SOLDIER

[Lawrence of Arabia: unpublished personal recollections of Henry Williamson, author of ‘Tarka the Otter’.] Autograph Typescript by Williamson, with one Autograph Manuscript emendation, of passage from memoir.

Author: 
Henry Williamson (1895-1977), novelist, author of ‘Tarka the Otter’ [T. E. Lawrence [Thomas Edward Lawrence; ‘Lawrence of Arabia’] (1888-1935), author of ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’]
Publication details: 
No date or place. (1930s or 1940s?)
£150.00

From the Henry Williamson papers. The present text does not feature in Williamson’s 1941 memoir of Lawrence ‘Genius of Friendship’, and appears to be unpublished. (According to Williamson’s entry in the Oxford DNB, the publication in 1927 of ‘Tarka the Otter’ ‘attracted the attention of T. E. Lawrence, whose letter of praise started a correspondence and friendship between the two.

[Sir Charles Craufurd [Sir Charles Gregan Craufurd], gallant British soldier.] Autograph itemised financial statement: 'Major Craufurd's Account', with signed receipt, for costs including the Duke of York's 'Pellice' and 'Post Horses'.

Author: 
Sir Charles Craufurd [Sir Charles Gregan Craufurd] (1761-1821), gallant British soldier, equerry to the Duke of York, and later a Tory Member of Parliament
Publication details: 
16 January 1794. No place [on active duty in the Netherlands].
£150.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. In 1787 he had been appointed equerry to the Duke of York, and he accompanied him to the Netherlands as Aide-de-Camp. The present item was written a three months before the Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies, at which Craufurd, at the head of two squadrons, is said to have captured three guns and a thousand men. 1p, 12mo. On watermarked laid paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with creases from having been folded into a packet. Docketed on reverse. Reads: ‘Major Craufurd’s Account. / Paid to the Russian Minister at Brussels for a Pellice for the Duke ..

[General Sir David Dundas, Scottish soldier, British Army officer and military author, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.] Manuscript Document regarding Alexander Adair and the clothing of his regiment, Signed by him with his seal.

Author: 
General Sir David Dundas (c.1735-1820), Scottish soldier, British Army officer in the Seven Years' War and French Revolutionary Wars and military writer, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
Publication details: 
23 June 1796. 'Entered in the Office for Auditing the Public Accounts the 9th of February 1797'.
£320.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, folio. Text clear and entire, on worn and grubby paper, with chipping to edges and slight loss to one corner, with one closed tear repaired with archival tape. Embossed tax stamps at head. Good firm signature at bottom right ‘David Dundas.’, beside small seal in red wax, with crumbling impression. At bottom left: ‘Signed Sealed and Delivered (being first duly stampt) in the Presence of us / John Landon / M King’. Downwards in left-hand margin: 'Entered in the Office for Auditing the Public Accounts the 9th of February 1797 / Thos Gibbes’.

[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.?

[General Sir James Pulteney [Sir James Murray-Pulteney, 7th Baronet], Scottish soldier.] Autograph Signature, as Secretary at War, to War Office printed circular regarding clothing, made out ‘for the Establishment of the Cambridge Regiment of Militia

Author: 
General Sir James Pulteney [Sir James Murray-Pulteney, 7th Baronet (c.1755-1811), Scottish soldier with the British Army in the American War of Indendence, Member of Parliament and Secretary at War
Ja: Pulteney
Publication details: 
'(CIRCULAR.) / WAR-OFFICE, / 10th JULY, 1807.' [Whitehall, London.]
£120.00
Ja: Pulteney

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Folded twice. A printed circular, completed in manuscript by a secretary for the ‘Earle of Hardwicke Kt’ (as Colonel of the Cambridge Regiment of Militia), and signed by Pulteney ‘Ja: Pulteney’. Note at head of page in a third contemporary hand: ‘Copied for Col. the Rt. Hon. Chas. Yorke - 14/7/7’.

[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?.

[The man who saved William of Orange from capture: Brigadier General Henry Lumley.] Autograph Signature (‘H Lumley’) to Exchequer receipt for £25. With signature of witness John Letton.

Author: 
Brigadier General Henry Lumley (c.1658-1722), army officer and Member of Parliament, brother of Richard Lumley, first earl of Scarborough; John Letton
Lumley
Publication details: 
12 January 1716. [His Majesty's Exchequer, London.]
£120.00
Lumley

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament, the former of which notes his ‘high reputation for courage’ and his presence ‘at Neerwinden and Landen in 1693, covering the retreat on 19 July, and saving William III from capture by the enemy’. 1p, 8vo. On aged and worn paper, with chipping to edges and pitting along a horizontal central line, but with both signatures clear and unblemished. The customary printed document, completed in manuscript. Records in a secretarial hand, the receipt of £25 by ‘Hen: Lumley Esqr. attor to the Rt.

[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]’.

[Sir Frederick Lugard [Lord Lugard], Governor of Hong Kong, Governor-General of Nigeria.] Typed Letter Signed (‘Lugard’) to ‘Dickinson’ (Lord Dickinson), regarding ‘Kenya settlers’ and a matter of ‘British honour’.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Lugard [Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard; Lord Lugard] (1858-1945), soldier, explorer, Governor of Hong Kong, first Governor-General of Nigeria [Sir Willoughby Dickinson]
Publication details: 
5 January 1933. On letterhead of Little Parkhurst, Abinger Common, near Dorking, Surrey.
£100.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Lord Dickinson [Sir Willoughby Dickinson] (1859-1943), was a Liberal and then Labour politician and early advocate of the League of Nations.1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with short nick to one edge. Folded twice. He thanks him for the morning’s note, and is ‘adopting your suggestion to put down a Motion in the Lords’. He hopes that Dickinson will ‘add the weight of your name and influence in a letter to the Times’. He would like ‘the League of Nations Union would take the matter up’.

[ General Colin Campbell ] Secretarial Letter Signed C Campbell | L Colonel | 98th Regt to The Quarter Master General | Horse Guards | London, asking for a Route for some of his Men.

Author: 
[ Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde(1792 – 1863), British Army officer (Napoleonic, Opium War, Crimea, Indian Mutiny).]
Publication details: 
Weedon Barracks, 11th May 1838.
£100.00

One page, folio, edges dusted and sl. stained, text clear and complete. Sir | The General Commanding in Chief having been pleased to approve of the Men of the 98th Regiment named in the margin, being sent to Chatham for the purpose of appearing before the Chelsea Board, I have the honor to request you will be pleased to furnish me with a Route for those men to proceed accordingly under charge of a Serjeant. Nine Privates' names are written in the left margin.

[Colonel Sir Anthony Coningham Sterling of the Highland Brigade, Scottish soldier and military historian.] First four pages of Autograph Letter to 'Maclean', describing his efforts to obtain a commission for Maclean's 'Young friend'.

Author: 
Colonel Sir Anthony Coningham Sterling (1805–1871), Scottish soldier who distinguished himself during the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny, author of 'The Highland Brigade in the Crimea'
Publication details: 
3 South Place, Knightsbridge. 1 November 1856.
£120.00

4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Evidently incomplete: the first part only of a long letter. Begins: 'My dear Maclean | I have it not in my heart to put forward an excuse for very long silence, beyond an amount of employment the like of which I have never had thrown upon me before, for many years.' He hopes to see him, but leaves that night 'for the North on a tour of inspection'.

[ Count Friedrich Waldburg-Truchsess, Prussian soldier and diplomat associated with Beethoven and Napoleon. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Waldburg-Truchseß'), in French, congratulating 'Monsieur le Colonell Na<meyr?> and his wife on the birth of a son

Author: 
Count Friedrich Waldburg-Truchsess [ Friedrich Ludwig Truchseß Graf von Waldburg ] (1776-1844), Prussian soldier and diplomat associated with Beethoven and Napoleon Bonaparte
Publication details: 
[ The Hague, Netherlands. 14 March 1832. ]
£150.00

Waldburg-Truchsess appointed Beethoven Kapellmeister to the King of Westphalia when serving as the King's Chamberlain, and was one of the four Commissioners responsible for supervising Napoleon's exile in Elba. The letter is written on the eve of his return from the Hague, where he had been Prussian ambassador since 1827. 1p., 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper with wear along one edge, and damage to second leaf caused by breaking of seal (not present).

[ The Earl of Albemarle, as Lord Bury. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Bury') to 'Major Richardson', regarding the arrangements [ by the National Rifle Association ] for the visit of the 'Belgians' [ Belgian Volunteers ] to Wimbledon.

Author: 
[ Lord Bury ] William Coutts Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle (1832-1894), styled Viscount Bury between 1851 and 1891, British soldier and politician [ National Rifle Association ]
Publication details: 
8 St Martin's Lane [ London ]. 10 July 1867.
£45.00

2pp., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. On behalf of 'the Executive Committee', he thanks him and 'the Sub Committee' for the letter 'reporting the conclusion of the arrangements for Reception of the Belgians at Wimbledon', and declares the arrangements satisfactory. The letter concludes with a resolution of the Executive Committee, requesting the Sub Committee 'to continue their labours in this department until after the Departure of the Belgians from Wimbledon'.

[ Emmanuel-Félicité de Durfort , Duc de Duras, Maréchal de France. ] Autograph Document Signed ('Le Duc de Duras'), undertaking to pay a sum of money.

Author: 
Emmanuel-Félicité de Durfort , Duc de Duras (1715-1789), Maréchal de France, French soldier and politician
Publication details: 
Paris. 31 May 1766.
£100.00

1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly-aged. Twelve lines of text in a close hand. The document has been signed and docketed: 'Douzieme et derniere Inventoire cette soixante seize', with the underlining of passages in which Duras undertakes to pay the sum as soon as possible, and with exactitude.

[Sir John William Kaye, military historian and civil servant.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. W. Kaye') to 'Mr. King'.

Author: 
Sir John William Kaye (1814-1876), British soldier, military historian and civil servant
Publication details: 
On India Office letterhead. 3 July 1863.
£25.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. He has heard that King is 'to preside at the dinner tomorrow' and so is writing to him 'what I wrote to Smith that I am very sorry I can not "support the Chair", as I had a previous inviitation - our friends gave me this time only a few day's notice'. In any case, he has 'such a miserable cold' and is 'so incapable' that he will be 'no loss to your party'. It is with difficulty that he has 'got through my numerous mail duties'.

[Nerot & Nandies, wigmakers.] Manuscript itemised receipt to Colonel Archibald Robertson, for '2 Natural Hair Curld Bob Wigs' and other items.

Author: 
Nerot & Naudies, wigmakers [Lieutenant-General Archibald Robertson of Lawers, Scottish soldier who participated in the Battle of Havana, 1762, and the American War of Independence]
Publication details: 
30 November 1797. [Scotland?]
£100.00

On a piece of 8.5 x 19 cm watermarked paper. In good condition, lightly aged. One side carries the receipt: 'Col. Archd. Robertson | To Jno. Nerot and A. Naudies | 1797 Novem 30th. To 2 Natural Hair Curld Bob Wigs . . . . 4. 4. 0 | Another do do Loose Curl Scratches . . . . 2. 2. 0 | 2 pairs of Silk wig Laced . . . . 0. 1. 0 | Boxes & Packing Case &c . . . . 0. 2. 6 | £6. 9. 6 - | Receivd the Contents for Self & Jno. Nerot By Me - A. Naudies'. The other side is docketted by Robertson: 'Receipt | Naudies for Wigs | Novr. 1797 | £6. 9. 6'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('G R Gleig') from George Robert Gleig, Chaplain of Chelsea Hospital, to the editor of the Literary Gazette William Jerdan'. With portrait.

Author: 
George Robert Gleig (1796-1888), Scottish soldier and author, Chaplain to the Chelsea Hospital, Chaplain-General of the Forces, Inspector-General of Military Schools [William Jerdan (1782-1869)]
Publication details: 
Place not stated; 'Tuesday evng' [postmarked 21 February 1827]
£56.00

3pp., 12mo. A bifolium, with the reverse of the second leaf addressed by Gleig to Jerdan at Grove House, Brompton, and carrying a red postmark and Gleig's seal in black wax. Gleig cannot accept Jerdan's offer of 'admissions for the opera' himself, 'but some most particular friends' of his have 'just come to town', and if he were to 'transfer' his 'kindness' to them, Gleig would be obliged. He gives alternative dates, and an address for the tickets to be sent to.

Autograph Letter signed "W.H. Sykes", Indian Army officer, statistician etc, to "Wm. Brown".

Author: 
Colonel William Henry Sykes, FRS (1790-1872), Indian Army officer, politician, ornithologist and statistician.
Autograph Letter signed "W.H. Sykes", Indian Army officer
Publication details: 
28 Marine Sq[uare], Brighton, 24 August 1861.
£125.00
Autograph Letter signed "W.H. Sykes", Indian Army officer

Two pages, 12mo, minor staining, mainly good condition.

Two Typed Letters Signed to W. Perry, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Captain Sir Harold George Campbell
Publication details: 
29 November and 4 December 1933; both on letterhead '11, GROSVENOR CRESCENT, S.W.1.'
£32.00

British soldier and courtier (1888-1969), Equerry and Groom of the Robes to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Both letters written in capacity as Private Secretary to the Duke of York. Both very good, though grubby, docketed and bearing the Society's stamp. LETTER ONE (one page, 12mo): 'Further to your letter of September 20th., which the Duke of York has had under his consideration, His Royal Highness desires me to tell you that he will be very pelased to be present at the Meeting at which Mr. Robert Hyde will read a paper, on February 7th. 1934.

Order to pay Captain Eliphalet Thorp.

Author: 
Finn Wadsworth, John Chenevard, John Lawrence [American War of Independence, Connecticut Pay Table]
Publication details: 
06/03/80
£250.00

On piece of laid paper, dimensions roughly 7 1/2 inches by 6 inches. Browning, creased and discoloured, with some foxing and staining. Reads 'Sir | Pay Capt. Eliphalet Thorp Six hundred pounds - and charge the State . . . Pay Table Office March 6th 1780 | £600'. Signature of 'Saml written over those of two members of the Connecticut Pay Table, Finn Wadsworth and John Chenevard, and with 'John Lawrence Esqr- | Treasurer' in bottom left-hand corner. Docketed on reverse 'Dan Parmule' and 'No 3239 | Order | Capt. Eliphalet Thorp | £600 | March 6th. 1780'.

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