THE

[Sir Charles Wheeler [Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler], the first sculptor to be President of the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed declining an invitation ‘to lecture on some Aspect of Renaissance Sculpture’.

Author: 
Sir Charles Wheeler [Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler] (1892-1974), the first sculptor to be President of the Royal Academy, 1956 to1966
Publication details: 
10 January [1961?]; on his letterhead, 2A Cathcard Road, South Kensington, SW10 [London].
£60.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. The year of the letter looks more like ‘1901’ than ‘1961’, but the letterhead names the writer as ‘Charles Wheeler, C.B.E., R.A.’ Addressed to ‘Dear Sir’ and signed ‘Charles Wheeler’. Having received two letters from the unnamed recipient, he explains that the first ‘got mixed with some papers sent to my Accountant and therefore was not answered’. He apologises for ‘the consequent neglect’.

[Rollo Russell, meteorologist, son of Lord John Russell and uncle of Bertrand Russell.] Autograph Postcard Signed.

Author: 
Rollo Russell [Francis Albert Rollo Russell] (1849-1914), meteorologist and scientific writer, son of Liberal Prime Minister Lord John Russell and uncle of philosopher Bertrand Russell
Russell
Publication details: 
No date, but with Haslemere postmark of 8 May 1895. In autograph: 'Dunrozel. Haslemere.'
£45.00
Russell

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11.5 x 9 cm plain post card with printed half penny stamp. In fair condition, lightly aged, with dog eared corner and spike hole (through part of address on one side and blank space at bottom left on message side). Addressed by Russell to ‘The Secretary / Society of Arts / John St / Adelphi / London / W.C.’ Reads: ‘Dunrozel, Haslemere. / In reply I beg to say I shd like the Journal “supplied in a bound volume at the conclusion of the Vol. in Nov.” / J. A. R. Russell’.

[Ruby Miller, actress, one of the ‘Gaiety Girls’.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Popie’ (the theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope), regarding BBC TV, ‘the Gaiety fiasco’ and ‘Gaiety Girls who married out of the peerage & retired into the country’.

Author: 
Ruby Miller [Ruby Laura Rose Miller] (1889-1976), actress, one of George Edwardes' 'Gaiety Girls' [W. J. MacQueen-Pope [‘Popie’] (1888-1960), theatre historian]
Publication details: 
16 July 1957; on her letterhead.
£50.00

See her entry and his in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Signed ‘Ruby’. Begins: ‘Popie, darling, / What are we coming to? / You - as a pierrot with the “Fol-de-Rols”! / BBC/TV must be mad not to let you do a talk on the St. James’s. / But after the Gaiety fiasco I can believe anything of them.

[Samuel Rogers ('The Banker Poet')] Autograph Note Signed to Lady Burdett, declining with regret an invitation that would have given him pleasure.

Author: 
Samuel Rogers, 'The Banker Poet', art connoisseur, member of the Holland House circle, and acquaintance of Wordsworth, Byron, Sir Walter Scott [Lady Burdett]
Rogers
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£56.00
Rogers

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Removed from album, and closely trimmed, having been cut down to 9 x 7 cm, with corners cropped. Lightly aged, with one fold for postage. In neat close hand, reads: ‘My dear Lady Burdett / I am very sorry indeed that an Engagement from which I cannot release myself will deprive me of so great a pleasure. Yours ever / S Rogers.’ See image

[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.

[Geoffrey Jenkins, South African journalist and novelist, friend of Ian Fleming and author of an unpublished James Bond novel.] Typed Letter Signed to the autograph hunter Eileen Cond, regarding his next novel ‘A Grue of Ice’.

Author: 
Geoffrey Jenkins [Geoffrey Ernest Jenkins] (1920-2001), South African writer, husband of Eve Palmer, friend of Ian Fleming, author of an unpublished James Bond novel [Eileen Cond, autograph hunter]
Publication details: 
10 February 1961; on letterhead of The Star (‘Pretoria Office’).
£120.00

Jenkins’s Bond book ‘Per Fine Ounce’, which he claimed was based on a diamond-smuggling storyline he had developed with Fleming in 1957, was rejected by Fleming’s production company Glidrose in 1966. The recipient Eileen Margaret Cond (1911-1984) of Honiton was an enthusiastic collector of autographs, with the ability of drawing a more than perfunctory response from her targets. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Signed 'Geoffrey Jenkins'.

[Edmund Blunden, English poet and critic, Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, nominated six times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.] Autograph Note Signed [to Eileen Cond], appending ‘the autograph which you requested’.

Author: 
Edmund Blunden (1896-1974), poet and critic, Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature six times [Eileen Cond (1911-1984), autograph collector]
Blunden
Publication details: 
1 April 1936; 9 Woodstock Close, Oxford.
£45.00
Blunden

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of Eileen Cond, an enthusiastic collector of autographs. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. In Blunden’s stylish hand the note simply reads: ‘[9 Woodstock Close / Oxford] / 1 April 1936 / Dear Madam / I append the autograph which you requested. / yours faithfully / Edmund Blunden.’

[Cyprus Emergency [Greek Cypriot War of Independence], 1955 to 1959.] Red card carrying ‘Restricted’ printed British Army ‘Instructions to individuals for opening fire in Cyprus. | Issued by Chief of Staff to H.E. the Governor.'

Author: 
Cyprus Emergency [Greek Cypriot War of Independence], 1955 to 1959 [British Army Counter-Insurgency; EOKA]
Publication details: 
‘CS/1060/A/Dec. 55.’ [December 1955; COSHEG, British Cyprus.]
£160.00

An interesting artefact, issued at the commencement of the conflict, and laying out the rules of engagement. The only copies traced are in the A. J. B. Walker collection in the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum and the University of Cyprus. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. On 26 December 1955 the British Governor General of Cyprus declared a state of emergency, as a result of the EOKA insurgency which had begun with the 1 April Attacks. 4pp, 32mo, printed in black on a bifolium of red card.

[Beauchamp Tower, inventor and railway engineer.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Dick’ [Sir Richard Harington], describing the contest for North Sea Trophy, and the presentation by the German emperor, written from the winning yacht ‘Dianthus’.

Author: 
Beauchamp Tower (1845-1904), English inventor and railway engineer [Sir Richard Harington (1861-1931), Puisne Judge in High Court of Justice, Fort William, Bengal]
Publication details: 
‘Yacht “Dianthus” / Copenhagen / June 29th / 1899’.
£180.00

In this letter Tower describes his personal experience of the winning of the North Sea trophy by C. L. Salaman’s 35-ton yacht Dianthus. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper chipped at head. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘My dear Dick’ and signed ‘Beauchamp Tower’. A long letter with 105 lines of text. He begins by congratulating Harington ‘on getting an Indian judge ship which will enable you to marry, though I and all your other friends will be very sorry to lose you’.

[Blanchard Jerrold, journalist and author.] Signature and autograph paraphrase of passage from his ‘Life of Napoleon III - Vol 2.’, written out for an album.

Author: 
Blanchard Jerrold [William Blanchard Jerrold] (1826-1884), journalist and author
Publication details: 
No place or date, but after the book’s publication in 1874.
£56.00

Part of leaf from autograph album, cut into an irregular shape. In fair condition, on lightly aged and discoloured paper, with film of dried glue from mount on blank reverse. The passage, which curiously enough does not correspondend with the printed text, reads (with three mistakes scored through): ‘Life of Napoleon III - Vol 2. / The Government, it is true, endeavoured to prevail upon Queen Hortense to request him to give his word that he would remain in America for ten years; but she replied that Prince Louis was master of his own actions & she would not endeavour to influence them.

[Cecil King, Fleet Street press baron.] 47 Autograph Cards Signed to the publisher of ‘Books and Bookmen’ Philip Dosse, on various topics including the reviews he is writing for him.

Author: 
Cecil King [Cecil Harmsworth King] (1901-1987), Fleet Street press baron (Daily Mirror, Sunday Pictorial, IPC), nephew of Viscounts Northcliffe and Rothermere [Philip Dosse (1925-1980), publisher]
Publication details: 
35 of the 47 cards with postmarks from between 1971 and 1977; the other 14 postmarks illegible. 29 of the cards from England (ten with his letterhead, The Pavilion, Hampton Court, Surrey); 17 from the Republic of Ireland [Eire]; one from Iran.
£1,200.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, together with those of his uncles and other members of the newspaper dynasty of which he was a member. The recipient Philip Dosse was the proprietor of the London publishers Hansom Books. Beginning in 1950 with ‘Dance and Dancers’, Dosse built up a stable of seven monthly arts magazines, produced from offices in Artillery Mansions, London, the most influential of which were ‘Books and Bookmen’, ‘Plays and Players’ and ‘Films and Filming’. An elusive figure, Dosse certainly merits a full-length study.

[‘Victoria Holt’, pseudonym of Eleanor Alice Hibbert [née Burford], prolific author of historical romances (also ‘Jean Plaidy’ and ‘Philippa Carr’).] Typed Letter Signed to Eileen Cond, sending a book plate and discussing Devon and Cornwall.

Author: 
'Victoria Holt’, pseudonym of Eleanor Alice Hibbert [née Burford] (1906-1993), prolific author of historical romances (also 'Jean Plaidy' and 'Philippa Carr') [Eileen Margaret Cond (1911-1984)]
Publication details: 
8 June 1961; 'c/o Messrs. David Higham Associates Ltd. / 76 Dean Street, / Soho, / London, W. 1.'
£80.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. She published around two hundred books under seven pseudonyms, and these are said to have sold a hundred million copies and been translated into twenty languages. The recipient Eileen Cond was an enthusiastic collector of autographs, and had the ability to draw a more than perfunctory response from her targets. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded for postage. Good bold signature: ‘Victoria Holt.’ Addressed to ‘Miss Cond, / Stream Cottage, / Sidbury, / Sidmouth, Devon.’ She has signed Cond’s bookplate and is sending it back.

[Sir Stafford Northcote, Conservative politician.] Two Autograph Letters Signed, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, giving instructions while away at Balmoral to his private secretary Sir John Arrow Kempe.]

Author: 
Sir Stafford Northcote [Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh] (1818-1887), Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1874-1880 [his private secretary Sir John Arrow Kempe (1846-1928)]
Publication details: 
7 and 8 September 1876; from Balmoral [Scotland] on cancelled letterhead of 11 Downing Street, Whitehall [London].
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Both addressed to ‘Dear Kempe’. ONE (7 September 1876): 1p, 12mo. Signed ‘St N’. He asks Kempe to get him ‘Mr Gladstone’s pamphlet’, and would also ‘like to have Mr. Evans’ recent work about Bosnia and Herzegovina, published I think by Longman.’ He ends with news of his plans, and asks in a postscript: ‘What do you say to the Revenue returns?’ TWO (8 September 1876): 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Signed ‘Stafford H. Northcote’. He will be travelling from Balmoral ‘to Sir J.

[Lady Hosie [Dorothea Hosie], amateur film maker and writer on China.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Dorothy [sic] Hosie’) to ‘Mr. Burdett’, describing reviews she is writing and the critical response to her ‘Portrait of a Chinese Lady’.

Author: 
Lady Hosie [Dorothea Hosie, née Soothill] (1885-1959), amateur film maker and writer on China, wife of the diplomat and explorer Sir Alexander Hosie (1853-1925)
Publication details: 
11 December 1929. 4 Bradmore Road, Oxford.
£90.00

For information about the Lady Hosie and her husband see his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage, and with a minor closed tear to edge of fold at head of leaf. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Burdett’ and signed ‘Dorothy [sic] Hosie’. Forty-one lines of closely-written text. The letter concerns a review she has written for a periodical whose title is difficult to decipher (‘The L[?]’). She was ‘going to type out a fair copy’, but thinks Burdett ‘may like it at once’. If he feels ‘portions of it unsuitable’, he ‘can then delete’. ‘Mr.

[Sir John Rothenstein, art historian and Director of the Tate Gallery, London.] Autograph Letter Signed to Philip Dosse, publisher of ‘Art and Artists’, regarding difficulties in his reviewing Holroyd and Easton’s books on Augustus John.

Author: 
Sir John Rothenstein [Sir John Knewstub Maurice Rothenstein] (1901-1992), art historian and Director of the Tate Gallery, London [Philip Dosse (c.1924-1980), publisher of ‘Art and Artists’]
Publication details: 
9 May 1974; on letterhead of Beauforest House, Newington, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxford.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The present item is 2pp, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘John Rothenstein’.

[‘Nothing good can come out of Printing House Square’: Sir Colin Coote, editor of the Daily Telegraph.] Autograph Manuscript, signed ‘Colin R. Coote’, of review of ‘The Reigning Error’ by William Rees-Mogg, editor of The Times.

Author: 
Sir Colin Coote [Sir Colin Reith Coote] (1893-1979), editor of the Daily Telegraph and Liberal politician [Philip Dosse (1925-80), publisher, ‘Books and Bookmen’; William Rees-Mogg, editor, The Times]
Publication details: 
Not dated, but published in the London magazine ‘Books and Bookmen’ in 1974.
£180.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the papers of Philip Dosse, who was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. Rees-Mogg’s book was published in 1974, and the present item appeared in ‘Books and Bookmen’ in the same year. A late draft, neatly written out on 5pp, small 4to, with each page on separate leaf. Signed at end ‘Colin R. Coote’.

[Philip Dosse, proprietor of Hansom Books, publishers of a stable of arts magazines.] Six items, including corrected typescript (by Dosse himself) endorsing ‘Books and Bookmen’, and corrected draft of a press release on its merger with Argosy.

Author: 
Philip Dosse (1925-1980), proprietor of Hansom Books, publishers of a stable of seven arts magazines including ‘Books and Bookmen’ and ‘Films and Filming’ [The Argosy, London; IPC Magazines Ltd]
Publication details: 
Two items on merger with Argosy dating from 1974, both from IPC Magazines Ltd, London. The other material also from the 1970s.
£450.00

An elusive figure, Dosse is certainly a candidate for a full-length study. The novelist Sally Emerson gives an excellent account of her time as editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ in its last days in an article titled ‘Death of a Bookman’ (Standpoint magazine, October 2018). These six items are in good condition, lightly aged and worn. ONE: 2pp, foolscap 8vo, second page numbered. Complete rough draft of typed letter, with manuscript corrections, endorsing ‘Books and Bookmen’.

[Sir Arnold Wesker, playwright.] Two Autograph Cards Signed and three Typed Letters Signed to Philip Dosse, proprietor of Plays and Players, with one Typed Letter Signed from his secretary Margaret Groom.

Author: 
Sir Arnold Wesker (1932-2016), playwright; his secretary Margaret Groom [Philip Dosse (1925-1980), proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of arts magazines including Books and Bookmen]
Publication details: 
Wesker's letters from 27 Bishop's Road, London N6; his postcards from Munich and Poland. Groom's letter from 25 Glasslyn Road, London N8.
£180.00

Interesting content. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The six items are in good condition, lightly aged, and one lightly creased with wear to one edge. The four letters are each 1p, 4to, and folded for postage. One of the letters is signed ‘A. Wesker’, the others ‘Arnold Wesker’. ONE: Wesker TLS, 10 September 1972.

[Norman Collins, author of ‘London Belongs to Me’.] Typed Letter Signed to Philip Dosse, publisher of ‘Books and Bookmen’, regarding a review he has written, and a party in his honour held by the English Centre of P.E.N.

Author: 
Norman Collins [Norman Richard Collins] (1907-1982), author of ‘London Belongs to Me’ and TV executive [Philip Dosse (1925-1980), publisher of ‘Books and Bookmen’]
Publication details: 
2 March 1977; on letterhead of ATV House, 17 Great Cumberland Place, London W1.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The present item is 1p, 4to. Signed ‘Norman Collins’. In good condition, lightly aged. He is submitting a review of J. B. Priestley’s ‘Instead of the Trees’, in the hope that it is ‘the kind of thing that you had in mind’.

[John Calder, London avant-garde publisher.] Three Autograph Cards Signed and a Typed Letter Signed to Philip Dosse, publisher of ‘Books and Bookmen’, regarding reviews he is writing because of ‘financial troubles tempting enough to do a Stonehouse'.

Author: 
John Calder [John Mackenzie Calder] (1927-2018), London avant-garde publisher of Scottish-Canadian descent [Calder and Boyars; Better Books; Philip Dosse (1925-1980), publisher ‘Books and Bookmen’]
Publication details: 
TLS: 17 July 1974; on letterhead of Calder and Boyars Ltd, 18 Brewer Street, London. All three ACS on his letterhead, 6 Dalmeny House, 9 Thurloe Place, London SW7; one dated 15 January 1975 the others undated.
£180.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The typed letter is in fair condition, aged and worn; the three cards are in very good condition. The signature on the four items is little more than a squiggle. Of the three cards, only Item Four below is addressed.

[Claud Cockburn, well-connected communist journalist.] Two Typed Letters Signed and one Autograph Letter Signed to Philip Dosse, publisher of ?Books and Bookmen?, one giving plans for reviewing Jessica Mitford's 'damn good book' 'Fine Old Conflict'.

Author: 
Claud Cockburn [Francis Claud Cockburn] (1904-1981), well-connected communist journalist, founder and editor of ?The Week? [Philip Dosse (1926-1980), publisher ?Books and Bookmen?; Jessica Mitford]
Publication details: 
Years not stated (but one from 1977); all three items on his letterhead, Brook Lodge, Youghal, Co. Cork, Ireland.
£180.00

An interesting correspondence, with one editor showing his experience in discussing the reviews he is writing for another. See Cockburn's entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ?Death of a Bookman? by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ?Books and Bookmen? at the time of Dosse?s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The three items are ruckled and stained from water damage, with smudging of the signature (?Claud Cockburn?

[Bernard Levin, writer and broadcaster.] Two Typed Letters Signed and one Typed Note Signed to Philip Dosse, in one declining to review (for ?Books and Bookmen?), in another expressing agreement with Dosse?s position.

Author: 
Bernard Levin [Henry Bernard Levin] (1928-2004), writer and broadcaster [Philip Dosse (1925-1980), publisher ?Books and Bookmen?]
Publication details: 
6 February and 18 September 1974, and 21 April 1977. All three on letterhead of The Times, New Printing House Square, London WC1.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. See ?Death of a Bookman? by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ?Books and Bookmen? at the time of Dosse?s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The three items are in good condition, lightly aged and worn, and folded for postage. All three signed loosely ?Bernard Levin?. ONE: TLS, 6 February 1974. 1p, foolscap 8vo.

[A Lancashire slaver and his coach.] Two itemised manuscript receipts for work on a coach from the London coachmaker Thomas Thorpe to the Lancashire slave trader William Atherton of Prescot Hall, one signed by Thorpe.

Author: 
Thomas Thorpe, London coachmaker [William Atherton (1742-1803) of Prescot Hall, St Helens, Lancashire, slave trader and owner of plantations in Jamaica]
Publication details: 
1799 and 1801. [Thorpe & Co., Coachmakers, 210 Holborn, London.]
£280.00

An indication of how slavers spent the fruits of their slaves’ labours. With the advent of slavery studies William Atherton has been the subject of a deal of interest, reflected on his Wikipedia page. Thorpe and Lee are listed as coachmakers at 210 Holborn in 1791; in 1803 the firm is named as Thorpe and Co at the same address. The two items are written out in a secretarial hand, each on a long strip made by cutting a folio leaf in half vertically. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Each with slight damage from the breaking open of the wafer.

[Lord Vere Beauclerk, Senior Naval Lord at the Admiralty and Member of Parliament.] Autograph Signature (‘Vere’) to Exchequer receipt for £30. With signature of witnesses Henry Woodall and ‘Ogborn’.

Author: 
Lord Vere Beauclerk [latterly Lord Vere (Vere Beauclerk, Baron Vere of Hanworth)] (1699-1781), Royal Navy officer, Senior Naval Lord at the Admiralty and Member of Parliament ; Henry Woodall; Ogborn
Vere
Publication details: 
3 May 1750. [His Majesty's Exchequer, London.]
£65.00
Vere

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. The signature (‘Vere’) is good and bold, at the bottom right of the document, as is that of first witness Henry Woodall (‘Hez Woodall’), but there is slight loss at the beginning of the signature of the second witness ‘[...] Ogborn’, and the left side of the document has been torn away also causing loss to printed text, and there is wear and pitting along the top and left edge. The customary printed document, completed in manuscript. 1p, 8vo.

[The Brooks-Bryce Foundation for the Furtherance of Friendly Relations between Great Britain and the United States.] Printed outline of 'Lectures, 1930-31' on American history by Harold Temperley, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge.

Author: 
Harold Temperley, Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge; Brooks-Bright Foundation [formerly the Brooks-Bryce Foundation], 1921-1937, founded by Florence Brooks Aten (1875-1960)
Publication details: 
Circa 1931 [lectures advertised for 1930-1931]. Brooks-Bright Foundation (English Branch).
£220.00

For Harold Temperley (1879-1939, not to be confused with his son) see the Oxford DNB. No other copy of the present item has been traced, and the organization it was produced for, the Brooks-Bryce Foundation for the Furtherance of Friendly Relations between Great Britain and the United States, is now no more than a passing shadow. It was founded in 1921 by the Manhattan socialite Florence [Cornelia Ellwanger] Brooks Aten, and disappeared with her immense fortune following the Great Crash of 1937.

[Henry Williamson, author of 'Tarka the Otter'.] Typed material prepared by his daughter-in-law Anne Williamson, intended to provide 'background information for an outline for biographical television treatment'.

Author: 
Henry Williamson (1895-1977), English novelist, naturalist and ruralist, author of ‘Tarka the Otter’, his daughter-in-law and biographer Anne Williamson, wife of his youngest son Richard Williamson
Publication details: 
Undated [1970s?]. From Anne Williamson's West Sussex address.
£650.00

Anne Williamson, author of two books on Henry Williamson and of his entry in the Oxford DNB, was married to his youngest son Richard (1935-2022). The present typewritten material (88pp, 8vo) consists of several drafts and duplicates of material intended for circulation to production companies she hoped to interest in a television documentary on Williamson. It is in good condition, with each page printed on a separate leaf of A4 cartridge paper.

[CSS Alabama, Confederate sloop-of-war raider, Captain Raphael Semmes, sunk in 1864 by USS Kearsarge.] Steel engraving by Henry Bryan Hall of depicting seven of the ship's officers.

Author: 
[CSS Alabama, Confederate sloop-of-war, Captain Raphael Semmes, sunk in 1864 by USS Kearsarge] Henry Bryan Hall (1808-84), Anglo-American engraver; Kelly, Piet & Co., Baltimore publishers
CSS
Publication details: 
[1869.] Kelly, Piet & Co., Baltimore.
£220.00
CSS

A painting by Manet of the celebrated engagement between the Alabama and the Kearsarge was finished and exhibited before the end of 1864. It now hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art. The present item is a steel engraving, dating from five years later, on a small 8vo piece of thickish wove paper. In good condition, on lightly aged paper, with slight discoloration and creasing to the blank edges. At the foot of the engraving is the name of the publishers, ‘Kelly, Piet & Co. Baltimore’ (it appeared in their 1869 book, ‘Memoirs of Service Afloat, during the War between the States.

[Victorian London Theatres: Adelphi, Drury Lane, Gaiety, Her Majesty’s, Lyceum, Princess’s, St James’s.] Seven large printed handbill notices, with illustration giving seating plan, details of proprietors and prices, ticket agents, advertisements.

Author: 
[Victorian London Theatres: Adelphi, Drury Lane, Gaiety, Her Majesty’s, Lyceum,Princess’s, St James’s.] [Benjamin Webster; Samuel Hayes; Keith, Prowse, and Co.; James Bromwich, florist]
Publication details: 
Circa 1878? Publication details not given.
£350.00

Each of the seven plans is on a 27 x 35.5 cm piece of paper.The source has not been established, and each carries the pencil date 1878 in a modern hand. They are uniform in layout, each with heading of the name of the theatre followed by a plan in the form of a 22 x 15 cm lithographic illustration of the respective theatre, as viewed from the stage, with the seating numbered. Beneath each plan are names of proprietors, lessees and managers, prices of admission, and in every case the details of the two ticket agents ‘Mr.

[Sir Robert Atkyns the younger, Tory politician, topographer and antiquary.] Autograph Letter Signed to George Smyth of North Nibley, regarding the sale of a horse; and memorandum regarding arrangements over ‘the Estate at Nibley’.

Author: 
Sir Robert Atkyns (c.1647-1711) the younger, of Pinbury Park, Gloucestershire, Tory politician, topographer and antiquary [George Smyth of Nibley House, North Nibley, Gloucestershire]
Publication details: 
LETTER: 28 October [no year]. Pinbury Park [Duntisbourne Rous, Gloucestershire]. MEMORANDUM: without date or place. Both items dating from after Smyth’s marriage in 1691.
£80.00

See Atkyns’ entries, and those of his father, in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament (the latter referring to his ‘great Ancient and Present State of Glostershire, eulogizing the Stuarts’). Both items (seemingly unconnected) date from after George Smyth’s acquisition of Nibley House on his marriage in 1691. The papers of Smyth’s family are in the Gloucestershire Record Office.

[Sir Thomas Armstrong, Principal of the Royal College of Music.] Autograph Letter Signed T.A., on his retirement, thanking the RAM Professor of Cello Ambrose Gauntlett for sending him a book about breadmaking.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Armstrong [Sir Thomas Henry Wait Armstrong] (1898-1994), organist, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, 1955-1968 [Ambrose Gauntlett (1889-1978), Professor of Cello at the RAM]
Publication details: 
22 May 1968; on letterhead of the Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone Road, London NW1.
£35.00

See Armstrong’s entry in the Oxford DNB.

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