GHOST

[Wilfrid Pippet, member of noted Solihull family of ecclesiastical artists and designers.] Eleven signed original illustrations for Thomas Wright of Olney’s ‘Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire Ballads’ (including 'The Three Men of Yardley Chase').

Author: 
Wilfrid Pippet (1873?-1946?), illustrator and designer, member of Solihull family that worked with Gothic Revival firm Hardman & Co. [Thomas Wright (1859-1936) of Olney]
Pippet
Publication details: 
Three editions, Olney, [1924? and] 1925.
£450.00
Pippet

The Pippets of Solihull were a Roman Catholic family that worked closely on ecclesiastical designs with the Gothic Revival firm Hardman & Co (whose archives are held by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery). Wilfrid also collaborated with J. B. Trinick on the striking illustrations to A. E. Waite’s rosicrucian ‘Album of the Great Symbols of the Paths’ (1917-21; copy in the British Museum Department of Prints and Drawings). Eleven attractive illustrations in black ink (over pencil draft).

[Algernon Blackwood, celebrated ghost story writer.] Typed Card Signed to ‘Miss Cond’ [autograph collector Eileen Cond], thanking her for a card that has enchanted him.

Author: 
Algernon Blackwood [Algernon Henry Blackwood] (1869-1951) English ghost writer, one of the most celebrated and prolific in the history of the genre of supernatural fiction [Eileen Lond]
Blackwood
Publication details: 
15 December 1959; Savile Club, 69 Brook Street, W1 [London], with Paddington postmark.
£150.00
Blackwood

Blackwood’s entry in the Oxford DNB quotes H. P. Lovecraft’s opinion that he was the author of ‘some of the finest spectral literature of this or any age’. On post card with printed stamp. In good condition, lightly worn, on light-brown card. Addressed to ‘Miss Cond, / Deer Park, / Honiton.’ Apart from the signature, Blackwood has added quotation marks and dealt with two typing mistakes in autograph. Good firm signature. Reads: ‘Savile Club, 69 Brook St, W. 1.

[Drury Lane Ghost.] Carbon of typewritten letter from W. Macqueen-Pope to Jack Todd of New York, giving an account of the ghost at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which he has seen ‘on very many occasions’, and of his own association with the place.

Author: 
Drury Lane Ghost [Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London; Walter James Macqueen-Pope (1888-1960), theatre historian]
Publication details: 
16 December 1957. [London.]
£120.00

From the papers of theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope, who was for more than twenty years press representative for Drury Lane. (See his entry in the Oxford DNB.) The recipient is given by MP as ‘Jack Todd Esq / 446, Dimmick Street, Waterton, New York’. 2pp, 4to. 59 lines of text, single-spaced. An unsigned carbon copy, in fair condition, on lightly-aged and creasted cartridge paper.

[W. W. Jacobs, short story writer of tales of the sea and the macabre.] Autograph Note Signed to the commercial artist D. H. Denselow, thanking him for sending a letter with an illustration.

Author: 
W. W. Jacobs [William Wymark Jacobs] (1863-1943), English short-story writer, noted for his tales of the sea and ghost stories [Douglas Harold Hellier-Denselow, commercial artist]
Publication details: 
9 May 1899; 112 Manor Road, Stoke Newington, N [London].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The recipient, whose name Jacobs gives as ‘D. H. Denselow Esq’, was the commercial artist and autograph hunter Douglas Harold Hellier-Denselow, whose studio was in Gunnersbury, West London. The note reads: ‘Dear Mr. Denselow / I am much obliged for your letter & its accompanying illustration. I shall not follow your example & affix my eye to my autograph / Yours very truly / W. W. Jacobs’.

[Sabine Baring-Gould, ghost story writer, antiquarian and folklorist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('S. Baring Gould'), regarding the copyright of his 'Lives of the Saints'.

Author: 
Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), ghost story writer, antiquarian, folklorist and Anglican priest
Publication details: 
20 March 1897. Lew Trenchard, North Devon.
£56.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Neatly and closely written out. Good firm signature, not hyphenated (as opposed to his entry in the Oxford DNB). A short letter, begging with thanks to the unnamed recipient 'for a sight of your beautiful drawings.' He continues: 'I have nothing to do with the publication of “Lives of the SS” as I parted with copyright at the time they were just done.' The sixteen volumes of his 'Lives of the Saints' appeared between 1872 and 1877.

[A. C. Benson, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, poet, essayist and ghost story writer.] Autograph Signature ('Arthur Christopher Benson') on leaf from diary.

Author: 
A. C. Benson [Arthur Christopher Benson] (1862-1925), essayist, poet and ghost story writer, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, author of the words to 'Land of Hope and Glory'
Publication details: 
No place or date. [On leaf from 'The Meredith Birthday Book', published in London in 1898.]
£25.00

On 17 x 12 cm leaf of thickish paper, removed from 'The Meredith Birthday Book'. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Scratchy signature, underlined. In one of three printed boxes of red rules on one side of the leaf, the other side bearing quotations from George Meredith for the days 25 to 27 April.

[ Lord Combermere, soldier and diplomat whose ghost is said to haunt Combermere Abbey. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Combermere') to 'Wm. <Stranger?> Esq', regarding the political views of Bertie Williams Wynn and his desire to join the Carlton Club.

Author: 
Lord Combermere [ Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton (1773-1865), 1st Viscount Combermere ], soldier and diplomat, successively Commander in Chief in Ireland and India [ Combermere Abbey, Cheshire ]
Publication details: 
Combermere Abbey [ Cheshire ]. 25 February 1858.
£40.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, aged and worn. He writes to inform him that 'Mr Bertie Williams Wynn's political views are strictly Conservative & in accordance with those entertained by the great body of the Carlton Club'. Wnn is 'still anxious to become a Member of the Club', and Combermere gives his Shropshire address.

[ Arnold Bennett, English author. ] Typed Note Signed to the ghost story writer Frederick I Cowles, declining to act.

Author: 
Arnold Bennett (1867-1931), English author from the Staffordshire Potteries [ Frederick Ignatius Cowles (1900-1948), English author of supernatural fiction ]
Publication details: 
75 Cadogan Square, S.W.1. [ London ] 5 November 1930.
£65.00

S1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount on reverse. Addressed to 'Frederick I. Cowles, Esq., F.R.S.L., F.R.S.A., F.S.A.' Reads: 'Dear Sir, | In reply to your letter, I should have liked to oblige you but it is impossible for me to do so. The matter would require much more time than I have to spare.'

Typescript, marked 'Producer's Copy', of the play 'Ghost for Sale', with manuscript addition to ending.

Author: 
Ronald Jeans (1887-1973), British playwright over five decades
Publication details: 
In manuscript on front cover: 'Return to 40c Palace St: London S.W.1'. Undatd. From Pinker's Play Bureau, Talbot House, Arundel Street, Strand, London, WC2.
£220.00

147pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with rusty binding, in worn covers. In manuscript on the cover are the return address and 'Producer's Copy'. In the same hand is an addition to the ending: 'Judy | Then there is a ghost' | Geoffrey | Not a word to your father'. 'Who's Who in the Theatre' records a production of the play in 1938, but there is no reference to it on either OCLC WorldCat, or on COPAC.

[W. Macqueen-Pope, theatre manager and historian.] Typed Letter Signed 'W. Macqueen-Pope') to 'Mr O'Donnell' [the ghost hunter Elliott O'Donnell], regarding 'the Ghost' at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the possibility of a 'night vigil' there.

Author: 
W. Macqueen-Pope [Walter James Macqueen-Pope] (1888-1960), theatre manager and historian [Elliott O'Donnell (1872-1965), Irish ghost hunter]
Publication details: 
On his letterhead, 5-6 Coventry Street, W1. [London] 6 December 1951.
£56.00

1p., landscape 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with cropped margins. He begins by explaining that O'Donnell's letter has been sent to him 'from Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on the staff of which I am and whose whose [sic] historian I am too'. He continues: 'I fear a night vigil would be of little use so far as the Ghost is concerned. He is a day time visitant. Never yet has he been seen before 9 a.m. or after six p.m. Between those hours - frequently.' He refers O'Donnell to the 'full account' in his book 'Theatre Royal'.

Two Autograph Letters Signed (the first '(Hon) Donough O'Brien') from the genealogist Hon. Donough O'Brien, fourth son of Lord Inchiquin, to the ghost hunter Elliott O'Connell, the first regarding a genealogical table, the second arranging to meet.

Author: 
The Hon. Donough O’Brien (1879-1968), genealogist, fourth son of Edward Donough O'Brien, 14th Baron Inchiquin [Elliott O'Connell (1872-1965), ghost hunter]
Publication details: 
Letter One: on letterhead of 2 Upper Berkeley Street, Portman Square, W1 [London]. 25 February 1940. Letter Two: The Vicarage, Abingdon, Berkshire. 12 April 1948.
£120.00

Letter One: 1p., 12mo. Signed '(Hon) Donough O'Brien'. Good, on aged paper, with a couple of short closed tears at head. Addressed to 'Elliott O'Connell Esqre of The Red House, Guilsborough, Northants.' He is sending him a copy of his 'Genealogical Table of the Princes of Ireland', 'in a cardboard-roll to see': 'The descents are from the Common Ancestor, Milesius, King of Spain and Ireland'. The price is two pounds, and he believes that 'it is the first time that the 23 lines have been set out on one Chart and in their appropriate places of Geniture, and over so distant a period of time'.

Six Autograph Letters Signed (all 'Halifax'), and one secretarial letter, from Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax ('Lord Halifax') to Canon Edward James Russell, regarding the English Church Union and the evils of 'Undenominationalism'.

Author: 
Charles Lindley Wood (1839-1934), 2nd Viscount Halifax ['Lord Halifax'], President of English Church Union and collector of ghost stories [Rev. Edward James Russell (1843-1911), Canon of Manchester]
Publication details: 
1900 (2), 1907 (4) and 1908 (1). Four from Hickleton, Doncaster, one from Garrowby, Bishop Wilton, York, one from 79 Eaton Square, London, and one from Harrowgate.
£350.00

The seven letters total 23pp, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The third letter, written from Hickleton on 7 January 1907, is in a secretarial hand, Halifax being 'laid up with Influenza' and 'utterly good for nothing'; it carries an autograph postscript by Russell at the head of the first page. The first letter (14 July 1900) invites Russell to fill the 'vacancy on the list of Clerical members of our E.C.U. Council'; Russell's acceptance is acknowledged in the second, which also discusses charges of 'disloyalty'.

[Printed pamphlet.] The Golden Valley, Herefordshire, by Thomas Powell, Rector of Dorstone. [The Golden Valley: Its Parishes; Its Beauties; Its Salubrity; The Objects of Interest. A Trip for a Day.]

Author: 
Thomas Powell, Rector of Dorstone.
Thomas Powell, Rector of Dorstone.
Publication details: 
Hereford: Printed by Jakeman and Carver, Printers, Widemarsh Street, High Town, Hereford. [1880s]
£120.00
Thomas Powell, Rector of Dorstone.

12mo, [iv] + 48 pp. In original brown printed wraps. Text clear and complete. Aged and lightly worn, with slight staining to edges of wraps. Can be dated to the 1880s, as Powell died in 1886, and the latest date in the text is 1881. Preface: 'This little work professes to give merely a sketch of the objects of beauty and interest to be found in The Golden Valley. The Landscape-Painter, the Archaeologist, the Botanist, the Historian, will there find ample occupation.

The Haunted House translated from Plautus

Author: 
H.A. Strong
The Haunted House translated from Plautus
Publication details: 
London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1872.
£125.00
The Haunted House translated from Plautus

xxxviii.80pp., 8vo, printed red cloth, slight hinge strain, endpapers discoloured, cover has minor defects, but is attractive. A drama. Scarce: COPAC lists only the BL copy but WorldCat lists five other British repositories.

Urania; or, The Illuminé

Author: 
William Robert Spencer, playwright , poet and wit (DNB).
Publication details: 
London: Printed for J. Ridgway, 1802.
£225.00

Pp.[viii].38.[2], disbound, minor damage around stab-holes, foxing, mainly good condition. Scarce. INSCRIBED by the author (part in square brackets lost through trimming): "Countess of Harcourt - From the Au[thor]". A convict transport was presumably named after her ("Countess of Harcourt") - it mainly transported Irish convicts. Spencer was the source of "How noiseless falls the foot of time". "Urania" was "a burlesque of German ghost literature" (DNB).

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