GENERAL

A nice item, suitable for framing, relating to one of the best generals of the First World War. (He commanded one and a half million troops in the 1918 Battle of Vittorio Veneto, defeating the Austrians - a third of a million of whom surrendered - and closing the Italian Front.) Clearly given in response to a request for an autograph. The good bold signature ‘Generale A. Diaz’ sits slightly over the centre of an otherwise-plain 15 x 10 cm piece of wove paper, laid down on paper backing. In good condition, lightly aged, with two unobtrusive vertical fold lines. See Image.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Folded twice. A printed circular, completed in manuscript by a secretary for the ‘Earle of Hardwicke Kt’ (as Colonel of the Cambridge Regiment of Militia), and signed by Pulteney ‘Ja: Pulteney’. Note at head of page in a third contemporary hand: ‘Copied for Col. the Rt. Hon. Chas. Yorke - 14/7/7’.

See Bloomfield’s entry, and that of Norton, in the Oxford DNB. The fragment of the letter bearing his signature is 5 cm x 4.5 cm. It is dated at one corner ‘1845’, and reads ‘R. Bgham / Bloomfield’. It is laid down on one side of a 4to leaf extracted from an album and paginated 58.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On piece of 8.5 x 4.5 cm laid paper cut. In fair condition, on aged paper with reverse bearing traces of glue from mount. Reads: ‘M. Power / M Genl. Comm[andin]g’. Endorsed on reverse: ‘M General / Sir Manley Power / K.C.B’. See Image.

See Wendy Trewin, ‘The Royal General Theatrical Fund: a history, 1838-1988’ (1989), and Macqueen-Pope’s entry in the Oxford DNB. ONE: Carbon copy of letter from Macqueen-Pope to Allen, 15 May 1953, with three drafts of advertisement. 4pp, 4to. On four leaves. The letter, on the first page, is somewhat grubby, with rust spotting from paper clip, the other three leaves, each of which carries a proposed version of the advertisment, in good condition, lightly aged. The letter begins: ‘Dear Jack Allen, / Herewith three rough samples for the proposed advertisement concerning the Fund.

A nice item relating to a significant figure in French nineteenth-century history. Such was Boulanger’s popularity with the French working classes in the late 1880s that it was believed that he could make himself dictator. Stylish and dynamic signature ('Genl: Boulanger'), on back of 9.5 x 6.5 cm calling card. In good condition, lightly aged. The words ‘Général Boulanger’ are printed in large letters on the front of the card, and nothing else.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Signed ‘Richard Alverstone’ and addressed to ‘J. Ellaby Esq’. He regrets that Ellaby is asking him ‘for more information than it is in my power to give you’. Even if he were ‘in possession of the views of the Government’ he ‘could not disclose them’ to Ellaby, who must form his own opinion ‘from the public utterances of the Prime Minister and Mr. Balfour’.

A valuable artefact of the American War of Independence: a leaf from a British War or Colonial Office ledger detailing payments to officials in General Leslie’s administration in Carolina in 1782.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, on recto of first leaf of bifolium, with recto of the second bearing remains of the red wafer. Folded twice for postage. Good firm signature, ?Vivian?. He has placed the name of Wylde?s son ?on the Official List of Candidates for admission to the Royal Military Academy which will be transferred to my Successor?.

1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Signed ‘Bob Mansergh’. The salutation, in autograph is to ‘My dear Tony’, whose typed details at the foot of the letter are: ‘E. A. Brett-James, Esq., / 82, Barnet Way, / Mill Hill, / London, N.W.7.’ He is delighted to second Brett-James for ‘membership of the RUSI’. If they ‘also require a short personal letter of my opinion of your capabilities’ he will ‘send one direct to the Secretary’. He is off on his summer holiday, and hopes that on his return in October Brett-James ‘will come and have a meal and a gossip’.

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament, the former of which notes his ‘high reputation for courage’ and his presence ‘at Neerwinden and Landen in 1693, covering the retreat on 19 July, and saving William III from capture by the enemy’. 1p, 8vo. On aged and worn paper, with chipping to edges and pitting along a horizontal central line, but with both signatures clear and unblemished. The customary printed document, completed in manuscript. Records in a secretarial hand, the receipt of £25 by ‘Hen: Lumley Esqr. attor to the Rt.

Not only an interesting item of sigillography, but also a nice item relating to Victorian philanthropy. Eight red wax seals and two black, of varying sizes. Laid down in three rows on reverse of 15 x 11 cm card, tastefully printed in blue, red and gold, with facsimile of the signature of the Secretary, S. J. Aldrich. Originally ten seals were present, those that remain in good condition, most with good impressions of crests.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly worn. Folded once. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Cochrane’ and signed ‘Edwd. Stanton’. He thanks him for ‘sending me the Nile map, which is certainly more complete than any I had, though it does not give us much more information as to the rivers South of [Faolooda?], than is to be found in The Times atlas’. He hopes that when his son ‘returns from his explorations of the Bahr-el-zara’, he ‘will be able to extend our knowledge of that part of the Nile Valley’.

Macready’s entry in the Oxford DNB states that he destroyed his diary and personal papers after the publication of his memoirs in 1924. If the present gossipy specimen is anything to go by, the loss of this material is most regrettable. (The ODNB entry for his father notes that he dealt with William Charles Macready's ‘copious and uninhibited diaries’ in similar fashion in 1914 - two years after the appearance of Toynbee’s edition.) See also the entry for Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland (1867-1955). 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage.

The entry for Slatin in the Oxford DNB gives a good outline of the life of this adventurer. The present item forms half of a 4to leaf, torn down the middle vertically, no doubt in order to provide an autograph. In good condition, lightly aged. Written lengthwise on the reverse, in a large bold hand, is the valediction: ‘Hoping that you are fit & well / Yours ever / R Slatin’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Written lengthwise on back of 11.5 x 7.5 printed card. The side of the card with Roberts’s autograph is discoloured but in fair condition, but there is slight loss along the inner margin of the printed side, resulting in some loss of text. Roberts’ autograph reads: ‘I give my vote / Fred. Roberts. / India / 14th. April 1888.’ The printed text states that Caroline Constance Williams, aged 8 years, was the daughter of Band-Sergt.

An evocative artefact of a bygone age of well-read men with substantial libraries. See Coleridge’s entry in the Oxford DNB (in addition to his achievements he was the great-nephew of the poet). 3pp, 12mo. On a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘Coleridge’ and addressed to ‘My dear Dickenson’. Coleridge’s hand is not an easy one, and the following rendition is in parts tentative. He begins by stating that he is touched ‘not a little’ by Dickenson’s letter, not having forgotten ‘old days in Harley Street & [St George’s?] Square’. He grieves at ‘the necessity you mention [i.e.

The present item gives the text of the poem described by Byron as 'the most perfect ode in the English language' before its first publication in the Newry Telegraph in April 1817. See Wolfe’s entry in the Oxford DNB. The source of the present item is unclear. It is a photographic facsimile, many decades old, on both sides of a 4to leaf. In fair condition, slightly creased on browned paper, with negligible loss to margin at head. With five creases from folding. Addressed to ‘John Taylor Esqe / at the Revd Mr. Armstrong’s / Clonoully / Cashel’.

See their entries in the Oxford DNB. Two Autograph Signatures, on an 11 x 5 cm slip cut from a leaf of an album. In good condition, lightly aged. On one side: ‘Novar / G. G. Australia 1914 - 20. / Stirling 14. 10. 22.’ (The date ‘1914’ is slightly smudged. On the other side ‘Katharine Atholl - Jan. [...]’; and above it, in another hand ‘Duchess of Atholl - Under Secretary for Edu’. See image.

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. On 11 x 6 cm slip of paper, laid down on thicker paper cut from album. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: ‘9th Dececmr. 1715 / Receit in full / Edw Northey’. See image.

An uncommon signature. During the 1794 invasion of Corsica, D’Aubant took over as Lord Hood’s second-in-command after Hood forced Major-General David Dundas to resign, but proved even more cautious, to the frustration of Nelson and others. 1p, landscape 8vo. Laid down on part of leaf from autograph album, captioned in Victorian hand, ‘General D’Aubant’. On discoloured paper, with deeper discoloration from glue from mount. Folded twice. Reads: ‘Genl D’Aubant presents his compliments to Mr Brown, and will call upon him at 12. next Thursday 8th July / Devonshe. place.’ See image.

The present item dates from a year of turmoil for Boulanger. At the start of 1889 it had seemed likely that he would exploit his tremendous working-class support to become dictator, but by April a warrant had been issued for his arrest and he had fled first to Brussels and then to London, before setting in Victor Hugo style in Jersey. He would return to Brussels in 1891, to shoot himself dead at the grave of his recently-deceased mistress. Complete 12 x 9.5 cm white envelope. In fair condition, lightly aged, and with back flap torn.

See the entries for Pollock, Peel and Baring in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. Addressed to ‘My dear Baring’. He begins by thanking him for his ‘introductions - & the kindness of your letter that enclosed them’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From 1821 to the end of his life Barnard served as a courtier, notably as Equerry to King George IV, and it would appear that the present item is written in response to an enquiry made to the recipient of the letter regarding paintings in the royal collection. He writes from Camford House, where Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV, had taken up residence. 4pp, 12mo. On bifolium with thin mourning border. In fair condition, on aged paper. Folded twice.

See the entries for Beresford and Temple in the Oxford DNB (in an unfortunate omission, Ramsay - ‘The King of Kumaon’ - is not represented in that work). 3pp, 12mo. Ruckled, with second leaf laid down on a piece of card, and damage along the gutter repaired with archival tape. Twenty-nine lines of text. Signed ‘Charles Beresford’. He has received ‘a long explanatory letter from General Sir Henry Ramsey [sic] containing the explanation of a grievance by which he has lost £300 a year since 1884.

A ‘longue lettre’, written ‘à cœur ouvert’; an extraordinary document, in whose passionate and pessimistic Catholic conservatism - expressed in martial terms befitting a hero of Borodino - is to be found the roots of the Action Française. 4pp, 4to. Bifolium. 58 lines of neatly- and closely-written text (neater than the minimal examples on Google!). In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Fabvier was the leader of the Greek regular army in the War of Indpendence, and in the latter part of this letter he expresses concerns over the future of his beloved Greece (‘ma chère Grèce’).

Two pages, folio, fold marks, a little grubby, some damage (by stamp vandal?) marginally affecting text, ow fair.. A. The covering letter by Tho. Phippard, sending the Bill in the Election, asking the recipient, E.Nicoletts, Bridport, to fill in the blanks with the average sums charged per diem by the other agents. I have not included many days [absent?] in the business. My bill will be higher than some agents as I was directed to proceed in canvassing my Division earlier in consequence of the proceedings of Ashleys [ie Later Lord Shaftesbury].

Notebook, marbled boards (blue), spine of black tape, not paginated, notes on approximately 77 pages, with bits on other pages. See image. He makes notes from his reading/researches. Initially, for example, he makes notes on a. Gordon's Letters to His Sister [pub. 1888], quoting, summarising or commenting, concluding with a long quote from Gordon's letter when on the way to Khartoum, 32 pages. Then notes on b. Sir Gerald Graham's Last Words with Gordon (1887) (inc. lengthy summary of Gordon's appearance re. Graham), 10pp. c.

One page, 4to, fold marks, good condition. Judging by other correspondence accompanying this letter, Foot has probably been invited to address the Monmouth Town Branch of the League of Nations Union. Foot is sorry [he] cannot give a promise for November although I would very much like to come and be associated with your work. The imminence of an election has now to be taken into consideration.

Part of letter, 18.5 x 10, stained and grubby but text clear (see image), laid down on another piece of paper of the same size, as follows: Recevez, Monsieur le Comte, l'assurance de ma plus haute consideration | Le Prince de Wagram et de Neuchatel | Vice-connétable | Berthier ||