KINGDOM

[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.

[National Council for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, London.] Printed pamphlet by NCADP Secretary Frank Dawtry: ‘Bulletin No. 26 / Public Opinion and the Death Penalty’.

Author: 
National Council for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, London; Frank Dawtry [Frank Dalmeny Dawtry] (1902-1968), General Secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers
Publication details: 
March 1948. National Council for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, 14 Victoria Street, London, SW1. ‘Printed for Edgar G. Dunstan & Co., Draycot House, Gordon Street, W.C.1, by The Hereford Times Ltd., London and Hereford.
£80.00

See Dawtry’s entry in the Oxford DNB. The present item is scarce: no copies traced on JISC or WorldCat. 4pp, 4to. Bifolium printed in small type. In fair condition, lightly aged, with creasing and nicking to both leaves at bottom outer edge.

[Anthrax in Blackburn, 1893.] Printed ‘Notice to Farmers, Butchers & Others’ by ‘Robert E. Fox, Town Clerk’ of the County Borough of Blackburn, on the ‘Danger of handling Carcases of Animals infected with Anthrax’.

Author: 
[Anthrax in Blackburn, 1893.] Robert E. Fox, Town Clerk of the County Borough of Blackburn
Publication details: 
‘Town Hall, Blackburn, / July, 1893.’
£65.00

On one side of 21 x 33 cm piece of wove paper. Somewhat creased, with one dogeared corner and a closed tear neatly repaired on reverse with archival tape, but in good overall condition. A typical piece of late-Victorian corporate typography. Headed (all in capitals): ‘County Borough of Blackburn. / Danger of handling / Carcases of Animals infected / with Anthrax.

[Walter H. Page, American ambassador to the United Kingdom during the First World War.] Typed Note Signed to C. Reginald Grundy [editor of 'The Connoisseur'], regretting his inability to attend a meeting at the Mansion House.

Author: 
Walter H. Page [Walter Hines Page] (1855-1918), journalist and publisher, American abassador to United Kingdom during First World War [Cecil Reginald Grundy (1870-1944), editor of 'The Connoisseur']
Publication details: 
22 May 1917; London, on embossed letterhead of the Embassy of the United States of America.
£80.00

1p, 4to. Rather aged, with some wear and discoloration at head and foot, and minor traces of mount on reverse. Four folds. Signed ‘Walter H. Page’ and addressed to ‘C. Reginald Grundy, Esq., / 1, Duke Street, / S. W. 1.’ The note reads: ‘Dear Sir: / I wish it had been possible for me to attend the meeting at the Mansion House to-day to further the establishment of local war museums, but I regret to say that it was impossible. / Yours very truly, / Walter H. Page’.

[King George III.] Seven examples of the king's signature on a page, six of them cut from parchment documents, the last two made while insane, with the last on a fragment of a warrant.

Author: 
King George III (1738-1820) of Great Britain and of Ireland, the mad monarch who lost America
George III
Publication details: 
One with annotated with date 28 March 1792, the others undated. None with place.
£1,250.00
George III

See image. It is hard to see how this collection could be bettered, the range of signatures from sanity to madness being of particular interest. All seven examples laid down on a folio leaf extracted from an album. The leaf is in poor condition, creased and with closed tears, but the parchment and paper bearing the signatures themselves in good condition, the six parchment items having the usual discoloration, but the example on paper in excellent condition.

[George III, King of England.] Four documents by King George III, all in his Autograph, giving detailed instructions (retinue, route, accommodation) for a journey into Hampshire, with reference to Fanny Burney and Sir William Pitt's Highfield House

Author: 
George III (1738-1820), King of England [Sir William Augustus Pitt of Highfield House; Fanny Burney (Madame D'Arblay)]
Publication details: 
For a journey taking in Egham, Basingstoke, Salisbury, Andover, and Sir William Pitt's Highfield House in Hampshire. Probably all written around the same time, between around 1786 and 1790.
£1,500.00

Four sets of travel instructions by George III, all in his autograph, none dated but seemingly relating to the same journey, taking in the Highfield House estate of General Sir William Augustus Pitt (c. 1728-1809), and also referring to Egham, Basingstoke, Winsdsor, Andover. A referring to the novelist Fanny Burney (1752-1840), narrows the date of at least one of the documents to between 1786 and 1790, the period during which Burney was a Keeper of the Robes. On four leaves, and totalling 5pp, ranging in size from 4to to long narrow 8vo (see descriptions below for dimensions).

[Walter H. Page, American ambassador to the United Kingdom during the First World War.] Typed Letter Signed ('Walter H. Page') to Lady Lloyd, regarding a letter she wants to be sent to Berlin about a missing British officer.

Author: 
Walter H. Page [Walter Hines Page] (1855-1918), journalist and publisher, American ambassador to the United Kingdom during the First World War
Publication details: 
2 November 1916. On letterhead of the Embassy of the United States, London.
£50.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged, with tissue labels from mount adhering to the reverse. Folded twice. Embossed letterhead with US seal. Salutation and valediction in Page's autograph, with addition of an exclamation mark. Addressed to 'Lady Lloyd, | 26, Great Cumberland Place, | W. | Enclosure.' He has had 'two moods' about the 'touching letter' that she is enclosing, but believes that 'the best thing to do is not to send it to Berlin'.

[King Hussein of Jordan.] Six original unpublished photographs [taken on his State Visit to the United Kingdom?], showing outside an English country house [his own, in Ascot?], posing with staff, security and police.

Author: 
King Hussein of Jordan [Hussein bin Talal] (1935-1999)
Publication details: 
[Ascot, England?] 1970s? Or during his 1966 state visit to the United Kingdom?
£180.00

Six colour photographic prints, each 8.5 x 12.5 cm, four matt and two glossy. The indicates that these photographs were not the work of a professional, and the relaxed attitude of all present suggests that they were meant as a souvenir. Highly unlikely to have been published.

[UK Parliament: the first Secret Session in House of Lords, 1916.] Twenty-seven items from papers of N. D. Bosworth Smith of Privy Council Office, including draft Order in Council, correspondence from Lords Crewe, Lansdowne, Morley, Haldane, Milner.

Author: 
UK Parliament: the first Secret Sessions, 1916 [House of Lords; Secret Sittings; N. D. Bosworth Smith of Privy Council Office; Lords Crewe, Lansdowne, Morley, Haldane, Milner, Duke of Devonshire
Publication details: 
Privy Council Office and other locations in London and elsewhere in Great Britain. 20 to 25 April 1916.
£1,350.00

An interesting collection of material relating to the preparations for the historic first Secret Session in the House of Lords, from the papers of Neville Digby Bosworth Smith (1886-1964) of the Privy Council Office. The material dates from the five days preceding 25 April 1916, when the House of Lords having voted in favour of the measure, it held a secret session to debate a motion regarding conscription following the passing of the Military Services Act 1916. (For a contemporary account of the parallel proceedings in the other house, see Sir C. P.

[Quo Tai-chi [Quo Taichi], Chinese Ambassador to London.] Autograph Signature ['Autograph | Quo Tai-chi'.

Author: 
Quo Tai-chi [Quo Taichi] (1888-1952), Kuomintang Chinese Ambassador to London, 1932-1940
Publication details: 
No date or place [1930s?].
£45.00

On 6 x 11 cm piece of paper, laid down on slightly larger piece of grey paper cut from an album. In good condition, lightly aged. The only writing, in a large firm hand, is 'Autograph | Quo Tai-chi'. At the head of the mount, in a contemporary hand: 'Quo-Tai-Chi (Dr) Chinese Ambassador in London'.

[Giuseppe Garibaldi, hero of the Risorgimento.] Autograph Signature ('G. Garibaldi').

Author: 
Giuseppe Garibaldi [Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi] (1807-1882), Italian general and nationalist, hero of the Risorgimento who played a central part in the unification of Italy
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£120.00

On irregular slip of thin paper, roughly 2 x 6 cm. Laid down on piece of paper cut from album. In fair condition, lightly aged. Bold signature ('G. Garibaldi') with wavy underlining, possibly cut from the valediction of a letter.

['M. de Wagner' [Jean-Emile de Wagner?], London Chargé d'Affaires of Kingdom of Württemberg.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wagner'), in English, to Sir John Coxe Hippisley, announcing his transfer to Berlin, and reporting on court news of King William I

Author: 
'M. de Wagner' [Jean-Emile de Wagner?], London Chargé d'Affaires of the Kingdom of Württemberg [Wurtemberg] [Sir John Coxe Hippisley (c.1747-1825), diplomat and politician; William I (1781-1864)]
Publication details: 
Berlin; 4 September 1820.
£180.00

The letter announces the transfer to Berlin of 'Monsieur de Wagner', London Chargé d'Affaires of the the Kingdom of Württemberg, resident at 42 Alpha Place, Regent's Park. The recipient Sir John Coxe Hippisley, whom George III had described as a 'busy man' and 'grand intriguer', had retired from public life two years previously, but was clearly still involved in diplomatic affairs. 2pp, 4to. Bifolium. Forty-one lines of neatly-written text, addressed to 'Sir J C Hippisley Bart. | Lower Grosvenor Street.' On aged and worn paper, with short closed tears at edges of folds.

[Cavour, Italian statesman and leading figure in the Risorgimento.] Autograph Letter Signed ('C Cavour'), in Italian, enclosing a letter for the Marquess of Azeglio, and inviting the recipient to contribute writing in a powerful 'organ of publicity'.

Author: 
Cavour [Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri] (1810-1861), Italian statesman, leading figure in the Risorgimento [Massimo Taparelli, Marquess of Azeglio (1798-1866)
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£250.00

1p, 12mo. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium, the rest being blank. In good condition, lightly aged, with a hole on a blank part of the paper at the foot of the first leaf. Neatly written and signed 'C. Cavour'. Cavour begins by taking up an offer by the unnamed recipient, by asking him to convey a letter to his rival Massimo Taparelli, Marquess of Azeglio (1798-1866), Prime Minister of Sardinia.

[Sir James Anderson, captain of SS Great Eastern.] Autograph Letter Signed to J. C. Parkinson of the Daily News, on his return from laying first transatlantic cable, complaining of 'amateur advisers'. With East Indian Railway, Special Tourist Ticket

Author: 
Sir James Anderson (1824-93), captain of SS Great Eastern during the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866 [Joseph Charles Parkinson; Isambard Kingdom Brunel]
Publication details: 
Anderson's letter: '”Great Eastern” | Augst. 24th. 1865'.
£450.00

Four items from the papers of Joseph Charles Parkinson (1833-1908), journalist, civil servant and social reformer, contributor to the Daily News, All the Year Round, Temple Bar, and associate of Dickens and Wilkie Collins. The material relates to Parkinson's book 'The Ocean Telegraph to India: A Narrative and a Diary' (1870). The four items are laid down on a leaf removed from an album, with typed explanatory notes at the head of both pages. ONE: ALS (signed 'James Anderson') from Anderson to Parkinson, 24 August 1865. 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium.

[William Ewart Gladstone ['The Grand Old Man'] (1809-1898), Liberal Prime Minister.]

Author: 
William Ewart Gladstone ['The Grand Old Man'] (1809-1898), Liberal Prime Minister
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£25.00

On 3 x 11 cm strip of paper, cut from the conclusion of a letter. In fair condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'I remain with sincere | respect | Yours truly | W E Gladstone', with the recipient's name at bottom left: 'Rev. J. Cumming'. Fragment of text on reverse: '[…] have no inconsiderable sympathies upon the tender subject […]'. Endorsed in pencil in a contemporary hand 'Member Newark'. Gladstone was Member of Parliament for Newark between 1833 and 1846.

[Apartheid in South Africa and British Foreign Office] Foreign Office briefing document titled 'The measures which have been taken to establish the policy of APARTHEID in South Africa and its effect on the European, Indian and African communities'.

Author: 
Apartheid in South Africa and the British Foreign Office [Information Research Department; Special Intelligence Service]
Publication details: 
[United Kingdom Foreign Office, Whitehall, London. Circa 1953.]
£280.00

From a batch of Foreign Office documents, including material from the Information Research Department (for whose activities, financed from the budget of the Special Intelligence Service, otherwise MI6, see The Times, 17 August 1995; and also Michael Cullis's obituary of Sir John Peck in the Independent, 20 January 1995). Duplicated typescript. Headed: '(g) The measures which have been taken to establish the policy of APARTHEID in South Africa and its effect on the European, Indian and African communities.' 10pp, foolscap 8vo. Pagination on pp.2-10 preceded by '(g)'.

[Ivan Maisky, Soviet Union Ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Second World War.] Autograph Signature ('I. Maisky').

Author: 
Ivan Maisky [Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky] (1884-1975), Soviet Union Ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Second World War
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£100.00

On 6 x 7.5 cm slip of paper, laid down on a piece of card. In good condition, lightly aged. A good firm and large signature, reading 'I. Maisky'.

[ Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India. ] Autograph Signature ('Albert Edward') on part of letter.

Author: 
Edward VII (1841-1910), King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£45.00

On 5.5 x 10 cm. piece of paper cut from the conclusion of a letter. Lightly aged and ruckled, with closed tear repaired on reverse with archival tape. Traces of previous mount on reverse. Reads: 'Believe me, | Yrs [last word underlined] very sincerely | Albert Edward'.

[ Weeden Butler, cleric, author and schoolmaster. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Weeden Butler') to Messrs Nichols and Son, printers and publishers of the Gentleman's Magazine, asking whether they intend to publish a review he has sent them.

Author: 
Weeden Butler the younger (1773-1831), English cleric, author and schoolmaster in Chelsea who taught Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Publication details: 
Chelsea, 26 July 1821.
£180.00

1p., 8vo. Bifolium addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Messrs: Nichols & son, | No. 26, | Parliament Street, | Westminster.' (Delivered by hand, with word 'Wait.' at bottom left of address.) In fair condition, lightly aged. Written in a bold hand, the letter reads: 'Gentlemen, | I lately sent you by post a careful review of Baron D'Ordre's “Exiles of Parga,” & offered to correct a proof for you. Have you any intention to print the same?

[ Whitelaw Reid, American Ambassador to the United Kingdom. ] Typed Letter Signed to Col. H. V. Higgins of the Grand Opera Syndicate, Covent Garden, comparing his opera box unfavourably with the one he had in Paris.

Author: 
Whitelaw Reid (1837-1912), proprietor of the New York Tribune, historian, Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 1892 election, American Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Dorchester House, Park Lane, W. [ London ] 5 September 1905.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. He is sending a copy of a note his secretary has 'just sent about an opera box for the next season. | The box we were able to get this year contrasted so poorly with my old "loge entre les colonnes" in Paris that I am afraid my personal tastes would be about as well satisfied without one!' He feels sure that 'with this long notice and with a friendly word' from Higgins, 'something better can be done'. One of the grandest residences in London, Dorchester House was rented by Reid as the American Embassy from 1905.

[ Joseph von Linden, senior minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Joseph Linden') to his 'sister' ['the Baroness de Linden'), regarding a visit by 'Edmond and Eugenie'.

Author: 
Joseph von Linden [ Joseph Franz Peter Freiherr von Linden ] (1804-1895), senior minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg
Publication details: 
No place. 'Friday' [ dated in another hand 'July 1864' ].
£120.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. In a close, disciplined hand. Reads: 'My dear Sister | Edmond and Eugenie will pass this evening by us. If the preparations of your travel do not trouble you too much, we should be extremely glad to see you also in our house with your dear children - at half past 6 o'clock'. Note in a contemporary hand at foot: 'July 1864 | To the Baroness de Linden | from the Minister her Brother in law'.

[ Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns, and the Church of Ireland, 1868. ] The Speech of the Lord Chancellor delivered in the House of Lords, June 29th, 1868, on the Motion for the Second Reading of a Bill, [...]

Author: 
[ Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819-1885), Irish politician, twice Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom; the Church of Ireland; National Protestant Union ]
Publication details: 
Published for the National Protestant Union. London: Seeley & Halliday, Fleet Street. 1868.
£80.00

The full title reads: 'The Speech of the Lord Chancellor delivered in the House of Lords, June 29th, 1868, on the Motion for the Second Reading of a Bill, intituled An Act to prevent, for a limited Time, new Appointments in the Church of Ireland, and to restrain, for the same Period, in certain respects, the Proceedings of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for Ireland.' 47 + [1]pp., 8vo. Stitched and unbound. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with central vertical fold. The final page carries a list of 'Publications issued by the National Protestant Union'.

[ The Meteorological Office, London. ] 57 printed Daily Weather Reports, each containing Weather Chart; Forecasts; General Situation; General Remarks on the Weather over Europe; and full-page table of columns.

Author: 
Meteorological Office, London [ R. H. Scott, Secretary ]
Publication details: 
[ Issued by the Meteorological Office, 63, Victoria Street, London. ] July and August 1891.
£150.00

The 57 items are uniform in layout, printed in lithograph on both sides of a 31 x 50 cm piece of paper, with two panels on each side, as intended to be folded into a 31 x 25 cm bifolium. The collection is in variable condition, on aged and worn paper, with all text intact. The text includes a large amount of facsimile handwriting. The first page of the intended bifolium is headed 'DAILY WEATHER REPORT. | for [date] 1891. | Issued by the Meteorological Office, 63, Victoria Street, London. R. H.

[ First World War printed pamphlet. ] The National Party to promote Reform, Union and Defence. A Statement of Policy.

Author: 
The National Party, London [ First World War ]
Publication details: 
Published by The Provisional Committee of The National Party, at 22, King Street, St. James', London, S.W.1. [1917]
£150.00

15pp., 8vo. Stapled. With stamp on cover of the 'Secretary – National Party, | 23 Kilvert's Buildings, | Withy Grove, | Manchester.' In good condition, lightly aged and worn. List at front of 27 'Members of both Houses of Parliament and other public men' who issued the 'original Manifesto', from 'Colonel Lord Ampthill, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.' to 'Lt.-Col. Lord Stafford, D.S.O.' Headings include 'Failure of the old Party System' and 'Aims of the National Party'.

[ Royal Accounts ]Two MS. account books, both in German, of the income and expenditure in Hanover of Princess Adelaide ('Königin Adelheid von Großbritannien'), widow of the English King William IV. With reference by her housekeeper inserted.

Author: 
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (1792-1849), Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of Hanover, consort of King William IV
Publication details: 
The two account books are dated April 1844 to 1845; April 1847 to 1848.
£900.00

The two volumes folio, 20 pp, and folio, 18 pp. Both in the same neat hand and in uniform original bindings of green boards, with green cloth spines and white decoratively-cut paper labels on front covers, each carrying a description of the contents addressed to 'Königin Adelheid von Großbritannien'. The first account book (1844-1845) has part of the second leaf (pp.2-3) torn away; and the second (1847-1848) is lacking the fourth leaf (pp.9-10).

[ 'The Need of a National Party', 1890-1920. ] Material from the papers of J. Cuming Walters, editor of Manchester City News, regarding the formation of a national party, including drafts of autograph letctures by him, pamphlet, cuttings, proofs.

Author: 
[ National Party, United Kingdom, 1890-1921 [ John Cuming Walters (1863-1933), editor of the Manchester City News, 1906-1932, journalist and author; Winston Churchill ]
Publication details: 
Manchester and London. Between 1890 and 1920.
£280.00

A useful background guide is Geoffrey Russell Searle's 'Country before Party: Coalition and the Idea of "National Government' in Modern Britain, 1885-1987' (London, 1995). As the manuscripts in this collection indicate, Cuming Walters cherished the idea of a national party from the 1890s, and he was able to re-use material from that period on the formation of the National Party in 1920 (not to be confused with the party of the same name, a pamphlet relating to which is present, dating from 1917).

[ Princess Helena, daughter of Queen Victoria. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Helena') to 'Mrs. Lowther'

Author: 
Princess Helena [ Helena Augusta Victoria; Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein by marriage ] (1846-1923), daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Clouds, Salisbury. 8 April 1891.
£65.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. She agrees to give her 'name as Patroness' to Mrs Lowther's 'theatricals', but 'cannot promise to be present at them as I have so very many engagements in May'. She concludes by noting the weather: 'glorious sunshine & cloudless blue sky'.

[ John Masefield, Poet Laureate. ] Autograph Signature ('J. Masefield.').

Author: 
John Masefield (1878-1867), Poet Laureate from 1930 to his death
Publication details: 
Date and place not stated.
£20.00

On 7 x 11 cm slip of paper, torn from the end of a letter. In fair condition, lightly aged, with minor staining to one corner. Reads, with top line slightly cropped: 'I may have more leisure. | Yours sincerely, | J. Masefield.'

[ King William IV, as Lord High Admiral. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('William') to Sir James Cockburn, Inspector General of the Royal Marines, regarding 'the proper mode of depositing the various Colours' used by the different divisions.

Author: 
King William IV (1765-1837) of the United Kingdom, King of Hanover [ Sir James Cockburn (1771-1852), 9th Baronet, Inspector General of the Royal Marines ]
Publication details: 
Admiralty [ London ]. 16 August 1828.
£250.00

2pp., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Cockburn is not named as the recipient, but the item is from his papers. There has been some difficulty regarding 'the proper mode of depositing the various Colours that have been in use with the different Divisions of the Royal Marines', but William (who was at the time the Duke of Clarence) knows 'that these Colours belong to His Majesty and not as in Departments to the Colonels'. He gives instructions, 'so that they may be placed in the Chapel of the Royal Hospital' at Greenwich, and gives his reason for doing so.

[ Offprint. ] Library Association of the United Kingdom, 1891. Report on Library Appliances.

Author: 
James D. Brown [ James Duff Brown; Library Association of the United Kingdom ]
Publication details: 
Dated 'August 19th, 1891.' [ John Bale & Sons, Steam Printers, 87-89, Great Titchfield Street, London. ]
£100.00

17pp., 8vo. Unbound. In fair condition, on aged paper with slight rusting to staple. Addressed 'To the Council of the Library Association of the United Kingdom'. The author explains that for the purposes of his report 'the definition of library appliances is mechanical contrivances designed to carry on or facilitate the work of a library, but excluding such as are connected with structural arrangements'. The only copy on either OCLC WorldCat or COPAC at the British Library and University of Bristol.

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