LONDON

Only a handful of letters (or less) by the artist, aesthete and murderer Thomas Griffiths Wainewright survive (None yet traced!). He holds the dubious distinction of being the first English murderer to employ strychnine; with his wife's help he first murdered her half-sister and then his uncle. Artist, essayist, connoisseur and dandy, friend of Charles Lamb and patron of William Blake, Wainewright is a fascinating and elusive figure who inspired Oscar Wilde, whose study of Wainewright, the essay 'Pen, Pencil and Poison', first appeared in 1889, cribbed from the introduction to W.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight rust staining at head from paperclip. Reads: 'Dear C. B/ | Choice of two photographs with pleasure that you so flatter me as to want one. | Thought the enclosed cuttings from the NY Daily Mirror would interest you. Dont trouble to retain them. | Yours | George.' Wood was a screen and stage actor and comedian. A dwarf, he usually performed as a child. He wrote a weekly column in The Stage, and was a stalwart of the Savage Club. He is mentioned by John Lennon in the Beatles song 'Dig It'.

60pp., 8vo. In green printed wraps, the front cover carrying a dense illustration of scenes from various songs ('Kitty of Coleraine', 'Angel's Whisper', 'The Irish Wedding', 'Donnybrooke Fair', 'Low-Back'd Car' and 'The Wake'), with Tom Moore at the head, printed by Richard Born from a drawing by W. E. Earl. Title on cover differs slightly: '100 Songs of Ireland | Music & Words | The Popular Edition'. Eight-page publishers' catalogue bound in at rear. In fair condition, on aged paper, in aged and worn wraps.

First two letters 1p., 4to; third letter 2pp., 4to. All three signed 'John Cartier'. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. In the last letter he states that he has received the 'envelopes', and has 'distributed them round to various singers and musicians who will eventually, I am sure, be sending you a photograph with best wishes'. He apologises for being unable to invite him to visit: 'You see, this is a very tiny flat and, in fact, I am very seldom here for any length of time as my work means continual journeying from place to place for concerts and shows.

Full title: 'By Direction of Dominion Student's [sic] Hall Trust. | Particulars, Plans and Conditions of Sale of | The Freehold Foundling Estate Bloomsbury, W.C.1 | producing a Gross Income of about £112,000 per ann. increasing in the near future to about £118000 per ann. and comprising Ground Rents, Rack Rents and Tenancies secured on Shops, offices, private hotels, flats, institutional hostels and other residential properties. Cleared building sites. Vacant possession of Lot 118, viz.

1p., 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with pin holes to one corner. Date stamp. After thanking Luckhurst for his letter he writes: 'I am very flattered that your Council should wish to nominate me for election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and shall consider it a great honour to be so elected. I am returning the form of application together with my cheque for three guineas.'

The four letters are in good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Written in Payne's neat and mannered hand, and all four signed 'J Bertrand Payne'. For the background to the correspondence see Jim Cheshire's article 'The Fall of the House of Moxon', Victorian Poetry, Spring 2012. Payne was manager of the London publishing house Edward Moxon & Co., celebrated for their association with poets.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to 'Leicester Buckingham Esq'. Bentley writes that the matter of Buckingham's life of Mary Queen of Scots is 'just now brought to [his] attention'. 'If you are passing this way any day between 12 and 2 o'C you will be sure to find me, or my son, who will be able to discuss the subject with you'. He finds that he 'paid to Mr Wageman for a copy of the Miniature of the Queen executed for yuou at your desire, £3 . 3. 0', and asks to be sent this.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Presumably written to the governess of a child he had arranged to paint. Reads: 'Madam | I have Mrs. Horsfall's permission to ask if you could make it convenient that I should see her little daughter tomorrow at ¼ past 2 oC – for the purposes of arranging sittings for her portrait.'

Sequeira was born in Aldgate. In the years following his service in the London Regiment during the First World War, he acted in Shakespeare at the Old Vic, and he would continue as an actor into the age of film and television. In addition to acting Sequeira taught (including a youthful Peter Cushing) at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, painted, and in 1953 published a book on stage make-up. The present four items, all undated, are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: Autograph duologue titled 'Seeing the Coronation'. 5pp., foolscap 8vo. With revised conclusion, 1p., 12mo.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Charles W. Dilke. | Emilia F. S. Dilke | Newnham | 10 June | 1891'. Written after the celebrated Crawford Scandal of 1886, which resulted in Dilke losing his seat in parliament, and becoming a music-hall figure of fun as a result of the revelations of his adulterous behaviour.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition. He has 'from week to week been purposing a visit to you to express my gratitude & sincere thanks for your kindness to me & the cure you accomplished'. He can only write his thanks, having been overwhelmed by 'the arrears of work that followed my illness', and leaving for Paris the following day.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Dear Dr Chepmell, | I received your note yesterday afternoon & have in consequence had much pleasure in giving my votes in favour of your friend Dr Grigg. | Your's very sincerely | Richard Wallace'.

32pp., 12mo. In blue-green card wraps with light blue-green printed label on front cover. In very good condition. Twenty-four poems in the Georgian idiom, some of which had previously appeared in Country Life, Chamber's Journal, Observer, Harper's Bazaar abd the Glasgow Herald.. Now uncommon. Six copies on COPAC.

32pp., 12mo. In blue-green card wraps with light blue-green printed label on front cover. In good condition, lightly aged. Florid ownership inscription in thick black ink at front: 'Margaret (Sackville) | to | Henrietta | with love | 1936.' A question mark has been deleted in one poem, presumably by Sackville. Twenty-four poems in the Georgian idiom, some of which had previously appeared in Country Life, Chamber's Journal, Observer, Harper's Bazaar abd the Glasgow Herald. Now uncommon. Six copies on COPAC.

28pp., 12mo. In printed blue-green card wraps. Shaken and aged, in worn wraps. Eleven poems in the Georgian idiom, eight of which, according to a note by the author, had previously been published by 'Messrs. Lewis' in 'The Lyrical Woodland'. From Sackville's own papers, and including some pencil markings, presumably by her, including the emendation of 'blank' for 'dank' and 'the' for 'that'. Now uncommon. Six copies on COPAC.

The two items in good condition, lightly aged. Both 1p., 12mo. Each signed 'Owen Jones'. ONE: 25 February 1858. With the Society's stamp at top left. He is 'just now so much engaged' that he is 'unable to attend the meetings of the Copyright Committee which are held at a time when I cannot properly attend'. As a consequence he asks him to withdraw his name. TWO: 30 May 1863. The word 'Sent' at top right. He asks to be sent 'a card for the Convasazione [sic] for Baron Charles Texier a very distinguished frenchman now in London'.

1p., 4to. Aged and creased, with closed tears and damage to extremities. He will be 'very glad if you will instruct Allen's to send me a copy of your book. I will review it, though I cannot promise to do it in any particular month for the "U.D.C".' The organisation will be glad to 'enclose a number of your circulars, if you will have them sent. Not more than a thousand.'

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of stub adhering to margin. A long letter written in a close hand. He has been much preoccupied with 'the danger/ Bushell mentions in his letter, 'of breaking up the foundations of the Protestant Churches', and feels that '[a]nother metaphor might be breaking open the sheath so that the bud may expand into leaf and flower'. He discusses the freedoms of the 'Reformed Churches', which 'must accept their dangers as well as their privileges'.

2pp., 12mo. Aged and worn. He is extremely grateful for Chepmell's efforts on his behalf, and hopes he will accept 'cette petite terre cuite comme un faible temoignage de mes reconnaissances'. Dalou's association with the Paris Commune forced him into exile in England in 1871. He returned to France eight years later.

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. The letter begins: 'A press of necessary writ[in]g has retarded my acknowledgmt. of yr kind letter, & of the Copy of “Work & Leisure”.' She assures Parish 'most sincerely' that she thinks her 'little paper excellent - & that the true tribute to my dear, never-forgotten [?] goes both to my heart & to my judgment'. She is sure Parish's “Companion in travelling” will be entirely to the point'. She does not 'abound in suggestions for subjects.

The Sunday Times, 20 March 2002, carries an article by Ann Treneman, 'The real face of Rubinstein', discussing the discovery among Hollay's papers of her correspondence with Helena Rubinstein. The correspondence was made use of by Lindy Woodhead in her 2017 book 'War Paint: Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein: Their Lives, their Times, Their Rivalry'. Hollay was Rubinstein's London manager from 1914.

1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed in type to 'My dear Shepard,' but with the last word corrected in autograph to 'Ernest'. He has now 'made sufficient progress with Monmouthshire' to be able to give Shephard 'a line': 'The first two verses bear upon the Wye valley and the Usk valley, of which Tintern is the best symbol.

ONE: ALS from Dark to Brooks. The handwriting is quite atrocious, and the present transcription is at points tentative. Dark begins by recalling that at 'the delightful & very alcoholic Savage lunch' (i.e. lunch at the Savage Club), Brooks 'suggested that I should write an article for Truth. Perhaps because of the super-abundant alcoholic I have clean forgotten what the article was to he about. If you haven't & still want it, I might be able to write it.' The penultimate sentence is, to this cataloguer at least, indecipherable, apart from the words 'of course in a public sense'.

For information on Graves see his generous obituary in The Times, 18 April 1944. Both items in fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with minor staining from paperclip to first leaf of letter. The work was not published, and although Graves states in Item One that the greater part of the text is 'in the hands of my typist', there is no record of its survival, or of the thousand related documents he states were sent to him by M. H. Spielmann. ONE: ALS from 'C L. G.' to 'Dear Evoe'. 4pp., landscape 8vo.

In addition to his achievements, Young is remembered for holding a dinner party in 1877, at which the Prince of Wales arranged to sit next to Lillie Langtry while her husband was discreetly seated elsewhere, thus beginning their affair. 2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and ruckled, with two small pinholes at head of first leaf, and traced of mount on blank reverse of second leaf. The letter begins: 'I have just got note from Mrs Langtry saying that she will have to go out of Town tomorrow morning and asking me to write to you to tell you'.

Le Keux and the recipient J. P. Neale collaborated on the publication of the subject of this letter, 'Views of the most interesting Collegiate and Parochial Churches in Great Britain' (1824-1825), a work which was discontinued after the issue of the second volume. 3pp., 8vo. The two leaves of the bifolium are separate, having been torn apart. Otherwise in good condition, lightly aged. Address on reverse of second leaf, with divided postmark: 'J P Neale Esqr. | Bennett Stt. | Black friars Rd. | London'.

On 5 x 10 cm slip of paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Yours faithfully | George du Maurier'. The first line lightly inked, the signature itself bold and strong. Nothing else on the card, except for the number '92' in a contemporary hand at top left above the signature.

An attractive Chiswick Press item (on the firm's own paper), possibly printed for Beatty himself. No other copy traced, either on OCLC WorldCat or on COPAC. 3pp., 12mo. Printer's slug at foot of otherwise-blank reverse of second leaf. On laid paper with 'Chiswick Press' watermark. Aged and worn, with pin-hole through top inner corner of both leaves, and light staining at foot of first page. Reprinting a speech thanking the US Atlantic Fleet 'again, again, and again for the great part the Sixth Battle Squadron has played in bringing about the greatest naval victory in history'.

Four good letters, in which the author's love for his wife and grief at her death are apparent. Littleton Powys was the second-eldest of eleven, his siblings including writers John Cowper Powys, T. F. Powys and Llewelyn Powys, architect A. R. Powys, artist Gertrude Powys, lacemaker Marian Powys, and poet and novelist Philippa Powys. His autobiography 'The Joy of it' was published in 1937, with the sequel 'Still the Joy of it' appearing in 1956. The four letters are in good condition, lightly aged. They total 12pp., 12mo.