MARITIME

[Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay, Navy Secretary to Louis XIV.] Autograph Signature ('Seignelay') on valediction to a document.

Author: 
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (1651-1690), Navy Secretary to Louis XIV
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£80.00

On 6 x 11.5 cm piece of paper, cut from the end of a document. In good condition, on aged paper, laid down on piece of grey paper cut from an album, with the words 'Marquis Seignelay.' in a nineteenth-century hand at the foot of the mount. Seignelay's signature is large and bold, above the following words in a neat secretarial hand: 'Vostre tres humble & tres aff.ne Seruiteur.'

[Beauchamp Tower, inventor, describes his 'yachting cruises during the past season' in the Gwynfa to Sir Richard Harington.] Nineteen-page Autograph Letter Signed to 'Dick', comprising extracts from his diary, including a pair of hand-drawn diagrams.

Author: 
Beauchamp Tower (1845-1904), English inventor and railway engineer, discoverer of full-film or hydrodynamic lubrication [Sir Richard Harington, 12th Baronet (1861-1931)]
Publication details: 
Warley Mount, Brentwood, 30 October 1901.
£200.00

19pp, foolscap 8vo. On five bifoliums. Neatly and closely written. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Tower's letter begins: 'My dear Dick | I enclose a chart [not present] which will show you at a glance my yachting cruises during the past season'.

[Sinking of RMS Titanic, April 1912.] Long unpublished contemporary manuscript poem, signed by 'William Hall', titled 'Titanic', written within weeks of the sinking.

Author: 
RMS Titanic sinking, April 1912 [William Hall]
Publication details: 
No place [English]. Dated at end 'May 1912'.
£220.00

4pp., 4to. On three leaves. In fair condition, aged and creased. The poem, headed 'Titanic', is 64 lines long, divided into 15 stanzas (the first ten numbered), and is signed and dated at the end, following 'R.I.P.', 'William Hall | May 1912'. The verse is heartfelt and devout, in style something of a cross between Walt Whitman and William McGonagall. Apparently unpublished. The author is unknown, but the poem reflects the popular response to the celebrated maritime disaster.

[ Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Curtis, British naval hero. ] Autograph Signature ('Roger Curtis') cut from letter.

Author: 
Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Curtis (1746-1816), officer of the Royal Navy, during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars, who distinguished himself at the Great Siege of Gibraltar
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£25.00

On a 1.75 x 4.25 cm rectangle of laid paper cut from letter. In fair condition, lightly aged, with paper from mount on reverse. A neat, firm signature, reading 'Roger Curtis'.

[ Captain Edward Pelham Brenton, Royal Navy officer and naval historian. ] Autograph Signature ('Edwd P Brenton') to list of nine 'Plates not returned'.

Author: 
Captain Edward Pelham Brenton (1774-1839), Royal Navy officer involved in the 1809 capture of Martinique, controversial naval historian and charity worker
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£150.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with dog-eared corners at foot. Brenton's florid signature is placed at the foot of a numbered list headed 'Plates not returned'. The plates are all on maritime themes, and may be connected with his 'Naval History of Great Britain from the Year 1783 to 1822' (1823) or his 'Life and Correspondence of John, Earl of St. Vincent ' (1838): 'St. Vincent By Beechey | Howe | Battle of Trafalgar | St Johns New Fd Land | Scheldt | Algiers | Sir Charles Pole | Lord Duncan | Copenhagen'.

] Captain Frederick Marryat, novelist and friend of Charles Dickens. ] Autograph Signature ('F Marryat') to conclusion of letter to his mother and family.

Author: 
Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848), Royal Navy officer, novelist, friend of Charles Dickens, inventor of Marryat's Code of signalling
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£30.00

On one side of a slip of paper cut from a letter. In good condition, lightly aged. The conclusion of a letter, reading: '[...] also to get another Servant, so I shall put it off till my return & I have every thing in order. | My kind love to all of you & you my dear Mother ever truly | F Marryat'.

[ Sir Henry Newbolt, poet. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Henry Newbolt') to 'Simpson' [ Dr Henry Simpson ], giving his reasons for resigning the presidentship of the Poets' Club.

Author: 
Sir Henry Newbolt [ Sir Henry John Newbolt ] (1862-1938), poet [ Henry Simpson (d.1939), founder and president of the Poets' Club, London ]
Publication details: 
No place. 12 October 1919.
£65.00

2pp., 4to. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. He begins by stating his great appreciation of 'the kindness of the Committee – I have had a long and sympathetic experience of the Club and the relationship has been to me a happy one from first to last'. Were he able to 'fulfil the duties of the President's office' he would be 'strongly tempted to accept their generous inviation and stand for re-election.

[ The Spanish Civil War: Royal Navy evacuation of refugees in 1936. ] Original duplicated copy of an account titled 'H.M.S. “Shropshire” at Barcelona. 22nd August 1936 to 16th September 1936'. With thirteen photographs, including eight of refugees.

Author: 
Spanish Civil War; HMS Shropshire, Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet 1st Cruiser Squadron; Admiral Sir Thomas Hugh Binney (1883-1953); the Spanish Civil War
Publication details: 
'For private circulation only". Dated from 'H.M.S. "Shropshire", | 27th September 1936.'
£1,000.00

HMS Shropshire was a Royal Navy 'London' County-class heavy cruiser, launched in 1928 and decommissioned in 1942. In July 1936, as part of the Mediterranean Fleet 1st Cruiser Squadron, she sailed to Barcelona, relieving HMS London, the first ship to arrive to take off refugees from the Spanish Civil War. The present item (possibly written by Admiral Binney) is excessively scarce: the only other copy traced is in the Hampshire Archives. [3] + 19pp., foolscap 8vo. The original document from the 1930s, spirit-duplicated in aniline ink, with pages on one side only of 22 leaves.

[ William Cooke, privateer in American War of Independence, afterwards appointed by Washington to command of the cutter Diligence. ] Autograph Signature ('Wm. Cooke') to Autograph Bill and Receipt ('Francis Peyrimant') for 'Ship Queen of France'.

Author: 
Captain William Cooke (disappeared 1796), appointed by George Washington to the command of United States Revenue Cutter Diligence
Publication details: 
Note of receipt at foot signed by Cooke and dated from Wilmington on 12 April 1789.
£150.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Docketed on reverse: 'Acct. | Capt W. Cooke | £51.2.9.' A bill for wages, in Cooke's autograph, headed 'Ship Queen of France | To William Cooke . . . Dr.' Listing monies due with dates and details. For example: '7 Jan [1789] wages . . .@ 18 dollars p. mo[nth]  30.9.7' (Other sums also on 7 Jan. and 12 April.) At the foot Cooke has written "Rec[eive]d Wilmington 12th April 1789 from Francis Peyrimant the above bal[anc]e. in full. | Wm Cooke.' The year of this transaction was also the year of the French Revolution.

[ Sherard Osborn, Royal Navy admiral and arctic explorer. ] Part of Autograph Letter Signed ('S Osborn') to 'Dr. Allchin' [ Sir William Henry Allchin ] , regarding a 'consideration' to a woman.

Author: 
Sherard Osborn (1822-1875), Royal Navy admiral and Arctic explorer who searched for Franklin [ Sir William Henry Allchin (1846-1912), physician ]
Publication details: 
33 Charles Square [ London ]. 1 March [ no year ].
£35.00

Written on both sides of the top two-thirds of a 12mo leaf with mourning border, the bottom third having been torn away. In good condition, lightly aged. The recto reads, beneath the address, 'My dear Dr. Allchin | I should be glad if you would come here on Wednesday evening as <...> 1/2 past 4 at [...]'. The reverse reads: '[...] after hearing her own story you can say whether a consideration on Saturday would be advisable | Yours truly | S Osborn | I am progressing steadily [...]'.

[ Mutiny on HMS Winchester, 1854, and initiation ceremony for blue jackets. ] Proof of the start of an article, including a diary of 'The Winchester's Last Commission' and extract from letter by Sir Charles Fellowes.

Author: 
Anon. [ HMS Winchester and Admiral Sir Charles Fellowes (1823-1886), Commander in Chief, Channel Fleet; mutiny ]
Publication details: 
Without place or date, but after Fellowes' death in 1886.
£180.00

This item appears to be a proof of the first eight pages of an unpublished 'account of the mutiny' on board HMS Winchester in the South China Seas in 1854 (while on its way to take part in the Second Burmese War, in which the Winchester's captain Granville Gower Loch (1813-1853) would be killed). The mutiny, which was quashed by Rear Admiral Fleetwood Pellew (1789-1861), is described by the author of the present item as the ship's 'skeleton in the cupboard'. The text breaks off before the mutiny takes place, with the Winchester having left Point de Galle, and on its way to Trincomalee.

[ Admiral Sir Lewis Jones, Governor of Greenwich Hospital. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Lewis T Jones') to 'Mr Wills', paying his subscription to 'the South Hants Archery Society'.

Author: 
Admiral Sir Lewis Jones [ [ Admiral Sir Lewis Tobias Jones ] (1797-1895), Governor of Greenwich Hospital and Commander-in-Chief, Queenstown
Publication details: 
'Down End Fareham | May 14th 1875'.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, with small stain from mount at head of leaf. He is sending a postal order for eleven guineas, 'being the Subscription of Miss Jones & myself to the South Hants Archery Society fm 1875'. He ends in the hope that Wills and his wife have enjoyed their 'trip on the Continent'.

[ Port of Manchester. ] Pamphlet with eighteen-ship 'itinerary' of vessels present at a 'visit', accompanied by five maps [ 'Principal oil docks and installations with their road connections', 'Hinterland', 'Dockside Area' ], three of them fold-outs.

Author: 
[ Port of Manchester ] [ George Falkner & Sons Limited; Dunlop, Heywood & Co. ]
Publication details: 
[ Port of Manchester. ] George Falkner & Sons Limited, Manchester. With section dated 16 July 1959.
£180.00

Five maps, four of them fold-outs, together with duplicated text on two leaves, stapled into 8vo pamphlet of buff printed wraps with 'PORT OF MANCHESTER' and logo on the front, and printers' slug on back. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The five maps include three fold-outs: the first, coloured in blue and light and dark green, titled 'Principal oil docks and installations with their road connections' ('For particulars of sites on the Company's Estate application should be made to the Company's Land Agents | Dunlop, Heywood & Co.

[ Admiral Sir Philip Charles Durham, British naval hero. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('P. C. Durham') to a Sea Lord, complaining of his treatment following the capture of Guadeloupe, and seeking preferment for his nephew.

Author: 
Admiral Sir Philip Charles Durham [ Admiral Sir Philip Charles Calderwood Henderson Durham ] (1763-1845), Royal Navy officer in the American War of Independence and Napoleonic Wars
Publication details: 
[ From Guadeloupe ('this Country') .] 15 August [ 1815 ]. No place.
£650.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Docketed on reverse of second leaf: '15 Augt. 1815. | Sir P. C. Durham'. According to the DNB, Durham, having 'cleared the West Indies of American cruisers', 'in June and August 1815 co-operated in the reduction of Martinique and Guadeloupe, at which place the last French flag was struck to Durham, as the first had been'.

[ Sotheby and Co., London, auction catalogue. ] Catalogue of the Well-known Collection of Relics of Samuel Pepys | The Property of the late John Pepys Cockerell (Sold by Order of his Widow).

Author: 
[ Samuel Pepys; John Pepys Cockerell; Sotheby and Co., London auctioneers ]
Publication details: 
Sotheby and Co. 34 & 35 New Bond Street, London, W.(1). 'On Wednesday, the 1st day of April, 1931, immediately following the Sale of the Paston Letters at One o'clock.'
£120.00

The full title reads: 'Catalogue of the Well-known Collection of Relics of Samuel Pepys | The Property of the late John Pepys Cockerell | (Sold by Order of his Widow) | comprising Samuel Pepys' superb silver-gilt Porringer and Salver, King James II's Gaming-Table and Pieces, Portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller of Pepys and his Circle, and of James II, Books from Pepys' Library, including a Nautical Almanack on vellum, c.

[ Baron Henry de Bode, inventor. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('de Bode'), accepting a dinner invitation, for himself and his nephew 'C. Cazalet'.

Author: 
Baron Henry de Bode [ William Henry Charles Othon Baron de Bode ] (1778-1855), Major General in the Russian service, inventor in England
Publication details: 
39 Berners Street, Oxford Street [ London ]. 2 February 1848.
£120.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'My dear Sir, | I shall feel much pleasure in joining Your party tomorrow evening, with my nephew C. Cazalet, who conveyed to me the wish you had expressed to see us at your lodgings, before your not came. | I am Your's sincerely | de Bode'. See John H. Harland, 'Baron de Bode and his Capstan', in The Mariner's Mirror, vol.99, 2013.

[ Rear-Admiral Sir Nesbit Josiah Willoughby, naval hero ('The Immortal'). ] Three secretarial letters, all signed 'N. J. Willoughby', to 'Sir John', regarding his book 'Extracts from Holy Writ', and why he is not a 'good man'.

Author: 
Sir Nesbit Josiah Willoughby (1777-1849), Royal Navy Rear-Admiral and naval hero ('The Immortal')
Publication details: 
6 Chapel Street, Grosvenor Square [ London ]. Letters to Hardy dated 27 and 31 September 1839. Letter to unnamed party dated 3 October 1839.
£220.00

All three letters are on bifoliums, and they total 11pp., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. They are all written by a secretary (for reasons made obvious below), and signed by Willoughby. ONE: To 'Sir John', 27 September 1839. 4pp., 12mo. He is sending him copies of his work, 'The one dedicated to Seamen and Sailors meant for Greenwich [i.e.

[ Sir Robert Phillimore, last judge of the Court of the Lord High Admiral of England. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Robert Phillimore') to 'Mr Hammond' (his clerk?), with directions regarding a copy of a letter.

Author: 
Sir Robert Phillimore [ Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore ] (1810-1885), last judge of the Court of the Lord High Admiral of England, and politician
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 5 Arlington Street, London, S.W. 21 March [ no year ].
£35.00

1p., 12mo. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on part of a leaf from an album. Reads: 'My dear Mr Hammond | Will you cause a copy of Mr 's letter to Mr Fane to be sent, as speedily as may be convenient, to the Neutrality Laws Commiss[ion]ers'.

[ Jocelyn Fitzgerald Ruthven, master mariner. ] Twenty-five items from his papers: correspondence, vellum certificates, commissions, testimonials, including address signed by 79 passengers on first (maiden) voyage to Australia of SS Orient.

Author: 
Jocelyn Fitzgerald Ruthven [ born Jocelyn Fitzgerald Trotter ] (1849-1943), master mariner in Britain and Australia, Commodore of the Orient Line
Publication details: 
[ Orient Steam Navigation Company Ltd. ] England (London, Liverpool and Redhill) and Australia (New South Wales), between 1863 and 1912.
£2,250.00

Ruthven was born in Ireland, the son of Galway landowner Clifford Trotter. He was a master mariner, a Younger Brother of Trinity House, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and wrote several nautical manuals. At the time of his retirement as commodore of the Orient Line of ships in 1911, Ruthven had completed forty-five years at sea and thirty years in command of Orient steamers (Orient Steam Navigation Company, Limited – hereafter OSNC).

[ A Royal Navy engineer in the Far East and Pacific, 1882-1891. ] Account book of George Parsons, latterly Chief Engineer of HMS Champion, recording his personal and professional expenses on various tours of duty.

Author: 
George Parsons, nineteenth-century Royal Navy Chief Egineer on HMS Champion [ Naval and Maritime ]
Publication details: 
Between August 1882 and May 1891. At locations including Port Said, Alexandria, Portsmouth, London, Suez, Malta, Hong Kong, Yokohama, Tokyo, Vladivostock, Shanghai, San Francisco, Vancouver, Esquimault, Honolulu, Halifax. Further accounts,1889-1911.
£320.00

73pp., in a 12mo account book with printed red rules, in dark marbled boards with black cloth spine. Internally in fair condition, aged and worn, in heavily worn binding. Inscribed 'G. Parsons' twice on front endpapers. (Parsons' Royal Navy certificates as an assistant engineer (1872) and engineer (1878) are held by the National Archives.) The present volume contains a full set of accounts, 1882-1891, over 52pp.; less-detailed accounts, 1898-1911, over 8pp.; desultory accounts over 5pp., including two-pages of the 'Furniture Fund | H.M.S.

[ Collier Dock, Isle of Dogs. ] Printed 'Report of the Directors to the Proprietors, at their second General Meeting 5th April, 1827.'

Author: 
Collier Dock, Isle of Dogs [ George Byng, Chairman; W. Baker, Acting Secretary; G. Taylor, Printer, London printer ]
Publication details: 
W. Taylor, Acting Secretary, Limehouse, Middlesex, and 5, Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London. [ G. Taylor, Printer, Lamb's Conduit Passage. 1827. ]
£80.00

3pp., 8vo. Bifolium with three pages of text, with title on reverse of second leaf (printed crosswise for folding into packet). In good condition, lightly aged and worn. The first page is headed 'Collier Dock - Isle of Dogs', followed by a list in two columns of the twenty-four directors, and solicitor's details. The 'Meeting of the Proprietors' was held at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street, 5 April 1827, and there was only one topic.

[ Two printed items relating to the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, London Brigade. ] A pamphlet giving information regarding the London and Brighton Corps, with a large table headed 'Progress Return of No. 3 Battery, for 1890.'

Author: 
Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, London Brigade [ E. B. Fletcher, Lieut.-Instructor; A. H. Fry, Sub-Lieutenant in Command ]
Publication details: 
Pamphlet by 'Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, London Brigade, Head Quarters, H.M.S. Frolic, off Somerset House, W.C December 1891.' Printed by Woodfall & Kinder, London. 'Progress Return', 1890.. Printed by W. Collins, Harlesden.
£220.00

The two items from the papers of Sir Richard Harington of Ridlington, 12th Baronet, who features as 'R. Harrington [sic]' in the 'Progress Return'. The pamphlet is 6pp., 12mo. The front page is headed, with crown-and-anchor device, 'Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers. | London Brigade. | Head Quarters, | H.M.S. Frolic, off Somerset House, W.C | December, 1891.' Printed by Woodfall & Kinder, Printers, 70 to 76, Long Acre, London, W.C.' Aged and grubby. Folded into a packet and addressed, with postmarked Halfpenny Red stamp, to 'R.

[ Independent Tasmanian Ships Limited, State of Tasmania. ] Printed 'Prospectus of an Issue at Par of 496,993 Ordinary Shares of £1 each' (in order to set up a 'Tasmanian Shipping Line'), with two copies of a 'Form of Application'.

Author: 
Independent Tasmanian Ships Limited, State of Tasmania, Australia [ The Van Diemen's Land Company, London and Tasmania ]
Publication details: 
Independent Tasmanian Ships Limited [ c/o Messrs. Wise, Lord & Ferguson, 19 Stewart Street, Devonport, Tasmania. ] [ Chalcraft Press, 123 Regent Street, Sydney. ]
£80.00

[28]pp., 4to. Stapled into grey printed wraps. Illustrated with photographs; centrepage spread of matching tables giving 'Weekly Potato Shipments' from Tasmania to Sydney, in 1937 and 1956. On glossy art paper. Both prospectus and inserts in fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Stamp of the Van Diemen's Land Company on front cover, with ownership inscription 'C. C. Carter'.

[ Royal Navy and Post Office Packets. ] Two printed forms, proofs completed in manuscript, one with diagrams, the other 'Private Signals for His Majesty's Brigs, Cutters, Luggers, &c. employed in Cruizing on the Coasts of the United Kingdom [...]'.

Author: 
[ Royal Navy and Post Office Packets, signals of 1812 ]
Publication details: 
[ Royal Navy. ] Dating from May 1812, with later notes referring to cancellation in March 1818.
£500.00

Four items, in fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with slight creasing. ONE: Printed form, partially completed in manuscript. On one side of 31.5 x 19.5 cm piece of laid paper with Britannia watermark. Headed: 'PRIVATE SIGNALS for His Majesty's Brigs, Cutters, Luggers, &c. employed in Cruizing on the Coasts of the United Kingdom, Commanded by Lieutenants, viz.' Above the heading, in manuscript: 'Proof | See letter 1st. October 1812.

[ Jefferson Miles, Proof Master General of Ordnance. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Jeaffreson Miles') to Robert Eddowes, Ordnance Storekeeper at Portsmouth, directing him to have all his receipts signed.

Author: 
Jeaffreson MIles [ Jefferson Miles ] (d.1763), Proof Master General of Ordnance [ Robert Eddowes, Ordnance Storekeeper at Portsmouth; Royal Navy ]
Publication details: 
Office of Ordnance [ London ]. 17 July 1753.
£250.00

1p., folio. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmark, 'To | Robert Eddowes Esqr | Ordnance Storekeeper | at | Portsmouth'. 24 lines of neatly-written text. An unusually emphatic communication, the possibility of fraud clearly being in the air.

[ Admiral William Parry, Arctic explorer. ] Autograph Note Signed ('W E Parry') to 'Mrs. Martineau' ('Caro' = sister?), explaining why he cannot accept an invitation.

Author: 
William Parry [ Rear Admiral Sir William Edward Parry, RN, FRS ] (1790-1855), Arctic explorer
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£180.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with slight loss to one corner. Reads: 'My dear Caro | I cannot go, having an engagement at Greenwich - I will answer for you also. | In haste, | but ever yrs, | W E Parry'. Note: A letter from Parry to "Joseph Martineau, brother-in-law" appears in a Parry archive - perhaps Caro was his sister.

[ George Rose, Tory politician. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('G Rose') to unnamed recipient [ H. S. Alves? ], commenting in detail on a naval tract he has sent him.

Author: 
George Rose (1744-1818), Scottish politician, reformer, anti-abolitionist, friend of William Pitt the Younger and Admiral Nelson [ Robert Saunders Dundas, Viscount Melville; Henry Scott Alves ]
Publication details: 
'Wednesday Morng'. Without date or place.
£150.00

3pp., 4to. In good condition, each of the two leaves in neatly-trimmed remains of a windowpane mount. Headed 'Private' by Rose and 'Rec[eiv]ed' by the recipient, who has sent Rose a copy of a tract he has written on naval matters. (The reference in the letter to Lord Melville, who was Lord of the Admiralty from 1812 to 1827, may suggest Melville's secretary H. S.

[ Sir Richard Carnac Temple, Lavinia Mary Anstey, Henry Howard and the Hakluyt Society. ] Correspondence of Anstey and Temple with Howard, with other material, mainly relating to 'The Bowrey Papers'. [see below for subjects and Defoe reference.

Author: 
[ The Hakluyt Society, London; Sir Richard Carnac Temple (1850-1931); Lavinia Mary Anstey; Lieut-Col. Henry Howard; Thomas Bowrey ]
Publication details: 
Anstey writes, between 1922 and 1931, mainly from the India Office, London. Temple writes, between 1922 and 1930, from hotels in London and Switzerland. Howard writes from Stone House, near Kidderminster.
£800.00

A total of 55 items. In good condition, on aged and worn paper, except for one item (postcard by Anstey) which is damaged (without loss of text). ONE. Anstey, 31 items: 30 Typed Letters Signed and one Typed Card Signed. TWO. Temple, 16 items, totalling 49pp.: 13 Autograph Letters Signed and two Typed Letters Signed, with one unsigned typed memorandum. THREE. Howard, 3 items: two Typed Copies of letters (one apiece to Anstey and Temple), one of them (to Anstey) initialled, and Autograph Copy Signed ('H H.') of letter to Temple. FOUR.

[ 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.'

[ Steamship in Greek War of Independence. ] Autograph Letter Signed by Nicholas Robilliard, and Autograph Note Signed by Thomas Whitmore, concerning the Karteria: 'the Man of War Steam-ship (supposed to be built & fitting for the Greek Committee)'.

Author: 
Nicholas Robilliard; Thomas Whitmore [ London Greek Committee; Greek War of Independence ]
Publication details: 
Both Letters dated 8 December 1825. Robilliard's letter without place; Whitmore's note from the Custom House [ London ].
£220.00

The subject is clearly the Karteria, the first steam-powered warship to see active service. The Karteria was built in 1825 for the Greek insurgentsd by Daniel Brent Shipwrights in the Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe, London. It was financed mainly from the proceeds of the 2nd Greek Loan raised by the London Philhellenic Committee, but also from the private funds of Captain Frank Abney Hastings. Both items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: Robilliard to 'Thos Whitmore Esq | Secretary &c &c &c'. 1p., 4to. Headed 'Confidential'. Signed 'Nis Robilliard'.

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