FREE

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. In fair condition, aged and worn, with slight loss to two of the corners, and a trace of paper from the mount adhering on the reverse. Addressed to 'Jas Thomson Esq'. Reads: 'Dear Sir / I have forwarded your list of names to the Land Tax Office / & remain Dear Sir / faithfully Yours / Richd Cobden'. Pencil note, in a contemporary hand, at the foot of the letter: 'The Great Anti Corn Law man. / Mr. Thompson [sic] to whom it was written was proposed by Cobden & seconded by Bright, of the Free Trade Club. A Club in St. James Square, London, of 400 or 500 members.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Autograph Signature and valediction to letter on 11 x 4.5 cm slip of paper: 'My dear Sir / Yours most truly / David Welsh'. In good condition on lightly-aged laid paper, with neat vertical fold. Tiny slip of paper with pencil note in contemporary hand laid down on blank space at left of slip.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Addressed ‘Revd. F. Damstini Cremer / The Rectory / Keighley / England’. Signed ‘A. B. Bruce’. He begins by confirming that Cremer has has not mistaken his meaning ‘on p. 32 “The Kingdom of God”’, reaffirming over a paragraph what it is he was saying regarding the temptation of Christ. ‘It seems a considerable liberty, but then the Scripture writers do take liberties in their quotations & use of Holy Writ’.

A document of some historical significance.

See Knox’s entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items are in fair condition, lightly aged and creased, each with a couple of lightly-rusted pin holes. Clemens’s plain card, with stamps and postmarks, is addressed to ‘E. V. Knox Esq / c/o Punch / London, England.’, and is signed ‘faithfully / C C Clemens’. The message reads: ‘Dear E.V. Knox / We hope the life of President Truman reached you safely? / The Society is arranging a symposium on democracy You may care to send your definition of democracy and a few comments.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo, on bifolium. Sixty lines of text. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Langbridge’ and signed ‘Hugh Macmillan’. The handwriting is hard to read. Begins: ‘At this distance from post-offices I cannot get a postal-order conveniently to send a subscription of 10/6d. half-a-guinea for your Presentation’. He will organize payment on his return, and asks for his name to be put down on rhw subscription list.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Sixteen closely- and neatly-written lines. After thanking him for his ‘kind and seasonable letter’, he states that he is ‘not much affected by rude abuse in parliament or through the press’ as he is ‘pretty well hardened in that respect’, and that he ‘may possibly have an opportunity’, in his own ‘proper place’, ‘of explaining & vindicating’ his position, for the purpose of which he asks Allan ‘for somewhat more particular information in regard to monumental inscriptions in Christian communities’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. Lightly aged and worn. Folded four times. Signed ‘Jesse Collings’. Addressed to ‘Messrs Smith & Kitching / Hon. Secs. Political Committee / Chelsea / London’. Minuted in pencil on reverse of second leaf: ‘Acknowledgment of Copy of our Resolution’. He has been ‘so much over-pressed with correspondence and other work’, hence the delay in replying. He asks them to ‘convey my best thanks to your Committee for the Resolution they have passed, and copy of which you enclosed’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition; with slight traces of mount on blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. He begins by explaining that he was ‘not able to call before leaving Edinburgh’, as he was ‘much harried at last’.

One page, 4to, fold marks, one edge dusted, fold marks, ow good. Je vous remercie vivement de m'avoir envoyé l;article de Sir John Pollock. Que cette fidélité amicale et intelligence est raffraichissante [one f crossed out]. | Je vous félicite du travail que vous faites à Londres, et vous prie de croire a mon tres fidèle souvenir. Underneath Palewski's scrawled signature, Gros has added le ci est de Palewski I I think!) adding his own nearly illegible signature. See image.

Six pages, 12mo, good condition. He finds it difficult to give advice because of his being so imperfectly informed as to the present state of the question of immigration into Guiana.

Clipped signature from letter, 7.5 x 6cm. some staining but autograph clear. On the verso a few words missing connectives, Some caustic critic | the then Prince of | & that this way h | your chance of earl.

A nice artefact, a number of Carlile's celebrated radical journal 'The Republican' (espousing not only republicanism but also atheism, abolitionism and birth control) as it appeared from the press. For information on Carlile - described by E. P. Thompson as a 'Showman of Free Thought' - and his 'moral wife' the suffragist Eliza Sharples, see their entries in the Oxford DNB. For publishing various 'blasphemous' works by Thomas Paine, Carlile was fined £1500 and sentenced to three years in Dorchester Gaol.

For information on Carlile - described by E. P. Thompson as a 'Showman of Free Thought' - and his 'moral wife' the suffragist Eliza Sharples, see their entries in the Oxford DNB. At the time of writing Carlile was in prison for refusal to pay the church rates. The proofs Carlile asks to be allowed to receive in the first letter are presumably those of his journal 'The Gauntlet'. The phrenologist 'Mr. Hohn' referred to in the second of the letters - the 'Mr. Holme' of the accompanying slip - is the German-born physician and phrenologist John Diederick Holm (d.1856).

Six long cards, full of interesting content, including surprising thoughts on the 'decadence' of the world, her desire to 'cultivate [her] garden' both in a literal and Voltairean sense, and the fact that the creative urge has left her. All six are signed 'Ethel Mannin'. The penultimate card is in autograph, the others typewritten. Four addressed to Staerck at Maidenhead, two to him on the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland. The collection is in good overall condition: the first has a smudged autograph note up one margin.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Written in a shaky hand. The letter begins: 'Dear Sir | I was much obliged to you for the extra copy of The Inquirer which I was glad to have, containing very good letters supporting Free Trade. It is a subject on which I feel strongly – perhaps inherited from my father!

This document is of particular interest as it concerns the foundation of the institution that would become the Royal Free Hospital, Liverpool. As a result of the meeting described in the present document, the Institution for the Care and Prevention of Contagious Fevers opened in 1802 at 2 Constitution Row, Grays Inn Lane. It was the first voluntary fever hospital and had 15 beds. 2pp., 8vo. On a leaf which appears to have been extracted from a minute book. On laid paper with watermark 'JOSEPH COLES | 1799'.

Full title, with motto: 'Two Letters to the Right Honourable the Earl of Sheffield; in which His Lordship's Report to the Meeting at Lewes Wool-Fair, and the Proceedings at a recent Meeting of Wool-Growers, at the Free Masons' Tavern, are examined; and the True State of the Wool-Question attempted to be shewn. | By J. B. S. | Veritas Nihil Veretur Nisi Abscondi.' A scarce item: no copies at the British Library or other deposit libraries and the only copies on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat at Edinburgh University and Senate House. [4] + 76pp., 8vo. Disbound, and with first leaf (half-title) loose.

2pp., 12mo. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged. When Twiss 'suggested the circumstance', Sir R. Palmer 'had some doubts about the United States Courts having limited the criminal consequences of violating neutrality to the cruise [last word underlined]'. There was also 'some doubt about the effect of a sale by a <?> of a Prize Court to a third party. Twiss thinks 'it might be desirable to print & circulate the enclosed observations bearing upon those two points'.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair conditoin, aged and with central horizontal and vertical folds.The letter begins: 'What queer things people do write to you about.' On an unspecified question, Lawson doubts that Farrar 'can do anything in the matter', and thinks that 'the “Mrs. referred to in the plan is the Lady who gave £500 to the Alliance last October [...] she is worth conciliating if it can be done'. He thinks 'the Reform Bill ought to help an alliance crusade and feel – Hardly any publicans will be enfranchised by it, but numbers of their victims & their opponents'.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair conditoin, aged and with central horizontal and vertical folds.The letter begins: 'What queer things people do write to you about.' On an unspecified question, Lawson doubts that Farrar 'can do anything in the matter', and thinks that 'the “Mrs. referred to in the plan is the Lady who gave £500 to the Alliance last October [...] she is worth conciliating if it can be done'. He thinks 'the Reform Bill ought to help an alliance crusade and feel – Hardly any publicans will be enfranchised by it, but numbers of their victims & their opponents'.

On both sides of a 7.5 x 12 cm card, with curved corners. A frail survival, heavily aged and worn. The text on the recto is printed in black, with the organisation's logo to the left in blue and red. The recto also has a large red 'S' superimposed at centre, and carries the two signatures, that of Guérille certifying that Guillet has been 'enrolled as a Sympathiser-Member'. Printed on the reverse are the 'Aims of the Association': 'To continue the war at the side of the British Government and of our Allies. | To co-operate with General de Gaulle's Free French Forces.

3pp., 4to. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper, with some repair, and traces of stub from mount still adhering. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmarks, to 'Messrs Beilby & Co | Printing Ink Manufacturers | Birmingham'. On the same page, in another hand: 'Mr Reuben Sparks.' Knowles's entry in the Oxford DNB gives the context. In 1816 he 'moved to Glasgow, where he established and ran a school for nearly twelve years [...] In 1823 and 1824 he added to his income by conducting the literary department of the Free Press, a Glasgow paper which advocated liberal and social reform.

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight loss to two words from damage at margin. The first paragraph reads: 'I know enough of siness never to put off acknowledging receipt of money - I got your kind letter this morning with the enclosure - You are more considerate than many people, for which I send you my best thanks.' The second paragraph relates to 'Derby's Bill', which Hanbury has 'recycled', and concerning which Guthrie asks 'What next & next?' Guthrie's entry in the Oxford DNB describes him as 'one of the greatest of Free Church leaders'.

40pp., 8vo, printed paper wraps, damaged with small loss, contents good. FFull title appesars to be (front cover): "Free trade. Preferential tariffs. Canadian fiscal policy. Imperial trade and foreign trade. Sugar bounties & sugar taxes. Foreign prison-made goods. Merchandise marks. Trade questions & the diplomatic service : the annual meeting of the Cobden Club, 1897 with the Committee's report". Copies in seven libraries, home and abroad, but no copy in BL (COPAC and WorldCat).

On 4.5 x 14 cm. strip of paper, cut from the conclusion of a letter. Laid down on a piece of cloth, with 8 x 6 cm. engraved portrait and slips with captions. In fair condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'I am | My dear Sir | Yours most truly | Ths Chalmers'. In another hand at top right: '"Dr. Chalmers"'.

12pp., 4to. Unbound. In fair condition, aged, worn, and with light damp-staining. An interesting document in the context of Whig politics and Freemasonry in Scotland. One of a number of acrimonious pamphlets exchanged between the two men. On 22 February 1808, a few days before the writing of the present pamphlet, Mitchell had distributed a handbill stating: 'I hereby declare to the world, that, Mr James Gibson, Writer to the Signet, of York Place, is a dastardly ruffian and infamous coward'.

30pp., 12mo. Disbound without wraps. In good condition, lightly aged. The only copies of this edition on COPAC at Oxford and the Humanist Library.

16pp., 12mo. Disbound without wraps. In good condition, lightly aged. 'You do not exactly appreciate my feeling. I do not hate Presbyterians; I hate Presbyterianism. I hate with all my heart the creed of that Church, and I most heartily despise the God described in the Confession of Faith. But some of the best friends I have in the world are afflicted with the mental malady known as Presbyterianism.' Uncommon.

15 + [1]pp., 12mo. Disbound without wraps. In good condition, with light signs of age. Last page carries a list of 'Works by Colonel R. G. Ingersoll.' Scarce: no copy at the British Library, and the only copies on COPAC at the Humanist Library and Oxford.