VIII

[The Abdication Crisis, 1936: Sir Osbert Sitwell.] Mimeographed copy, marked ‘Private’, of the unexpurgated version of the satirical poem ‘RAT WEEK. / by Osbert Sitwell’, the cause of a legal action with ‘Cavalcade’.

Author: 
The Abdication Crisis, 1936: Sir Osbert Sitwell [Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet] (1892-1969) [King Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson; Abdication, 1936; Cavalcade]
Sitwell
Publication details: 
Undated, but circa 1936. On paper watermarked 'BELFAST BOND / MADE IN CANADA'.
£180.00
Sitwell

See Sitwell’s entry in the Oxford DNB. In his 1999 biography Philip Ziegler describes how the ‘doggerel polemic Rat Week’ ‘excoriated’ the supporters of the Edward VII and Mrs Simpson: ‘Osbert realised that this diatribe, if published, might land him in a flurry of libel actions, but he could not resist having a few copies made and distributed to his closer cronies; Mrs. Greville, Lady Aberconway, Lady Cholmondeley and Philip Frere among them.

[Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury during the Abdication Crisis.] Typed Letter Signed ('Cosmo Cantuar:') to the Provost of Oriel [Sir David Ross], regarding his nomination of ‘Mr. Randall Cooper’ as a British Museum Assistant Cataloguer..

Author: 
Cosmo Lang [William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth] (1864-1945), Archbishop of Canterbury during the Abdication Crisis [Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross] (1877-1971), Scottish philosopher']
Cosmo Lang,
Publication details: 
22 November 1933; on letterhead of Lambeth Palace, S.E.1. [London]
£45.00
Cosmo Lang,

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to 'The Provost of Oriel' and with sprawling signature 'Yours vy trly / Cosmo Cantuar:'. Reads: 'Dear Provost, / I have received your letter of November 20th about Mr. Randall Cooper. I am sorry to say that your letter came too late for the appointment of the first batch of Assistant Cataloguers. They have now been appointed but I am informed that there may be further appointments in the Spring.

[Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury during the Abdication Crisis.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Lang of Lambeth / Abp.') to the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford [Sir David Ross],

Author: 
Cosmo Lang [William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth] (1864-1945), Archbishop of Canterbury during the Abdication Crisis [Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross] (1877-1971); Lord David Cecil]
Publication details: 
18 March 1944; on embossed letterhead of The King's Cottage, Kew Green, Richmond, Surrey.
£45.00

See the entries for Lang and Ross in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo, on light-grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Begins 'Dear Vice Chancellor. / Some time ago I proposed Sir David Cecil for election to the Athenaeum. His name has produced a remarkable number of supporters, but no one has been put down as seconder to my proposal.' He asks Ross to second Cecil's nomination, before writing a sentence which is hard to decipher. He concludes by suggesting that he inform the club secretary accordingly, if Ross is willing.

[ Aslett Baldwin; Arctic exploration ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Aslett') to his mother, on a sermon by Campbell Morgan on the death of Edward VII, and a lecture by 'Commander Peary [...] on his discovery of the North Pole'., and Scott's capacities.

Author: 
Aslett Baldwin (1860-1945), FRCS, proctologist [ Commander Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920), supposed discoverer of the North Pole ]
Publication details: 
6 Manchester Square, London. 8 May 1910.
£200.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. He 'went this a.m. to hear Dr Campbell Morgan, there was a huge audience extending into the 2nd. gallery. He did not preach the sermon he had prepared, but said what came into his mind in connection with the death of the King'. He 'passed the Palace & saw the Royal Standard of England flyig at 1/2 mast'. He regrets the king's death, finding him 'such a good sort & such a power for good politically'.

[ General Sir Dighton Probyn. ] Autograph Letter in the third person, as 'Comptroller & Treasurer of the Prince of Wales' Household', inviting Sir Robert Herbert to visit the Prince and his wife at Sandringham, and giving transport details.

Author: 
General Sir Dighton Probyn [ General Sir Dighton Macnaghten Probyn ] (1833-1924), British army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross [Sir Robert Herbert; King Edward VIII; Sandringham, Norfolk ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Sandringham, Norfolk. 15 November 1884.
£75.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and a little smudged. He 'writes by direction of The Prince and Princess of Wales to invite him to pay their Royal Highnesses a visit at Sandringham from Saturday next the 22nd. Inst. to remain till Monday the 24th. He gives details of the best train to catch to 'Wolferton (the Station for Sandringham)', where there will be 'conveyances to take Sir Robert and the other Guests travelling by the same Train, from the Station to the House'.

[ A. G. Morris & G. F.Norton. ] Typescript of their play 'King's Freedom', with covering letter to film maker Percy Nash, regarding censorship following the Abdication of Edward VIII, and Compton Mackenzie.

Author: 
A. G. Morris [ Arthur Morris ] and G. F. Norton [ Percy Nash [ Percy Cromwell Nash ] (1869-1958), pioneering British film director; King Edward VIII; Abdication, 1936; Compton Mackenzie, novelist ]
Publication details: 
The play undated, and 'the property of A. G. MORRIS Eastquantoxhead, near Bridgwater, Somerset'. Morris's letter on letterhead of East Quantoxhead Rectory, 21 March 1939.
£180.00

PLAY: 108pp., 4to. On rectos only. Attached with green ribbon in card folder. Information about characters given in manuscript. In fair condition, on aged paper, in aged and worn folder. LETTER: 2pp., 12mo. Signed 'Arthur Morris'. On aged and creased paper. Presumably referring to his collaborator, he begins the letter: 'Fred writes to say that you have a friend, who might be interested in our Play. It is kind of you to bother. I still believe in the poor old play, but we had a nasty shock when Edward abdicated!

[ Bertram Park, London society photographer. ] Negatives of photographs of King Edward VIII (in highland dress) and King George VI as Prince Albert, Duke of York.

Author: 
Bertram Park (1883-1972), London society photographer [ King Edward VIII and King George VI (as Prince Albert, Duke of York ]
Publication details: 
In folder of 'Bertram Park | 43 Dover Street | Piccadilly, London W1 | Regent 5315'.' Both undated [ the image of King Edward VIII from a sitting on 26 June 1931? ].
£250.00

Neither image is present in the National Portrait Gallery collection. The two items are from the papers of royal photographer Marcus Adams (1875-1959), with whom Park shared premises (as well as facilities and staff) at 43 Dover Street, Mayfair. Each is in its own envelope, and the two are loosely inserted in a stylish brown patterned cloth 32 x 24 cm folder, with Park's stamp in gilt on cover and his bookplate inside the front cover. The negatives are in good condition, in aged envelopes and folder.

[ Rev. Robert Anderson Jardine, the man who married the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. ] Album of newspaper cuttings and other material, with signed note on front cover: 'PROTESTANT CUTTINGS | PAMPHLETS & general items: | R. Anderson Jardinee'.

Author: 
Rev. Robert Anderson Jardine (1878-1950), Vicar of St Paul's, Darlington, who performed the 1937 wedding ceremony of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Publication details: 
Cuttings dating from 1910 and 1911, and 1930.
£200.00

Jardine, dubbed by the press 'the Poor Man's Pastor', travelled to France to perform the ceremony. As a result, his vestry committee resigned and he resigned his living, emigrating to the United States. The cuttings are laid down on 19pp of a Victorian folio volume, in superior brown calf binding, tooled in gilt, with marbled endpapers, and 'HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS' stamped on the spine. As the title on the spine indicates, the volume contains the manuscript of a harmony of the gospels, covering 127pp, with the text written around columns of printed text cut from a printed bible.

Printed 'Memorandum on Programme of the Visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, K.G., to Sierra Leone on 6th & 7th April 1925.'

Author: 
Visit of the Prince of Wales [later King Edward VIII] to Sierra Leone, 1925 [Alexander Howard Ross (1880-1965), Commissioner, Southern Province of Sierra Leone, 1920-1928]
Publication details: 
[Freetown, Sierra Leone?] '437-150. 14-3-25. [i.e. 14 March 1925]'.
£220.00

21pp., 12mo. Printed with blue ink on cream paper. Saddle-stitched with blue ribbon, in light blue printed wraps. In fair condition, aged, worn and lightly creased. An interesting document, providing local information and casting light on the protocol of a Royal Visit. The document begins: '6th April. | I. 9.05 a.m. H.E. the Governor leaves Government House, accompanied by Staff, and drives to Government Wharf. | 9.10 a.m. The Governor, Mr. Basevi and Lieutenant Harrison embark on the Governor's Barge from the Eastern Jetty. By permission of Commander Geary Hill a launch from H.M.S.

Typed Letter Signed, from 'V. P. 10/12', accusing the former King Edward VIII of 'obvious dereliction of duty', and expressing 'relief and satisfaction' that he has decided to abdicate.

Author: 
[King Edward VIII, laterly Duke of Windsor; Abdication Crisis; Lieut.-Col. Edward Barnes Peacock (b.1873; fl.1955), 31st Punjab Regiment, son of Sir Barnes Peacock (1810-90), Chief Justice, Calcutta]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Hotel Astoria, Copenhagen, Denmark.
£56.00

Initialled "[?]P 10/12" (10 December"2pp., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. A number of minor autograph corrections suggest that the author of the letter may not be a native English speaker.

The Unhappy Princesses. In two Parts. Containing First, The Secret History of Queen Anne Bullen. [...] Secondly, The History of the Lady Jane Grey. [...] Adorn'd with Pictures.

Author: 
R. B.' [i.e. 'Robert Burton', pseudonym of Nathaniel Crouch (c.1640-1725?), London printer and bookseller]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for N. Crouch, at the Bell against Grocers-Alley, in the Poultry, near Cheapside. 1710.
£250.00

12mo: 159 + [9] pp. (Publisher's catalogue of 'Books Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell against Grocers-Alley in the Poultrey near Cheapside.' begins at foot of p.159 and continues for nine unpaginated pages, ending 'FINIS.') Lacks frontispiece. Woodcuts on pp.26, 61 and 121. In worn original calf binding. No endpapers. Aged and with worn fore-edge. Separate title to second part on p.89 ('The Secret History of the Lady Jane Gray', 'London: Printed for Nath. Crouch. 1710.') Scarce: COPAC only lists reproductions, with the note: 'R.B.

Souvenir of the Visit of the King of Spain to England', printed as napkin or handkerchief on tissue paper, illustrated, and with coloured border.

Author: 
Burgess, William & Co., London printers [King Alfonso XIII of Spain; King Edward VII of the United Kingdom; typography; typographical]
Publication details: 
[1905] 'Burgess William & Co., Printers, 12, Mansell Street, Aldgate, London City.'
£200.00

An unusual, scarce and frail survival. Printed on one side of a piece of tissue paper, roughly 35 cm square. Surprisingly well preserved: heavily creased, with some wear to extremities, one small hole (not affecting text or image) and one closed tear of approximately 4 cm to coloured border.

Black and white photograph.

Author: 
King Edward VIII as Prince of Wales.
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but in or before 1936.
£45.00

King Edward VIII (1894-1972), crowned and abdicated in 1936, thereafter Duke of Windsor. Approximately 5 1/2 inches by 8 inches. Shows the Prince in bowler hat mounting a stone jetty with four associates, with three sailors in RNLI boat at bottom left. In the background two sailing boats and two empty row boats. Stamped on reverse 'SPORT & GENERAL | PRESS AGENCY LTD. | LONDON. | COPYRIGHT.' In manuscript on reverse: 'Left to R. | Sailors from C. B. | The Prince's private detective | General Seeley. | My father (bare-head) | Sir Godfrey Baring | H. R. H.'

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