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Author, Title, Summary	Subject	Price
Henry Arthur Jones (1851-1929), naturalist playwright and conservative polemicist [T. E. Woodrow, Chief Clerk, London Library] [Henry Arthur Jones, playwright and polemicist.] Autograph Letter Signed to T. E. Woodrow of the London Library, thanking him for his trouble over the 'Restoration Dramatists' and proffering 'places for the Vaudeville' in return. 'There are three rules for writing plays', Oscar Wilde is said to have declared. ‘The first rule is not to write like Henry Arthur Jones; the second and third rules are the same.’ See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, slightly trimmed at the edges, and in a windowpane...		£45.00
J. R. Planché [James Robinson Planche] (1796-1880), dramatist, antiquary and heraldic officer of arms (Rouge Croix Pursuivant) [J. R. Planché [James Robinson Planche], dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Miss Blackburne’, complaining that he has been ‘completely floored with an attack of influenza’. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, in trimmed windowpane mount, with glue marking on blank reverse. He thanks her for her letter, adding ‘I am completely floored with an attack of influenza and can only just manage to scribble this and assure you that I am / Very...		£45.00
James Hain Friswell (1825-1878), novelist and essayist [William Shakespeare portraits; George Virtue, London publisher] [Shakespeare portraits: James Hain Friswell, novelist and essayist.] Autograph Letter Signed to the publishers Virtue & Co, regarding their ‘fine print of the Chandos Portrait’ and his ‘certain status as a critic on that special subject’. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Friswell was described by Tennyson as ‘the would-be poet, / Friswell, Pisswell - a liar and a twaddler’. 1p, 16mo. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Fourteen lines of text. Addressed to ‘Messrs Virtue & Co.’ Signed ‘J. Hain...		£65.00
John M. Morton [John Maddison Morton] (1811-1891), English playwright specialising in one-act farces, the most famous of which was ‘Box and Cox’ [Benjamin Nottingham Webster, actor-manager] [‘I’m afraid the veteran farce writer’s “little game” is nearly up!’: John Maddison Morton, playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed to the actor-manager Benjamin Nottingham Webster, negotiating terms and discussing his present penury. The phrase ‘Box and Cox’ has entered the English language. See the OED, and the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, landscape 12mo. Neatly inserted in a trimmed windowpane mount. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Signed ‘John M Morton’. Begins: ‘Dear Webster. / As Mr Anson...		£50.00
John William Calcraft [stage name of John William Cole (c.1793-1870)], actor, dramatist and lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin [Theatre Royal, Dublin: John William Calcraft [stage name of John William Cole], actor-manager and dramatist.] Autograph Letter Signed to a playwright, setting out the arrangements for a production. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of grey-paper bifolium, the blank second leaf carrying a thin strip of tape from the mount. In good condition, folded once. Signed ‘John W. Calcraft’. The recipient is not named. Thirty-four lines of text, in a somewhat difficult hand. After a reference to ‘Mrs. Cook’s...		£50.00
Lord Alfred Paget [Lord Alfred Henry Paget] (1816-1888), Liberal politician, Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to Queen Victoria [Charles Manby (1804-84), Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers [Lord Alfred Henry Paget, Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to Queen Victoria.] Autograph Letter Signed to Charles Manby, Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers, regarding a planned trip ‘to Barnaby’, with a reference to Thomas Brassey. See his entry and Manby’s in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. On bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, folded, with thin strip of tape from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf. Addressed to ‘My dear Manby’ and signed ‘Alfred Paget’. He begins by saying that there seems...		£45.00
Louis Haghe (1806-1885), Dutch lithographer and watercolour painter in London, partner with William Day (1797-1845) in lithographic printers Day & Haghe [David Roberts, 'The Holy Land'; Charles Manby] [Louis Haghe, Dutch lithographer of David Roberts’s ‘Holy Land’.] Autograph Letter Signed to Charles Manby, Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers, concerning the loan of a watercolour to a ‘conversatione’ (sic). Haghe features prominently in William Day’s entry in the Oxford DNB, in which their firm’s publication of Robert’s ‘Holy Land’ (1842-49) is described as ‘the most ambitious lithographic work ever published’, for which ‘Haghe, praised by Roberts for the faithful and artistic interpretation of his...		£85.00
James Payn (1830-1898), Victorian novelist and journalist, editor of Chambers's Journal in Edinburgh and the Cornhill Magazine in London [James Payn, Victorian novelist, journalist and magazine editor.] Autograph Letter Signed, providing an autograph whilst pointing out that his name 'is not generally spelt with an e'. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with postage folds. In trimmed windowpane mount. Reads: 'Madam. / My name is not generally spelt with an e, but I [confide?] it is ['really' deleted here] my [last word underlined] autograph which you desire. / Truly /...		£30.00
Mary Anne CLARKE, (1776?-1852). Royal mistress. [Royal Mistress] Engraving, head and shoulders (slightly decolletage) SIGNED Mary Anne Clarke Circa 14 x 22cm, faintly stained, laid down on larger card, good condition. A bold signature. Note: Mrs Clarke, as she was known, had been the mistress of Frederick, Duke of York, and had used her influence with him to obtain preferment and promotion for those in her large circle for a...		£100.00
Mary Anne Keeley [née Goward] (1805-1899), English actress, wife of the actor Robert Keeley (1793-1869), with whom she managed London’s Lyceum Theatre [Mary Anne Keeley, actress and theatre manager.] Autograph Letter Signed, responding to a request for an autograph with ‘a Specimen of my calligraphy’ and date of birth. See her entry, and that of her husband, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, in trimmed windowpane mount. Although a short letter, her expansive and elegant hand fills the whole page. Reads: ‘Dear sir / With great pleasure I comply with your request and send a Specimen...		£35.00