LEOPOLD

[King Leopold III and Eton.] Typed Letter Signed (‘Lilian de Belgique’), in French, from Princess Lilian of Belgium to Lord Monckton, discussing her late husband’s connection with Eton, and the 'émouvant hommage' the college has just paid to him.

Author: 
Princess Lilian of Belgium [née Mary Lilian Baels] (1916-2002), Princess of Réthy, second wife of King Leopold III [Lord Monckton [Gilbert Walter Riversdale Monckton (1916-2006), 2nd Viscount]]
Publication details: 
21 February 1988; on letterhead of the ‘Domaine d’Argenteuil’.
£56.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. The typed text of the letter is in French, but the following autograph text is in English: the address (‘Dear Lord Monckton,’), the valediction (‘With the hope of seeing you here soon! | Liliane de Belgique’), and the dating (‘21st. of February 1988’). She has been deeply touched by the ‘émouvant hommage’ which, thanks to Monckton, Eton has just rendered to the memory of the king. Monckton is aware ‘combien celui-ci était resté attaché à son ancien collège, auquel le liaient tant de souvenirs, et dont l’empreinte a marqué toute sa vie’.

[Leo Genn, British stage and screen actor.] Typed Letter Signed ('Leo Genn') to 'Miss Grundy', on his forthcoming film 'Green for Danger', his preference for the theatre over the screen, and his playing 'strong stuff'.

Author: 
Leo Genn [Leopold John Genn] (1905-1978), English stage and screen actor
Publication details: 
'c/o Two Cities Films, | 15, Hanover Square, | London, W.1.' June 1946.
£50.00

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with binder holes in one margin. Folded once. He apologises for not answering her letter sooner, but he has been 'buried in a film studio for the past four months'. She will know that the film he is working on is 'Green for Danger'. The film has a planned autumn release.

[Luigi Agnesi [Louis Ferdinand Leopold Agniez], Belgian operatic bass-baritone.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Agnesi'), in French, regarding charitable work, and declaring, 'Les malheureux sont mes Amis'.

Author: 
Luigi Agnesi [Louis Ferdinand Leopold Agniez] (1833-1875), Belgian operatic bass-baritone, conductor and composer who performed in London at the Royal Opera House and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Publication details: 
London. September 1874.
£45.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, folded twice. An elegantly-expressed sentiment: 'Mademoiselle, | Les malheureux sont mes Amis, et l'oeuvre à la quelle vous vous interressez à [sic] toutes mes sympathies; malheureusement je suis si peu de choses que je ne puis vous témoigner que mon bon vouloir a l'oeuvre à la quelle vous vous interressez [sic]si vivement.'

[ Leopold Hartley Grindon, Manchester botanist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Leo. H. Grindon'), explaining his aims in founding the 'Manchester Field-Naturalists' Society'.

Author: 
L. H. Grindon [ Leopold Hartley Grindon ] (1818-1904), Lancashire botanist whose collections served as the basis of the Herbarium at Manchester Museum on its foundation in 1860
Publication details: 
20 Cecil Street, Greenheys, Manchester. 17 December 1885.
£40.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. The recipient is not named. Grindon's handwriting is difficult and the reading is in parts tentative. The letter begins with a references to 'The Secretary of our “Manchester Field-Naturalists' Society', who appears to have placed a communication from the recipient in Grindon's hands. Grindon agrees to bring the matter 'very distinctly before our members', but explains that there are difficulties. 'Our members reside, almost wholly, in the town, or, if a few miles away, they come into town by train by 9 a.m. Or so, & remain till eve.

[ General Sir Robert Gardiner of the Royal Artillery. ] Autograph Signed Certificate ('Robert Gardiner'), with his seal of office in black wax, appointing 'The Revd Dr. Rudge [...] Chaplain to His Royal Highness The Prince Leopold'.

Author: 
General Sir Robert Gardiner (1781-1864), Royal Artillery, Master Gunner, St James's Park, and Principal Equerry to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1816-1831 [ James Rudge of Limehouse ]
Publication details: 
Claremont. 6 August 1820.
£180.00

1p., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The document is signed at the end 'Robert Gardiner', beside his seal in black wax. It reads: 'These are to certify, that The Revd Dr. Rudge, is appointed Chaplain to His Royal Highness The Prince Leopold – to have, hold and enjoy the said office, together with all rights, privileges and advantages, thereunto belonging. | Claremont, August the Sixth – One thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty. | Robert Gardiner'.

[ William John Charles Pitcher Wilhelm, costume designer.] Illustrations of costumes for the Empire Theatre ballet 'The Press' (1898), each representing a Fleet Street newspaper.

Author: 
[ William John Charles Pitcher Wilhelm (1858-1925), costume and theatre designer; Empire Theatre, London; Leopold Wenzel; Katti Lanner; Dame Adeline Genée (1878-1970), ballet dancer; Fleet Street ]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [ Ballet performed at the Empire Theatre, London in 1898.]
£50.00

In black and white on 34 x 23 cm shiny art paper. Possibly extracted from an unnamed periodical. Lightly aged and worn, and ruckled from being laid down on paper backing. Tiny chip lost at foot. Sixteen female figures are shown, in costumes representing newspapers from the 'Daily Mail' to 'The Sketch', and including 'Mdlle. Zangfretta as Fashion', around a central representation of a scene from the ballet, featuring Adeline Genée as the Liberty of the Press.

[ Lord Odo Russell. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('ODO Russell') to Rev. Frederic Cox, regarding arrangements to meet to 'talk over matters in connexion with my marriage on the 5th. of May'.

Author: 
Lord Odo Russell [ Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill ] (1829-1884), British diplomat, first British Ambassador to the German Empire [ Rev. Frederick Cox (1821-1906), Dean of Hobart ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 2 Audley Square, May Fair, W. [ London ] 'Wednesday' [ 1868 ].
£35.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Aged and worn, with glue stains and slight damage to second leaf from mounting. At the time of writing Cox was curate at Wantage. Russell begins the letter by stating that he will be visiting his mother and will not 'return to Watford before Friday night. - On Saturday morning I hope I may have the good fortune of finding you at home to talk over matters in connexion with my marriage on the 5th. of May.' (to Lady Emily Villiers, daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon). He thanks him for taking his room at the Clarendon Hotel, before concluding.

[ Princess Adélaïde of Orléans. ] Her seal in black wax, on part of envelope addressed in her autograph to Leopold II, King of Belgium.

Author: 
Princess Adélaïde of Orléans [ Louise Marie Adélaïde Eugénie d'Orléans ] (1777-1847), French aristocrat of the House of Bourbon [ Leopold II, King of Belgium ]
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£45.00

6.5 x 10 cm piece cut from envelope, with the seal (roughly 1 x 1.5 cm) in black wax (2.5 cm in diameter) attached on a strip of paper. The seal a firm impression in good condition and the envelope fragment in fair condition, on aged paper, strip carrying typewriten caption laid down at foot. The Princess's autograph is unsigned, and simply reads: 'À mon cher petit Léopold.'

[Leopold Lowenstam, English-based Dutch etcher.] Business letterbook, containing copies of several hundreds of his letters, over a twenty year period, to 72 individuals and institutions, including patrons and artists at home and abroad.

Author: 
Leopold Lowenstam [Leopold Henry Lowenstam] (1842-1898), Dutch etcher working in England [Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema; Rosa Bonheur; Jozef Israels; Robert Dowling]
Publication details: 
Most earlier letters from 9 Titchfield Terrace, Regents Park [London]; most later letters from Woodcroft, Three Bridges [Sussex]. Dating from between 1877 and 1897.
£1,500.00

380pp., 4to. Carbon copies on rectos of numbered leaves. Preceded by an eleven-leaf thumb index (not complete). In original brown leather half-binding, marbled boards and endpapers. Internally sound and tight, in heavily-worn binding lacking spine. At the heart of the correspondence are eight letters to the artist with whom Lowenstam is most of all associated, Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema. These date from the 1890s, and are all addressed to 'My dear Tadema'.

[ Frederick Samuel Boas, scholar of the drama. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('F. S. Boas') to L. E. Berman, proprietor of the Royalty Theatre, regarding 'the two versions of Faust produced by Charles Kean & Samuel Phelps'.

Author: 
F. S. Boas [ Frederick Samuel Boas (1862-1957) ], English literary critic and scholar of the drama [ Leopold Edward Berman (1877-1946), proprietor of the Royalty Theatre, Lonndon ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, S.W.1. [ London ]. 26 February 1932.
£35.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition. In stamped envelope addressed to Boas at the Royalty Theatre, Dean Street. He thanks Berman for drawing his attention to the two versions of the play, adding: 'I feel that in this Goethe Centenary year, when the Urfaust is so rightly being performed, some English manager should put Marlowe's play on the stage for a few performances.'

Part of an Autograph Letter, Third Person, to Richard Dighton, artist.

Author: 
[Prince of Wales; Albert Edward; Edward VII] W.Knollys, Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales
Letter, Third Person, to Richard Dighton, artist.
Publication details: 
Place and date not present.
£45.00
Letter, Third Person, to Richard Dighton, artist.

Two pages, 12mo, one stain, fold marks, sl. grubby, text clear, as follows: The Prince of Wales has at the same time desired Sir W. Knollys to tell My Dighton that H.R.H. thinks the likeness of the King of the Belgians would be much improved if he could make the nose a little longer and the beard a little darker -- The portrait shall therefore remain in Sir W. Knollys's room should nr Dighton wish to take it away with the view of making the improvements which the Prince has suggested. A list of names in pencil (Dighton's hand) has been added, including Thomas Baring and Combermere.

Autograph Signatures of seven leading figures in Victorian horseracing: 'Mornington Cannon', 'Thomas Cannon', 'Sam Darling', 'C. Morton', 'Roderic Owen', 'Leopold de Rothschild' and 'C Tattersall'.

Author: 
Herbert Mornington Cannon (1873-1962); Thomas Cannon Snr (1846-1917); Samuel Darling (1852-1921); Charles Morton (1855-1936); Roderic Owen (1856-1896); Leopold de Rothschild (1845-1917); C. Tattersall
Publication details: 
Undated [1890s?]
£225.00

The seven signatures are each cut from a letter. They are mounted in two columns on a page of grey paper, roughly 22.5 x 27.5 cm, removed from an autograph album. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper with occasional light spotting. At the head of the page is the word 'Horseman', with each individuals occupation in the same hand on the mount beneath his autograph. One (2.5 x 11 cm): '<...> delivery? | Yrs truly | Roderic Owen' ['Gentleman rider']. Two (5.5 x 11.5 cm): '<...> Yrs truly | Sam Darling' ['trainer']. Three (3.5 x 12 cm): '<...> Yours very sincerely | C. Morton' ['Trainer'].

Letter, in a secretarial hand, signed by Cuvier ('Bn G Cuvier'), to 'Mr. Raynal, Proviseur du college Royal de Nismes'. With engraved portrait of Cuvier by T. Richomme, from a drawing by 'Mme Lizinka de Mirbel'.

Author: 
Baron Georges Cuvier [Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier] (1769-1832), French naturalist [Theodore Richomme; Aimée Zoe Lizinka de Mirbel]
Publication details: 
Letter of 2 April 1822; on letterhead of the Conseil royal de l'Instruction publique. Engraving undated (circa 1840?).
£225.00

Letter: Folio (30.5 x 20 cm), 1 p. Bifolium, with text on recto of first leaf and address (with several postmarks) on reverse of second. Five lines. Text clear and complete, with good clear signature. Fair, on aged and lightly-creased paper, with 1.5 cm closed tear in top left-hand corner (not affecting text). The 'Objet de la lettre' is given as 'Envoi d'un Brevet de Pension'. The pension will be paid 'par la Caisse d'Amortissement'. Engraving: Original, on paper 24 x 15.5 cm. Captioned 'G. CUVIER.' A good clear impression on grubby, spotted and lightly-creased paper.

Autograph letter signed to Donald Currie, shipowner.

Author: 
Lynedoch Gardiner
Publication details: 
21/03/79
£35.00

Groom in Waiting and Equerry to Queen Victoria (d.1897). Gardiner says that Currie's arrangments for the King of the Belgians cannot be bettered. He will order the carriages for 11 and meet at Westminster Bridge. Currie has added a list of names, English and Belgian, presumably of people involved in the visit.

Syndicate content