MACREADY

[Sherborne Academy, Ransam House, Sherborne, Dorset (John Kidd, Principal).] Printed card, with lithographic illustration of the building, and details of masters, terms and those to whom references may be sent (including the actor W. C. Macready).

Author: 
Sherborne Academy, Ransam House, Sherborne, Dorset; John Kidd (c.1834-1891), Principal; William Charles Macready (1793-1873), distinguished actor
Publication details: 
[No date, but between 1861 and 1868. Sherborne Academy, Ransam House, Sherborne, Dorset]
£100.00

A nice piece of Sherborne ephemera, in unusually good condition. Between 1855 and 1860 Ransam House had been used to board boys from Sherborne School. ‘The Sherborne Academy’ to which the present card refers was run by John Kidd (c.1834-1891), FRAS, MCP, at Ransam between the end of 1861 and 1868, when it reverted to Sherborne School. The present item is printed in black ink on both sides of a x cm piece of white card. In very good condition, lightly aged.

16 Autograph Letters Signed and 2 Autograph Cards Signed to William Toynbee, editor of the diaries of his father William Charles Macready.

Author: 
Sir Nevil Macready [Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready] (1862-1946), First World War general and last British military commander in Ireland, son of William Charles Macready [William Toynbee (1849-1942)]
Publication details: 
None with year, although one item with 1911 postmark, and others certainly from between 1913 and 1924. From England and France, including the Garrick Club and Author’s Club in London, and hotels in Manchester and St Cyr-sur-Mer.
£250.00

Macready's entry in the Oxford DNB states that he destroyed his diary and personal papers after the publication of his memoirs in 1924, and that of his father notes that he dealt with William Charles Macready's ‘copious and uninhibited diaries’ in similar fashion in 1914 - two years after the appearance of Toynbee’s edition. The present collection of eighteen items is in good condition, lightly aged, and folded for postage. All signed 'C F N Macready' and addressed to 'My dear Toynbee'. The text of the letters totals 35pp (compising 1p, 8vo; 25pp, 12mo; 9pp, 16mo).

[‘I knew the lady well’: General Sir Nevil Macready on Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland, her field hospital and marital misadventures.] Autograph Letter Signed to William Toynbee, editor of the diaries of his father, actor William Charles Macready.

Author: 
Sir Nevil Macready [Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready] (1862-1946), World War general, son of William Charles Macready [William Toynbee (1849-1942); Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland (1867-1955)]
Publication details: 
28 August [no year]. On embossed letterhead of Les Sapins, Boulevard Thiers, Fontainebleau S & M’.
£180.00

Macready’s entry in the Oxford DNB states that he destroyed his diary and personal papers after the publication of his memoirs in 1924. If the present gossipy specimen is anything to go by, the loss of this material is most regrettable. (The ODNB entry for his father notes that he dealt with William Charles Macready's ‘copious and uninhibited diaries’ in similar fashion in 1914 - two years after the appearance of Toynbee’s edition.) See also the entry for Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland (1867-1955). 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage.

Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd (1795-1854), dramatist, judge, Radical politician.] Autograph Letter in third person [as 'Mr. Serjeant Talfourd'] to the actress Helen Faucit, sending best wishes on her illness while describing his contribution to her album.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd (1795-1854), dramatist, judge, Radical politician, friend of Charles Dickens and Charles Lamb [Helen Faucit [Helena Saville Faucit, Lady Martin] (1817-1898), actress]
Publication details: 
3 Serjeant's Inn [London]. 9 January 1841.
£45.00

1p, 16mo. On 14 x 11 cm piece of paper, with margins apparently cut down. Aged, and with slight damage to two words of text caused by removal from mount.At the time of writing Faucit's successful career had been interrupted by the recurrence of a lung condition, necessitating recuperation at a seaside resort. She has evidently asked Talfourd to contribute to an autograph album, soliciting the following response: 'Mr.

[Catherine Frances Macready, actress and wife of William Charles Macready, to homeopathist Dr F. F. H. Quin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('C F Macready') inviting Quin to dinner, with signed postscript requesting 'Powders' for her 'Nose & Legs'.

Author: 
Catherine Frances Macready [née Atkins] (1823-1852), actress, first wife of the actor-manager William Charles Macready (1793-1873) [Dr. Frederick Foster Hervey Quin (1799-1878), homeopathic doctor]
Publication details: 
'5 Clarence Terrace [London] | Wedy. Morg.' [No date, on paper with watermarked year 1837.]
£250.00

2pp, 16mo. Bifolium, with the letter on the recto of the first leaf, and a long postscript on the recto of the second. In good condition, lightly aged, folded twice. A friend of Charles Dickens and his circle, and physician to Queen Victoria's uncle Prince Leopold, Quin founded the London Homeopathic Hospital in 1849. The letter invites Quin to 'dine with us on Tuesday the 23rd. Inst at a quarter before seven o' clock'. The pith is in the two postscripts: 'P.S.

[Catherine Frances Macready, actress and wife of William Charles Macready.] Autograph Note in the third person to 'Mr. Kenneth', telling him to direct letters to her husband to the Theatre Royal, Birmingham.

Author: 
Catherine Frances Macready [née Atkins] (1823-1852), actress, first wife of the actor-manager William Charles Macready (1793-1873)
Publication details: 
'Pinner Wood. | Saturday 17th. Octr.' [no year, but 1820s]
£45.00

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount adhering to one edge, folded several times. 'Mrs. Macready' in a contemporary hand at the head of the page. Written in a neat hand the letter reads: 'Mrs. Macready presents her compliments to Mr. Kenneth, - any Letters directed to Mr. Macready Theatre Royal Birmingham will find Mr. Macready until Saturday Morng. 24th Inst.'

[William Charles Macready, celebrated actor, friend of Charles Dickens.] Autograph Letter Signed ('W. C. Macready.') [to 'Hawtrey'], regarding Prince Albert, the education of the poor, and the recipient's brother's school.

Author: 
William Charles Macready [W. C. Macready], celebrated actor, friend of Charles Dickens [Hawtrey; Sherborne, Dorset ]
Publication details: 
Sherborne House [Dorset]. 31 May [no year, but before 1860].
£120.00

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium with mourning border, on paper embossed with the Macready crest. In fair condition, lightly aged, with torn hole to one corner of the first leaf (not affecting text), presumably caused by removal from mount. The recipient is clearly a member of the Hawtrey family (and presumably a relation of Edward Craven Hawtrey of Eton), as the letter concludes with the Macready family's best wishes 'to Mrs. Hawtrey'. It must date from before Macready's departure for Cheltenham in 1860.

[ William Harrison Ainsworth, novelist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm Ainsworth') asking his friend John Aston to write the epilogue for Sheridan Knowles's play 'William Tell', with references to Charles Lamb and William Charles Macready.

Author: 
William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882), English historical novelist [ John Partington Aston (1805-1882); James Sheridan Knowles (1784-1862), Irish playwright; Charles Lamb; William Charles Macready ]
Publication details: 
London ('Send the letter by Abot directed to Milne and Parry'). 30 April 1825 [aged 20].
£850.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed, with postmark, to 'John P. Aston, Esqre | Messrs. Ainsworth & Co | Solrs | Essex Street | Manchester'. Aston was Ainsworth's father's law clerk. The year after this letter was written the novel 'Sir John Chiverton', on which Ainsworth and Aston collaborated, was published to great success (and endorsement by Sir Walter Scott).

Autograph Letter Signed ('Helen F. Martin') from the English actress Helen Faucit Martin, Lady Martin, to Mrs Paget, arranging a visit.

Author: 
Helen Faucit Martin [born Helena Faucit Saville] (1817-1898), Lady Martin, English actress, wife of Sir Theodore Martin (1816-1909)
Publication details: 
31 Onslow Square. 27 May [no year].
£35.00

2pp., 16mo. Bifolium. On monogrammed letterhead. In fair condition, with traces of glue from mount still adhering. She proposes a date for a meeting, adding: 'Will Miss Paget come in the evening & bring a young friend with her if she pleases?'

Autograph Letter Signed ('C: M: Young') from the actor Charles Mayne Young to his rival William Charles Macready, recommending an actor named Simpson for a position at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and wishing Macready success as manager there.

Author: 
Charles Mayne Young (1777-1856), actor [William Charles Macready (1793-1873); Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]
Publication details: 
Ashbourne Hall, Ashbourne, Derbyshire; 16 November 1841.
£220.00

3pp., 12mo. 37 lines. Fair, on worn and discoloured paper. An interesting letter, casting light on the relationship between two great actors who, according to the Oxford DNB, 'disliked but respected each other'. Macready is not named, but Young ends by sending his 'Kind Comts to Mrs Macready'. Macready had taken over at Drury Lane on 4 October 1841, but the season would not begin until 27 December. The letter begins 'My dear Sir!

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