MILITARY

[Parnell's 'bodyguard and aide-de-camp': Henry Harrison MP MC, member of the Irish Parliamentary Party.] Autograph Letter Signed, written within months of the death of Charles Stewart Parnell, on behalf of his widow Katharine ('Kitty O'Shea').

Author: 
Henry Harrison (1867-1954), close confidant of Charles Stewart Parnell and his wife Katharine (?Kitty O?Shea?), Irish Parliamentary Party MP in British House of Commons, decorated British Army captain
Publication details: 
19 December 1891; 10 Walsingham Terrace, West Brighton.
£100.00

Parnell had died around ten weeks before, on 6 October 1891. See Harrison's entry in the Oxford DNB: 'After the party broke in two in December 1890, Harrison campaigned with his chief in Ireland, constituting himself a bodyguard and aide-de-camp. After Parnell's death in October 1891 Harrison, young though he was, hastened to Brighton to put his services at the disposal of Parnell's widow. It was then that he heard from her a very different account of the circumstances surrounding her divorce from that given in court.

[The Fall of Fort Bowyer to the British, following the Battle of New Orleans, 1815.] Contemporary Manuscript Copy of Autograph Despatch from Major John Lambert to Earl Bathurst, describing the action.

Author: 
Sir John Lambert (1772-1847), British Army general in the Napoleonic Wars [Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst; Battle of New Orleans and Fall of Fort Bowyer, 1815]
Publication details: 
'Head Quarters Isle Dauphine | February 14th. 1815.' [On paper with Golding & Snelgrove watermark dated 1811.]
£450.00

3pp, foolscap 8vo. On laid paper with watermark: 'GOLDING | & | SNELGROVE | 1811'. Aged and worn, with closed tears along folds, but with text complete and clear. The document includes two passages written in red ink which has faded but is still legible. The background to the present letter is given in Lambert's entry in the Oxford DNB: 'On 4 June 1813 Lambert was promoted major-general, and was appointed to a brigade of the 6th division. [?] Having been sent to America, he joined the army under Sir Edward Pakenham below New Orleans on 6 January 1815, with the 7th and 43rd foot regiments.

[Sir Fenwick Williams [General Fenwick Williams], British Army officer - led the defence of Kars (Crimean War]; London Library] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir George Cornewall Lewis, asking him to support the election of E.H. Nolan as below.

Author: 
Sir Fenwick Williams [General Sir William Fenwick Williams] (1800-1883), British Army officer who led the defence of Kars during the Crimean War, born in Nova Scotia [Sir George Cornewall Lewis]
Publication details: 
‘Woolwich April 7th. 1857.’
£120.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘W F Williams’ and docketed by the recipient ‘Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars’. Written while Lewis was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Palmerston's government. Begins: ‘Dear Sir Cornewall, / I take the liberty of asking you for your influence for Dr. Nolan as Secretary & Librarian of the London Library’.

[‘Lord Wellington is in full pursuit of the French’: Col. Thomas Abernethie of the Royal Marines, 1811.] Autograph Letter Signed from Major Thomas Abernethie, Royal Marines, to Cox and Son, regarding a cask of madeira and news of the Peninsular War.

Author: 
Col. Thomas Abernethie (c.1759-1840) of the Royal Marines [Duke of Wellington; Peninsular War; Madeira Wine, Portugal]
Publication details: 
‘Lisbon 16 March 1811’.
£150.00

He receives the briefest of obituaries in the Gentleman's Magazine, July 1840: 'May 10. At Exeter, aged 81, Col. Thomas Abernethie, K.H. on the retired list of the Royal Marines.' 3pp, 4to. Bifolium. On aged and discoloured paper, with the usual damage to the second leaf from the breaking of the seal. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmark, to ‘Messrs Cox & Son / 20 Bartletts Buildings / Holborn / London’. Signed ‘Thos. Abernethie’ and docketed ‘Maj: Abernethie / 16 March 1811’. Begins: ‘Gentlemen / I have requested a Cap.

[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 Grenfell [Francis Wallace Grenfell], British Army soldier, Governor of Malta, Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.] Autograph Signature (‘Francis Grenfell / Maj Genl’) cut from a letter for an autograph hunter.

Author: 
Lord Grenfell [Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell (1841-1925)], British Army soldier, victor at Suakin and Toski in Mahdist War; Governor of Malta; Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
Lord Grenfell
Publication details: 
16 April 1892. No place.
£45.00
Lord Grenfell

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 13 x 6.5 cm piece of thin paper, apparently cut from the end of a letter for an autograph hunter. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, folded twice. Reads: ‘Francis Grenfell / Maj Genl / April 16 / 1892.’ See image.

[Alfred Basil Lubbock, British soldier, sailor and maritime historian, recipient of the Military Cross.] Autograph Signature, ownership inscription on front pastedown of a book.

Author: 
Alfred Basil Lubbock (1876-1944), British soldier, sailor and maritime historian, recipient of the Military Cross
Publication details: 
Dated by Lubbock to 1906.
£35.00

On the yellow-paper pastedown of the detached front cover of an 8vo book. Reads: ‘Basil Lubbock. / 1906.’ with underlining. The cover is blue cloth, with an illustration of a sailing ship in a storm embossed in gilt at the centre. The signature and surrounding area are in good condition. The lower part of the board is damp stained, with wear and discoloration to the blue cover.

[Alfred Basil Lubbock, British soldier, sailor and maritime historian, recipient of the Military Cross.] Autograph Signature, ownership inscription on front free endpaper.

Author: 
Alfred Basil Lubbock (1876-1944), British soldier, sailor and maritime historian, recipient of the Military Cross
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£30.00

Lightly-inked signature 'Basil Lubbock' on recto of 8vo leaf of cream paper, clearly the ownership inscription, beneath signature of 'J Bailey', on a front free endpaper extracted from a volume. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased.

[The Royal Marines in the Napoleonic Wars.] Autograph Letter Signed from Charles Homfray, 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Marines, regarding ?some mistake? in the statement of his half pay.

Author: 
The Royal Marines in the Napoleonic Wars; Charles Homfray of Broadwaters, Worcestershire
Publication details: 
?Broadwaters [Worcestershire] March 23rd. 1803?.
£75.00

For the family see the entry on ?HOMFRAY, of Wollaston Hall, and The Hill, near Stourbridge; Broadwaters, Kidderminster; and The Hyde, Kinver, Staffordshire?, in H. S. Grazebrook, ?The Heraldry of Worcestershire? (1873). 1p, 8vo. Text clear and complete, on aged paper worn and chipped at edges, with one short closed tear. Previously folded into a packet. Endorsed. Reads: ?Sir / I have just rec?d yours enclosin [sic] a statement of the Half Pay which you say is 33? - 8s - [?]d & that there is only 12? . 15s due to me for 6 months.

[The Duke of Wellington, British soldier, conqueror of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo.] Manuscript letter by a secretary, on his behalf, to 'Mr: Briggs', suggesting a meeting with 'the Gentleman mentioned in Mr. Briggs's note'.

Author: 
The Duke of Wellington [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] (1769-1852), conqueror of the French in the Peninsular Campaign, and of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo; prime minister
Duke of Wellington
Publication details: 
27 November 1826. London.
£120.00
Duke of Wellington

1p, 4to. In fair condition, on aged and somewhat brittle paper, with unobtrusive repair to one corner. Folded three times. Certainly not in Wellington's distinctive hand. Reads: 'The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to Mr: Briggs and begs to acquaint him that he is going out of Town this night. / But he will be happy to receive the Gentleman mentioned in Mr. Briggs's note at the Ordnance Office Pall Mall on Friday next at three oClock. / London / 27th: Novr: 1826.' 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.?

[The Great War, Royal Army Medical Corps: A Medical Officer In Charge on the Western Front.] Typescript of Diary of Captain William John Henry, describing his service attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery, Wiltshire Regiment and Rifle Brigade.

Author: 
The Great War: Royal Army Medical Corps; Captain William John Henry M.B. Ch.B.; British Army; Royal Garrison Artillery; Wiltshire Regiment; Rifle Brigade; Battle of the Somme; Ludendorff Offensive
First World War
Publication details: 
Vols 1-3 cover the period 27 August 1915 to 12 July 1916; Vols 4-8 the period between 31 January 1918 and 7 June 1919. On the Western Front in France, with leave in Britain
£4,000.00
First World War

It is hard to do justice to this vivid, informative and well-written 250,000-word account of the author's First World War service as Medical Officer In Charge attached to three regiments on the Western Front, present during the Battle of the Somme, Kaiserslacht and Hundred Days Offensive. It is hard to conceive of a better account of the day-to-day activities of a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps on active service during the Great War.

[The oldest regiment in the British Army: the Honourable Artillery Company.] Printed booklet: ‘List of the Chiefs, Officers, Court of Assistants, &c. &c. &c. of the Hon. Artillery-Company, For the Year 1845.’ With engraved cover and frontispiece.

Author: 
The Honourable Artillery Company, London, the oldest regiment in the British Army, founded in 1537The Honourable Artillery Company, London, the oldest regiment in the British Army, founded in 1537
Artillery
Publication details: 
London: Printed by Norris and Son, Blomfield-street, Finsbury-circus. 1845. [Honourable Artillery Company, London.]
£250.00
Artillery

Scarce: no other copy traced. The only similar material are the volumes for 1851, 1852 and 1853 in the Bishopsgate Institute. Stitched booklet. 16pp, 8vo. With card cover and frontispiece, both ornately engraved. Text and illustrations complete and undamaged, on aged paper worn at edges and with front cover detached. The cover carries the royal arms beneath the engraved words: ‘FIELD MARSHAL / His Royal Highness / The Prince Albert / K.G. K.T. G.C.B. K.P. G.C.M.G. &c. &c. &c. / Captain General and Colonel.’ At foot of page: ‘Honourable Artillery Company.

[Lt. Gen.Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, Commander Woolwich Garrison] Autograph Signature from Letter, laid down album page with an outstanding hand-drawn coloured crest. Verso: engraving of Caroline Norton and her facsimile signature.

Author: 
Lieut. General Sir Benjamin Bloomfield (1768-1846), British Army officer, Private Secretary to the Sovereign, MP, Commander of the Woolwich Garrison.
Bloomfield
Publication details: 
The fragment of the letter bearing the signature dated 1845. The other material undated. No place.
£120.00
Bloomfield

See Bloomfield’s entry, and that of Norton, in the Oxford DNB. The fragment of the letter bearing his signature is 5 cm x 4.5 cm. It is dated at one corner ‘1845’, and reads ‘R. Bgham / Bloomfield’. It is laid down on one side of a 4to leaf extracted from an album and paginated 58.

[Lord Fitzroy Somerset, later Lord Raglan.] Secretarial Letter, Signed by him, regarding the application to purchase a commission by Captain Thomas Monck Wilson, 59th Foot, on behalf of his son Charles.

Author: 
Lord Fitzroy Somerset, latterly Lord Raglan [Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan], Private Secretary to the Duke of Wellington, commander of British troops in the Crimean War
Publication details: 
'Horse Guards [Whitehall, London] / 1st August 1846'.
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper with nicks and small closed tears to extremities. Addressed to ‘Thos. M. Wilson Esqre / the Captain 59 foot’, and signed ‘Fitzroy Somerset’. The document is in a secretarial hand, only the signature being in Somerset’s autograph.

[Major-Gen. Sir Robert Neville, soldier with the Rl Marines and later Governor of the Bahamas] Typed Letter Signed to Lieut. G. Hide, asking for assistance in getting back to Edinburgh after a trip to Scapa.

Author: 
Major-General Sir Robert Neville [Robert Arthur Ross Neville] (1896-1987), British soldier with the Royal Marines in both world wars; Governor of the Bahamas, 1950-1953; Combined Operations, Whitehall
Publication details: 
15 August 1943; on letterhead of the Combined Operations Headquarters, 1A Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, SW1 [London].
£120.00

See his obituary in The Times, 16 June 1987. 1p, 4to. On aged and lightly creased and worn paper. Folded twice, with short closed tears to edges of central horizontal crease. Addressed to ‘Dear Hide’ and ‘Lieutenant G. Hide, R.N.V.R. / 700 Squadron / TWATT.’ Signed ‘Robert Neville’. He feels ‘very guilty’ that he did not write to thank Hide ‘for the Walrus, which was, of course, an absolute Godsend to me. Sargent could not have been a more delightful or obliging pilot.

[Cyril Falls, military historian and journalist.] Autograph Letter Signed to military historian Antony Brett-James, regard the possibility of Brett-James writing a chapter ‘on Waterloo in the Great Battles Series I am editing’.

Author: 
Cyril Falls [Cyril Bentham Falls] (1888-1971), Anglo-Irish military history and journalist [Antony Brett-James (1920-1984), military historian]
Publication details: 
16 June 1962. 16 Archery Close, Hyde Park, London W2.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly-aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Brett-James’ and signed ‘Cyril Falls’. He is ‘delighted to hear from Brigadier Peter Young’ that Brett-James will, ‘he feels sure, take on Waterloo in the Great Battles Series I am editing’. He explains that the book’s chapters ‘are brief’, and is enclosing an explanatory sheet. Ends: ‘Please, however, let me have your reply at the earliest possible moment.’ The volume ‘Great Military Battles’, edited by Falls, appeared in 1964.

[‘Général Revanche’: Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger, French army officer and Minister of War.] Autograph Signature (‘Gnl: Boulanger’) on back of calling card.

Author: 
General Boulanger [Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (1837-1891)], French Minister of War, nicknamed Général Revanche because of his calls for the Franco-Prussian War to be avenged
Boulanger
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£50.00
Boulanger

A nice item relating to a significant figure in French nineteenth-century history. Such was Boulanger’s popularity with the French working classes in the late 1880s that it was believed that he could make himself dictator. Stylish and dynamic signature ('Genl: Boulanger'), on back of 9.5 x 6.5 cm calling card. In good condition, lightly aged. The words ‘Général Boulanger’ are printed in large letters on the front of the card, and nothing else.

['The most respected soldier of his time' after Wellington: Sir George Murray.] Autograph Letter in the third person, sending a copy of his ‘speech on the Catholic Relief Bill’.

Author: 
Sir George Murray (1772-1846), distinguished British soldier and Tory politician, Wellington’s quatermaster-general during the Peninsular War, Governor of Sandhurst [Catholic emancipation]
Publication details: 
5 April 1829. 5 Belgrave Square [London].
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that he 'was after Wellington the most respected soldier of his time in Britain, whose opinion carried immense weight both at home and abroad and not only on military matters'. 2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight creasing at head. Reads: ‘Sir George Murray has to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Wrights letter of the 4th.

[Lord Vivian [Lieutenant General Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian], British Army officer in the Peninsular War.] Autograph Letter Signed, informing Lieutenant Colonel Wylde that his son is among candidates for the Royal Military Academy.

Author: 
Lord Vivian [Lieutenant General Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian], British Army officer who distinguished himself in the Peninsular War [General William Wylde (1788-1877), Royal Artillery]
Publication details: 
25 August 1841; Ordnance Office [London].
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, on recto of first leaf of bifolium, with recto of the second bearing remains of the red wafer. Folded twice for postage. Good firm signature, ?Vivian?. He has placed the name of Wylde?s son ?on the Official List of Candidates for admission to the Royal Military Academy which will be transferred to my Successor?.

[ Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel interviewed at Nuremberg. ] Original carbon of Typed Affidavit, in English, by 'Field Marshal Keitel', giving his detailed answers to five questions by 'Maj K W Hechler'.

Author: 
Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (1882-1946), highest-ranking German army officer executed at Nuremberg; K. W. Hechler [Kenneth William Hechler; Ken Hechler ] (b.1914), American politician [ Nazi Party ]
Publication details: 
Place not stated [ United States Army, Nuremberg, Germany ]. 24 July 1945.
£350.00

2pp., 8vo. Single-spaced. In fair condition, on two leaves of lightly-aged air mail paper, with punch holes to left-hand margins and at head. Made out to be signed by 'Keitel | Generalfeldmarschall | (Field Marshal)'. The five questions are: 'What was your estimate in 1939 of the speed and capabilities of the U.S. to build up a war machine? Did the U.S. exceed your expectations in producing war material and training an army?' (26 line response), 'On what basis did you estimate that Germany could complete its campaign in Europe before the U.S.

[General Sir Edward Stanton, British Army officer and Ambassador to Bavaria.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Cochrane’, regarding ‘the Nile map’ and his son’s ‘explorations of the Bahr-el-zara’.

Author: 
General Sir Edward Stanton (1827-1907), British Army officer who served in the Crimean War, and diplomat who was British Ambassador to Bavaria [Col. Edward Alexander Stanton]
Publication details: 
8 December 1898; on letterhead of 19 Lansdowne Place, Cheltenham.
£70.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly worn. Folded once. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Cochrane’ and signed ‘Edwd. Stanton’. He thanks him for ‘sending me the Nile map, which is certainly more complete than any I had, though it does not give us much more information as to the rivers South of [Faolooda?], than is to be found in The Times atlas’. He hopes that when his son ‘returns from his explorations of the Bahr-el-zara’, he ‘will be able to extend our knowledge of that part of the Nile Valley’.

[Glubb Pasha (Sir John Bagot Glubb), English Arabist, leader of the Arab Legion army of Transjordan.] Autograph Note Signed, with large sprawling signature, in response to Typed Note Signed from Diane Richards.

Author: 
Glubb Pasha [Sir John Bagot Glubb (1897-1986), English Arabist, leader of the Arab Legion army of the Transjordan, 1939-1956]
Glubb
Publication details: 
No place or date. Responding to Richards' undated letter from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
£80.00
Glubb

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Written large at the foot of a page on a 4to leaf. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with a short closed tear to the outer edge just below Glubb’s sprawling signature, which consists of an illegible line of curls. Folded once for postage. At the head of the page is Diane Richard’s Typed Note Signed, addressed to ‘General Glubb’ and requesting that he sign ‘two pictures from my collection’. Glubb replies: ‘Dear Miss RICHARD, / I return your two pictures herewith with much pleasure. / All good wishes, / Your sincerely / [signature]’.

[Visit of Lord Roberts to Northampton, Boer War, 1901.] Large Printed ‘Public Notice’ by ‘F. G. Adnitt, Mayor’ and ‘F. H. Mardlin, Chief Constable’, of ‘Closing of Streets against Vehicular Traffic, on the Occasion of the Visit’.

Author: 
Lord Roberts [Frederick Sleigh Roberts; Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar, V.C.] (1832-1914), distinguished Victorian soldier, Commander-in-Chief during Second Boer War [Northampton]
Publication details: 
County Borough of Northampton: Guildhall, Northampton, 26 September 1901. Regarding visit on 28 September 1901. Stanton & Son, Printers, Northampton.
£75.00

An attractive and apparently unique item of Victorian municipal typography, in the customary variety of fonts and point sizes. See Roberts’s entry in the Oxford DNB. (What particular connection, if any, he had with Northampton is not apparent.) 44 x 57 cm. A strip has been torn away from the top left-hand corner, resulting in the loss of the first two letters from the heading ‘COUNTY BOROUGH OF NORTHAMPTON’, otherwise in good condition, on lightly-aged and worn paper, with central vertical and horizontal folds.

[Thomas Balston, publisher, painter and scholar of book production and illustration.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Tyrrell’, regarding the return of an engraving he has had photographed.

Author: 
Thomas Balston (1883-1967), director of publishers Duckworth and Co, painter and scholar of English book production and illustration, recipient of Military Cross, champion of wood engraving
Publication details: 
10 December 1918; on letterhead of Flat 64, 3 Whitehall Court, SW1 [London].
£50.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with one dog-eared corner. He writes that he has ‘had the engraving photographed’, and can ‘return it together with the casting’, with ‘very many thanks to you for being so kind as to lend it to 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’.

[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, Austrian Field Marshal.] Unpublished manuscript of English translations from his ‘Principles of Strategy illustrated by the representation of the Campaign of 1796 in Germany’ (‘Grundsätze der Strategie’).

Author: 
Erzherzog Karl [The Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen] (1771-1847), Austrian Field Marshal, the first man to defeat Napoleon [Carl Ludwig Johann Joseph Laurentius von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen]
Publication details: 
In seven notebooks, none with place or date. [English or American? Early Victorian?]
£950.00

In 1809, at the Battle of Aspern, the author of this work, the Archduke Charles, became the first man to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1814 his ‘Grundsätze der Strategie, erläutert durch die Darstellung des Feldzuges von 1796 in Deutschland’ was published in three volumes in Vienna. A French translation appeared in 1841, but there is no record of an English one (although JISC does throw up a work with a similar title published by ‘A Kearsey’ in 1928, the only copy it lists being in the National Army Museum).

[Col. Charles Booth Brackenbury, R.A., military historian and Times correspondent.] Autograph Letter Signed to his editor J. T. Delane, on writing and reviewing after the Franco-Prussian war, with claim to have ‘started the Intelligence Department’.

Author: 
Col. Charles Booth Brackenbury, R.A. [C. B. Brackenbury] (1831-1890), military historian and British Army officer in Crimea, and war correspondent [John Thadeus Delane (1817-79), editor of The Times]
Publication details: 
10 April 1874; from Hill Street [Woolwich], on letterhead of Hill House, Woolwich, S.E.
£350.00

An excellent letter, casting light on the relationship between the editor of The Times and a senior correspondent. See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. Brackenbury’s states that ‘During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 Brackenbury was the Times correspondent with the Austrian army, and was at the battle of Königgrätz (Sadowa) — riding with Benedek under fire at Chlum — and reported the naval battle of Lissa.

[‘I believe we shall do very well’: Nicholas Trant, hero of the Peninsular War.] Autograph Letter Signed to the British Envoy at Lisbon Charles Stuart, praising his Portuguese troops and describing the situation on the ground.

Author: 
Nicholas Trant (1769-1839), Irish officer in British Army who led Portuguese irregular troops during Peninsular War [Charles Stuart (1779-1845), Baron Stuart de Rothesay, Minister to Lisbon 1810-1814]
Publication details: 
1 May 1810. Oporto [Portugal].
£350.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB (which states of Trant’s capture of Coimbra in 1810 that ‘Napier described it as the most daring enterprise by any partisan force during the entire war’) as well as that of Stuart in the same work. A significant and vivat document, giving a good picture of the logistical and intelligence challenges faced by the British during the Peninsular War.

[Sir Henry Wade, urologist, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.] Five Typed Letters Signed: four to Waterston and one to his doctor (regarding treatment for suspected bowel cancer), with reminiscences and discussing homeopathy.

Author: 
Sir Henry Wade, urologist, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh [David Waterston (1871-1942), Bute Professor of Anatomy, University of St Andrews, debunker of Piltdown Man hoax]
Publication details: 
The five letters from 1940, and all on letterhead of 6 Manor Place Edinburgh.
£250.00

Wade donated his extensive collection of anatomical specimens to Surgeon's Hall in Edinburgh, where it is now known as the Henry Wade Collection. In 1913 Waterston had attained prominence as the first authority to discredit the Piltdown Man hoax. A total of 6pp, 8vo. The first addressed to Waterston’s doctor at St Andrews, Orr, the others to Waterston himself. None of the letters is short, and all but the second are single-spaced. The first (to Waterston’s doctor, Orr) is 2pp, the others (all four to Waterston himself) 1p. In fair condition, lightly aged and ruckled.

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