POET

[W. E. Henley, poet who wrote ?Invictus?.] Autograph Manuscript Signed (Holograph) of his poem ?My songs were once of the sunrise?, on letterhead of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier and mother of the ?lost boys? in ?Peter Pan?.

Author: 
W. E. Henley [William Ernest Henley] (1849-1903), English poet, famed for his poem ?Invictus? [Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier; J. M. Barrie; Peter Pan]
Henley
Publication details: 
Between c.1901 and 1903. On letterhead of ?Twenty Three, / Campden Hill Square, / Kensington.? (?Telephone 3041, Kensington.?) [London.]
£220.00
Henley

Henley?s poem ?Invictus?, with its conclusion ?I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul?, is one of the most popular in the English language, and has inspired individuals as diverse as Nelson Mandela and Ron Kray. See Henley?s entry in the Oxford DNB. He was a friend of both Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and J. M. Barrie, and his daughter Margaret inspired the ?Peter Pan? character ?Wendy?. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times for postage. The letterhead has a thin black mourning border. Henley?s poem featured as the ?Envoy?

[Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, French poet, author and fabulist.] Autograph Text of his poem ‘Le charlatan | fable’.

Author: 
Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794), French poet, author and fabulist
Florian
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£220.00
Florian

A nice original item, unsigned but certainly in Florian’s distinctive hand. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with neat white-paper mount adhering to one edge on the blank reverse. Foliated 93. Sixteen-line poem, beginning ‘Sur le pont-neuf, entouré de badauds, / un charlatan criait a pleine tete, / venez, messieurs, accourez faire emplette / du grand remede a tous les maux.’ In the last line the remedy is revealed as ‘un peu de poudre d’or’.

[Alphonse Daudet, distinguished French author.] Affectionate Autograph Letter Signed (‘Alph Daudet’), in French, to ‘notre cher Mérédith’ [George Meredith], ‘grand romancier Anglais’, after visiting him at Box Hill.

Author: 
Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897), distinguished French author, noted for ‘Le Petit Chose’ and ‘Lettres de mon Moulin’ [Georges Meredith, Victorian novelist and poet]
Publication details: 
[1896.] ‘31 Rue de Bellechasse à Paris’.
£220.00

An excellent letter, linking leading nineteenth-century writers of the French and English nations. See Daudet's entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Meredith’s in the Oxford DNB. Daudet’s association with Meredith during his ‘first and only visit to England’ is described on pp.122-124 of the 1911 edition of J. A. Hammerton’s ‘George Meredith, his Life and Art’, which also quotes extensively from Madame Daudet’s account of the Englishman, referred to in the letter. 2pp, 16mo. Twenty-one lines of closely- and neatly-written text. On the rectos of the leaves of a bifolium.

[Paul Bourget, French novelist and poet.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Scottish author William Sharp?], sending new year greetings and expressing thanks for a translation of one of his poems.

Author: 
Paul Bourget [Paul Charles Joseph Bourget] (1852-1935), French novelist and poet, five-time Nobel Prize nominee [William Sharp (1855-1905), Scottish writer under the pseudonym 'Fiona Macleod']
Bourget
Publication details: 
1 January 1886; no place.
£450.00
Bourget

This item is from the autograph album of the author George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. It does not however appear to be addressed to Meredith, but rather to the author William Sharp (‘Fiona Macleod’). See the several references to Bourget in the first volume of W. F. Halloran’s edition of Sharp’s letters. 1p, 16mo. Laid down on part of gilt-edged leaf from Mrs Sturgis’s album. In good condition, folded once for postage.

[George Hardinge, judge, poet, author and Member of Parliament.] Autograph Receipt Signed George Harding.

Author: 
George Hardinge (1743-1816) of Pyrton, Wiltshire, English judge, poet, author and Pittite Member of Parliament
Hardinge
Publication details: 
4 May 1792. Place not stated.
£56.00
Hardinge

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. The present item is on one side of a 21 x 8.5 cm piece of wove paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with one fold. Minor traces of two red wafers from previous mounting on blank reverse. Written out by Harding in his attractive hand (he was a stylish fellow: his obituary in the Annual Register stated that ‘no one had a finer choice of words and few a more graceful delivery’), the note reads: ‘Received May 4th.

[Allan Cunningham, Scottish poet and author.] Signed Autograph Manuscript of the words to his ‘The Mariners Song’ (‘A wet sheet and a flowing sea’).

Author: 
Allan Cunningham (1784-1842), Scottish poet and author, superintendant and secretary to Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841)
Publication details: 
Without date (any time from 1822) or place (London?).
£100.00

See Cunningham’s entry in the Oxford DNB. Neatly written out in his distinctive hand. The present holograph gives the words to one of his most popular songs (an American version substitutes ‘Columbia’ for ‘Old England’). It was first published in the London Magazine in August 1822, and by 1834 was well-enough known to be discussed - and dismissed as ‘Puling nonsense’ - in ‘Sailors and Saints, by the Author of the Naval Sketch Book [i.e. William Nugent Glascock]’ (1834). 1p, 4to, on gilt-edged leaf of wove paper extracted from an album.

['The Laureate of Lancashire': Edwin Waugh, dialect poet associated with Manchester.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to the Blackburn poet J. T. Baron

Author: 
Edwin Waugh (1817-1890), 'Lancashire Burns' and 'Laureate of Lancashire', dialect poet associated with Manchester [J. T. Baron [Joseph Baron, 'Tom o' Dick o' Bobs'] (1859-1924), Blackburn poet]
Publication details: 
14 and 24 February 1889. Each on letterhead of The Hollies, New Brighton, Cheshire.
£100.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both in fair condition, worn and aged. The first item with one fold. Both signed ‘Edwin Waugh’ and addressed to ‘Mr. J. T. Baron’. ONE (14 February 1889): 2pp, 12mo. On the rectos of a bifolium. He would have answered Baron sooner, had he not been ‘tossing to and fro a good deal lately’. He thanks him ‘very heartily for the kind feeling expressed in your lines addressed to me on the 73rd [the 3 underlined three times] anniversary of my birth, in the Blackburn Times’.

[A.C. Swinburne] Substantial Autograph Letter Signed A C Swinburne to Walter [Theodore Watts-Dunton=Walter] with family news, a reading of Sidney's 'Arcadia', a coincidence of phraseology between 'Arcadia' and 'The Duchess of Malfi', etc.

Author: 
A.C. Swinburne [Algernon Charles Swinburne ( 1837 – 1909) poet, playwright, novelist, and critic].
Publication details: 
[Embossed address] Broxhead Warren, Alton, Hants, 10 Aug.1892. With pencilled annotation by Watts-Dunton. See image.
£800.00

Eight pages, 12mo, two bifoliums, one page stained but legible, mainly good condition. He discusses holiday plans initially for his Aunt Mary, and how they affect his own and others (we). He continues: Your sonnet on Columbus is greatly admired here - not least by me, who think [sic] it quite one of your finest.

Autograph Letter Signed, Camilla Toulmin, to Samuel Rogers, poet, expressing her admiration and discussing her writings.

Author: 
Camilla Toulmin, author [Samuel Rogers, poet].
Publication details: 
Ferdinand Cottage, Hampstead Road, 20 April1846.
£80.00

Four pages, 12mo, small closed tear, darkened edges, text clear and complete. She apologises for bothering him with the accompanying little volume [Poems published this year, 1846] , explaining that Rogers was a friend of her dear & lamented father's youth.

[Theodore Roosevelt, POTUS] Typed [but see Note] Letter Signed with customary boldness Theodore Roosevelt to the English novelist, George Meredith, greeting him fulsomely on his 80th birthday, and describing him as a universal author.

Author: 
Theodore Roosevelt [Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1858 -1919), American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, and POTUS].
Roosevelt
Roosevelt2
Publication details: 
The White House, Washington, January 9, 1908
£600.00
Roosevelt
Roosevelt2

From an Album containing numerous letters to George Meredith and his daughter from contemporaries such as Thomas Hardy, J.R. Lowell, Hall Caine, Joseph H. Choate, Clemenceau, etc. etc.Two pages, 4to, bifolium, fold mark, bottom edge stained, text clear and in good condition. SEE IMAGE. [Googlebooks] This letter was apparently published in The Big Stick (1952) perhaps from a file copy(?). See Note a. below. Text: My dear Mr. Meredith: | Will you permit a stranger to join in very hearty greetings to you on your eightieth birthday?

[Dannie Abse, Welsh poet.] Autograph Letter Signed thanking Derek Stanford for a review.

Author: 
Dannie Abse [Daniel Abse] (1923-2014), Welsh poet of Jewish extraction, brother of politician Leo Abse and psychologist Wilfrid Abse [Derek Stanford (1918-2008), critic and poet]
Publication details: 
‘85, Hodford Road, / London N.W.11 / Oct 74’.
£50.00

See his entry, and that of his brother Leo, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, landscape 12mo. The top half of a small 4to leaf of grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. The recipient’s name is not well written, but he is the critic Derek Stanford (1918-2008), who also has an entry in the Oxford DNB. Reads: ‘Dear Derek, / Thanks for send me a copy of your review. And thanks too for writing it! It is as generous as I would expect you to be. I do hope we may meet up somewhere soon. Our brief meetings over the years are punctuated - as far as I’m concerned - by intervals much too long.

[Lieut. C.A. Macartney; Poet; Book] Poems

Author: 
Lieut. C.A. Macartney
Publication details: 
Erskine Macdonald, First Thousand: June, 1915 ; The William Morris Press Ltd, Forty-Two Albert Streetm Manchester.
£100.00

Text 40pp, with 6 unnumbered pages of advertisements for books, apparently re-bound (judging by the image of the other copy currently on the Net), hf-lea., sl. speckled, one corners sl. damaged, faint foxing first few pages, with decorated endpapers (gold and silver shells), with the bookplate Ex libris C. and G.M. Bonham-Carter. Editor's Note (p.[8]): These poems are the work of a young lieutenant of the New Army. Written for the most part before the war, they reflect it in one instance only : the poem immediately following the introduction and dedication [...].

[Samuel Rogers ('The Banker Poet')] Autograph Note Signed to Lady Burdett, declining with regret an invitation that would have given him pleasure.

Author: 
Samuel Rogers, 'The Banker Poet', art connoisseur, member of the Holland House circle, and acquaintance of Wordsworth, Byron, Sir Walter Scott [Lady Burdett]
Rogers
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£56.00
Rogers

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Removed from album, and closely trimmed, having been cut down to 9 x 7 cm, with corners cropped. Lightly aged, with one fold for postage. In neat close hand, reads: ‘My dear Lady Burdett / I am very sorry indeed that an Engagement from which I cannot release myself will deprive me of so great a pleasure. Yours ever / S Rogers.’ See image

[Robert Lynd, Irish journalist and essayist; his wife the poet Sylvia Lynd.] Autograph Letter Signed from SL to Clement Shorter on the birth of his daugher; and signed autograph letter of condolence from RL to Shorter's widow on his death.

Author: 
Robert Lynd [Robert Wilson Lynd], Irish journalist and essayist; his wife the poet Sylvia Lynd [Clement Shorter [Clement King Shorter], journalist; his second wife, born Annie Doris Banfield]
Publication details: 
SL to CS: 18 January 1922; on letterhead of The Stone House, Steyning, Sussex. RL to 'Mrs. Shorter: 21 November 1926; on letterhead of 5 Keats Grove, Hampstead, NW3.
£80.00

See the entries on Robert and Sylvia Lynd, and Clement Shorter, in the Oxford DNB. (Shorter’s first wife, the Irish nationalist poet Dora Mary Shorter (née Sigerson), had died in 1918.) Both items are in good condition, lightly aged. Both 1p, 12mo, and each folded once for postage. ONE: SL to CS, 18 January 1922. Signed 'Sylvia Lynd'. Begins: 'My dear Clement, I hear that you have a little daughter. Many many congratulations & good wishes. It is very nice to know that you are so happy.' She turns to her own family: ‘We are all well down here & very busy. Sheila & B. J.

[Edmund Blunden, English poet and critic, Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, nominated six times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.] Autograph Note Signed [to Eileen Cond], appending ‘the autograph which you requested’.

Author: 
Edmund Blunden (1896-1974), poet and critic, Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature six times [Eileen Cond (1911-1984), autograph collector]
Blunden
Publication details: 
1 April 1936; 9 Woodstock Close, Oxford.
£45.00
Blunden

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of Eileen Cond, an enthusiastic collector of autographs. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. In Blunden’s stylish hand the note simply reads: ‘[9 Woodstock Close / Oxford] / 1 April 1936 / Dear Madam / I append the autograph which you requested. / yours faithfully / Edmund Blunden.’

[William Plomer, poet and novelist, Benjamin Britten’s librettist.] Autograph Letter Signed to the autograph collector Eileen M. Cond, apologising for his ‘ordinary’ signature.

Author: 
William Plomer [William Charles Franklyn Plomer] (1903-1973), English poet and novelist, born in South Africa, Benjamin Britten’s librettist [Eileen M. Cond, autograph collector]
Plomer
Publication details: 
27 August 1936; c/o Jonathan Cape Ltd, 30 Bedford Square, WC1 [London].
£56.00
Plomer

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Miss Cond, / I have pleasure in sending you my signature. As you will see, it is quite an ordinary one. / Yours very truly / William Plomer’. The signature is in fact rather stylish in an understated way, and the underlining has two small curls in it. In ink on otherwise-blank reverse, by someone who misread the signature: 'William Ploms'. See Image.

[Thomas Campbell, Scottish Romantic poet.] Autograph Letter, in the third person, to Campbell's publisher Henry Colburn, regarding an article by William Hazlitt.

Author: 
Thomas Campbell [Thomas Campbell(1777-1844), Scots Romantic poet; his wife, born Matilda Sinclair (c.1780-1828)] [Henry Colburn (1784-1855), London publisher; William Hazlitt, celebrated essayist]
Publication details: 
'Thursday 11 oclock / 10 Seymour St West [London] -'. [No year, but between 1825 and 1828.
£180.00

See his entry, and that of Colburn, in the Oxford DNB. Campbell agreed to edit Colburn’s ‘New Monthly Magazine’ in 1820, his first number in the post being that of January 1821, and the letter was presumably written between this period and Mrs Campbell’s death in 1828. The reference to ‘Mr Ollier’ would close the dates even further: the Oxford DNB’s entry for Charles Ollier (1788-1859) stating that, after financial difficulties, ‘by the autumn of 1825 he returned to the publishing trade as the chief literary reader and adviser to Henry Colburn in New Burlington Street’. 1p, 12mo.

[Mary Caroline Hughes, artist, photographer and amateur scientist, wife of the Welsh geologist Thomas McKenny Hughes.] Autograph ms. of an original study by her of the poetry of John Keats.

Author: 
Mary Caroline Hughes [nee Weston] (1860-1916), artist, photographer and geologist, wife of the Welsh geologist Thomas McKenny Hughes (1832-1917) [John Keats]
Publication details: 
Undated, but written after her marriage in 1882.
£320.00

The last paragraph of McKenny Hughes’s entry in the Oxford DNB deals with his marriage, noting that his wife was ‘a keen amateur archaeologist, a botanist, and a distinguished artist, and under his tuition she became a valuable geologist’, and that the couple ‘travelled together on field excursions’, being accompanied on a trip to the Balkans by an armed guard. Six boxes of her papers are among the rest of those of the Hughes family in the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge. The present item is 64pp, 4to, mostly on the rectos of a ruled ‘Universal Exercise Book.

[‘King of Redonda’: John Gawsworth, English poet.] Galley proof of his poem ‘Rest’ (‘Beneath the oaks the soldiers lie’) with one minor emendation.

Author: 
John Gawsworth [pseudonym of Terence Ian Fitton Armstrong (1912-1970)], English poet, author and ‘King of Redonda’ [New English Weekly, founded in 1932 by A. R. Orage]
Redonda
Publication details: 
No date [1940s]. Stamped ‘FOR & ON BEHALF OF / THE NEW ENGLISH WEEKLY. / 15 REGENT’S PARK TERRACE / GULiver 3875’.
£120.00
Redonda

On one side of a 12mo a piece of grey-green paper; creased, worn and torn at the bottom. A fifteen-line poem in five three-line stanzas, titled ‘REST’. At end: ‘JOHN GAWSWORTH’. Proof directions in pencil to convert a full-stop at the end of the fourth stanza to a comma. While the poet's attempt at direct simplicity verges on triteness, one should recall that he served manfully in the RAF: ‘Beneath the oaks the soldiers lie / Staring at the open sky / Drowsily, lazily. / Like England is this plot of green / But in the mountains all unseen / The guns’ complaint affects the scene.

[Peteris Cedrins [Peteris Cedrinš], Latvian-American poet and translator.] Collection of English language poetry typescripts, most apparently unpublished, including ‘A Working’ (8pp, in 20 sections) and ‘Aphrodite Weaning’.

Author: 
Peteris Cedrins [Peteris Cedrinš] (1964-2022), Latvian-American poet and translator
Publication details: 
Dating from between 1990 and 1992. From Latvia (Riga, Vilnius), Germany (Berlin), and US (Boston, Cambridge, Cruger Island, Glasco Turnpike Saugerties New York).
£1,500.00

Peteris Cedrins possessed an interesting dual heritage: born in the US to exiles from communism, he grew up in Chicago, was educated at Bard College (NYS), and settled in Latvia on the fall of the Soviet Union. He published in English and Lavian in the US, UK and Latvia. See the appreciative obituary by Jeffrey Sommers, posted on the ‘Counterpunch’ website on 11 August 2022: ‘Memoriam: Latvia’s Peteris Cedrins, Last of the National Poets’.

[Edward Garrard Marsh, poet and clergyman.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding communications to the Maidstone Clerical Society.

Author: 
Edward Garrard Marsh (1783-1862), English poet and Anglican clergyman, son of the composer John Marsh, and associate of William Blake and William Hayley [Maidstone Clerical Society]
Publication details: 
9 February 1853; Aylesford.
£75.00

See his father’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2p, 12mo. Neatly written over 26 lines. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Signed ‘E. G. Marsh’. Recipient not named (‘My dear Sir’). He explains that, having happened on the previous day to be in the chair ‘at the monthly meeting of our clerical society in Maidstone’, he was present when the recipient’s ‘two letters to Dr. Maitland’ were presented, and is requested to convey the meeting’s gratitude, not only for the letters, but for his history of Rome, ‘received by them on a former occasion’.

[Thomas Hood, English poet.] Autograph Signature on valediction cut from letter.

Author: 
Thomas Hood (1799-1845), English poet, author of 'The Song of the Shirt' and 'The Bridge of Sighs', member of John Scott's 'London Magazine' circle
Hood
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£25.00
Hood

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Rectangle of paper, evidently cut from a letter for an autograph hunter. Reads: ‘Yours truly / Tom Hood’. See image.

[Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, politician and poet.] Autograph Note Signed, to Octavian Blewitt, stating his intention to vote for his election as Secretary to the ‘Literary Fund Society’ [Royal Literary Fund].

Author: 
Francis Egerton [formerly Leveson-Gower] (1800-1857), 1st Earl of Ellesmere, politician and poet [Octavian Blewitt (1810-1884), Secretary of the Royal Literary Fund]
Publication details: 
[February 1839?]
£40.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. With mourning border. In good condition, with negligible remnants of windowpane mount adhering at edges of blank reverse. Written with a light touch, making the dating doubtful. Signed ‘F Egerton’ and addressed to ‘O. Blewitt Esq.’ Reads: ‘Sir / In reply to your letter I beg to state that it is my intention to vote for you in the election to the Secretaryship of the Literary Fund Society.’

[Rudyard Kipling, Nobel prize winning author and poet.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rudyard Kipling') to Captain [Stowe?], concerning the his recent departure from Rottingdean (to Batemans) and continued interest in the Rottingdean Rifle Club.

Author: 
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), Nobel prize winning author and poet
Kipling
Publication details: 
[Headed] Bateman's Burwash, Sussex, 17 Oct. 1902.
£350.00
Kipling

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, fold marks. Twenty-nine lines of text in Kipling's neat and close hand. Text: Many thanks for your letter & enclosed slip. As you say, your competition is the First step in the right way: next comes the unknown range for the disappearing man. I am afraid you will find [masses?] of opposition from the 'crack' shots &c to whom the solemn ritual of [?] paint-box and all the rest of it has all the dignity of a 'sport'. Also the meagre scores will not 'look well in the papers'.

[Robina Forrester Hardy, Scottish poet and missionary.] Conclusion of Autograph Letter, with Signature.

Author: 
Robina F. Hardy [Robina Forrester Hardy] (d.1891), Scottish Victorian author, poet and missionary
Robina
Publication details: 
Without date and place.
£35.00
Robina

An 11 x 8.5 cm piece of paper, cut from a letter for an autograph hunter. In fair condition, lightly aged, and laid down on a piece of card which has chipped at the corners. The paper and its backing have a vertical crease through them. Reads ‘Excuse a very hurried letter & believe me / Very truly yours / Robina F. Hardy’.

[Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Cornish man of letters, compiler of the classic ‘Oxford Book of English Verse’.] Autograph Letter Signed, reporting an attack of influenza and expressing ‘sincere pleasure’ at the a comment by the recipient.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch [Arthur Thomas Quiller Couch], Cornish man of letters, compiler of the classic ‘Oxford Book of English Verse’ (1900)
Quiller-Couch
Publication details: 
10 February 1897; on letterhead of The Haven, Fowey, Cornwall.
£45.00
Quiller-Couch

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged with patch of light sunning. Folded once. The recipient is not named. Reads: ‘Dear Madam / Forgive me for my delay in answering your letter. I have been laid up for a week or two with influenza & my correspondence has suffered in consequence. / And please believe that your words have given us sincere pleasure & that I am / Yours very faithfully / A. T. Quiller-Couch’. The hyphen in the signature is almost imperceptible. See image.

[Matilda Betham Edwards, English author.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘M Betham-Edwards’) to ‘Miss Birkett’, proposing a four o’clock call, as she does not like ‘climbing the hill in the dark’,

Author: 
M. Betham-Edwards [Matilda Barbara Betham Edwards] (1836-1919), English travel writer poet and author of children's stories
Publication details: 
13 January 1899; on letterhead of Villa Julia, Hastings.
£35.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB, which does not accord her name a hyphen, although she does in this letter. 2pp, 12mo. On grey-paper bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Signed ‘M Bethan-Edwards’ and addressed to ‘Dear Miss Birkett’. She apologises for having to decline her kind invitation: ‘I never can lunch out being busy till 1 pm’. Since ‘the afternoons are now so very short’, and she does not like ‘climbing the hill in the dark’, she proposes calling on her at 4pm. ‘It will then give me much pleasure to see you.’

[L. A. G. Strong, English writer and published.] Typed Letter Signed to ‘Miss Murphy’, expressing delight at her enjoyment of his work, and the hope that it will never ‘disappoint’ her.

Author: 
L. A. G. Strong [Leonard Alfred George Strong] (1896-1958), English writer and publisher
Publication details: 
23 March 1932; on letterhead of 10 Brunswick Gardens W.8. [London.]
£35.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. Sixteen lines of text. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Stylized signature: ‘L A G Strong.’ He replies to her letter by saying that he is ‘delighted’ that she enjoys reading his books, ‘and I very much appreciate your kindness in taking the trouble to write and tell me so’. He hopes that she will continue to read his work, and that it will ‘never disappoint’ her. ‘Nothing is more encouraging to a writer than to know that he has numbers of friends, whom he has never seen, but who are following what he does with interest and pleasure.’

['The most perfect ode in the English language': Charles Wolfe, Irish poet.] Photographic facsimile of Autograph Letter Signed to John Taylor, containing the text of his celebrated poem ‘The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna’.

Author: 
Charles Wolfe (1791-1823), Irish poet, of the family of General James Wolfe and Wolfe Tone, author of the celebrated poem ‘The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna’
Moore
Publication details: 
With facsimile of postmark dated 6 September 1816. No place (but from Ireland).
£120.00
Moore

The present item gives the text of the poem described by Byron as 'the most perfect ode in the English language' before its first publication in the Newry Telegraph in April 1817. See Wolfe’s entry in the Oxford DNB. The source of the present item is unclear. It is a photographic facsimile, many decades old, on both sides of a 4to leaf. In fair condition, slightly creased on browned paper, with negligible loss to margin at head. With five creases from folding. Addressed to ‘John Taylor Esqe / at the Revd Mr. Armstrong’s / Clonoully / Cashel’.

[Kenneth Hopkins, poet, critic and crime writer.] ‘Three Sonnets’ by Kenneth Hopkins in ‘The Grasshopper Broadsheets’ series of publications, with Signed Autograph Inscription to London bookseller Andrew Block.

Author: 
Kenneth Hopkins [Hector Kenneth Hopkins] (1914-1988), poet, critic and crime writer [Andrew Block, London bookseller]
Publication details: 
‘Number Three. Third Series. March, 1944.’ ‘Printed by Bacon & Hudson, Ltd., Derby, and published by Kenneth Hopkins, 670, Osmaston Road, Derby.’
£56.00

See Hopkins’s entry in the Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. His papers are in the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas. The obituary of the recipient Andrew Block (1892-1987) in ‘The Private Library’ was subtitled ‘the doyen of booksellers’; his business was established in 1911. Printed on one side of a foolscap 8vo leaf. A tasteful piece of provincial printing. Worn, creased and dog-eared, with closed tears at head. Inscribed at bottom-right: ‘for Andrew Block / Kenneth Hopkins’. Titled ‘THREE SONNETS’ and signed in type ‘KENNETH HOPKINS’.

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