SOMERSET

[Lord Fitzroy Somerset, later Lord Raglan.] Secretarial Letter, Signed by him, regarding the application to purchase a commission by Captain Thomas Monck Wilson, 59th Foot, on behalf of his son Charles.

Author: 
Lord Fitzroy Somerset, latterly Lord Raglan [Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan], Private Secretary to the Duke of Wellington, commander of British troops in the Crimean War
Publication details: 
'Horse Guards [Whitehall, London] / 1st August 1846'.
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper with nicks and small closed tears to extremities. Addressed to ‘Thos. M. Wilson Esqre / the Captain 59 foot’, and signed ‘Fitzroy Somerset’. The document is in a secretarial hand, only the signature being in Somerset’s autograph.

[‘Missionary to the World’: Joseph Wolff, Jewish-German traveller and Church of England Vicar of Isle Brewers, Somerset.] Autograph Letter Signed attempting to clear up a confusion over agreeing a date.

Author: 
Joseph Wolff (1795-1862), traveller and Christian ‘Missionary to the World’, of Jewish-German origin, Vicar of Isle Brewers, Somerset, and father of Conservative politician Henry Drummond Wolff
Publication details: 
26 December 1851; Isle Brewers [Somerset].
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly creased and discoloured paper. Folded three time. Signed ‘Joseph Wolff’ and addressed to ‘My very dear Sir’. The letter concerns a confusion over a planned date, due to one of the recipient’s letters miscarrying and the other being received only ‘this moment’, and after his return from Norfolk. ‘I am most heartily grieved that unforeseen Parochial business of my own Parish will prevent me from leaving it before the 23d January. I therefore beg you to let me know when it will be convenient for you.’

[W. H. K. Wright: Victorian armorial bookplates.] Two Original Illustrations of Designs for Armorial Bookplates, one ‘Presented to Mr Edward Morrall Quay House Bridgenorth’.

Author: 
W. H. K. Wright [William Henry Kearley Wright], (1844-1915), poet, editor of the Western Antiquary [Victorian armorial bookplates; Edward Morrall of Quay House, Bridgnorth; M. J. Morrall]
Wright
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but late Victorian.
£120.00
Wright

Each of the two items attributed to Wright in pencil note on reverse. Both in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: On 11 x 17.5 cm piece of paper. At head: ‘Book Plate of Morrall A[?] vox stellarum vox Dei’. At foot: ‘M. J. Morrall’. (Unlikely to be the Brooklyn architect of this name active at this time.) Up left-hand margin: ‘Mr. Edward Morrall / Mayor 1885-6’. Down right-hand margin: ‘Presented to Mr Edward Morrall Quay House Bridgnorth’. Full achievement, from crest to motto, with colours indicated. TWO: On back of 9 x 11 cm printed ‘at Home’ card.

[Oxford Militia; Col. William Gore-Langton, M.P. for Somerset.] Autograph Letter in the third person to army agents Messrs Cox and Greenwood, enquiring about arrangements for winter quarters for the Oxford Militia on their return from Ireland.

Author: 
Colonel William Gore-Langton [William Gore until 1783] (1760-1847) of Newton Park,, for 45 years Whig Member of Parliament for, successively, Somerset, Tregony and Somerset East [Oxford Militia]
Publication details: 
9 December 1799; Newton Park, near Bath [Somerset].
£38.00

See his entry in the History of Parliament, which quotes a contemporary source describing him as ‘one of the oldest reformers in the House’, ‘in favour of the ballot and the immediate abolition of slavery’. 1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded four times. Begins: ‘Colonel Gore Langton presents his Compliments to Messrs: Cox and Greenwood, and as the Oxfordshire Regiment of Militia are expected to return from Ireland about Christmas, he is very desirous of being informed whether any arrangement has been made respecting their Winter Quarters’.

[Douglas Cleverdon, Bookseller, BBC producer of Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’.] Typed circular from ‘The Bookshop of Douglas Cleverdon’, with ‘order form’, printing appeal by ‘James S. Cox, Antiquary’ for material relating to Ilchester.

Author: 
Douglas Cleverdon (1903-87), BBC radio producer of ‘Brains Trust’ and Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood [James Stevens-Cox (1910-97), antiquary; Ilchester, Somerset]
Publication details: 
Undated, but dated in manuscript to 1937. From ‘The Bookshop of Douglas Cleverdon / 18 Charlotte Street, Bristol, England’.
£90.00

For information on Cleverdon, see his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is the subject of an obituary by Nicolas Barker in the Independent, 18 March 1997. 2pp, 8vo. On tastefully-printed letterhead (Cleverdon’s shop sign was by Eric Gill) headed ‘DOUGLAS CLEVERDON / WISHES TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE’, and printed in the same font (as is the order form on the reverse) at foot: ‘The order form on the reverse of this sheet should be sent to / THE BOOKSHOP OF DOUGLAS CLEVERDON / 18 CHARLOTTE STREET, BRISTOL, ENGLAND’. in fair condition, a little creased.

[John Harris Backhouse, classical scholar and antiquary, educated at the Manchester School.] Long Autograph Letter Signed ('J. H. Backhouse'), on matters relating to Richard Montagu, Bishop of Norwich, with reference to Sir Thomas Browne and others.

Author: 
John Harris Backhouse (1826-1882), Rector of Laverton, Somerset, classical scholar, editor and antiquary, educated at the Manchester School [Richard Montagu, Bishop of Norwich; Sir Thomas Browne]
Publication details: 
27 September 1881. Laverton Rectory, Bath.
£45.00

See his entry in J. F. Smith, 'The Admission Register of the Manchester School'. 6pp, 12mo. Written in a neat, close hand. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded three times. A vivid example of the methodology of the nineteenth-century English clerical antiquary. The main subject is the controversialist Richard Montagu (1577-1641), Bishop of Norwich, about whom, in January of the following year (that of his death), Backhouse would publish a letter in 'The Academy' under the title 'The Abbreviations in Bishop Mountagu's [sic] Dedication'. The recipient is not identified.

[ Jane Austen; aunt ; printed] "A Lady's Letters from Ilchester Gaol" in Notes & Queries for Somerset and Dorset, Vol. 18 (1924–5), 1–8, 58–61, 79–81, 99–105, 135–8

Author: 
Mabel C. Hammond [Notes & Queries for Somerset and Dorset]
Publication details: 
Sherborne, March 1924-June 1925
£180.00

Series of articles complete. Periodical issued quarterly, individual issues, vol. xviii, March, September, Dec. [1924], March, June 1925. Issues containing the series of articles/letters in Good + condition. Presumably found bound up with other issues of the journal, and an edition was published by the Toucan Press (1985) which is scarce (represented in four US and one British library only). See also "Grand Larceny, Being the Trial of Jane Leigh Perrot: Aunt of Jane Austen" and "A Memoir of Jane Austen: and Other Family Recollections".

[George IV, King of Great Britain.] Warrant, signed 'George R.', and also signed by the Treasury Commissioners Berkeley Paget, Lord Granville Somerset and E. A. MacNaghten, regarding pensions to servants of younger princes, out of West Indian duties.

Author: 
George IV (1762-1830), King of Great Britain and Ireland; Lord Granville Somerset (1792-1848); Berkeley Paget (1780-1842); Edmond Alexander MacNaghten (1762-1832) [Barbados; Leeward Islands]
Publication details: 
'Given at our Court at Carlton House this 30th. day of July 1825 In the Sixth Year of our Reign'.
£250.00

2pp, folio. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Excellent bold signature by the king ('George R.') in the customary position at the head of the first page. Signed at the end of the document by three of the six Lords Commissioners of the Treasury: 'B Paget | G C H Somerset | E A McNaghten'. Embossed tax stamp in left-hand margin of first page, together with remains of red wafer.

[George IV, King of Great Britain.] Warrant, signed 'George R.', and also signed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Nicholas Vansittart, Lord Lowther and Lord Granville Somerset, regarding 'Pensions to late Servants of Younger Princes'.

Author: 
George IV (1762-1830), King of Great Britain and Ireland; William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale (1787-1872); Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley (1766-1851); Lord Granville Somerset (1792-1848)
Publication details: 
'Given at our Court at Carlton House the 1st. day of May 1820 In the First year of our Reign'.
£350.00

2pp, folio. On a single leaf. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to inner edge of first page. Folded twice. Good firm signature of the king ('George R.') at top left of first page, which has a thin mourning border. Left hand margin of first page with embossed £1 10s tax stamp. Written out ('By His Majesty's Command') in a secretarial hand, and addressed 'To The Husband for taking up all Goods consigned from Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands on Account of the Duties of Four Pounds and one Half Pounds per Centum'.

[Lord Charles Somerset and George Rose, Joint Paymasters General of the Forces.] Both men's Autograph Signatures, with those of witnesses Henry Hallam, William Stewart Rose, Henry Wrottesley and [Mark?] Blyth, to document appointing attorneys.

Author: 
George Rose (1744-1818) and Lord Charles Somerset (1767-1831), Joint Paymasters General of the Forces; Henry Hallam, historian; William Stewart Rose; Henry Wrottesley; [Mark?] Blyth
Publication details: 
'this 8th. day of November one Thousand Eight Hundred and five, in the forty Sixth Year o f His Majesty's Reign'.
£200.00

For information about George Rose (1744-1818) and Lord Charles Somerset (1767-1831) see their entries in the Oxford DNB. The two men served as Joint Paymasters General of the Forces, 1804-1806. Rose, who was a close friend of Lord Nelson, was mocked by Cobbett for enriching his family at the public expense. The present document, witnessed by one of his second sons the poet William Stewart Rose (1775-1843), appoints his eldest son, the future Sir George Henry Rose, (1771-1855), as one of the two attorneys of his office.

[King of Samoa.] Autograph Lettter Signed ('Malietoa'), in Samoan, with covering letter (English) by H.W. Whitmee of the Independent College, Taunton (letterhead), prob. related to S.J. Whitmee, missionary, naturalist and friend of R.L. Stevenson.

Author: 
King of Samoa [Susuga Malietoa Laupepa (1841-1898), ruler (Malietoa) of Samoa, 1875–1887, 1889–1898]
Publication details: 
'Mulinuu [Mulinu'u] | 18 Fepuali [February] 1892.'
£350.00

ONE: Autograph Letter Signed ('Malietoa'). 1p, 4to. On ruled paper. In good condition, lightly aged, folded three times. A tentative reading (by a non-speaker of Samoan) is: 'Misi Uatime | Faffean Apia | Iau Susugae! | Faumolemole sii e silasila gneile faasamoa sa faia e u Le'an'anae o le tulagono lena fro na Tonu? I le toc faa foi mai ai pe a ua tatan ma lon taofi.| Oa'n | Malietoa | fe tupa o Samoa'. 'TWO: Covering Autograph Letter Signed from 'H. W. [Whitwell?]' to 'Mr. Stoate', on embossed letterhead of the Independent College Taunton, 6 January 1894. 2pp, 12mo.

[Westland Aircraft Limited, British aircraft manufacturers.] A duplicated typed official company history headed 'A Brief Westland History'.

Author: 
Westland Aircraft Limited, Yeovil, Somerset
Publication details: 
'With the compliments of Westland Aircraft Limited, Yeovil, Somerset.' Dated 'November 1971'.
£120.00

9pp., 8vo. On nine stapled leaves. At end: 'With the compliments of | Westland Aircraft Limited, | Yeovil, Somerset. | Tel: Yeovil (0935) 5222 | November 1971'. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. The start of the document gives an indication of the businesslike style of the narrative: 'In 1915 the Directors of Petters Limited, the long-established Somerset heavy oil-engine manufacturers, offered their services to help the war effort. | As a result, the Company was asked to make aircraft and given instructions to proceed with the construction of 12 Short 184 seaplanes.

[Westland Aircraft Limited, British aircraft manufacturers.] A duplicated typed official company history headed 'A Brief Westland History'.

Author: 
Westland Aircraft Limited, Yeovil, Somerset
Publication details: 
'With the compliments of Westland Aircraft Limited, Yeovil, Somerset.' Dated 'November 1971'.
£120.00

9pp., 8vo. On nine stapled leaves. At end: 'With the compliments of | Westland Aircraft Limited, | Yeovil, Somerset. | Tel: Yeovil (0935) 5222 | November 1971'. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. The start of the document gives an indication of the businesslike style of the narrative: 'In 1915 the Directors of Petters Limited, the long-established Somerset heavy oil-engine manufacturers, offered their services to help the war effort. | As a result, the Company was asked to make aircraft and given instructions to proceed with the construction of 12 Short 184 seaplanes.

[ Sir Thomas Edward Thorpe, British chemist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('T. E. Thorpe') to 'Mrs. Green' [ Wilhelmina Maria Green ], offering encouragement and support for the publication of a scientific paper by her.

Author: 
Sir T. E. Thorpe [ Sir Thomas Edward Thorpe ] (1845-1925), British chemist, Principal of Somerset House Laboratory, and President of the British Association and Society of Chemical Industry
Publication details: 
'Headingley [ Yorkshire ]. 20 May 1885.
£50.00

The item is from the papers of the second wife of the geologist Alexander Henry Green (1832-1896), previously Miss Wilhelmina Maria Armstrong of Clifton. 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. An interesting letter, indicating a positive and encouraging response from a member of the Victorian scientific establishment to a female worker in the field. The letter begins: 'Dear Mrs. Green. | Enclosed are two notes from Dr. Armstrong relative to your paper. As I informed you I thought there was just a doubt whether the paper was exactly of a style for the Chem. Soc. Journ.

[ Beatrice Magraw, author. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('(Mrs.) Beatrice I. Magraw') to the first British woman cabinet minister Margaret Bondfield, Minister of Labour, putting forward her views on bettering rural housing.

Author: 
Beatrice Irene Magraw (c.1888-1970), author, wife of Charles Magraw (1884-1973), Anglican clergyman [ Margaret Bondfield (1873-1953), Labour politician]
Publication details: 
Slindon Rectory, Arundel, Sussex. 29 March 1930.
£45.00

7pp., 12mo. On two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged. She feels she has 'two reasons for approaching' Bondfield, at the time Minister of Labour: 'I believe you are a Somerset woman, & know that you are interested in the question of housing.' She hopes that 'in any plans for bettering housing conditions that this government may make, the state of rural workers' homes may not be overlooked. You are probably as familiar as I am with the horrors of the “Country Slum”.

[ The Bath Herald and the Floods of 1894. ] Printed pamphlet: 'A Record of the Great Floods in Bath and the surrounding District, November 13 & 15, 1894. [ With four photographs by A. F. Perren. ]

Author: 
[ The Bath Herald; the Great Floods in Bath, 1894 ] [ Augustus Frederick Perren (d.1923), photographer ]
Publication details: 
Reprinted from The Bath Herald. Prinhted at The Herald Office, North Gate, Bath. [ 1894. ]
£56.00

16pp., 4to. Unstitched and unbound. In fair condition, lightly aged, worn and spotted.. Priced at a penny. In small print and double column. Consisting, after a short introduction, of an area-by-area report of the effects of the flood, beginning with 'Midnight in the Dolemeads. | Distressing Scenes.', 'Corn Street, Milk Street and Avon Street' and 'Southgate Street', and ending with 'Batheaston', 'Radstock' and 'Midsomer Norton'. Perren's photographs show 'Dolemeads and Association Cricket Fields', 'The Old Bridge', 'Southgate Street' and 'The Quay from the Old Bridge'.

Printed pamphlet: 'The Benedictines in Bath during a Thousand Years. A Sketch founded upon Authentic Records.

Author: 
John Clement Fowler, O.S.B. [ Bath, Somerset ]
Publication details: 
'Reprinted from the Downside Review.' Yeovil: Printed by the Western Chronicle Co., Limited. 1895.
£80.00

[6] + 86pp., 8vo. Disbound without covers. In good condition, lightly aged, with eight collotypes present as per list of illustrations. Ownership signature in pencil at head of title-page: 'Leslie A. Coke'. Now scarce.

[ Two printed items relating to the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, London Brigade. ] A pamphlet giving information regarding the London and Brighton Corps, with a large table headed 'Progress Return of No. 3 Battery, for 1890.'

Author: 
Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, London Brigade [ E. B. Fletcher, Lieut.-Instructor; A. H. Fry, Sub-Lieutenant in Command ]
Publication details: 
Pamphlet by 'Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, London Brigade, Head Quarters, H.M.S. Frolic, off Somerset House, W.C December 1891.' Printed by Woodfall & Kinder, London. 'Progress Return', 1890.. Printed by W. Collins, Harlesden.
£220.00

The two items from the papers of Sir Richard Harington of Ridlington, 12th Baronet, who features as 'R. Harrington [sic]' in the 'Progress Return'. The pamphlet is 6pp., 12mo. The front page is headed, with crown-and-anchor device, 'Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers. | London Brigade. | Head Quarters, | H.M.S. Frolic, off Somerset House, W.C | December, 1891.' Printed by Woodfall & Kinder, Printers, 70 to 76, Long Acre, London, W.C.' Aged and grubby. Folded into a packet and addressed, with postmarked Halfpenny Red stamp, to 'R.

[ Printed item. ] Annual Circular To the Churchwardens, Overseers, and other Officers required to account for the Expenditure of Poor Rates. 1840.

Author: 
Edwin Chadwick, Secretary, Poor Law Commission [ London ]
Publication details: 
Poor Law Commission Office, Somerset House [ London ]. 1840. [ 'By Authority: - J. Hartnell, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street.' ]
£280.00

7pp., folio. An unbound and unopened half-sheet. Facsimile of Chadwick's signature at end. An interesting document, in twenty-six numbered sections, laying out the duties of the parish officers with regard auditing of the quarterly Poor Rates accounts.

[ Lord Raglan, British commander during the Crimean War. ] Autograph Signature ('Fitzroy Somerset') as frank on front of envelope addressed by him to Lt-Col. Richard Jones of the Royal Horse Artillery.

Author: 
Lord Raglan [ FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan; Lord FitzRoy Somerset ] (1788-1855), British army officer, commander during the Crimean War
Publication details: 
'Dover December twenty six 1845'.
£25.00

On one side of 7.5 x 12 cm piece of paper cut from front panel of envelope. Postmarked 'Shooters Hill | Penny Post'. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Laid out in the customary fashion, all in his hand, and reading: 'Dover December twenty six | 1845 | Lt. Colonel Richd Jones | R Horse Artillery | Woolwich | Kent | Fitzroy Somerset'.

[ Lord William Seymour, son of the 8th Duke of Somerset. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Willm Seymour') and Autograph Letter in the third person, both to 'Mr. Pitman', linen draper of Devizes, regarding two works of natural history.

Author: 
Lord William Seymour (1724-1800), son of Edward Seymour (1694/5-1757), 8th Duke of Somerset [ Pitman, Devizes linendraper ]
Publication details: 
Both from Seend [ Wiltshire ]. 24 May and 11 August 1788.
£65.00

The two items in fair condition, with light signs of age and wear, and both laid down on part of a page from an album. ONE: 24 May 1788. 1p., landscape 12mo. Written in the third person: 'Lord William Seymour Presents his Compliments to Mr. Pitman Will be much Obliged to him for the lent [sic] of His Curtis's Flora Londinensis. Ld. Wwm will take great Care of them -'. TWO: 11 August 1788. 1p., landscape 12mo. Addressed on reverse to: 'Mr Pitman | Linnen [sic] Draper | Devizes'. He is obliged to him 'for a Sight of Barbut's English Fossils.

[ Nicholas Carlisle, Secretary, Society of Antiquaries of London. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Nis. Carlisle.') to 'Mrs. Smyth', discussing domestic matters.

Author: 
Nicholas Carlisle (1771-1847), Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Publication details: 
Somerset Place [ London ]. 2 January 1847.
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed, with broken seal in red wax, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Mrs. Smyth.' Addressed at head of letter to 'My dear friend.' He begins by thanking her for 'a huge slice of Cumberland pie', which he is certain 'will prove excellent'. The letter continues with references to 'Mr. Archer' and 'Mrs Grainger', the latter being 'at present in sorrow, for the death of her eldest sister at Sheffield'. In a contemporary hand beneath the signature: 'From Nicholas Carlisle Esq. | Sec. for many years of the Soc.

[ 'The Bath Contest' for the Office of Master of Ceremonies, 1769. ] Printed handbill by 'A Neutral Observer', addressed 'To the Ladies and Gentlemen, who are yet uninfluenced by Party or Faction in the Present Election.'

Author: 
'A Neutral Observer' [ 'The Bath Contest' for the Office of Master of Ceremonies, 1769, followinng the death of Samuel Derrick ]
Publication details: 
[ Bath, Somerset. ] [4] April 1769.
£180.00

1p., 8vo. (roughly 27.5 x 18.5 cm). On a piece of watermarked laid paper. The present item is the original handbill reproduced on pp.41-44 of 'The Bath Contest: Being a Collection of all the Papers, Advertisements, &c. Published Before and Since The Death of Mr. Derrick, By the Candidates For the Office of Master of Ceremonies, And their Friends, Digested in Regular Order' (Bath: Archer and Cruttwell, 1769). It is scarce: no other copy being traced, either on OCLC WorldCat or on COPAC. A frail survival, on aged, worn and creased paper, with loss at head and to left-hand margin.

[ Commander Augustus Jacob, RN. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'Augustus Jacob') to his brother 'Gay', one written from Balaclava Harbour during the Crimean War, the second describing an action he was involved in with cossacks and field guns.

Author: 
Commander Augustus Jacob (1839-1893), RN [ The Crimean War; FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan ]
Publication details: 
First letter [from Balaclava Harbour in the Crimea ] on board HMS Leopard, 12 December 1854. Second letter on board HMS Excellent, 7 December 1859.
£280.00

Jacob was one of the ten children (seven sons) of Archdeacon Philip Jacob (1803-1884). Both items are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: 'HMS Leopard | Dec 12th. 1854'. 4pp., 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper. To 'My dearest Brother'. The fifteen-year-old Jacob has a shaky grasp of spelling and punctuation.

[ The Peninsular War. ] Manuscript Letter, in a secretarial hand, signed by J. L. Mallet of the Audit Office, to Charles Stuart, British envoy to Portugal, regarding £277,450 spent by him on supplies for Wellington's army.

Author: 
John Lewis Mallet (1775-1861), Secretary of the Audit Office, Somerset Place, London [ Charles Stuart (1779-1845), 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay; the Peninsular War ]
Publication details: 
Audit Office Somerset Place [ London ]. 29 January 1812.
£320.00

2pp., folio. In good condition, on lightly aged paper. He is directed to 'make up and transmit to this Office an account Current of the receipt & application of the [...] Sum of £277,450, duly attested upon oath & accompanied by the necessary vouchers & authorities in support thereof'. The money is made up of 'various bills of Exchange drawn by you upon their Lordships on 4th. Novr: 1810 payable to M. T. Sempayo [Sampayo]'.

[ The Garrison Library, Gibraltar. ] Issue of 'The Prince Albert's Somerset Light Infantry. Weekly Budget and Light Bob Gazette', with illustrated front-page feature on the 'Centenary of the Garrison Library'. Also cricket report and scorecard.

Author: 
The Garrison Library, Gibraltar, founded in 1801 [ The Prince Albert's Somerset Light Infantry. Weekly Budget and Light Bob Gazette. ]
Publication details: 
No. XXVIII. Gibraltar, 2 September 1893. [ 'Published at the Somerset Mimeograph Establishment, South Barracks, Gibraltar, every Saturday. C. P. NORTHAN, Manager.' ]
£180.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. Complete issue, paginated 115-118. In fair condition, worn and aged. An attractive production, printed in black, with the masthead featuring the regiment's badge in green ink. 14 x 19.5 cm lithographic illustration by 'RF' on the front page, showing the library building in its setting, with a simple charm. The accompanying article reports on the centenary celebrations. 'To Captain, afterwards Colonel Drinkwater the historian of the memorable siege of Gibraltar are we indebted for the origin of this excellent institution. Thanks to the generosity of H.R.H.

[ Stephen Isaacson Tucker. ] Bound volume with 62 Autograph Letters Signed by Tucker (as 'Rouge Croix' and 'Somerset') and 9 Autograph Letters Signed by Charles Bridger, all to the genealogist John A. C. Vincent, on matters of genealogical interest.

Author: 
Stephen Isaacson Tucker (1835-1887), herald, Rouge Croix Pursuivant 1872-1880, Somerset Herald 1880-1887 [ John A. C. Vincent, genealogist ]
Publication details: 
Tucker's letters mostly written from the Heralds College, E.C. [London], with a few from his private residence in the Albany.
£350.00

Bound up on stubs in brown leather half-binding, grey cloth boards, with 'SOMERSET HERALD | S. TUCKER' on spine. Ownership inscription of Alex Thomson Grant, the Red House, Wemyss Castle, Fife, 1909. The contents in fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, in heavily-worn binding. 81 items on stubs, mainly comprising 62 letters by Tucker, 16 as 'Rouge Croix', 1874-1880 (with additional receipt by him); and 46 as 'Somerset', 1880-1887. A few of Tucker's letters signed with his name (as 'Stephen Tucker | R. C.'), but most with his title only.

[ Victorian course of education. ] Proof of article titled 'Some Rough Notes on Charlie's Education', with the aim of making a boy a 'scientific man', sent to study the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos, and avoiding the 'secret vice' of 'Self-Pollution'

Author: 
Victorian course of education to make a boy a 'scientific man', 1878 [ University of Cambridge; Clifton College, Bristol, Somerset ]
Publication details: 
No publication details. Dated 'September, 1878.'
£90.00

In two columns, on one side of piece of 50 x 30.5 cm paper. Aged and worn, with chipping and loss to margins. Two pencil notes in margin: 'this was ommitted [sic]' and 'the truth acquired mostly forgotten'. Clearly not intended for publication, and apparently the advice of a knowledgeable and well-educated man of scientific bent to his family, regarding the future of 'Charlie' (his grandson?). A reference to Clifton College may suggest a West Country origin. The piece begins: 'The subject of Education is in a great state of confusion, and great diversities of opinion exist about it.

[Viola Garvin, journalist.] Typed Letter, written on her behalf by 'G. F.', to 'Sylvia Dear' (i.e. the Anglo-Irish poet Sylvia Lynd), thanking her for 'one of the nicest novel articles we have had', and asking her to review Somerset Maugham.

Author: 
'G. F.' [Viola Garvin (1898-1969), journalist; Sylvia Lynd (1888-1952), Anglo-Irish poet, wife of the essayist Robert Lynd (1879-1949); Gerald Gould (1885-1936), reviewer with the Observer, London]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Observer, 22 Tudor Street, London. 14 August 1934.
£40.00

1p., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. She thanks Lynd for 'one of the nicest novel articles we have had in Gerald's absence', and asks her to 'be an angel, and do something else for Viola, who is vanishing tomorrow for four or five weeks', in reviewing 'the Somerset Maugham book you wanted [...] I really think he is worth a long article to himself - 1500 words, and, if you care to, you can put in a word for Heinemann's edition of the Collected Works, which we send alongside. Mr.

[Printed keepsake.] Poem by Austin Dobson, titled 'Henry Fielding. Unveiling by the United States Minister, the Hon. J. Russell Lowell, of the Bust in the Shire Hall, Taunton. Sculptor, Miss Margaret Thomas.'

Author: 
Austin Dobson [Henry Austin Dobson] (1840-1921), English poet and essayist [Henry Fielding, novelist; James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), essayist and American ambassador in London; Margaret Thomas]
Publication details: 
Place not stated [London?]. September 1883.
£135.00

4pp., 12mo. Paginated to 4. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. On laid paper watermarked 'A PIRIE & SONS | 1883'. Tastefully printed.

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