GEORGIAN

1p, foolscap 8vo. On piece of wove paper with Britannia watermark. Lightly aged and in fair condition, but with some creasing and nicking at the head. Folded three times into a packet. A printed document, completed in manuscript.

Real Hornblower stuff: a breathless letter full of interesting content. The Oxford DNB entry for Sir Peter Parker the younger (1745-1814) gives the background: ‘in January 1812 he joined Sir Edward Pellew at Port Mahon, where he remained for the greater part of the year, attached to the in-shore squadron before Toulon. There he had more than one opportunity of distinguishing himself in a brilliant skirmish with the enemy's advanced ships.

HMS Beacon (launched in 1820 as HMS Meteor and renamed in 1832) was a survey ship (having been under her previous name a Hecla-class bomb vessel), sold in 1846. HMS Britannia, the third of the name, was launched in 1820. She took part in the Siege of Sebastopol, and later in 1854 was driven ashore on the Russian coast, thereafter serving as a training ship until being sold for breaking in 1869.

Thirty-six works by Cooke are listed between 1790 and 1843. The present item, along with its companion piece ‘Carte de la basse Egypte: dressée d'après les observations astronomiques de C. Nouet, et les reconnaissances des ingénieurs et officiers employés à l'Armée d'Orient’, appeared in ‘Planches du Voyage dans la Basse et la haute Egypte, par Vivant Denon’, published in Paris by P. Didot in 1802. Both have the engraved signature ‘John Cooke, sc, 50 Howland St.’ The dimensions of the map are approximately 31.5 x 23.5 cm.

A nice collection, which both by its content and arrangement indicates the huge esteem in which Nelson was held. The material is in good condition, lightly aged, most items laid down on leaves of gilt-edged paper extracted from an album. Mostly 12mo. This description is arranged under fifteen numbered entries. The manuscript material is at No. 14. ONE: Engraving. ‘Plan of a MANSION HOUSE, proposed for Lord NELSON.’ ‘Gent[leman’s]. Mag[azine]. Feb. 1799. Pt. I. p.97’. Engraved by Longmate from Arthur Brown.

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.

See his entry, and that of his mother, in the Oxford DNB, as well as James Lees-Milne?s biography ?The Bachelor Duke? (1991). 2pp, 12mo. With thin mourning border, and his monogram at top left of recto. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight discoloration to extremities on recto. Folded for postage.

An important provincial publication, predating The Times by half a century. See the Oxford DNB entry of the later proprietor Robert Goadby, and the article by Roger Guttridge, ?Dorset?s first newspaper?, in ?Dorset Life?, August 2019. 4pp, folio. On two leaves, which originally formed a bifolium, but have now become detached from one another. Aged and worn, with chipping to extremities and along central horizontal and vertical folds, resulting in occasional loss of text.

See his entry, and that of the recipient, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, foolscap 8vo. Laid-paper bifolium with ?I TAYLOR? Britannia watermark. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice into a packet. Reverse of second leaf docketed: ?12 March / Copy / to Philip Stephens Esqr / Duplicate - left at Santa Cruz / Triplicate. sent by the shop from Port Praya Bay 24th. March 89.? See the ODNB: ?When his brother Earl Cornwallis was appointed governor-general of Bengal, Cornwallis was sent out as commodore and commander-in-chief in the East Indies in October 1788?.

1p, foolscap 8vo. On an aged and worn piece of watermarked laid paper with some closed tears. Folded twice. Reads: ‘These are to Certify the Right Honble. the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. or whom else it may Concern that Mr. George Ross serv’d as Midshipman on Board His Majesty’s Ship Princess Amelia under my Command from the Twenty Seventh day of May 1778 to the Day of the Date hereof - During which Time he behaved with Diligence & Soberiety [sic] and always obedient to Command.

A nice piece of Edwardian trade ephemera. It would appear that W. B. Corsets were running a franchise scheme, providing suppliers with their catalogue and printing the franchisee's name on the back cover: little is to be discovered about either firm. No other copy traced. Hard to date: the corsets have an Edwardian feel, but some features of the illustrations may suggest a slightly later date. A 12mo stapled pamphlet, consisting of 20 pages on ten leaves of shiny paper: unnumbered front and back leaves, and pages on central eight leaves numbered 1-16.

Venn features in the Oxford DNB article on his father Henry Venn (1725-1797). In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Two rectangles cut from a letter, laid down on one side of a 14 x 5.5 cm piece of thicker paper. The first rectangle, 12.5 x 2.5 cm, carries the conclusion of the letter: ‘[...]ain are truly I am my dear / your ever faithful & affect Friend / J Venn’. At the foot of the slip, in pencil in a Victorian hand: ‘X (Son of “Complete duty of Man”). Beneath this slip is the second one, 9 x 1.5 cm, which gives the date: ‘Clapham 10 Sepr. 1810’.

This item is a nice artefact of one of England?s foremost public schools. The great rival of Eton, Harrow numbers among its alumni seven prime ministers, including Churchill. This notebook comprises lists of boys and their positions and classes in a particular term. The paper stock, watermark and handwriting all indicate that its composition is contemporaneous with the schooling of those named. It is the work of one person, almost certainly one of the school?s masters, and its loose and hurried nature indicate that it was intended for personal use, or as an aid in future writing.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that he 'was after Wellington the most respected soldier of his time in Britain, whose opinion carried immense weight both at home and abroad and not only on military matters'. 2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight creasing at head. Reads: ‘Sir George Murray has to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Wrights letter of the 4th.

An interesting collection of eleven items from the reign of George IV, giving a view of administration of immigration in London (and one item from Manchester, Number Six below). The Alien Office was created as a department of the Home Office to implement the Aliens Act 1793, which attempted to control the influx of foreign visitors and refugees caused by the turmoil in France. It ceased to exist following the Registration of Aliens Act 1836. created to control the influx of French refugees and suspected revolutionaries.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that ‘it fell to him in October 1805 to wake Lord Barham, as first lord of the Admiralty, with the news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson’. The present document is an interesting artefact in the history of data collection: Marsden’s important innovation, the system of information-gathering known as ‘Marsden Squares’ or ‘Marsden Square mapping’. 1p, folio, on recto of first leaf of bifolium, the second leaf being blank. Discoloration and wear along outer edge, and patches of light staining to leaves at head and foot.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that ‘it fell to him in October 1805 to wake Lord Barham, as first lord of the Admiralty, with the news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson’. The present document is an interesting artefact in the history of data collection: Marsden’s important innovation, the system of information-gathering known as ‘Marsden Squares’ or ‘Marsden Square mapping’. 1p, folio. Discoloration and wear along inner edge, otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice into a packet. All printed, except for Marsden’s firm signature.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that ‘it fell to him in October 1805 to wake Lord Barham, as first lord of the Admiralty, with the news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson’. 1p, folio. Discoloration and wear along gutter, otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice into a packet. On recto of first leaf of bifolium, the second leaf being blank, apart from one word of docketing in manuscript ‘Kemphaan’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that ‘it fell to him in October 1805 to wake Lord Barham, as first lord of the Admiralty, with the news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson’. 1p, folio. Discoloration and wear along gutter, with two leaves half detached from head; otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice into a packet. On recto of first leaf of bifolium, the second leaf being blank, apart from one word of docketing in manuscript ‘Staunch’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that ‘it fell to him in October 1805 to wake Lord Barham, as first lord of the Admiralty, with the news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson’. 1p, folio. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice into a packet. On recto of first leaf of bifolium, the second leaf being blank, apart from one word of docketing in manuscript ‘Steady’.

See his long obituary in the Gentleman’s Magazine, December 1847. This letter, which concerns the prize money for the capture of the 36-gun Danish fifth-rater the Venus, captured by Dashwood at the Battle of Copenhagen, 1807. 2pp, 4to, on the first leaf of a bifolium, the reverse of the second leaf is addressed, with two postmarks, to ‘James Sykes Esqe / Arundle St / London’, and docketed ‘C. Dashwood / 16 Feb 1808 / Recd 17 do’. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight damage to second leaf from breaking open of the wafer. Folded for postage.

This collection of 113 items, dating from the middle of the eighteenth century, relates to a notable London landmark. Until the end of the nineteenth century the Old South Sea House, headquarters of the South Sea Company (Company of Merchants Trading to the South Seas and other Parts of America), stood on the corner of Threadneedle Street and Bishopsgate Street. A young Charles Lamb worked here for nearly six months in 1792, and wrote the first of the ‘Essays of Elia’ about the place.

Bligh’s entry in the Oxford DNB does not note his service on HMS Wasp, to which he was appointed in October 1774. According to one authority the ship ‘saw service out of Passage, County Cork, Ireland from [November 1774]. In October 1775 [Bligh] brought sixty volunteers from Ireland into Plymouth, and in June 1776 sailed from Portsmouth to Plymouth with money for the dockyard artificers.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. While shunning the limelight, Newcastle was an influential figure in British politics; it was through his lobbying that his cousin Sir Henry Clinton was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in America during the American Revolution. According to Timothy Mowl's 1996 biography of Horace Walpole, Newcastle was 'famed for an unusually large penis', which he deployed on both sexes. On one side of a 12 x 19 piece of laid paper, with large triangle cut at top right (not near signature).

An interesting piece of Royal Navy and Napoleonic War ephemera, casting light on the implementation of Admiralty Prize Law. See the reference to the writer of this letter in the 1926 ‘Memorials of the family of Hurry of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and of America, Australia, and South Africa’: ‘Edmund Cobb [Hurry], born at Great Yarmouth, in 1762, admitted a freeman by birthright, 23rd of August, 1782. He settled as a merchant and banker, at Gosport, where he married a Miss Liddell.

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.

ONE: Printed document in the person of King George IV, containing a list of several hundred men appointed as justices of the peace, with extensive manuscript emendations and deletions in red and black ink. (A few names are added, but mostly the names of the dead are struck out.) Dated 16 November [1820] and signed in type ‘BATHURST.’ The first page is headed ‘Extracted from the Commission of the Peace for Northumberland.’ Aged and worn, with closed tear along fold-line of second leaf, the bottom corner of which is torn away, resulting in loss from around sixteen lines of text.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On recto of first leaf of bifolium. Addressed on reverse of second leaf: ‘123456 / [T. W. Naellz?] Esqr / Ambleside’. Aged and worn, with closed tears along folds, and damage to second leaf from breaking of seal. Reads: ‘Dear Sir / If you can send me Madame Cottin’s romance about Saladin you will much oblige me. / Yours truly / John Wilson’. Good large signature. The first edition of ‘The Saracen; Or, Matilda and Melek Adhel: A Crusade Romance, From the French of Madame Cottin, with an Historical Introduction, by J.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which notes his unpopularity at his college Christ’s, which terminated his fellowship in 1783. According to Fanny Burney he was ‘dullness itself’. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly aged and browned paper. Folded for postage. Signed ‘A. Shephard Plume’s Profr. / Camb.’ The recipient is not named.

All 18 items are in very good condition, with slight signs of age and wear. Items One and Eighteen are letters (Eighteen being a ‘triplicate’), the other sixteen items are accounts, with items Five to Eighteen relating to the firm of the New York merchant Lewis Simond. Items Seven, Nine and Twelve are copies (i.e. written out afresh but containing the same text) of Items Six, Eight and Eleven. ONE: Henry Hough (overseer of the Bounty Hall estate, Jamaica) to ‘William Fairclough / Green Park’: Autograph Letter Signed.