JOHN

See Gambier’s entry in the Oxford DNB. He served during capture of Charleston during American Revolutionary War, at the Glorious First of June, and commanded at Battle of Copenhagen and Battle of the Basque Roads. He was First Naval Lord, three times: 1795-1801, 1804-6 and 1807-8. Henslow was Surveyor to the Navy, 1784-1806, and Hope was Deputy Comptroller of the Navy, 1795-1801.

One page, 12mo, good condition, laid down on part of an album page (see note below). Text: My dear Con, | Many and many a Happy Christmas to you- & to all who love you - that's a wide wish I know. | Now - when & how do you & mama want me to come to yoy. I will be at your [underlined] orders, (provided they are peremptory-) any day after New Years day. | Thank mama for her kind note. | Ever affectionately Your | J Ruskin. Note: Item detached from Meredith family album containing letters from distinguished contemporaries such as Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Clemenceau, etc etc.

The University of Wyoming American Heritage Center has mounted a ‘traveling exhibit’ of watercolours and diaries from Kennet Were’s 1868-9 journey across the United States, a long account of which he published in the Gazette (‘Nine Months in the United States’) on his return. Were’s obituary in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association, vol. 48, (1916), p. 54, describes him as one of Sidmouth’s ‘most respected inhabitants’ and ‘the prime mover in movements for the improvement of the resort and a supporter of all good causes’, but does not refer to his artistic activities.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the papers of Arthur George Liddon Rogers (1864-1944), son and editor of the economist Thorold Rogers [James Edwin Thorold Rogers] (1823-1890), for information regarding whom see his entry in the Oxford DNB. A little grubby, but in fair condition, folded once. Good clear signature. Reads: ‘The 1st. of January 1926. / My dear Rogers, / Many thanks for your letter and information re the hostel. I have already brought it before The Bishop of St. David’s and hope that something may result. / With kind regards and best wishes.

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.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 13 x 8 cm piece of paper, cut from the end of a letter. The valediction, firmly written in Angerstein’s hand, reading: ‘I am / D. Sir / Your Mt Obt Sert / J J. Angerstein’. First initial of the signature lightly inked. In good condition, lightly aged.

Rather long for a carte de visite: 6 x 9 cm albumen print laid down on 6.5 x 10.5 cm card. In fair condition, lightly discoloured and worn. On the card beneath the photograph is a facsimile of Ruskin’s signature (‘John Ruskin’) and ‘ELLIOTT & FRY Copyright. 55. BAKER ST.’ Printed on the reverse is the royal crest and the firm’s address. A copy of the present item was offered by Sotheby’s in 2021, dated to 1867, with the claim that it was ‘signed on the mount’. That claim is erroneous: the signature to that copy is identical with the present lithographed one.

In good condition, lightly aged and creased. With fold for postage. Begins: ‘S.P.A.B. decided it could not take corporate action but I think A W G is doing so. We have therefore passed our papers to Mr Basil Oliver of 148 High St Kensington, who is the Hon Secty. Please write further information to him. / A R Powys.’ Note: Siblings included John Cowper Powys, Llewelyn Powys, Theodore Francis Powys and Philippa Powys.

Young was the author of a well-received nautical dictionary (1846; second ed. 1863). His authorship of the present letter is established from the ‘List of Presents / Received for the General Library’, in the Journal of the London Institution, November 1872: ‘MARITIME LAW. Reports of Maritime Law Cases, 1868. 8vo. From Arthur Young, Esq., Prop., Lond. Inst.’ (The work was compiled by Young himself.) Like the subject of this letter J. Z. Bell, Young hailed from Dundee, and since Bell's mother's maiden name was Anna Young, it may be that Young and Bell were kinsmen, perhaps cousins. 1p, 12mo.

See his entry in the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, and Conder’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. On the first leaf of a bifolium, the second addressed on the reverse, with postmark, to ‘Mr. Josh. Conder, / Bookseller, / Bucklersbury, / London.’ In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, spiked, folded for postage, and with damage and slight loss to the second leaf from the breaking of the wafer. Begins: ‘Learning lately from my friend Mr. Williams of Shrewsbury, [the future Sir John Bickerton Williams (1792-1855)] that you had engaged with him for his MS.

See his entry and that of Buckingham in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Twenty-six lines of text. Signed ‘John Kitto’ and addressed to ‘J. S. Buckingham Esq’.

Some of Williamson’s papers are held by Boston College. These two items are each 1p, 4to, on aged and worn paper, the first letter with blotting to signature. The two are held together by strip of paper mount. Written little more than a year before Williamson’s death. ONE: 16 October 1941. Begins: ‘Dear Miss Cruse, / I am delighted to have your letter of October 9th, and so glad that my epistle to you gave you any pleasure.’ He finds her books ‘very delightful’, and names ‘the other two’, of whose existence he was ignorant.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Elegant signature: 'J Enoch Powell.' He thanks him for his letter, and explains that, as '[t]he reprint or reproduction of the St Lawrence Jewry addresses is hanging fire’, he is enclosing ‘a photocopy of the first, which I think is the one you have in mind’. He hopes it will reach him ‘in time’. The recipient’s address at the foot of the letter reads: ‘H. V. Shooter, Esq. / 225 Makepeace Mansions, / Makepeace Ave, / N.6.’ At the head of the letter, presumably by the recipient: ‘From: The Rt.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11.5 x 9 cm plain post card with printed half penny stamp. In fair condition, lightly aged, with dog eared corner and spike hole (through part of address on one side and blank space at bottom left on message side). Addressed by Russell to ‘The Secretary / Society of Arts / John St / Adelphi / London / W.C.’ Reads: ‘Dunrozel, Haslemere. / In reply I beg to say I shd like the Journal “supplied in a bound volume at the conclusion of the Vol. in Nov.” / J. A. R. Russell’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The full text of Maurice’s lecture was printed posthumously on pp.268-299 of his ‘The Friendship of Books and Other Lectures’ (1880). Although reset, the text of the present six-page synopsis does not appear to differ from that printed on pp.328-333 of the ‘Notices of the Proceedings’, vol.2 (1854-1858). No other copy of this offprint has been traced. In very good condition, lightly aged. Drophead title: ‘Royal Institution of Great Britain. / Weekly Evening Meeting, / Friday, January 30, 1857. / William Pole, Esq. M.A. F.R.S.

1p, 4to. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper, with two small punch holes to one margin. Pencil notes at foot of page, with more notes in ink and pencil on the reverse. He begins: ‘I too a looking forward to my visit to Cheltenham on April 4th. I shall, as you say, be bringing my records with me which include both 78 r.p.m. and 33 1/3 r.p.m. As you say it will be necessary for me to have overnight accommodation and I should be grateful if you could make the booking.’ He gives details of the train he will be travelling on from Paddington, and asks where to go.

1p, landscape 12mo. Aged, worn and lightly discoloured. Laid down on larger leaf removed from an album. The text, all in Randolph’s hand, reads: ‘Pay to Jaqueline [sic] P. Taylor or bearer Fifty four Dollars 84 Cents / John Randolph of Roanoke / Decr. 22d. 1829. / To the Cashier of the Bank of Virginia’. Despite the name Jacqueline P. Taylor of Richmond City, Virginia, was male. See image.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Both addressed to ‘Dear Kempe’. ONE (7 September 1876): 1p, 12mo. Signed ‘St N’. He asks Kempe to get him ‘Mr Gladstone’s pamphlet’, and would also ‘like to have Mr. Evans’ recent work about Bosnia and Herzegovina, published I think by Longman.’ He ends with news of his plans, and asks in a postscript: ‘What do you say to the Revenue returns?’ TWO (8 September 1876): 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Signed ‘Stafford H. Northcote’. He will be travelling from Balmoral ‘to Sir J.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which quotes Gordon Cox as stating that Hullah was ‘the fountain head of music education in the nineteenth century’. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Handwriting and signature in a bold attractive hand. Reads: ‘Dear Mrs. Tail / I have the pleasure to send you a few lines fm Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, about the Bach Choir. / I am, dear Madam / Always Your’s [sic] Truly / John Hullah’.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Mr Keary, / Enclosed is for 1000th Number of Pearson’s Weekly. It is not what I wanted to do for you, but illness and other interruptions have spoiled my work for the last two months. So please reject if necessary. / Faithfully yours / J. J. Bell’.

See the entries in the Oxford DNB for his brother-in-law Sir Samuel Romilly and his son Peter Mark Roget, as well as Joshua Kendall’s 2008 biography of the latter, ‘The Man Who Made Lists’. From the Roget family papers. On one side of a 33 x 23 cm piece of laid paper.

See the entries in the Oxford DNB for his brother-in-law Sir Samuel Romilly and his son Peter Mark Roget, as well as Joshua Kendall’s 2008 biography of the latter, ‘The Man Who Made Lists’. From the Roget family papers, and certainly of later date than the two schoolboy commonplace books by Jean Roget offered separately. Roget is not named as the author, but the handwriting is his, and the spine bears the remains of a blue paper label with the words ‘MSS of the Rev. J. Ro[get]’ on it the same nineteenth-century hand (P. M. Roget's?) as the two commonplace books.

See the entries in the Oxford DNB for his brother-in-law Sir Samuel Romilly and his son Peter Mark Roget, as well as Joshua Kendall’s 2008 biography of the latter, ‘The Man Who Made Lists’. The two items were commenced while Roget was a fifteen-year-old schoolboy in Geneva, and nine years before his 1775 emigration to London. The two volumes of the same dimensions, but not uniform. Vol.1: 179pp, small 4to. Vol.2: 146pp, small 4to. Both tight and internally in good condition, lightly aged, in worn card wraps, each with a different stencilled design on the covers.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The present item is 2pp, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘John Rothenstein’.

Puzzlingly, considering his prominence in his field, Kinross is denied an entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. Each letter is 1p, landscape 12mo. One of the nine items has creasing to one edge, otherwise the collection is in good condition, with light age and wear.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The typed letter is in fair condition, aged and worn; the three cards are in very good condition. The signature on the four items is little more than a squiggle. Of the three cards, only Item Four below is addressed.

See the entries for Angus Wilson and Christina Foyle in the Oxford DNB. ‘Dolly’ is clearly the ‘Mrs. A. G. Dowdeswell’ who was secretary of the Johnson Society of London in the 70s and 80s (arranging luncheons) and named as a member of the Johnson Society at least as late as 1992. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018.

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.

Fortnightly publication, founded after the closure of Punch by Sir John Sorrell and the Punch cartoon editor Steve Way. It only lasted for eight months, and this and the second number are said to be scarce. (The only copies listed on JISC are at the deposit libraries.) A 28-page broadsheet. Folded twice. In good condition, on lightly-discoloured and worn paper. Whole of the front page taken up with striking image by Chris Riddle of Boris Yeltsin holding up a piece of paper on which he orders democracy, while dwarfed by a menacing Soviet bear.

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.