [ No date. ]
£56.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, tipped-in onto a piece of paper cut from an album. Reads: 'My dear Mr Croker, | Here is Brockedon's answer - I am sorry that he cannot meet your wishes - but you will see he has never exhibited the Collection even at the Graphic which he originated.' The Graphic was a club founded by Brockedon in 1833.

[Bedell, printer of New York newspaper the Westchester Times.] Unpublished Autograph Memoir filled with reminiscences of prominent New Yorkers ('Boss' Dick Croker of Tammany Hall, Louis J. Heintz, Theodore Roosevelt) and local politics

Author: 
Arthur Gilbert Bedell (b.c.1851), printer with his brothers Edwin Bedell and George Canfield Bedell of New York newspaper the Westchester Times ['Boss' Dick Croker; Tammany Hall; Louis J. Heintz]
Publication details: 
Without place or date, but Bedell is in his 81st year at the time of writing. [New York, 1930s.]
£850.00

192pp., 8vo., on 188 letterheads of the Village of Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Irregularly paginated to 179d. Six pages (6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17) are lacking, but the missing text is supplied in an accompanying typescript, with two carbon copies, of the first 31pp. of the manuscript, each of the three copies being 11pp., 8vo. The author of this memoir, Arthur Gilbert Bedell (b.c.1851), was printer and proprietor, with his brothers Edwin Bedell and George Canfield Bedell, of the Westchester Times.

[ Inscribed by author to Thomas Crofton Croker. ] Regal Records: Or, A Chronicle of the Coronations of the Queens Regnant of England.

Author: 
J. R. Planché [ James Robinson Planche ], F.S.A. Author of the "History of British Costume," &c. [ Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Irish antiquary ]
Publication details: 
London: Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand. 1838. [ Bradbury and Evans, Printers Extraordinary to the Queen, Whitefriars. ]
£120.00

xiv + 170pp., 12mo. Engravings ('cuts') in text. In publisher's brown ribbed cloth binding, with design of sceptre and crown in gilt on spine. Tight copy, on dusty and aged paper, in binding worn at head of the spine. Autograph inscription on reverse of frontispiece: 'T. Crofton Croker Esqr. | from his sincere friend | The Author'.

[ Edward Loomis Davenport, American actor. ] Autograph Letter in the third person, to T. F. D. Croker, praising his 'Dramatic Register'.

Author: 
Edward Loomis Davenport (1816-1877), American actor [ Thomas Francis Dillon Croker (1831-1912), son of Irish antiquary Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854) ]
Publication details: 
'T[heatre] R[oyal]. D[rury] Lane | Mar 19 [ 1853 ]'.
£35.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on aged paper. In envelope with Penny Red stamp and postmarks (including one dated 21 March 1853), addressed by Davenport to 'J F. D. Croker Esq | 3 Gloucester Road | Old Brompton'. He thanks him for sending 'his Dramatic Register of 52 (& one also 51 while in Scotland)', and congratulates 'Mr C upon the very excellent style in which he has put the facts together'. Also present are a cutting relating to Davenport, from the New York Albion, 24 February 1855, and a small engraved portrait of 'MR.

[ Charles Forbes René de Montalembert, Comte de Montalembert. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'le Cte de Montalembert'), in French, to an unnamed recipient

Author: 
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert (1810-1870), Comte de Montalembert [ Abraham Hayward; John Wilson Croker ]
Publication details: 
Paris. 26 April and 25 May 1856.
£180.00

Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. ONE: He thanks him for offering to translate his book ('The Political Future of England'), but considers his knowledge of English law too shaky to permit him to give any encouragement. He suggests that the recipient come to an arrangement with 'Mr. Abraham Hayward, Queen's Counsel, 1 King's Bench Walk, Temple', who is acting for de Montalembert in the matter.

[Thomas Crofton Croker, Irish antiquary.] Autograph Letter Signed ('T. Crofton Croker') to Sir Francis Palgrave, giving an excuse for not replying to a dinner invitation.

Author: 
Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Irish antiquary and civil servant [Sir Francis Palgrave (1788-1861), born Francis Ephraim Cohen, English historian]
Publication details: 
Admiralty [Whitehall, London]. 16 January 1827.
£120.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on aged paper, with a closed tear along a fold line unobtrusively repaired with archival tape. Addressed at foot to 'F. Palgrave Esqr' (he would not be knighted until 1832), beside which Palgrave has written: 'Mr. Crofton Croker. | Author of Fairy Legends of the South of Ireland &c.' The text of the letter reads: 'My dear Sir | I ought to apologize for not replying to your invitation for Wednesday evening last. - My excuse must be that I did not return to town until yesterday and that your note reached me on Friday at Brighton.'

[Arthur Gilbert Bedell, printer of New York newspaper the Westchester Times.] Unpublished Autograph Memoir filled with reminiscences of prominent New Yorkers ('Boss' Dick Croker of Tammany Hall, Louis J. Heintz, Theodore Roosevelt) and local politics

Author: 
Arthur Gilbert Bedell (b.c.1851), printer with his brothers Edwin Bedell and George Canfield Bedell of New York newspaper the Westchester Times ['Boss' Dick Croker; Tammany Hall; Louis J. Heintz]
Publication details: 
Without place or date, but Bedell is in his 81st year at the time of writing. [New York, 1930s.]
£1,750.00

192pp., 8vo., on 188 letterheads of the Village of Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Irregularly paginated to 179d. Six pages (6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17) are lacking, but the missing text is supplied in an accompanying typescript, with two carbon copies, of the first 31pp. of the manuscript, each of the three copies being 11pp., 8vo. The author of this memoir, Arthur Gilbert Bedell (b.c.1851), was printer and proprietor, with his brothers Edwin Bedell and George Canfield Bedell, of the Westchester Times.

[Printed keepsake, with two illustrations.] In thankful Commemoration of the 90th Birthday of The Dowager Lady Barrow, January 5th, 1900. Printed by one who owes much to her loving spiritual help and letters when he was an Eton Boy in 1845.

Author: 
'W.B.-M.' [Rev. William Bramley-Moore] [Rosamond Hester Elizabeth (1810-1906), Lady Barrow, daughter of William Pennell and adopted daughter of John Wilson Croker; Sir Thomas Lawrence; G.F. Zink]
Publication details: 
'W.B.-M., 26 R. Sq., [i.e. William Bramley-Moore, 26 Russell Square, London] Jan. 6th, 1900.'
£250.00

4pp., ,4to. Bifolium. Printed in gold on shiny art paper, with the two illustrations in black. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The recto of the first leaf carries a memoir of Lady Barrow, 'Reproduced, by permission, from "The Surrey Comet," Dec. 25, 1899.': 'LADY BARROW - nee Rosamond Hester Elizabeth, daughter of the late William Pennell, Esq., Consul-General in Brazil - was born January 5th, 1810, and was the twenty-first child of her parents. Six weeks after her birth she became the adopted daughter of the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker, who had married her eldest sister.

Autograph Letter Signed ('J W Croker') from John Wilson Croker [to George Pellew, Dean of Norwich], stating the opinion that King George IV's letters in Pellew's life of Lord Sidmouth 'give a higher idea of his powers of mind' than was the case.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), Anglo-Irish politician, Secretary to the Admiralty [Hon. Very Rev. George Pellew (1793-1866), Dean of Norwich; Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth; King George IV]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of West Molesey, Surrey. 15 February 1851.
£120.00

4pp., 12mo. Very good, on lightly-aged paper with watermarked date 1848. Addressed to 'My dear Dean'. As the letter clearly concerns Pellew's life of his father-in-law Lord Sidmouth (1847), with Croker referring to his own review of the book in the Quarterly Review, the reason for the gap between the date of publication of the book and the writing of the letter is unclear. Croker writes that he has received Pellew's 'last livraison & kind letter which gives a very just idea of the correspondence'.

Letter, in the hand of a secretary, signed ('J W Croker') by John Wilson Croker, Secretary to the Admiralty, to Vice-Admiral Douglas, concerning 'Naval Occurences at Yarmouth', Captain Hawtayne of the HMS Quebec and Chaplain Forster of HMS Roebuck.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857), Secretary to the Admiralty, Irish author and politician [Captain Charles Sibthorpe John Hawtayne of HMS Quebec]
Letter, in the hand of a secretary, signed ('J W Croker') by John Wilson Croker
Publication details: 
Admiralty Office; 26 July 1810.
£125.00
Letter, in the hand of a secretary, signed ('J W Croker') by John Wilson Croker

Folio, 2 pp. Fair, on aged paper, with a few short closed tears to extremities, and carrying traces of previous mount on reverse. On behalf of the Lords of the Admiralty Croker grants the Admiral's request for leave of absence to two individuals following 'the Naval Occurrences at Yarmouth'. In same hand as letter on reverse: 'Captain Hawtayne Quebec Two Days | Mr Forster, Chaplain Roebuck One Month'.

Autograph letter signed to John Wilson Croker, Secretary to the Admiralty

Author: 
Edward Sabine
Publication details: 
[1825]
£250.00

(1788-1883) Arctic explorer, soldier, astronomer and magnetic surveyor. Three pages, 8vo, good condition, date "1825" written in pencil. Text as follows: "Copies of my book have been ordered by the Board of Longitude to be sent to Members of the Board, and to Institutions, in different parts of the United Kingdom. Perhaps if the eleven copies, addressed as on the following page, are sent to you, you will have teh kindness to frank them to their several destinations. I shall call at the Admiralty myself with this note to spare you the trouble of writing an answer.

Two Autograph Letters Signed to [Thomas Francis Dillon Croker].

Author: 
Thomas Wright
Publication details: 
2 and [7] March, [1856]; both from 14, Sydney Street, Brompton.
£95.00

English antiquary and archaeologist (1810-77). The recipient (1831-1912), son of Thomas Crofton Croker, was an Irish antiquary. Both letters one page, 12mo. Both grubby, discoloured and stained. The first with closed tear to one corner. LETTER ONE (dated from postmark on accompanying envelope addressed to Croker, with Penny Red stamp): He has 'Fairholt's letter safe, and, though I cannot put my hand on it this moment, I will take care of it for you.

Autograph Letter Signed to James Heywood Markland, with autograph draft of Markland's reply.

Author: 
John Wilson Croker [James Heywood Markland]
Publication details: 
12 May 1851; on letterhead 'West Molesey | Surrey'.
£150.00

Politician and essayist (1780-1857). The recipient (1788-1864) was an antiquary and member of the Roxburghe Club. Four pages, 12mo. In very good condition, although rather grubby and with traces of stub adhering to one edge. He finds 'a letter of Pope to Beau Nash transmitting him an inscription [^ (not copied)] for, as I guess, a statue or bust of Fredk. Prince of Wales.

Autograph Letter Signed to J[ohn]. W[ilson]. Croker (1780-1857; DNB).

Author: 
Charles Thomas Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury
Publication details: 
19 July 1826; Christ Church, Oxford.
£45.00

English divine (1794-1868). 3 pages, 16mo. Heavily damp-damaged. Text entirely legible. 3 pages, 16mo. With attractive pencil drawing of country house, and crude plan, in pencil on blank reverse of second leaf of bifoliate (conceivably drawn by the recipient, Croker). Among his many reasons for regretting 'the haste with which I was compelled to pass thro' London' on his way to Oxford was his 'disappointment at Kensington on Saturday'.

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