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[C. Dudley Langford, chemist and mathematician whose discussion of ‘Langford pairing’ (Langford sequence) is of importance in computing.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to ‘Sir Richard [Dundas Hamilton]’, one about his health, the other about a theorem

Author: 
C. Dudley Langford [Charles Dudley Langford] (1905-1969), chemist and mathematician [Sir Richard Dundas Harington (1900-1981), 13th baronet]
Publication details: 
27 March and 2 October 1945; both from 16 Henrietta Street, Girvan, Ayrshire [Scotland].
£120.00

Langford trained as an industrial chemist and was a member of Royal Chemical Society. In later life he turned to mathematics, and published thirty articles in the Mathematical Gazette. One of these (‘Problem’) appeared in 1958 and concerned what came to be known as the Langford Sequence. Its significance is discussed by Martin Gardner, in his ‘Mathematical Magic Show’ (1978). Both items aged and creased, with closed tears, but with text complete and legible. Both are addressed to ‘Dear Sir Richard’ and signed ‘C Dudley Langford’. ONE: 3pp, 12mo. On two leaves.

[Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, leading late-Victorian and Edwardian playwright.] Autograph Inscription Signed, with quotation from his play ‘Lady Bountiful’.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), leading English late-Victorian and Edwardian playwright, after beginning as an actor in Sir Henry Irving’s company at the Lyceum Theatre, London
Publication details: 
23 February 1897. On letterhead of 63 Hamilton Terrace, N.W. [London.]
£56.00

See his appreciative entry in the Oxford DNB, concluding with praise of his ‘undeniable’ achievements. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with the blank reverse carrying very slight staining to one edge from glue from mount. Folded once. Neatly and firmly written, with the underlined signature with a deliberate upwards slope. Clearly sent in response to a request for an autograph. Reads: ‘ “A man dies but once, a woman twice - the first time when she marries, and then, as at the last, wondering at the thereafter.” / Lady Bountiful. / Act IV. / Arthur W. Pinero. / 23rd. February 1897.’

[‘Too serious an affair for the taste of the ordinary playgoer’: Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, English playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mrs. Hughes’, regarding matters including his play ‘The Thunderbolt’.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), leading English playwright, after beginning as an actor in Sir Henry Irving’s company at the Lyceum Theatre, London
Publication details: 
12 May 1908. On letterhead of 14 Hanover Square, W. [London.]
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The valediction reads ‘Yours alway faithfully / Arthur W. Pinero’, and it is written with quite a flourish: the ‘y’ of ‘faithfully’ hooks downwards in a long squiggle, exrending downwards past the right of the termination of Pinero’s signature, which rises upwards, being dotted above and below the signature’s underlining. He feels that her ‘kind letter is all the more welcome inasmuch as it gives signs’ that she is recovering from her recent illness.

Sir Richard Dudley Harington: mathematical correspondence with T. A. A. Broadbent, G. A. Garreau, C. Dudley Langford, T. B. W. Spencer, A. S. Gosset Tanner and J. Travers.

Author: 
T. A. A. Broadbent [ Thomas Arthur Alan Broadbent ]; G. A. Garreau [ Gabriel Armand Garreau ]; C. Dudley Langford; T. B. W. Spencer; Arthur Spencer Gosset-Tanner; J. Travers [ Sir Richard Harington ]
Publication details: 
London; The Royal Naval College, Greenwich; Girvan, Ayrshire; Wimbledon; Derby, Harrow. Between 1941 and 1947.
£180.00

16 Autograph Letters Signed, 10 Autograph Cards Signed and one Typed Letter Signed. The letters total 32pp. The collection is in fair condition, on aged and worn paper. The correspondence deals exclusively with mathematical questions raised in the Mathematical Gazette, with the writers providing mathematical calculations and demonstrations. From six individuals, as follows. ONE: T.A.A. Broadbent [ Thomas Arthur Alan Broadbent ] (1903-1973) of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich: 4 ALsS and 3 ACsS. TWO: G.A. Garreau [ Gabriel Armand Garreau ]: 2 ALsS and one TLS. THREE: C.

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