SOCIETY

[John Marshall, President of the Royal College of Surgeons and Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to Bernard Piffard, regarding evolution, respiratory problems, an award in Dublin and Mrs Pickard’s health.

Author: 
John Marshall (1818-1891), President of the College of Surgeons and Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), microscopist and entomologist]
Publication details: 
28 April 1886; on letterhead of 10 Savile Row, W. [London].
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. Marshall’s handwriting is hurried and in places difficult to decipher. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Piffard’ and signed ‘John Marshall’. Piffard’s gift of ‘the Box of flowers, with [?]’ leads him to opine: ‘The Daffodils are lovely. - Why is Nature so beautiful? Can it be merely to please the Eye of Man?

[A young Englishman in 1960s Japan.] Typescript of an untitled novel by an unnamed individual, regarding the cultural and personal adventures in Japan of character Christopher Peter Butterworth, with numerous emendations, additions and corrections.

Author: 
[Japan in the 1960s; Japanese culture; English expatriate; unpublished typescript of novel]
Publication details: 
No place or date. But clearly written by an English writer, and containing references dating it to the late 1960s.
£450.00

The present item - presumably autobiographical and definitely unpublished - is in a disordered state, and certainly not in the best of condition, with some parts apparently missing; but it is certainly worthy of attention, as a well-written production over which the author has taken some pains, with numerous manuscript additions and emendations in green and black felt-tip pen, describing from the point of view of a young Englishman 1960s Anglo-Japanese culture shock. 239pp, all but two of which are 4to, the two being foolscap.

[‘The most fashionable place in London’: The Clarendon Hotel, Bond Street; Foreign 'Great and Good@] Around 180 entries in the hotel guestbook, on extracted leaves, the greater part of them signatures of ‘Nobility and Gentry, and Foreigners of rank’.

Author: 
‘The most fashionable place in London’: The Clarendon Hotel, Bond Street [Georgian England]
Publication details: 
The Clarendon Hotel, Bond Street, London. The entries all said to date from 1831.
£1,200.00

The Clarendon Hotel was once - as ‘Routledge’s Popular Guide to London’ stated in 1862 - ‘the most fashionable place in London’, and the present collection of autograph signatures from its guestbook, all of them said to date from 1831, bear witness to the fact that - as ‘Gilbert’s Visitor’s Guide to London’ (1851) states - it was ‘frequented by the Nobility and Gentry, and Foreigners of rank’. Its reputation had been made during the Regency period, and in 1820 ‘Leigh’s New Picture of London’ stated that it ‘and Jaquiers are now one hotel’.

[Sir David Chadwick, Indian Trade Commissioner.] Thirteen Signed Letters, eight Typed and five in Autograph, to Sir H. T. Wood and G. K. Menzies, Secretaries of the Royal Society of Arts, mostly regarding membership business.

Author: 
Sir David Chadwick [Sir David Thomas Chadwick] (1876-1954), British colonial civil servant, Secretary of the Imperial Agricultural Bureaux [Royal Society of Arts, London; Sir H. T. Wood; G. K. Menzies
Publication details: 
Between 22 December 1916 and 11 June 1930. Eight on London letterheads of: Indian Trade Commissioner, Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of India (5); and Imperial Agricultural Bureaux (3). Two from Beckenham, Kent.
£90.00

See his entry in Who Was Who. The thirteen items in good condition, lightly aged, most with RSA date stamp and annotations. A total of 12pp, 8vo, in autograph; and 5pp, 4to, typed. The first ten signed ‘D T Chadwick’ and the last three ‘David Chadwick’. The earliest letter, to RSA Secretary Sir Henry Trueman Wood on 22 December 1916, deals with the publication of Chadwick’s remarks ‘at the discussion on Prof. Todds paper before the Indian Section of the Society of Arts’.

[Walter Besant, novelist and historian.] Autograph Letter Signed to the novelist George Meredith, filled with praise and flattery in the hopes of getting him to reconsider his decision not to join the Council of the Incorporated Society of Authors.

Author: 
Sir Walter Besant (1836-1901), novelist and historian behind the creation of the People's Palace in East London [George Meredith (1828-1909), Victorian novelist]
Publication details: 
17 January 1889; on letterhead of the Incorporated Society of Authors, 4 Portugal Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, W.C. [London]
£90.00

See Besant’s entry, and that of Meredith, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. The letter begins: ‘Dear Mr Meredith / Sprigge [i.e. S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary of the Society] has shown me your letter of Jan. 1 wh: I shall keep as a literary curiosity. We want your name - the weight of your name - the very great weight of your name - on the Council - a purely ornamental body’. He is astonished that Meredith should state that his name ‘does not carry weight in England!!! This from the first man of letters in the country.

[Pocahontas; Lyndon B. Johnson [Lyndon Baines Johnson; 'LBJ'], 36th President] Typed Letter Signed, as a senator, regarding a visit to America by 'the rector of St. George's Church at Gravesend' (in England, where Pocahontas is buried).

Author: 
Lyndon B. Johnson [Lyndon Baines Johnson, known as ‘LBJ’] (1908-1973), 36th President of the United States of America; a Democrat who succeeded John F. Kennedy, to whom he had served as Vice-President
Johnson
Publication details: 
24 September 1951. On letterhead of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services [Washington, D.C.].
£450.00
Johnson

The present item is a genuine signature. It has been compared with a number of examples from the 1950s, including one from the same year of 1951, all of which differ, and Johnson is not known to have used an autopen until he became president (in 1968 it was dubbed ‘The Robot That Sits In For The President’ by the National Enquirer). 1p, 4to. On a leaf of wove paper, with US government American eagle watermark. In fair condition, lightly aged, and folded twice for postage. There is some light wear to the left of the signature, having a negligible effect on its final uptick.

[Solomon J. Solomon, RA, English artist.] Signed Autograph Inscription for an autograph hunter.

Author: 
Solomon J. Solomon [Solomon Joseph Solomon] (1860-1927), English painter of Jewish extraction, Fellow of the Royal Society, President of the Royal Society of British Artists
Solomon
Publication details: 
14 October 1894; on letterhead of 60 Finchley Road, N.W. [London]
£45.00
Solomon

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 9.5 x 10 cm piece of paper, laid down on 11 cm square piece of card. In good condition, lightly browned and aged. The letterhead is printed in red. The inscription reads ?Faithfully yours / Solomon J Solomon?.

[H. Brereton Baker, distinguished English chemist.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, Secretary of the Royal Society of Arts, London], agreeing to give three Cantor lectures.

Author: 
H. Brereton Baker [Herbert Brereton Baker] (1862-1935), distinguished English inorganic chemist [Sir Henry Trueman Wood (1845-1929), Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, London]
Publication details: 
30 July 1913; on letterhead of Latchmoor House, Gerrard?s Cross, Bucks.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightl aged. Folded once for postage. The recipient is not named, but the letter has at its head the date stamp of the Royal Society of Arts, London, and is docketed by Wood. Signed ?H. Brereton Baker?. He agrees to give ?the three Cantor lectures as you suggest, provided they can begin after the 3rd. week in February?. He gives the subject as ?Catalysis in its scientific and industrial aspects?. A pencil note at the foot gives dates for the lectures as ?Mch 16, 23, 30?.

[‘He walked across Africa’: Verney Lovett Cameron, the first European to cross equatorial Africa from coast to coast.] Autograph Signature to conclusion of a letter: ‘V. Lovett Cameron / Commander R. N.’

Author: 
Verney Lovett Cameron (1844-1894), explorer who ‘walked across Africa’, the first European to cross equatorial Africa from Indian Ocean to Atlantic
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£76.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. A good large bold signature, with the autograph valediction of a letter. On one side of a 20 x 9 cm piece of wove paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: ‘Your’s [sic] very truly / V. Lovett Cameron / Commander R. N.’ See Image.

[Walter Rosenhain, distinguished metallurgist of German-Jewish extraction, grew up in Australia, lived in England.] Six Typed Letters Signed, Two Autograph Letters Signed, and one Typed Note Signed to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Walter Rosenhain (1875-1934), distinguished metallurgist born in Germany of Jewish extraction, who grew up in Australia and moved to England in 1897 [Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
1915, 1924 (3), 1925 (3) and 1926 (2). The nine items on letterheads of the metallurgy department of the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex.
£250.00

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and Australian Dictionary of Biography. The recipient George Kenneth Menzies (1869-1954) was Secretary to the Royal Society of Arts between 1917 and 1935. The nine items are in good condition, lightly aged, and are folded for postage. Each bears the stamp of the RSA, some with manuscript docketting. Letters of 4 April and 18 September 1925 are in autograph, the rest typed; all nine are signed ‘Walter Rosesnhain’.

[W. E. S. Turner, chemist and pioneer of scientific glass technology.] Eight Typed Letters Signed and one Autograph Letter Signed to George Menzies, Secretary, Royal Academy of Arts.

Author: 
W. E. S. Turner [William Ernest Stephen Turner] (1881-1963), chemist and pioneer of scientific glass technology, founder of the Turner Museum of Glass, Sheffield University [Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
1919, 1920, 1922 (2), 1923 (4) and 1924. Seven on letterheads of the Department of Glass Technology, The University, Darnall Road, Sheffield; the first two (1919 and 1920) on letterheads of the Society of Glass Technology, The University, Sheffield.
£220.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The fibre-glass dress in which his second wife Helen married him is exhibited in his museum at the University of Sheffield, and was included in the 2010 BBC radio series A History of the Word in 100 Objects. The recipient George Kenneth Menzies (1869-1954) was Secretary to the Royal Society of Arts between 1917 and 1935. The nine items are in good condition, on lightly aged paper, and are folded for postage. All nine are signed 'W. E. S. Turner'. Each bears the stamp of the RSA, some with manuscript docketting.

[Natural Indigo.] Lengthy correspondence of ten letters from Sir Lewis J. E Hay, ‘Retired Behar Indigo planter’ to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Lewis J. E. Hay [Sir Lewis John Erroll Hay] (1866-1923) of Park, indigo planter in Behar, India [G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
One letter from 1914, the other nine from 1915. Each on his letterhead, 42 Frederick Street, Victoria Chambers, Edinburgh.
£320.00

In one of the present letters Hay signs himself as ‘Retired Behar Indigo planter’, and the material provides an knowledgeable commentry on the colonial textiles industry at the beginning of the First World War. Some of the material was printed in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. The recipient George Kenneth Menzies (1869-1954) was Secretary to the Royal Society of Arts between 1917 and 1935. A total of 21pp, 4to. Each bears the stamp of the RSA, some with manuscript docketting.

[Lieut-Col. Sir Richard Temple, colonial administrator, oriental scholar and anthropologist.] Autograph Note Signed to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, regarding copies of his lecture ‘Round About the Andamans and Nicobars’.

Author: 
Lieut-Col. Sir Richard Temple [Sir Richard Carnac Temple] (1850-1931), British army officer, colonial administrator, oriental scholar, anthropologist [G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
19 October 1923. From the India Office, Whitehall. On his letterhead.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. (In his Who’s Who entry he stated that he was ‘author of a great number of papers and articles in the Journals of Scientific Societies’.) 1p, landscape 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. With stamp and manuscript docketting of the RSA. He writes: ‘In 1900 (I think) I gave a lecture on Round About the Andamans & Nicobars published in vol XLVIII. If you have a separate copy left I shall be glad if you can send me one on payment / from Yrs trly / R. C. Temple’.

[Henry Beveridge, Scottish historian and translator.] Autograph Letter Signed to Joseph L. Williams, responding to suggested corrections, and mentioning Dr Walter Graham Blackie of his publishers Blackie & Son, Glasgow.

Author: 
Henry Beveridge (1799-1863), Scottish historian, author of ‘A Comprehensive History of India’ (1858-1863) and translator with the Calvin Translation Society, Edinburgh [Blackie and Son, Glasgow]
Publication details: 
‘8 Roxburgh Terrace Haverstock Hill [London] / 29 June 1858’.
£80.00

The recipient is clearly not the American politician Joseph Lanier Williams (1810-1865), but rather an editor of Beveridge’s history of India at Blackie’s. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, but with diagonal crease at bottom right going through Beveridge’s signature. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Joseph L. Williams Esqr’ and signed ‘Henry Beveridge’. He begins by undertaking to ‘attend to the matters’ mentioned in Williams’s note.

[Albert Reginald Powys, architect and Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Burdett’ regarding ‘corporate action’ taken by the Art Workers Guild.

Author: 
Albert Reginald Powys (1881-1936), architect and Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, sibling of John Cowper Powys, Llewelyn Powys, Theodore Francis Powys, Philippa Powys
Publication details: 
11 November 1922. 5 Clarendon Road, Harrow on the Hill, on letterhead of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 20 Buckingham Street, Adelphi, London WC2.
£60.00

In good condition, lightly aged and creased. With fold for postage. Begins: ‘S.P.A.B. decided it could not take corporate action but I think A W G is doing so. We have therefore passed our papers to Mr Basil Oliver of 148 High St Kensington, who is the Hon Secty. Please write further information to him. / A R Powys.’ Note: Siblings included John Cowper Powys, Llewelyn Powys, Theodore Francis Powys and Philippa Powys.

[Lady Knightley [Louisa Mary Knightley], Anglican churchwoman and Conservative suffragist.] Autograph Letter Signed to ?Phoebe?, asking her to design a bookplate for volumes presented to her by the Girls? Friendly Society, Peterborough Diocese.

Author: 
Lady Knightley [Louisa Mary Knightley, n?e Bowater] (1842-1913), prominent Anglican churchwoman and Conservative suffragist [Girls? Friendly Society, Peterborough Diocese]
Publication details: 
9 June 1904; on letterhead of Fawsley Park, Daventry.
£50.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo, with the first page also bearing the conclusion of the letter and signature ?L M Knightley?, cross-written. On bifolium of grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. She begins by asking for a favour, explaining that she has had ?a most lovely present from my G. F. S.

[Herbert Thurston, SJ, Roman Catholic liturgical scholar and member of the Society for Psychical Research.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding Samuel Butler and the ‘Oxford theory’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Author: 
Herbert Thurston [Herbert Henry Charles Thurston] (1856–1939), Jesuit priest, Roman Catholic liturgical scholar, andt member of the Society for Psychical Research [Samuel Butler; William Shakespeare]
Publication details: 
3 December 1930; on letterhead of 114 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, London, W.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The recipient is not identified. Addressed to ‘My dear Sir’ and signed ‘Herbert Thurston’. He begins by thanking him for ‘the nice things you say’, and continues: ‘I fear I have no defence as regards Samuel Butler. I knew that he had written on the Sonnets and that some people thought highly of his book but I have never seen it. The fact was that I was provoked into talking up the question by some friends who have recently become obsessed by the Oxford theory.

[Ben Purse [Benjamin Ormond Purse], trade unionist and campaigner for the rights of blind people.] Typed Letter with cyclostyled signature, to Carmichael Thomas, describing his ‘interests’ while asking for help in joining the Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Ben Purse [Benjamin Ormond Purse] (1874-1950), British trade unionist, social worker and campaigner with the National Institute for the Blind [Carmichael Thomas; Royal Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
21 April 1921; on letterhead of the National Institute for the Blind, London.
£60.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and with two creases from folding for postage. Addressed to ‘Carmichael Thomas, Esq., / Mount Cottage, / Borough Green, / Kent.’ Cyclostyled signature of ‘Ben Purser.’ Begins: ‘For some time I have been desirous of becoming a member of the Royal Society of Arts. Mentioning this matter to your daughter a few days ago, Miss Thomas thought that if I wrote you in this connection you might possibly be able to arrange this matter for me.

[A. F. Shand [Alexander Faulkner Shand], pioneering psychologist.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to ‘Burdett'

Author: 
A. F. Shand [Alexander Faulkner Shand] (1858-1936), pioneer psychologist, author and barrister, founding member of the British Psychological Society
Publication details: 
Both items signed ‘A. F. Shand’. 18 November 1907 and 16 February 1908. Both on letterhead of 1 Edwardes Place, Kensington, W. [London.]
£120.00

Shand is great-grandfather of Queen Camilla. His best-known work is 'The Foundations of Character' (1914). ONE: 18 November 1907. 4pp, 16mo. Bifolium. Thirty-five lines. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Shand - who is weakened by ‘fever & cough’, and ‘too tired to think consecutively’ - thanks Burdett for his ‘very kind letter which was a real consolation to me in my bed’. His ‘argument about avarice was most interesting, & I think I quite agree with it.

[John Huntley, film historian with the British Film Institute.] Typed Letter Signed to Harold Chipp of the Cheltenham Gramophone Society, making arrangements for a lecture with his records.

Author: 
John Huntley [John Frederick Huntley] (1921-2003), film historian with the British Film Institute and television presentert [Huntley Film Archives; BFI; Harold Chipp; Cheltenham Gramophone Society]
Publication details: 
17 March 1955; on British Film Institute letterhead (typed addition: ‘Please reply to: / 4, Great Russell Street, / London, W.C.1. MUS: 0581.’).
£45.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper, with two small punch holes to one margin. Pencil notes at foot of page, with more notes in ink and pencil on the reverse. He begins: ‘I too a looking forward to my visit to Cheltenham on April 4th. I shall, as you say, be bringing my records with me which include both 78 r.p.m. and 33 1/3 r.p.m. As you say it will be necessary for me to have overnight accommodation and I should be grateful if you could make the booking.’ He gives details of the train he will be travelling on from Paddington, and asks where to go.

[Arthur H. Bell, publisher; British Society of Dowsers] Two Typed Letters Signed A.H. Bell, one with a very substantial discussion, to G.K. Menzies of the Royal Society of Arts, concerning the British Society of Dowsers (just established).

Author: 
Arthur H. Bell, publisher [British Society of Dowsers]
Publication details: 
G. Bell & Sons, Ltd, Publishers, York House, Portugal Street, London, WC2, 8th and 16th February 1934
£450.00

[8 Feb.1924] Three pages, 4to, good condition, with Royal Society of Arts stamp. He acknowledges a kind reply to his request to hire your lecture theatre for the [first] Congress of the British Society of Dowsers. A 'friend' Colonel Crosthwaite, suggested that I should tell you something about the nature of the Society, the existence of which is unknown to many people. And ignored by most people of scientific reputation. He speculates on the reasons for such neglect (distrust, prejudice, suspicion of magic and chicanery), referring to a book called The Divining Rod by Barrett and Besterman.

[Royal General Annuity Society, London, S. J. Aldrich, Secretary.] Printed ‘Lady’s Ticket’ to the ‘Anniversary Festival’ with impressions of ten wax seals of eminent Victorians, with names and dates in contemporary manuscript, laid down on reverse.

Author: 
Royal General Annuity Society, London, S. J. Aldrich, Secretary; Sir Denis Le Marchant; Sir Edward Crofton; Sir Stratford Canning; Sir John Cunningham; Sir Edward Kerrision; Sir James Graham
Seals
Seals2
Publication details: 
Ticket to ‘Anniversary Festival’ of the Royal General Annuity Society, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street (‘George Hudson, Esq., M.P. in the Chair’) dated 16 February 1848. Seals variously dated to 1847, 1848 and 1850.
£120.00
Seals
Seals2

Not only an interesting item of sigillography, but also a nice item relating to Victorian philanthropy. Eight red wax seals and two black, of varying sizes. Laid down in three rows on reverse of 15 x 11 cm card, tastefully printed in blue, red and gold, with facsimile of the signature of the Secretary, S. J. Aldrich. Originally ten seals were present, those that remain in good condition, most with good impressions of crests.

[Salt-Hill Society, Burnham and Stoke, Buckinghamshire.] Large poster giving the 15 ‘Rules and Articles’, and listing those who agree with ‘the before-mentioned Articles’.

Author: 
Salt-Hill Society, (Instituted 1783) for the protection of Persons and Property from Felons & Thieves, Within the Hundreds of Burnham and Stoke, Buckingham; Edmund J. Craske, Treasurer [Eton College]
Publication details: 
Following ‘General Meeting, held at the Public Hall, Slough’, 3 March 1914. Printed by Spottiswoode and Co., Ltd., Eton College. [Buckinghamshire]
£56.00

A scarce item relating to provincial history and printing. A similar poster, from 1897, is offered separately, and is the only other item relating to the Salt-Hill Society present on ViaLibri. Large poster, printed on one side of 45 x 76 cm sheet of discoloured and brittle wove paper. The item is complete, but there are numerous long tears along the four fold lines (which might be easily repaired with archival tape).

[Wisley Opening; Royal Horticultural Society; Printed] Invitation Ticket of Sir William Thistelton-Dyer to the Opening of the Laboratory and Experiment & Research Station at Wisley.

Author: 
[Wisley Opening; Royal Horticultural Society]
Wisley
Publication details: 
19 July 1907
£180.00
Wisley

Ticket, 18 x 13cm, very good condition, remnants of laying down on reverse, commencing The President and Council of the Royal Horticultural Society request the pleasure [...] See Image. Sir William Thiselton-Dyer was a leading British botanist, and the third director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

[William Yarrell, zoologist.] Autograph Signature (‘Wm. Yarrell.’) as ‘Treasurer’ (of the Entomological or Linnean Society).

Author: 
William Yarrell (1784-1856), eminent English zoologist, author of standard reference works on British fishes (1836) and birds (1843), treasurer of the Entomological Society and the Linnean Society
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£35.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11 x 7.5 cm piece of paper, cut from a printed document. The signature is large, bold and undamaged, on heavily-worn paper with several instances of damage, laid down on a piece of card. The printed text reads: ‘[...] / I [have] the honour to be, / Sir, / Your most obedient / and very humble Servant, / [Autograph Signature ‘Wm. Yarrell’] / Treasurer.’

[Russell John Reynolds, radiologist and inventor.] Two Typed Letters Signed to the Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, London, the first concerning the Röntgen Society and the second agreeing to become a Fellow of the Society.

Author: 
Russell John Reynolds (1880-1964), radiologist, inventor with his friend Sir William Crookes of a type of cineradiography (x-ray) machine [G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, London]
Publication details: 
ONE: 14 January 1926; on letterhead of the Röntgen Society, London. TWO: 9 July 1947; on his letterhead (‘Dr. Russell Reynolds’), 30 Welbeck Street, W1 [London].
£180.00

Despite the fact that Reynolds and Crookes’s X-ray apparatus is now in the Science Museum at South Kensington, Reynolds has no entry in the Oxford DNB, although Crookes’s entry can be consulted. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged and worn. Both folded several times. Both 1p, 4to, and both signed ‘Russell J. Reynolds’. ONE: Addressed to G. K. Menzies of the Royal Society of Arts. With recipient's red pencil tick.

[Lord Braybrooke, the first editor of the diary of Samuel Pepys.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding the ‘Memoir of Ambrose Barnes’, and Audley End.

Author: 
Lord Braybrooke [Richard Griffin, 3rd Baron Braybrooke (1783-1858), born Richard Neville] of Audley End, Whig politician and first editor of the diary of Samuel Pepys, President of the Camden Society
Publication details: 
‘Audley End [Essex] / Novr 9. 1828’.
£56.00

See his entries in the Oxford DNB (where his edition of Pepys is described as ‘an amateurish travesty’ of the transcript) and the History of Parliament. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and folded twice. Good neat signature: ‘Braybrooke’. The recipient is not named, but the name of the editor of the work mentioned by Braybrooke is given as 'C.

[Theodore Hook, wit and hoaxer.] Autograph Letter Signed, to ‘Barker’, explaining the circumstances that free him to accept a dinner invitation.

Author: 
Theodore Hook [Theodore Edward Hook] (1788-1841), author, wit and hoaxer, accountant-general and treasurer of Mauritius, 1813-1817
Publication details: 
‘Friday Evg’ [no date or place].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, on an 11 x 14 cm piece of paper cut down from 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with minor traces of glue from mount adhering to the blank reverse. The letter reads: ‘My dear Barker / I shall be most happy to join your agreeable party - Croker to whom I was engaged for Monday goes on from Apethorpe to Belvoir instead of coming home[,] so I am at liberty - Milne is I believe on a visit to the Marquess of Bute at Luton. / Yrs most truly / Theodore S Hook’.

[Samuel Carter Hall, editor of the Art Journal.] Autograph Letters Signed and Autograph Note Signed to ‘Crofton’, i.e. Thomas Crofton Croker, the letter regarding ‘the Palatines’ and the note a ‘certificate’ at ‘the Antiquaries’.

Author: 
Samuel Carter Hall (1800-1889), Anglo-Irish journalist and author, editor of the Art Journal [Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Anglo-Irish antiquary, folklorist; George Godwin (1813-88), architect]
Publication details: 
The letter undated [circa 1843?] and the note 27 February [no year]. Neither with place.
£75.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. Each item 1p, 12mo, on a bifolium. Both in fair condition, lightly aged, and both folded twice for postage. Both addressed to ‘My dear Crofton’. LETTER: Signed ‘S C H’. Presumably while working on ‘A Week at Killarney’, the book he and his wife published in London in 1843, Hall asks for ‘one or two morsels about the Palatines’ (see ‘Killarney’, pp. 78-79, a peculiar race of strangers): ‘Why were they planted in Ireland? - when precisely? by whom precisely’. NOTE. Signed ‘S. C. Hall’. ‘Godwin tells me the certificate is not “up” at the Antiquaries.

[Society for Irish Church Missions to the Roman Catholics.] Printed promotional pamphlet, including ‘The West Galway Church Building Fund / Appeal from the Bishop of Tuam.’ [i.e. Thomas Span Plunket]

Author: 
Society for Irish Church Missions to the Roman Catholics, Anglican missionary society, founded 1849 [The West Galway Church Building Fund; Thomas Span Plunket, Bishop of Tuam; Rev. Alexander Dallas]
Publication details: 
[November, 1850.] For the Society for Irish Church Missions to the Roman Catholics [The West Galway Church Building Fund].
£320.00

A scarce item: the only copy on COPAC at Trinity College Dublin. (WorldCat records a German library holding). See the entry on the Society’s founder, Rev. Alexander Dallas, in the Oxford DNB. The organisation, which still operates, is a controversial one. It was founded to convert Irish Roman Catholics to Protestantism, and the attitude of those involved can be gauged by the fact that its members considered the Potato Famine a judgement on the Catholics and made relief conditional on conversion, and that the Bishop of Tuam evicted tenants for not sending their children to Protestant schools.

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