SOCIETY

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?

The present item - presumably autobiographical and definitely unpublished - is in a disordered state, and certainly not in the best of condition, with some parts apparently missing; but it is certainly worthy of attention, as a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 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’.

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’.

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.

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.

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?.

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?.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

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.

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).

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.

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.’

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.