MARSHAL

[Marshal Petain [Marechal Philippe Petain], French general, 'the lion of Verdun' in WW1 and head of the collaborationist Vichy regime in WW2.] Calling card of 'LE MARECHAL PETAIN / Ministre de la Guerre', with autograph inscription by him.

Author: 
Marshal Petain [Marechal Philippe Petain; Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Petain; Petain] (1856-1951), French general, 'the lion of Verdun' in WW1 and head of the collaborationist Vichy regime in WW2
Petain
Publication details: 
No date or place (but in 1934, while Petain was Minister of War).
£85.00
Petain

There can be few greater falls from grace than Petain's in the whole of human history. A 10 x 6.25 calling card. In good condition, lightly aged and ruckled, with glue and traces of paper mount on the blank reverse. The engraved text ('LE MARECHAL PETAIN / Ministre de la Guerre') is centred, with the top line in shaded block capitals and the bottom in copperplate. Beneath this Petain writes: 'avec ses remer'. See Image.

[Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, Marshal of Italy, First World War Italian general who triumphed in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.] Autograph Signature: 'Generale A. Diaz'.

Author: 
Armando Diaz (1861-1928), 1st Duke della Vittoria, First World War Italian general, victor over the Austrians in Battle of Vittorio Veneto (1918); putative author of the Bolletino della Vittoria
ARMANDO DIAZ
Publication details: 
No place or date. (Before his ennoblement in 1921.)`
£75.00
ARMANDO DIAZ

A nice item, suitable for framing, relating to one of the best generals of the First World War. (He commanded one and a half million troops in the 1918 Battle of Vittorio Veneto, defeating the Austrians - a third of a million of whom surrendered - and closing the Italian Front.) Clearly given in response to a request for an autograph. The good bold signature ‘Generale A. Diaz’ sits slightly over the centre of an otherwise-plain 15 x 10 cm piece of wove paper, laid down on paper backing. In good condition, lightly aged, with two unobtrusive vertical fold lines. See Image.

[Lord Roberts of Kandahar, distinguished British soldier, Commander-in-Chief during the Second Boer War.] Autograph Letter Signed, telling the Duke of Buccleugh why he is unable to ?take the chair at a dinner in aid of the Westminster Hospital Funds'

Author: 
Lord Roberts [Frederick Sleigh Roberts; Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar, V.C.] (1832-1914), soldier, British Army commander during Second Boer War [William Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch]
Publication details: 
13 March 1901; 17 Dover Street, W. [London]
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On his letterhead of coronet and letter R. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. He is sorry to refuse the Duke, ?but I could not really take the chair at a dinner in aid of the Westminster Hospital Funds?, as he has ?promised Lord Cadogan to to [sic] act in that capacity in aid of [same?] Chelsea Hospital. Under these circumstances, I am sure you will excuse me.?

[Sir Thomas Picton and Sir Garnet Wolseley, book owned by two military heroes.] Vol. 2 of Turpin de Crissé’s ‘Essai sur l’Art de la Guerre’, with Picton’s signature, twice, Wolseley’s bookplate, and an Autograph Note Signed by Wolseley on Picton.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Picton (1758-1815), hero of Napoleonic Wars and Battle of Waterloo, ‘Tyrant of Trinidad’; Sir Garnet Wolseley [Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley] (1833-1913)
Publication details: 
The book published in Paris, 1754. Neither man's autograph dated.
£550.00

See the entries on the two men in the Oxford DNB. Above the half-title, in a large untidy hand Picton has made the ownership signature ‘Lieutenant General Sir Th Picton’, and there is the same signature by him in a much smaller hand above the illustration at the head of p.1. Facing the half-title, on the reverse of the front free endpaper, is the elaborate armorial bookplate of ‘Field Marshal Viscount Wolseley / of Wolseley County of Stafford / Baron Wolseley of Cairo’.

[Lord Roberts of Kandahar, Boer War commander.] Autograph Note Signed giving his vote, on back of printed card soliciting it for Caroline Constance Williams to gain admission to the Soldiers’ Daughter’s Home, Hampstead.

Author: 
Lord Roberts [Frederick Sleigh Roberts; Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar, V.C.] (1832-1914), Victorian soldier, Boer War commander [Soldiers’ Daughters’ Home, Hampstead]
Publication details: 
Roberts' note: 14 April 1888; 'India'. On printed card of the Soldiers' Daughters' Home, Hampstead.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Written lengthwise on back of 11.5 x 7.5 printed card. The side of the card with Roberts’s autograph is discoloured but in fair condition, but there is slight loss along the inner margin of the printed side, resulting in some loss of text. Roberts’ autograph reads: ‘I give my vote / Fred. Roberts. / India / 14th. April 1888.’ The printed text states that Caroline Constance Williams, aged 8 years, was the daughter of Band-Sergt.

[Sir Dermot Boyle, Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Air Staff.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Dean’, regarding a signed photograph he is sending in place of a ‘very bad one’ which he urges him to destroy.

Author: 
Sir Dermot Boyle [Sir Dermot Alexander Boyle] (1904-1993), Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Air Staff
Publication details: 
9 August 1963; on letterhead of Pauls Place, Sway, Hampshire.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. At the foot of the second page, in another hand (no doubt that of the recipient) are written Doyle’s details in red ink. Signed ‘D. A. Boyle’ and addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Dean’. He is returning the photograph he has sent, ‘endorsed in the way you ask’, but his wife agrees with him that ‘the photo you have got hold of is a very bad one so I am sending you another - also enclosed - which I hope you will use for your collection and destroy the other’.

[Lord Roberts of Kandahar, Boer War commander.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Fred Roberts’) to Sir Richard Temple, explaining how he proposes to obtain preferment for Temple’s son.

Author: 
Lord Roberts [Frederick Sleigh Roberts; Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar, V.C.] (1832-1914), Boer War commander [Sir Richard Temple (1826-1902); his son Sir Richard Carnac Temple (1850-1931)]
Publication details: 
14 June 1889; Simla. On letterhead of the ‘Commander in Chief in India’.
£56.00

See the entries for the two men in the Oxford DNB, as well as that of the subject of the letter, Sir Richard Temple’s eldest son Captain Richard Carnac Temple (1850-1931), the future second baronet. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Aged, with the gutter repaired with archival tape, and the reverse of the second leaf adhering to part of its mount. Headed ‘Private’ and addressed to ‘Dear Sir Richard’.

[Lord Roberts [Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar], British Boer War commander.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Roberts.’), sending condolences to ‘Mrs. Tierney’, mentioning his time at 'Mills School' with Tierney and cricketer Alfred Torrens.

Author: 
Lord Roberts [Frederick Sleigh Roberts; Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar, V.C.] (1832-1914), British Army commander during Second Boer War [Alfred Torrens (1831-1903), cricketer]
Publication details: 
18 March 1903; on letterhead of 47 Portland Place, W. [London]
£56.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium, folded once. In good condition. 29 lines of text. He thanks her for her kindness, ‘in the midst of your great sorrow’, in writing to inform the Robertses of her husband’s death. ‘We have often talked of you both, and wondered where you were living.’ He had thought it was ‘somewhere in the valley of the Thames, at least I thought you told me so when last I met you both walking in Regent Street - some 10 years ago’. After a brief comment on Tierney’s ill health, he recalls how ‘He, Alfred Torrens, and I sat next to each other at Mills School.

[Marshal d'Albret, French soldier and court gallant during the reign of Louis XIV.] Autograph Signature ('Le Ma[resch]al d'Albret') on part of document.

Author: 
Marshal d'Albret [César Phoebus d'Albret, comte de Miossens] (1614-1676), French soldier, a Marshal of France under Louis XIV, and court gallant
Publication details: 
Dated 1671.
£90.00

2.5 x 11.5 cm slip of paper, laid down on part of leaf from album, with d'Albret's autograph dating ('i67i') on 1.5 x 6 cm slip laid down below it. In good condition, lightly aged. The valediction of a letter, written in an undisciplined hand.

[ Field Marshal William Harcourt, 3rd Earl Harcourt. ] Autograph Signature ('Harcourt') to a secretarial letter to 'Mr Simpson', soliciting his vote for Captain Sir Murray Maxwell's candidacy in the Westminster election.

Author: 
Field Marshal William Harcourt (1743-1830), 3rd Earl Harcourt, army officer, Master of the Horse to Queen Charlotte, Colonel of the 16th Regiment of Light Dragoons [ Captain Sir Murray Maxwell ]
Publication details: 
St. Leonard's. 10 June 1818.
£45.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed with postmarks, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Mr. Simpson, | Clothiere, | St. Martin's Lane | London.' In fair condition, on aged paper. Docketted with Harcourt's dates. The letter reads: 'Sir, | Captain Sir Murray Maxwell having signified his intention of offering himself as a Candidate for Westminster at the ensuing Election; I shall be much obliged to you if you will give him Your Vote upon that occasion.' In the 1818 general election Maxwell (1775-1831) was defeated by less than 400 votes, losing to Sir Samuel Romilly and Sir Francis Burdett.

[ Sir George Nugent, Field Marshal and Governor of Jamaica. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('G. Nugent'), congratulating the botanist Nathaniel Wallich on gaining financial independence through the post of Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta

Author: 
Sir George Nugent, 1st Baronet (1757-1849), Field Marshal in the British Army and Governor of Jamaica [ Nathaniel Wallich [ born Nathanael Wulff Wallich ] (1785–1854), botanist of Danish extraction ]
Publication details: 
Westhorpe [ Westhorpe House, Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire ]. 23 June 1848.
£200.00

3pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, worn and creased. See both men's entries in the Oxford DNB.

[ Field Marshal Haig. ] Original duplicated typed 'Notification', warning the population of the occupied territories against 'hostile actions' against the British Army.

Author: 
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig [ General Haig ] (1861-1928), Commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in the First World War [ British Army of the Rhine ]
Publication details: 
[ British Army of the Rhine. ] 'Given out December 1st, 1918 in my great headquarters | Sig. D. HAIG, Field Marshall | Commander in Chief of the British Armies.'
£180.00

1p., folio. On wove paper with watermark of 'MONCKTON | BASTED MILL | KENT'. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Pinholes to top corners, the item presumably having been displayed on a noticeboard. One word has been added in a contemporary hand (details given below). An historic piece of Great War ephemera, of which no other copy has been traced, with no copies at the Imperial War Museum, on OCLC WorldCat or on COPAC.

[ Bertrand, Count Clausel, Marshal of France. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Mal Clausel'), in margin of a petition from the widow Sallemant to Baron de Schonen, requesting a the continuance of a civil list pension.

Author: 
Bertrand, comte Clausel [ Count Bertrand Clausel or Clauzel ] (1772-1842), Marshal of France [ Baron Auguste Jean Marie de Schonen (1782-1849) ]
Publication details: 
The petition dated from Paris, 18 July 1838.
£250.00

1p., folio. In fair condition, on aged paper. The petition is headed 'A Monsieur le Baron de Schonen | liquidateur de l'ancienne liste civile', with 'Sallemant' (the name of the petitioner) beneath it in another hand. Clausel's note, of eleven lines of a few words each, is in the left-hand margin, and recommends to 'la bienveillance de Mr. de Schonen' the petition of a woman who describes herself as 'une malheureuse veuve'. Laid down on the reverse is a piece of card, carrying a biographical note in English in an nineteenth-century hand.

[ Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wolseley') to 'Herbert' [ Sir Robert Herbert ], explaining that an 'odious function at Glasgow' will keep him away from a meeting in London of the Breakfast Club.

Author: 
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley [ Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley] (1833-1913) [ Sir Robert Herbert (1831-1905), first Premier of Queensland ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Royal Hospital, Dublin. 19 April 1894.
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper. He apologises for being unable to be in London the following Saturday, as he has to 'take part in an odious function at Glasgow on that day'. He gives a date when he will be in London, in the hope that there will be 'a B. C. [ Breakfast Club ] breakfast on that day', hoping 'to renew my acquaintance then with the choice spirits who belong to that coterie'.

[ William Harcourt, ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm. Harcourt'), regarding the admission of the recipient's son as a cadet in the Royal Military College.

Author: 
William Harcourt (1743-1830), 3rd Earl Harcourt, Field Marshal of the British Army, Governor of the Royal Military College, Great Marlow
Publication details: 
St Leonards [ St Leonards Hill, near Clewer, Berkshire ]. 14 August 1805.
£80.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He informs the recipient that he is 'happy to have it in my power to comply with your request for the admission of your Son as a Cadet in the Royal Military College', and that he has 'inserted him in the List of Candidates for Examination' on 1 October 1805. He states that he is sending 'the usual Circular letter, which will give you the necessary information respecting the qualifications required, and articles to be provided by the Young Gentleman on his admission into the Establishment'.

['Restricted' printed pamphlet.] Air Power. Three Papers by Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Viscount Trenchard, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., D.C.L., LL.D.

Author: 
The Viscount Trenchard [Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard (1873-1956)], G.C.B., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., D.C.L., LL.D., Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Publication details: 
Published by the Directorate of Staff Duties, Air Ministry, London. December, 1946.
£150.00

43pp., 12mo. In grey printed wraps. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. The three papers are titled: 'The Effect of the Rise of Air Power On War (October 1943)', 'The Principles of Air Power in War (May 1945)' and 'Air Power and National Security (August 1946)'. Scarce. No copy at the British Library, and the only copy on COPAC at Cambridge University, with a further two copies on OCLC WorldCat.

[John French, 1st Earl of Ypres, as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.] Autograph Letter Signed ('French') to 'Sir Edward' [Sir Edward Guy Dawber]

Author: 
John French [Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French], 1st Earl of Ypres (1852-1925), First World War General and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Sir Edward Guy Dawber (1861-1938), architect]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Vice Regal Lodge, Dublin. 6 June 1918.
£300.00

3pp., 4to. On bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with closed tears along fold lines. He begins: 'Dear Sir Edward | I owe you & the Council of the "Artists General Benenvolent Institution" a most humble &

[Fitzroy Somerset, Lord Raglan.] Secretarial Letter, signed 'Fitzroy Somerset', informing 'Ensign Bickerstaff' [Robert Bickerstaff] that he may purchase a lieutenancy in the 64th Foot Regiment.

Author: 
Field Marshal Fitzroy Somerset [FitzRoy James Henry Somerset], 1st Baron Raglan [Lord Raglan] (1788-1855), British commander in Crimean War [Lt-Col. Robert Bickerstaff (d.1894), 6th Dragoon Guards]
Publication details: 
Horse Guards [London]. 18 November 1846.
£120.00

1p., 4to. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. Raglan signs and addresses Bickerstaff at the foot of the letter, otherwise it is in a secretarial hand. It reads: 'Horse Guards | 18 November 1846 | Sir, | I am directed by The Commander in Chief [the Duke of Wellington] to acquaint you, that, on your lodging the Sum of £250 - in the hands of Messrs. Cox & Co of Craigs Court His Grace will submit your name to Her Majesty for the purchase of a Lieutenancy in the 64th Foot - | I have the honor to be, | Sir, | Your humble Servant, | Fitzroy Somerset | Ensign Bickerstaff | 64th Foot'.

Signature ('J. F. Burgoyne | Lt Genl.') on part of letter to Stratford Canning.

Author: 
Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne (1782-1871), English army officer [Stratford Canning (1786-1880), 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe; Crimean War]
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£23.00

On the lower part of a letter, cut to form a rectangle, 11.5 x 18 cm. In good condition, with traces of stub from mounting along one edge, and a thin strip of paper, with Burgoyne's name in manuscript neatly laid down beneath the signature. Reads 'I have the honor to be | Your Excellency's | Most Obedient | Humble Servant | [signed] J. F.

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