GEORGE

[‘Raffles’ on stage.] Photographic montage of seven scenes from the 1906 Charles Frohman London production of the play by E. W. Hornung and E. W. Presbrey, a ‘Tuck’s “Play Souvenir” Card, with printed text on reverse.

Author: 
‘Raffles’ on stage; E. W. Hornung and Eugene Wiley Presbrey (1853-1931); Charles Frohman; Tuck’s “Play Souvenir” Cards; Raphael Tuck & Sons, Art Publishers, London
‘Raffles’ on stage.
Publication details: 
Circa 1906. ‘Raphael Tuck & Sons’ “REAL PHOTOGRAPH - PLAY SOUVENIR CARD.” No. 5275. / ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING & QUEEN.’ [London]
£100.00
‘Raffles’ on stage.

The photographic image is somewhat faded, but a nice piece of Raffles memorabilia nevertheless. 22.5 x 15 cm card, shiny on the photographic side and matt on the reverse. Seven captioned stills from the production (from ‘No. 1. At Milchester Abbey’ to ‘No. 7. “Raffles” at Bay.’), around the central word ‘ “RAFFLES” ’. On the reverse, under the heading ‘Tuck’s “Play Souvenir” Card. / (Book post).’ is printed in small type a description of the play (‘Charles Frohman presents / “Raffles” / By E. W. Hornung and E. W. Presbrey’) with scene-by-scene synopsis, beginning: ‘A. J.

[W. G. Smith [Worthington George Smith], architectural and botanical illustrator and archaeologist.] Autograph Letter Signed to the entomologist Bernard Piffard, praising one of his slides highly, and discussing colleagues and preparations.

Author: 
W. G. Smith [Worthington George Smith] (1835-1917), architectural and botanical illustrator and archaeologist [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist and microscopist]
Publication details: 
13 February 1885; 38 Kyverdale Road, London, N.
£95.00

Smith’s collections are now held in the mycological herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and three species are named after him. He was largely self-educated and his achievements are patchy. Among his published works are ‘Diseases of Field and Garden Crops’ (Macmillan, 1884) and a British Museum guide to Sowerby’s Models of British Fungi. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers (seven later letters from Smith, written from Dunstable in more ebullient style, are offered separately). 3pp, 12mo (the final page written lengthwise). On bifolium.

[Stephen Kemble [George Stephen Kemble], Shakespearian actor-manager, uncle of Fanny Kemble.] Informative Autograph Letter Signed to solicitors ‘Messrs. Dowson, Capron and Rowley’, regarding whereabouts of actor William Shakespear Kendrick of Whitby.

Author: 
Stephen Kemble [George Stephen Kemble] (1758-1822), celebrated Shakespearian actor-manager noted for his Falstaff, husband of Elizabeth Satchell and uncle of Fanny Kemble [William Shakespear Kendrick]
Publication details: 
‘Grove. Durham / August the 11th. / 1821.’
£95.00

An interesting letter, providing a mass of interesting incormation relating to the stage in Georgian England, while responding to a request from London solicitors for information about the whereabouts of a provincial actor. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 4to. Forty lines of text, on bifolium addressed on reverse of second leaf ‘For / Messrs. Dowson, Capron and Rowley / Savile Place / near / Burlington Street / London’, and signed ‘S. Kemble.’ In fair condition, on discoloured and worn paper with minor damage at head, but text clear and entire.

[W. G. Smith [Worthington George Smith], architectural and botanical illustrator and archaeologist.] Seven Autograph Letters Signed to the entomologist Bernard Piffard.

Author: 
W. G. Smith [Worthington George Smith] (1835-1917), architectural and botanical illustrator and archaeologist [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist and microscopist]
Publication details: 
Between 28 January 1885 and 9 August 1888. All from 81 High Street North, Dunstable, the fourth letter with his decorative letterhead.
£350.00

Smith’s collections are now held in the mycological herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and three species are named after him. He was largely self-educated and his achievements are patchy. Among his published works are ‘Diseases of Field and Garden Crops’ (Macmillan, 1884) and a British Museum guide to Sowerby’s Models of British Fungi. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers (an earlier letter from Smith, written from London in a more restrained hand, offered separately). The recipient is named in Letter Four as ‘B. Piffard Esq / Hill House’. That letter signed ‘W.

[King George VI [as Prince Albert].] Printed post card of portrait photograph by Olive Edis (Mrs Galsworthy), with [facsimile?] signature ‘Albert’.

Author: 
King George VI [as Prince Albert]; Olive Edis (Mrs Galsworthy) (1876-1955), photographer
King George VI [as Prince Albert)
Publication details: 
[Part of a photoshoot by Olive Edis, England, 1920.]
£90.00
King George VI [as Prince Albert)

A very nice print in grey tones. Landscape: 7.5 x 13 cm. With the words ‘POST CARD’ printed on the reverse. Image in very good condition; traces of black paper mount adhering to the reverse. A head and shoulders shot of the future king, taken from the left, with right shoulder slightly forwards, face turned to the right and eyes staring vacantly ahead over the viewer’s right shoulder. Clean-shaven with parting on left; arms folded across chest, smartly attired in double-breasted check lounge suit with white shirt and ‘oriental-knot’ tie.

[‘The Lion Hunter’: Roualeyn George Gordon-Cumming, Scottish traveller and big game hunter.] Autograph Letter Signed, arranging for a portrait to be sent to the fencing master H. C. Angelo via a ‘pampered menial’.

Author: 
‘The Lion Hunter’: Roualeyn George Gordon-Cumming (1820-1866), Scottish traveller and big game hunter, whose trophies were exhibited around Britain [Henry Charles Angelo, fencing master]
Publication details: 
'232 Piccadilly [London] / Septem 28. 56' [1856].
£180.00

At the time of writing Gordon-Cumming’s trophies were being exhibited at this Piccadilly address, having previously formed part of the Great Exhibition. The recipient Henry Charles Angelo (1806-1866) was a member of the celebrated family of fencing masters, and was at this time teaching the art at the Cavalry College, Richmond. 2pp, 12mo. On the rectos of the two leaves of a bifolium, with the recipient’s name written lengthwise on the verso of the first leaf: ‘H. C. Angelo Esqr’. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice.

[W. E. Henley, poet who wrote ?Invictus?.] Autograph Manuscript Signed (Holograph) of his poem ?My songs were once of the sunrise?, on letterhead of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier and mother of the ?lost boys? in ?Peter Pan?.

Author: 
W. E. Henley [William Ernest Henley] (1849-1903), English poet, famed for his poem ?Invictus? [Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier; J. M. Barrie; Peter Pan]
Henley
Publication details: 
Between c.1901 and 1903. On letterhead of ?Twenty Three, / Campden Hill Square, / Kensington.? (?Telephone 3041, Kensington.?) [London.]
£220.00
Henley

Henley?s poem ?Invictus?, with its conclusion ?I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul?, is one of the most popular in the English language, and has inspired individuals as diverse as Nelson Mandela and Ron Kray. See Henley?s entry in the Oxford DNB. He was a friend of both Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and J. M. Barrie, and his daughter Margaret inspired the ?Peter Pan? character ?Wendy?. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times for postage. The letterhead has a thin black mourning border. Henley?s poem featured as the ?Envoy?

[Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury during the Abdication Crisis.] Typed Letter Signed ('Cosmo Cantuar:') to the Provost of Oriel [Sir David Ross], regarding his nomination of ‘Mr. Randall Cooper’ as a British Museum Assistant Cataloguer..

Author: 
Cosmo Lang [William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth] (1864-1945), Archbishop of Canterbury during the Abdication Crisis [Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross] (1877-1971), Scottish philosopher']
Cosmo Lang,
Publication details: 
22 November 1933; on letterhead of Lambeth Palace, S.E.1. [London]
£45.00
Cosmo Lang,

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to 'The Provost of Oriel' and with sprawling signature 'Yours vy trly / Cosmo Cantuar:'. Reads: 'Dear Provost, / I have received your letter of November 20th about Mr. Randall Cooper. I am sorry to say that your letter came too late for the appointment of the first batch of Assistant Cataloguers. They have now been appointed but I am informed that there may be further appointments in the Spring.

[A. J. Balfour [Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl Balfour], Conservative Prime Minister.] Lithographed Circular in facsimile of Autograph Letter Signed, urging Parliamentary attendance (of MPs) for ‘the discussion of important questions'.

Author: 
A. J. Balfour [Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl Balfour] (1848-1930), Conservative Prime Minister who as Foreign Secretary issued the 1917 Balfour Declaration
A. J. Balfour
Publication details: 
24 January 1896; on letterhead of First Lord of the Treasury, 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W. [London]
£60.00
A. J. Balfour

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. A lithographed document, in facsimile of an Autograph Letter Signed, on a genuine letterhead with embossed motif of First Lord of the Treasury, with mourning border. On aged paper, with the blank reverse carrying unobtrusive glue stains from previous mounting. Folded three times for postage.

[Lt. Gen.Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, Commander Woolwich Garrison] Autograph Signature from Letter, laid down album page with an outstanding hand-drawn coloured crest. Verso: engraving of Caroline Norton and her facsimile signature.

Author: 
Lieut. General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield (1768-1846), British Army officer, Private Secretary to the Sovereign, MP, Commander of the Woolwich Garrison.
Bloomfield
Publication details: 
The fragment of the letter bearing the signature dated 1845. The other material undated. No place.
£120.00
Bloomfield

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.

[George Peachey, London Piano Forte Manufacturer.] Quarto Bifolium Leaflet Advertisement, printed in black and red with royal arms, advertising Peachey’s ‘City of London Piano-Forte Manufactory’, with much information in small print.

Author: 
George Peachey, 73 Bishopsgate Street, Within, nineteenth-century London Piano Forte Manufacturer, ‘By Appointment to Her Majesty’
Peachey
Publication details: 
No date, but on Saunders laid paper with 1856 watermark. George Peachey, Piano Forte Manufacturer, 73, Bishopsgate Street, Within, Opposite the Marine Society, London.’
£150.00
Peachey

Scarce: no other copy traced. Bifolium of laid 1856 Saunders paper. 4pp, 4to. Unpaginated. The front cover carries is headed ‘City of London Piano-Forte Manufactory.’ Beneath this are engraved the royal arms, flanked by the words ‘By Appointment / to the Queen.’ Peachey’s address is engraved beneath the arms in large letters. At the foot of the page, in red ink, are three lines relating to ‘Harmoniums.’, with the second page headed by another two lines in red. The two central pages carry much information in small type.

[George Grote, English historian, author of the celebrated history of Greece.] Autograph Signature cut from a document.

Author: 
George Grote (1794-1871), English historian, author of the celebrated history of Greece
Grote
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£23.00
Grote

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Simply Grote's stylish Autograph Signature, 'G. Grote', on a 6 x 3 cm piece of light-grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. See Image.

[George Canning, Tory Prime Minister.] Autograph Signature, with those of John Sullivan and Lord Binning, cut from document.

Author: 
George Canning (1770-1827), Tory Prime Minister in 1827; John Sullivan (1749-1839), Under Secretary of State for War and the Colonies; Lord Binning
Canning
Publication details: 
Annotated in pencil: 'J. B. Apr. 14. 1817.'
£50.00
Canning

See Canning’s entry, with that of Sullivan, in the Oxford DNB, and Binning’s in the History of Parliament. The signatures (‘Geo. Canning / Binning / John Sullivan’) are in a column on one side of a 10 x 7 cm piece of watermarked laid paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight discoloration on reverse from the mount. The date is given in pencil on the front, and the back carries the following fragment of text: ‘It is to be a [...] / that every contribution [...] / is to be perfectly & precisely [...] / the names only of those [...] / contribute, (& not of those [...]’.

[Commodore George Johnstone, first Governor of West Florida.] Two Manuscript Letters to him from his bank Sir Robert Herries & Co., the first providing an 'account current' and the second reporting the delivery of a 'Chest of plate' to 'Mr. Maxwell'.

Author: 
Sir Robert Herries (c.1731-1815), Scottish merchant and founder of a London banking house [Commodore George Johnstone (1730-1787), Royal Navy officer and first Governor of West Florida. 1763-67]
Publication details: 
ONE: 19 February 1781. TWO: 1 October 1782. Both from St James’s Street, London.
£250.00

Two Manuscript Letters from the London banking house Robert Herries & Co. to the former Governor of West Florida George Johnstone, the first ‘with Account Current’ and the second regarding delivery of ‘the plate to Mr Maxwell. Both items in good condition, lightly aged and worn. ONE: 2pp, 8vo. On the inner sides of a bifolium, with the reverse of the second leaf bearing the address (with postmark) ‘Commodore Johnstone / M. P. / Portsmouth’, and endorsement ‘Sir Robert Harries [sic] & Co. / 19th Feby. 1781. / with Account Current. / Balance due the Governor / £697 .. 18/3’.

[The Earl of Rosebery, Liberal Prime Minister.] Letter in a Secretarial Hand, signed by him, regarding appointment to a post at the Treasury, with a dinner invitation to Sturgis and his wife (George Meredith’s daughter).

Author: 
The Earl of Rosebery, Liberal Prime Minister [Archibald Philip Primrose (1847-1929), 5th Earl of Rosebery; Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician]
Publication details: 
27 April 1895; on letterhead of The Durdans, Epsom.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. With mourning border. On first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, folded once for postage. All in a secretarial hand, except the signature ‘Rosebery’. Addressed to ‘My dear Sturgis’ - the item is from the autograph album of Sturgis’s wife, George Meredith’s daughter Marie Eveleen (‘Mariette’; 1871-1933). He regrets that he has ‘disposed of the vacancy of the secretaryship at the Treasury’. Had he not, he ‘would gladly have considered the claims of your candidate’. Ends: ‘I wonder if you and Mrs Sturgis would come and dine here some evening.’

[Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, leading late-Victorian and Edwardian playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Arthur W. Pinero') to the daughter of the writer George Meredith, regretting that he cannot visit her and her father at Box Hill.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), leading English late-Victorian and Edwardian playwright, after beginning as an actor in Sir Henry Irving’s company at the Lyceum Theatre, London [George Meredith]
Publication details: 
25 June 1891; on copperplate letterhead of 64 St John's Wood Road, London N.W.
£56.00

See his appreciative entry in the Oxford DNB, concluding with praise of his ‘undeniable’ achievements.2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition; folded once for postage, and with the blank reverse of the first leaf laid down on part of a leaf from the autograph album of the novelist George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (‘Mariette’; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Addressed to 'Miss Marie E. Meredith' and signed 'Arthur W. Pinero'. Begins: 'It is with a heavy heart that I tell you I am pledged, wit h Mrs.

[Walter Besant, novelist and historian.] Autograph Letter Signed to the novelist George Meredith, filled with praise and flattery in the hopes of getting him to reconsider his decision not to join the Council of the Incorporated Society of Authors.

Author: 
Sir Walter Besant (1836-1901), novelist and historian behind the creation of the People's Palace in East London [George Meredith (1828-1909), Victorian novelist]
Publication details: 
17 January 1889; on letterhead of the Incorporated Society of Authors, 4 Portugal Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, W.C. [London]
£90.00

See Besant’s entry, and that of Meredith, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. The letter begins: ‘Dear Mr Meredith / Sprigge [i.e. S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary of the Society] has shown me your letter of Jan. 1 wh: I shall keep as a literary curiosity. We want your name - the weight of your name - the very great weight of your name - on the Council - a purely ornamental body’. He is astonished that Meredith should state that his name ‘does not carry weight in England!!! This from the first man of letters in the country.

[Evelyn Laye, English actress and singer, star of stage and screen.] Autograph Signature added at foot of pencil sketch of her by Kenneth Sephton.

Author: 
Evelyn Laye [née Elsie Evelyn Lay] (1900-1996), English actress and singer, star of stage and screen, associated with Noel Coward [Kenneth Sephton]
Laye
Publication details: 
No date or place. [1950s]
£90.00
Laye

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. After a stint as one of George Edwardes’ Gaiety Girls, she made her name in a number of revues, her performance in the lead role of the 1929 Broadway production of ‘Bitter Sweet’ prompting Coward to praise her grace and charm and assurance, which he said provoked one of the most prolonged outbursts of cheering I have ever heard in the theatre. She was less successful in Hollywood, starring in the Romberg/Hammerstein musical ‘One Heavenly Night’ (1931), a failure for Samuel Goldwyn.

George Eliot [Mary Ann Evans; Mrs Lewes] Autograph Letter Signed MALewes to [George] Meredith, fellow novelist and poet., thanking Meredith for a photograph (shadow) of his son

Author: 
George Eliot [Mary Ann Evans; Mrs Lewes], novelist, poet, journalist, translator.
Publication details: 
Embossed address crossed out] The Priory | North Bank | Regents Park. Address in MS Shotter Mill | Petersfield | 6 May [1871].
£1,250.00

Two pages, 12mo, bifolium, fold marks, good condition, second leaf laid down on sl. larger part of an album leaf. See Image of second page.Text: Dear Mr. Meredith | Your boy is grand. Thanks for sending me his shadow. We are in retreat - have fled from the world for some months, while our house is being turned inside out. I imagine that you too enjoy a family solitude, & are sometimes well pleased to be secure against visitors. | That fine boy presupposes, I fancy, a fine mother. I hope that she retains health & strength to delight in her noble offshoot. | Always | Yours sincerely | MALewes.

[Alphonse Daudet, distinguished French author.] Affectionate Autograph Letter Signed (‘Alph Daudet’), in French, to ‘notre cher Mérédith’ [George Meredith], ‘grand romancier Anglais’, after visiting him at Box Hill.

Author: 
Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897), distinguished French author, noted for ‘Le Petit Chose’ and ‘Lettres de mon Moulin’ [Georges Meredith, Victorian novelist and poet]
Publication details: 
[1896.] ‘31 Rue de Bellechasse à Paris’.
£220.00

An excellent letter, linking leading nineteenth-century writers of the French and English nations. See Daudet's entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Meredith’s in the Oxford DNB. Daudet’s association with Meredith during his ‘first and only visit to England’ is described on pp.122-124 of the 1911 edition of J. A. Hammerton’s ‘George Meredith, his Life and Art’, which also quotes extensively from Madame Daudet’s account of the Englishman, referred to in the letter. 2pp, 16mo. Twenty-one lines of closely- and neatly-written text. On the rectos of the leaves of a bifolium.

[Paul Bourget, French novelist and poet.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Scottish author William Sharp?], sending new year greetings and expressing thanks for a translation of one of his poems.

Author: 
Paul Bourget [Paul Charles Joseph Bourget] (1852-1935), French novelist and poet, five-time Nobel Prize nominee [William Sharp (1855-1905), Scottish writer under the pseudonym 'Fiona Macleod']
Bourget
Publication details: 
1 January 1886; no place.
£450.00
Bourget

This item is from the autograph album of the author George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. It does not however appear to be addressed to Meredith, but rather to the author William Sharp (‘Fiona Macleod’). See the several references to Bourget in the first volume of W. F. Halloran’s edition of Sharp’s letters. 1p, 16mo. Laid down on part of gilt-edged leaf from Mrs Sturgis’s album. In good condition, folded once for postage.

[Prince Philippe d’Orléans, Comte de Paris, Orléanist claimant to the French throne as King Louis Philippe II or Philippe VII.] Autograph Note in English, in the third person, to the novelist George Meredith.

Author: 
Prince Philippe d’Orléans, Comte de Paris (Louis Philippe Albert (1838-1894), Count of Paris], Orléanist pretender to the throne of France from 1848 as King Louis Philippe II or Philippe VII
d'Orleans
Publication details: 
‘Claremont 31/5/63’. 31 May 1863; Claremont House, Esher, Surrey.
£100.00
d'Orleans

From the autograph album of the novelist George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), later the wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Queen Victoria lent Claremont House to the Count of Paris’s father Louis-Phillipe, after his abdication and flight from France. On one side of an 11 x 7.5 cm piece of grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Written in a neat hand, it reads: ‘With the compliments of the Count de Paris and his thanks for the books send [sic] by Mr. Meredith. / Claremont 31/5/63’.

[‘Nothing but death or the gout’: Lord Haldane [Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane], Lord Chancellor.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to ‘Mrs Sturgis’ [George Meredith’s daughter], about plans for visits, one preceding dinner with the king.

Author: 
Lord Haldane [Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane] (1856-1928), Scottish Liberal and Labour politician, philosopher, and Lord Chancellor
Publication details: 
ONE: 27 January [1901?]; 3 Whitehall Court [London]. TWO: 16 February [1904?]; on letterhead of 10 Old Square, Lincolns Inn, W.C. [London]
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both letters are in good condition, lightly aged, and both folded once. Both addressed to ‘Mrs Sturgis’, and both signed ‘R B Haldane’. The year in both cases is in the first decade of the twentieth century, but the last digit is hard to decipher. ONE: 27 January [1901?]. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium. He fears that he will not reach Leatherhead (where the Sturgis had a country house) before ‘the late train after dinner on Sat. the 21st.’ He plans to ‘send down a servant ahead’, and himself ‘come at bedtime’.

[Lord Morley [John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn], Liberal politician, author and newspaper editor.] Three Autograph Letters Signed to George Meredith, discussing his biography of Cromwell, friendship with Meredith, the state of France.

Author: 
Lord Morley [John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1838-1923)], Liberal politician, writer and editor of the Pall Mall Gazette [George Meredith, Victorian man of letters]
Publication details: 
ONE: 10 January 1894; on embossed House of Commons letterhead. TWO: 28 October 1898; 57 Elm Park Gardens, on cancelled letterhead of Hawarden Castle, Chester. THREE: 2 November 1900; on letterhead of The Croft, Hindhead, Surrey.
£150.00

See the entries on Morley and Meredith in the Oxford DNB. Morley’s entry states that during the 1860s he ‘widened his circle of acquaintances and secured an entrée into London's literary world. A new friend who made a particular impact was the novelist George Meredith.’ These three letters indicate the great affection felt by Morley for Meredith. They derive from the autograph album of the Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), later the wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician.

[James Payn, Victorian novelist, journalist and magazine editor.] Signed Autograph Inscription 'from your fathers friend', from the autograph album of George Meredith's daughter Mrs Sturgis.

Author: 
James Payn (1830-1898), Victorian novelist and journalist, editor of Chambers's Journal in Edinburgh and the Cornhill Magazine in London
Payn
Publication details: 
31 October 1891. No place.
£50.00
Payn

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the autograph album of the novelist George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (‘Mariette’; 1871-1933), later the wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. 1p, landscape 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on a part of a leaf from the album. Neatly written and centred on the page. Reads: ‘With kind regards / from your fathers friend / James Payn / Oct 31/91.’

[‘it rejoices our Household’: Linley Sambourne, ‘First Cartoonist’ with Punch magazine.] Autograph Letter Signed, congratulating George Meredith on receiving the Order of Merit.

Author: 
Linley Sambourne [Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910)], ‘First Cartoonist’ with Punch magazine, artist and illustrator [George Meredith, Victorian novelist and poet.]
Sambourne
Publication details: 
1 July 1905; on embossed letterhead of 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington N.W. [London]
£120.00
Sambourne

See the entries on Sambourne and Meredith in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and folded twice for postage. Addressed ‘To George Meredith Esquire / O.M.’ and signed ‘Linley Sambourne’ with the usual five underlinings. Begins: ‘Dear Mr Meredith, / I venture to write & let you know how very much it rejoices our Household that his majesty has confered [sic] on you the Order of Merit. I, amongst countless others have always felt the incompleteness of that most distinguished body with your name absent.

[Lord Goschen [1st Viscount Goschen], Chancellor of the Exchequer.] Autograph Letter Signed, as Chancellor of the University of Oxford, offering an honorary degree to ‘a most distinguished representative of English literature’ [George Meredith].

Author: 
Lord Goschen [George Joachim Goschen (1831-1907), 1st Viscount Goschen], Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1887-1892, who joined the Conservatives in 1893 [George Meredith, Victorian writer]
Publication details: 
26 April 1904. On letterhead of 38 Cadogan Square, S.W. [London]
£75.00

See the entries on Goschen and Meredith in the Oxford DNB. Meredith is not named, but the item is from the autograph album of his daughter Marie Eveleen (‘Mariette’; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. M. S. Gretton, in her 1926 biography of Meredith, states that he declined an honorary Oxford degree in 1899, ‘because the rule of attendance to receive it could not be waived’, but makes no mention of the offer in the present letter, which Meredith evidently declined. 2pp, 16mo. On first leaf of bifolium.

[George Hardinge, judge, poet, author and Member of Parliament.] Autograph Receipt Signed George Harding.

Author: 
George Hardinge (1743-1816) of Pyrton, Wiltshire, English judge, poet, author and Pittite Member of Parliament
Hardinge
Publication details: 
4 May 1792. Place not stated.
£56.00
Hardinge

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. The present item is on one side of a 21 x 8.5 cm piece of wove paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with one fold. Minor traces of two red wafers from previous mounting on blank reverse. Written out by Harding in his attractive hand (he was a stylish fellow: his obituary in the Annual Register stated that ‘no one had a finer choice of words and few a more graceful delivery’), the note reads: ‘Received May 4th.

[Grant Allen [Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen], British novelist and writer on science, born in Canada.] Heavily-revised Autograph Manuscript of part of essay on literary obscurity, with reference to George Meredith, presented to Meredith’s daughter.

Author: 
Grant Allen [Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen] (1848-1899), British novelist and writer on science, born in Canada, atheist and proponent of evolution [George Meredith, Victorian man of letters]
Publication details: 
Without place or date (1880s?).
£220.00

See the entries on Allen and Meredith in the Oxford DNB. On one side of 20 x 18 cm piece of paper, in good condition, with two vertical folds, laid down on 4to leaf of thick gilt-edged paper removed from an autograph album of Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), later the wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Sixteen lines of heavily-revised text, in Allen’s close hand, with interpolation by him in the right-hand margin. The place of publication of the text has not been traced, but it is highly complimentary to Meredith.

[Hall Caine, Victorian author.] Signed Autograph Inscription, 'With much admiration', to fellow-novelist George Meredith.

Author: 
Hall Caine [Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine] (1853-1931), hugely-popular Victorian author from the Isle of Man [George Meredith, distinguished man of letters]
Caine
Publication details: 
23 September 1891; on letterhead fo Hawthorns, near Keswick.
£120.00
Caine

A nice item linking one of late Victorian England’s most popular novelists with its most critically admired. See the entries for Caine and Meredith in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Laid down on part of a leaf from the autograph album of Meredith’s daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Reads: ‘To / George Meredith / With much admiration / Hall Caine / 23/Sept/91.’ See image.

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