FELIX

[‘A Classic Bush Doctor’: Felix Paul Bartlett, Australian surgeon at Cowra, New South Wales.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to ‘Mr D’Eath’, one giving news of his surgery and mutual friends, the other describing ‘poor Walkers sudden death’.

Author: 
Felix Paul Bartlett (1855-1944), Australian ‘Bush Doctor’ at Cowra, New South Wales
Publication details: 
23 March and 11 May 1890. Both from Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
£180.00

Interesting items, casting light on the life of an Australian rural doctor of the Victorian period. A selection of Bartlett’s memoirs was published under the title ‘Bush Doctor’, edited by Jane Caiger-Smith and Michael C Bartlett, in 2011. There is an good illustrated article on him and his family (‘A Classic Bush Doctor’) in ‘Australian Rural Doctor’, June 2013. Both letters are addressed to ‘Dear Mr. D’Eath’ and signed ‘Felix P. Bartlett’.

[Royal Festival Hall.] Printed brochure: ‘London County Council / Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Concert Hall, Ceremony to be performed by The Right Hon. C. R. Atlee, C.H., M.P., Prime Minister’. [With press release and manuscript notes.]

Author: 
[Royal Festival Hall; Festival of Britain, 1949; London County Council; Clement Atlee, Labour Prime Minister; Howard Roberts, Clerk of the Council; Felix Aprahamian]
Publication details: 
[Ceremony performed on 12 October 1949. Building commissioned by the London County Council.]
£150.00

The present item is rare, and its interest is heightened by the fact that it is accompanied by a press release and has the covers covered in what are clearly notes on how to film the ceremony by a press cameraman. Only three copies on COPAC: at the British Library, Sheffield Hallam and the Bishopsgate Institute. An 8vo stitched pamphlet of twenty unpaginated pages in printed card wraps. Internally very good.

[Felix Eugen Fritsch, Professor and Head of Botany, Queen Mary College, University of London.] Autograph Note SIgned F.E. Fritsch to Crow.

Author: 
Felix Eugen Fritsch (1879–1954), algologist, Professor and Head of the Botanical Department, Queen Mary College, University of London, from 1911-1948
Publication details: 
3 June 1929; on letterhead of the Department of Botany, East London College, Mile End Road, E1. [London]
£38.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is William Bernard Crow, and the work referred to in the letter is his University of London thesis, presumably written under Fritsch’s supervision. 1p, 4to. Aged and creased, with chipping to edges. Folded three times. Good firm signature at foot: ‘F. E. Fritsch’. He thanks him for the copy of his book on “Contributions to the Principles of Morphology”, which he hopes to read ‘when the present rush dies down’. He hopes he is ‘getting on well at Huddersfield’.

[‘Mademoiselle Rachel’ [Elisabeth Félix], celebrated French actress.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rachel') to ‘Madame Goreau’, about getting the Comte de Noailles or Marquis of Normanby to help in getting fabrics for costumes to Paris from London.

Author: 
‘Mademoiselle Rachel’ [Elisabeth Félix] (1821-1858), French actress of Jewish extraction, mistress of Napoleon III and others [Comte de Noailles; Marquis of Normanby]
Publication details: 
7 October 1847; no place [Paris?].
£120.00

2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. Folded three times. In fair good condition, lightly browned. 36 lines, sloping upwards and written in an untidy hand, which renders the following report somewhat tentative. Signed ‘Rachel’. In French. She has been so busy since the resumption of the ‘théâtre français’ that she is only now able to tackle the need to get her ‘étoffes’. She reports that the ‘Comte de Noailles’ is in London, and asks the recipient, who also appears to be there, to go again to the embassy to ask him to send by two or three packets what she needs to make ‘mes robes’.

[Hester Lynch Piozzi, 'Dr. Johnson's Mrs. Thrale'.] Autograph Note in the third person to Dr. Perney, inviting him to visit 'to hear Mr. Yaniewitsh [i.e. Felix Janewicz] play on the Violin'.

Author: 
Mrs Piozzi (born Hester Lynch Salusbury, then Hester Lynch Thrale, then Hester Lynch Piozzi] (1741-1821), diarist and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson [Rev. Dr John Anthony Perney (1781-1827)]
Piozzi
Publication details: 
'Steatham Park | Fryday [sic] 24.' [No year.]
£450.00
Piozzi

Autograph Note in the third person. On one of 11 x 20 cm slip of paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with stub from mount adhering to reverse. Reads: 'Mrs. Piozzi's Coms. And if Dr. Perney is disengaged this Eveng & would like to hear Mr. Yaniewitsh play on the Violin She should be happy in his Company to Tea - - - and it would be very obliging in him to bring the Viol D'Amore with him. | Streatham Park | Friday 24.' Perney was domestic chaplain to the Earl of Coventry.

['Harry Lester and his Hayseeds', variety performers.] McGlennon's Hill Billy Song Book [lyrics of 63 songs, with photograph of Lester's band on cover and feature on him inside].

Author: 
Harry Lester and his Hayseeds [Harold Worth Lester (1895-1993), American variety performer resident in England [Felix McGlennon, music publisher; hillbilly music]
Publication details: 
Felix McGlennon Ltd, Printers and Publishers, 9 City Garden Row, City Road, London, N.1.
£220.00

For information on Lester see his obituary in the Independent, 4 July 1993, which states that with his band he 'cheered up England during the blacked-out Forties'. 12pp., 4to. Stapled. In good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Cover text printed in red, with black and white 14.5 x 19 cm photograph of 'Harry Lester and his Hayseeds'. P.3 carries an article on 'Harry Lester', with photograph.

[ A. F. Tschiffely, Argentine adventurer. ] Printed humorous postcard of 'Santa Claus in Patagonia', with photograph of Patagonian native clutching a bottle of Bols.

Author: 
A. F. Tschiffely [ Aimé Félix Tschiffely ] (1895-1954), Swiss-born Argentine adventurer and author
Publication details: 
[ London. ] Christmas 1938-1939.
£150.00

The card is printed in brown ink on one side of an 18 x 13 cm piece of thin beige card. An 8.5 x 6 cm black and white photograph has been tipped in within a printed square. In fair condition, with signs of age and wear. The text, in capitals, reads 'Santa Claus in Patagonia. | [Photograph.] | With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from Mr. & Mrs. A. F. Tschiffely. | 1938 - 1939.' The photograph shows the supposed subject of the card, a Patagonian native with white hair and beard, in morth-eaten jumper, clutching a bottle of Bols as he stares at the camera.

[ Jakob Salomon Bartholdy, Prussian diplomat. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J S Bartholdy') to the French composer and singer Sophie Gail

Author: 
Jakob Salomon Bartholdy [ Jakob Ludwig Salomon Bartholdy ] (1779-1825), Prussian diplomat, Consul-General in Rome, uncle of Felix Mendelssohn [ Sophie Gail [ née Edmée Sophie Garre ] (1775-1819) ]
Publication details: 
2 January 1819.
£950.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on second leaf, with broken seal in red wax, 'A Madame | Madame Sophie de Gail | &c &c &c | Paris'. Nine lines of neatly and elegantly written text. A somewhat flirtatious acceptance of an invitation, with Bartholdy noting 'les belles choses que vous daignez me dire [...] Votre maniere est trop sedisante pour ne pas faire de l'impression'. It was at Bartholdy's suggestion that his sister Lea, the mother of the composer Felix Mendelssohn, joined him in adopting the surname Bartholdy.

[ Felix Stone Moscheles, English painter. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Felix Moscheles') to 'Mrs Lewis', acknowledging receipt of a cheque.

Author: 
Felix Moscheles [ Felix Stone Moscheles ] (1833-1917), English painter of Jewish origin, peace activist and advocate of Esperanto
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Cadogan Gardens, Sloane Street, S.W. [ London ] Undated.
£30.00

1p., 16mo. In fair condition, lightly-aged and worn, with small hole affecting one word of text. He acknowledges receipt of her cheque for three guineas.

[ Felix Plater, Swiss physician. ] Autograph Document Signed ('Felix Platerus Basil | Archiatros & Prof')

Author: 
Felix Plater (1536-1614), Swiss physician and professor at the University of Basel, pioneer in fields of psychiatry and germ theory of disease
Publication details: 
Basil. May 1611.
£950.00

On one side of an 11.5 x 7.5 cm piece of paper. In fair condition, aged and stained. Consisting of a two-line improving Latin quotation beginning: 'Nullius est Felix'. Signed beneath this: 'Felix Platerus Basil | Archiatros & Prof. | Ao S

1611 Maio | Ao AM. 73'. On the reverse are two longer signed quotations, both in calligraphic hands, the lower of the two by 'Johannes Philippus a Fritten back', dated 28 February 1607. The author is identified in pencil in a later hand as John Phillips who died in 1640.

[ Don Ameche, American Oscar-winning actor. ] Autograph signature.

Author: 
Don Ameche [ Dominic Felix Amici ] (1908-1993), American Oscar-winning actor
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Savoy Hotel, London. Undated.
£30.00

Good firm inscription on 19.5 x 16 cm letterhead. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with slight rust staining to top left-hand corner from paperclip. Inscription reads: 'Sincere best wishes | Don Ameche'.

[ Programme for a procession of yachts at Cannes, before Félix Faure, President of the Republic. ] Ville de Cannes. Union des Yachts Français. Défilé des Yachts devant M. Félix Faure, Président de la République.

Author: 
[ Félix Faure (1841-1899), President of the French Republic; Cannes on the French Riviera ]
Publication details: 
Cannes [ French Riviera ]. 3 March 1896.
£56.00

4pp., folio. Bifolium. On aged and creased paper, with slight damage at spine. Tastefully laid out. The front page carries the Programme (from 'A 8 heures: Arrivée de l'Escadre devant Cannes.' to 'A Midi: Départ pour Villefranche.'), the two central pages carry the 'Règlement' (19 articles under the headings 'YACHTS A VAPEUR', 'VOILIERS', 'VAPEURS PORTANT DES PASSAGERS' and 'PLAISANCIERS & EMBARCATIONS DIVERSES') by 'Le Commissaire de l'Inscription maritime, | BLANC' and 'Le Maire, | HIBERT'. The whole of the last page is taken up with a lithographic map of the route ('LITH ROBAUDY CANNES').

[ Mitchell S. Buck, American classicist. ] Typescript of his novelette 'Rose of Corinth', inscribed to its illustrator Franz Felix, with covering Autograph Letter Signed ('M S B') from Buck to Felix, regarding arrangements for illustrating the book.

Author: 
Mitchell S. Buck [Mitchell Starrett Buck] (1887-1959), American poet, translator and classical scholar, praised by H. L. Menken [ Franz Felix (1892-1967), American artist of Austrian extraction ]
Publication details: 
Typescript without place or date. Letter on letterhead of Vapor Engineering Company, Philadelphia. 10 September 1928.
£320.00

Both letter and typescript in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. In envelope with three postmarks between 9 and 11 September 1928, addressed 'For: Franz Felix, Esq. | Apt. 3-c | 790 Riverside Drive, | New York City.' LETTER: 1p., 4to. He explains that he is sending the 'MS' [sic] that day by registered mail, and asks Felix to keep it 'strictly confidential for the present', adding that he has 'not even told Mr. Brown [his publisher] what it is about'. If Felix has time to 'make up a sketch' Buck will collect it and take it to Brown.

['McGlennon's Cromlech Series': two printed pamphlets.] 'Irish Songs Old and New' and 'Songs of the Gael'.

Author: 
[McGlennon's Cromlech Series; Felix McGlennon, Irish publisher in London]
Publication details: 
McGlennon's Cromlech Series, Felix McGlennon Ltd., Printers and Publishers, City Garden Row, City Rd, London, N1. Both undated.
£130.00

The two uniform stapled pamphlets, both 32pp., 12mo, in illustrated wraps printed in green, and both printed on newsprint. Both items uncommon, with no copies of either on COPAC. ONE: 'Irish Songs Old and New.' In fair condition, on worn and toned paper, with crease to front cover. Contains the lyrics to 34 songs, from 'Angels Whisper' and 'Ballinamona Oro' to 'Young Kate of Kilcummer'. TWO: 'Songs of the Gael'. In good condition, toned and lightly worn. Contains the lyrics of 28 songs from 'Awake and Lie Dreaming No More' to 'Where is the Slave so Lowly?'

Album containing 53 original photographs, with captions, by William Nichols, Farm Bailiff at Felix Hall, the country house of Sir Thomas Burch Western.

Author: 
William Nichols, photographer and Farm Bailiff at Felix Hall, Essex, the country house of Sir Thomas Burch Western
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [Felix Hall, Essex; 1860s.]
£2,500.00

An evocative collection of photographs, in which, unusually, a Victorian servant has been allowed to make a record of his masters, their country house, and household. The 53 photographs are laid down on 17 leaves of a contemporary stitched 4to album. In fair condition, lightly-aged, and with the brown marbled wraps of the album detached and separated from one another. Three of the photographs are lacking from the album.

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.

Autograph signature.

Author: 
Felix Swinstead (1880-1959), English composer
Publication details: 
Undated.
£25.00

On piece of laid paper paper (roughly 11 x 16 cm) cut from diary. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Under the heading 'June 25'.

Autograph letter signed ('L'abbe Contrafatto'), in French, to Félix Barthe (1795-1863), French Minister of Justice.

Author: 
Joseph Contrafatto (b.1798) [l'abbé Contrafatto], Sicilian-born French priest; sentenced to hard labour for an 'affaire de mœurs'; imprisoned, 1827; released, 1845 [Félix Barthe; paedophilia]
Publication details: 
Brest le 15 Juin 1831' [Bagne de Brest].
£300.00

4to: 2 pp. Eighteen lines of text. Very good on aged paper. Docketed. Written while a convict at the Bagne de Brest. Titled by Contrafatto in top left-hand corner 'Direction des affaires Criminelles et des grâces.' Begins with a Latin quotation on the subject of crime and innocence, to which he adds the comment 'Quel est celui qui, plus que moi, ait le droit d'invoquer ce principe tutélaire?' In a six-line paragraph attempts to flatter Barthe ('[...] l'ornement du Barreau avant d'être appelé dans le conseil du Roi.

Contemporary copy of letter, in French, by the convict 'François Antonini | No 18933. Salle 4 [Bagne de Brest]' to 'trés chèr [sic] Père', docketed 'Lettre écrite et traduite par le Prètre Contrafatto'.

Author: 
François Antonini' [Joseph Contrafatto (b.1798); l'abbé Contrafatto], Sicilian-born French priest; sentenced to hard labour for an 'affaire de mœurs'; imprisoned, 1827; released, 1845] [paedophilia]
Publication details: 
Brest le 8. 8bre.. 1835.' [8 October 1835]
£56.00

8vo: 2 pp. Thirty lines of text. Very good, on lightly-aged laid paper. Distinctive use of diacritics. Informing the recipient of 'des bonnes nouvelles, ayant participé à la clémence Royale. Ma peine a été rémise a 8. ans, par consequence je ne' Suis plus condamné a perpetuité, et j'éspere en Dieu et les bontés du Roi qu'aprés la moitié de mon temps vénir vous embrasser.' Thanks all his wellwishers, particularly 'Monsieur Le Maire de notre commune'. Signs off 'Votre infortune fils jusqu'a la tombe'.

Four lines in autograph on his calling card as 'Depute, Sous-Secretaire d'Etat à la Justice'.

Author: 
Félix Jules Méline [Felix Jules Meline] (1838-1925), French Prime Minister, 1896-1898
Publication details: 
Undated.
£56.00

Card dimensions 6 x 10.5 cm. Good: lightly aged and with crease to top left-hand corner. Printed text reads 'Jules Méline, Deputé, Sous-Secrétaire d'Etat a la Justice. 84, Boulevard St. Garmain'. The autograph note, in French, is addressed to 'Mon cher ami', whom he addresses as 'tu'. He apologises for having neglected his correspondent's letter among his correspondence. 'Viens me voir à la chancellerie un matin; tu es sûre de me trouver mardi.' Thanks him for his 'bonnes félicitations'.

Document, in French, in a secretarial hand, signed by Méline ('J. Méline'), as Minister of Agriculture, to 'Monsieur Bailly, A.N. Président de la Société des Artistes Français | au Palais des Champs Elysées (porte 4).'

Author: 
Félix Jules Méline [Felix Jules Meline] (1838-1925), French Prime Minister, 1896-1898 [Antoine-Nicolas Louis Bailly (1810-1892), French architect]
Publication details: 
26 April 1884; Paris, on letterhead of the Ministry of Agriculture.
£75.00

8vo, 1 p. On aged paper, with wear and closed tears to extremities. Good, clear signature. Thanking Bailly for the 'cartes' and the 'lettres d'invitation' to the 'Salon de 1884'.

Letter in a secretarial hand, Signed by Méline ('J. Méline') as 'Président du Conseil' and 'Ministre de l'Agriculture', to 'Monsieur le Général Tournier | Secrétaire Général de la Présidence de la République'.

Author: 
Félix Jules Méline [Felix Jules Meline] (1838-1925), French Prime Minister, 1896-1898 [Tournier]
Publication details: 
13 February 1897; Paris, on letterhead of 'République Française | Présidence du Conseil | Cabinet du Président'.
£120.00

8vo, 1 p, 13 lines. Very good on lightly aged and creased paper. Docketed in red pencil in another hand. Lists the names of three couples, 'appartenant au cercle de mes relations', who would dearly like to receive 'invitations pour les fétes données au Palais de l'Elysee'. Méline would be 'vivement heureux' if Tournier could give 'satisfaction' to this desire. A good firm signature on a document written during Méline's term as French President.

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