Royalty

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11 x 7 cm panel cut from the cover of the envelope. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on brown paper cut from album. The intial ‘C’ of the Duke’s name curls under the rest of the signature with a loop, and with end of flourish possibly trimmed in cutting the panel. (Comparison with other examples of the future king’s signature as Duke of Clarence indicate that whatever loss there may be would be minimal.) Laid out in the customary fashion. Reads: ‘Bushy. December twenty third 1827 / Mrs: Skelton / Sandridge Lodge / St: Alban’s / Street’.

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.

Printed on one side of a piece of laid paper, watermarked with date 1808, roughly 34.5 x 21 cm. Very good. Illustration at head, coloured in red and green, roughly 6.5 x 10 cm.

2pp, foolscap 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to one edge. Folded twice. Large heavily-smudged signature of the king ('George R.') at head of first page, which has the royal seal under paper in the left-hand margin. Signed at end of document ('By His Majesty's Command') by the Home Secretary and future Prime Minister: 'R Peel'.

This document, signed by George IV as Prince Regent, and by the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth as Home Secretary, relates to Matthias Maher (1798-1865), a Royal Navy officer who was twice tried at the Old Bailey on a charge of forgery. On the first occasion, 6 May 1818, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity; and removed to the criminal asylum in St George's Fields. Maher was found sound of mind – as the present document reveals by Sir George Leman Tuthill (1772–1835) and Edward Wright (c.1788-1859), the latter to die of disgrace in Australia.

Written on both sides of an 11.5 x 9 cm card, which has her armorial crest printed in black and gold at the top right of the first page. In a large flowing hand reads: ‘For my dear little Godchild Fredericà Taylor with affte. xmas Greetings / from her loving God-mother / Fredericà / Xmas 1909.’ See Image of verso (signature).

An amusing piece of Victorian memorabilia. Written in pencil on one side of a slip of paper, roughly 14 x 7 cm, torn from the bottom of a leaf. Both sides of the paper are ruled, with the ruling on the reverse wider spaced. Confirming the fact that the item is a telegram is the fact that the word ‘Clerk.’ is printed at bottom right of the reverse, with the word ‘Railway’ in pencil at top right.

Not only an unusually intimate letter for a member of royalty to write, but also an interesting communication from a poet to her mentor.

See image. It is hard to see how this collection could be bettered, the range of signatures from sanity to madness being of particular interest. All seven examples laid down on a folio leaf extracted from an album. The leaf is in poor condition, creased and with closed tears, but the parchment and paper bearing the signatures themselves in good condition, the six parchment items having the usual discoloration, but the example on paper in excellent condition.

2pp, foolscap 8vo. On grey laid paper with mourning border, brittle and lightly creased, with chipping and closed tears to edges. Addressed in Archibald’s hand to ‘The President of the Albion Society of New York’, and signed ‘E M Archibald / HM Brit Consul Genl’.

Four copies on JISC (only one in a deposit library, NLS); now scarce. 12pp, 12mo. Disbound. Worn and discoloured. After the end of the prose work are two poems (pp.11-12): ‘Hymn. / Frail Life and Succeeding Eternity’ and ‘The Danger of Delay.’ In addition to being the ‘Godfather of English Hymnody’, Watts was a noted logician, producing a successful work on the subject, and despite the repetition of the phrase ‘Time shall end!’ throughout, the present extract treats the subject of ‘The End of Time’ in an unusually thoughtful way for a work of theology.

Paper 7.5 x 2.5, laid down on larger paper (page from a small album), very top of the f of of carelessly trimmed, good condition. See image.

Four sets of travel instructions by George III, all in his autograph, none dated but seemingly relating to the same journey, taking in the Highfield House estate of General Sir William Augustus Pitt (c. 1728-1809), and also referring to Egham, Basingstoke, Winsdsor, Andover. A referring to the novelist Fanny Burney (1752-1840), narrows the date of at least one of the documents to between 1786 and 1790, the period during which Burney was a Keeper of the Robes. On four leaves, and totalling 5pp, ranging in size from 4to to long narrow 8vo (see descriptions below for dimensions).

Admission 'ticket', orange, c.22 x 16cm, part printed part MS, tipped on to sl. larger piece of paper, edges darkened (dust?) mainly good to very good. Admit into Westminster Abbey. | South Door Poets Corner | No. 85 | Norfolk Earl Marshal. Probably issued to Major Wellesley Paget of the Royal Horse Artillery (served in the Boer War and First WW) since it derives from an Album put together by him.

Paper, 10 x 12cm, topped by small head in bas relief, below which a seal and text: Senise 27bre 1857 | Marie Caroline Dsse de Berry. See image.~80~AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT CNorton DUCHESSE DE BERRY HOUSE OF BOURBON~ ~0~OL59~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seven items from the Christopher Fry papers, relating to the film 'A Queen Is Crowned', which was a British box office hit in coronation year, and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. At the time of writing Fry was at the height of his popularity: around this time he had four plays running in the West End at once.

Both items in good condition, lightly aged, attached together at one corner with thread. The two written by different secretaries. Both addressed to 'Dear Sir Thomas'. The second letter addressed to Strange at Madras. ONE: Kensington Palace; 3 February 1812. 4to, 4pp. Although many years have passed since their last meeting, he trusts that Strange 'will not forget that friend of our lives, when we became known to each other at Halifax, and when I flatter myself I had the good fortune of being numbered amongst your friends'.

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Endorsed: 'Contingent Account | An Order for Messrs Greenwood Co to pay Lieut Chas Michaelmas [sic] ten Pounds 31st Augst 1814 [sic]'. The Duke signs: 'Adolphus Frederick | Genl: & Col: in Chief'. The rest of the document is in a secretarial hand, and reads: '£10. | Legion Office 31st. Augst. 1813. | Messrs. Greenwood Cox & Co. pay to Lieut Charles Michaelis, late of the 1st. Line Batton.

An interesting intimate letter from the Duke of York, credited with having done more to reform the British Army than any other man, to the future Prime Minister Grenville, who at the time was Paymaster General of the Forces. Of particular note is the Duke's desire to go to war, 'for I am sure we never have had for these two Centuries so favourable an opportunity of humbling France'. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf. Folded three times. Sixty-one lines of text.

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.

1p., 8vo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with closed tear along fold line of second leaf, which is blank other than the manuscript docketing: 'William Griffith Esq. | Captain | in the Association of the Town of Pwlhelly and it's [sic] neighbourhood'. The actual document, on the recto of the first leaf is a printed form completed in manuscript. The king's bold signature 'George R.' is at the top left, while the Duke's ('Portland') is appended 'By His Majesty's Command' at the end.

1p, 8vo. On watermarked wove paper, trimmed down to 26 x 16 cm. Twenty-six lines of text. Worn and aged, with closed tears and strips of backing card laid down on blank reverse. Written by Anne to her mother Mary of Modena, second Queen to James II, at leaving Whitehall on the arrival of the Prince of Orange in England, November, 1688. She does not believe there was 'any one in such an unhappy Condition, so divided between Duty and Affection to a Father, and a Husband'. Wing A3224. ESTC R210019.

176pp., 4to. With four photogravure plates and numerous excellent facsimiles in text. A splendid production in red cloth gilt, with tissue guards to the plates and all edges gilt. In good very good condition, lightly aged and worn.

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'.

The Duke was the head of the Committee in charge of the Royal Naval Asylum, which had been founded as the British National Endeavour in 1798, for the orphans of military and naval personnel killed in action. It had moved from Paddington to the Queen's House, Greenwich, in October 1807, having received a large amount of public support (including that of Lord Nelson), and was responsible for upwards of 1000 boys and girls. 3pp., 4to. Bifolium. On aged paper, with damp damage resulting in some loss (including a little text). Repaired with archival tape.

Attended by 44 million people, the New York World's Fair was an enormous enterprise, with a vast number of exhibits and pavilions from all over the world spread out over 1216 acres of the Flushing Meadows/Corona Park district. The fair's official 'theme' was 'the demonstration of "a happier way of American living through a recognition of the interdependence of man, and the building of a better world of tomorrow with the tools of today"'.

One page, sm. folio, sl. crumpled and stained, C17th hand. Another copy (BL Sloane MS. 3562, f.99, to Spedding, the "best copy") is reproduced in Spedding, ed., 'The Works of Francis Bacon', vol. XIII, p.144, with the suggestion that, though James was capable, Bacon himself could have written it. A copy is also to be found in the Harley MS., and presumably elsewhere. The Sloane and Harley copies differ in small matters from this one (one of several examples, "nobis" for "Sloane's "vobis" in 'quam nobis suspecta'). One obvious anomaly.

1p., 12mo. On trimmed wove paper. Aged and worn, with traces of mount on reverse. 24 lines, arranged in six four-line stanzas, beneath the title 'New Version to an Old Nursery Rhyme.' The poem - based on 'Sing a song of sixpence' - begins: 'Sing a song of Thousand Guineas, | Pockets full of brass; | Rate-payer's money's nought to me, | I'll squander it like an ass. | Sing a song of Royal Visit, | Ain't I a man of sense | To shake hands and sit with Royalty, | At Rate-payers expence.

The three documents in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: 'Note of Men employed in the Village of Comrie by Orders of Mrs. R. Williamson of Lavers - to join the Lavers Company for hir [sic] Majesty the Queen'. [on reverse] 'Lawers | Thos Biccarton for Men attending during the Queens Visit | £1 .. 19/- | paid 26 Decr. 1842'. Beneath this in pencil in a later hand: 'Queen Victoria visit to Strathearn | Sept 10 1842'. 1p., 4to. With some words in red ink. Mainly comprising a table of 29 names, days, wages due, of men 'Attending the Lawers Company'.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper. The Prince's handwriting is none of the best, and even his signature is illegible. The letter reads: 'Dear Mr Garth | I am very sorry to hear of the