Search results

Author, Title, Summary Subject Price
John Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury (1745-1831), Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas between 1800 and 1827, known as ‘the Hanging Judge’ [Nathaniel Alexander (1760-1840), Bishop of Meath]

[‘The Hanging Judge’: the Earl of Norbury, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.] Autograph Signed endorsement, with that of Nathaniel Alexander, Bishop of Meath, to manuscript recommendation of ‘Alexander Hawthorne of Sackville Street, Glover’.

Within a couple of years of his death Norbury’s nickname was given as ‘the hanging judge’ (see ‘The Georgian Era’, vol.2, 1833), and yet no mention is made of the fact in his entry in the Oxford DNB. The present document is 1p, 4to. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. In fair condition...

History, Law £280.00 Norbury
Leonard Russell (1906-1974), literary editor of the Sunday Times and founder of the Saturday Review, husband of film critic Dilys Powell [J. G. Wilson [John Gideon Wilson] (1876-1963), bookseller]

[Leonard Russell, literary editor of the Sunday Times.] Typed Letter Signed to the bookseller J. G. Wilson of J. & E. Bumpus, regarding a book he lent him, and an piece he is writing.

See the two men's entries in the Oxford DNB. Russell's papers are in the Harry Ransom Center at Texas. 1p, 4to. Aged and worn, with creasing and closed tear along left edge. Folded one. Carrying a neat and controlled signature, ‘Leonard Russell.’ He has ‘just come across’ the books Wilson lent...

£45.00
Lord Bute, builder of Cardiff Docks: John Crichton-Stuart (1793-1848), 2nd Marquess of Bute [Lord Mount Stuart, 1794-1814], aristocratic landowner and industrialist, developed the Welsh coal industry

[Lord Bute, builder of Cardiff Docks: John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute.] Autograph Letter Signed to A[lexander]. Milne, regarding legal opinions he has received, and a ‘complete abstract of the title to all the family estates’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight damage to the blank reverse of the second leaf from mount. Folded three times, with a short closed tear at the edge of one crease. The recipient is named by Bute as ‘A. Milne Esq’ (the...

£56.00
Lord George Bentinck [William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck] (1802-1848), Conservative politician and racehorse owner, protectionist opponent of Sir Robert Peel's Corn Law policy

[Lord George Bentinck, racehorse owner and protectionist opponent of Sir Robert Peel’s Corn Law policy.] Autograph Signature franking letter to Lieut.-General Lord FitzRoy Somerset at Horse Guards.

See the entries of Bentinck and FitzRoy Somerset in the Oxford DNB. On approximate 11 x 6 cm rectangle cut from cover of letter. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of grey paper mount adhering to blank reverse. Addressed by Bentinck in the customary staggered way: ‘Lieut: Genl...

History £45.00 Bentinck
Max Müller [Friedrich Max Müller; Muller] (1823-1900), Sanskrit scholar and philologist in England, born in Germany, Oxford's first Professor of Comparative Philology

[‘I am not a Servian scholar’: Max Müller, Sanskrit scholar, Oxford's first Professor of Comparative Philology.] Autograph Letter Signed, giving advice on the study of the ‘Servian’ [i.e. Serbian] language.

See his long and appreciative entry in the Oxford DNB, concluding with the praise of his ‘pioneering achievements, especially in the fields of Vedic studies and comparative philology’. 2pp, 12mo. Aged and discoloured, with hole at foot caused by removal from mount, causing loss to words ‘to show...

£65.00
Queen of Romania: Elisabeth of Wied [Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise] (1843-1916), wife of King Carol I, prolific author under the pseudonym ‘Carmen Sylva’ [Louis Ulbach (1822-1889), French novelist]

[Queen of Romania: Elisabeth of Wied.] Long Autograph Letter Signed ('Elisabeth'), in French, to the novelist Louis Ulbach, lamenting the death of her cousin Marie of Waldeck and praising his work.

Not only an unusually intimate letter for a member of royalty to write, but also an interesting communication from a poet to her mentor. On Ulbach’s death the Pall Mall Gazette (20 April 1889) referred to Elisabeth as ‘the poet-Queen of Roumania’, stating that it was to Ulbach whom ‘she owed the...

Royalty £500.00 Elisabeth
Arthur Young, compiler of the 1846 ‘Nautical Dictionary’; Adjuster of Averages, Dundee; a proprietor of the London Institution [John Zephaniah Bell (1794-1883), Scottish artist]

[Arthur Young, lexicographer and adjuster of averages, Dundee.] Autograph Letter Signed, as ‘one of the proprietors’ of the London Institution, regarding forthcoming lectures by ‘Mr. J. Z Bell’ (the artist and fellow-Dundonian John Zephaniah Bell).

Young was the author of a well-received nautical dictionary (1846; second ed. 1863). His authorship of the present letter is established from the ‘List of Presents / Received for the General Library’, in the Journal of the London Institution, November 1872: ‘MARITIME LAW. Reports of Maritime Law...

£56.00
Simond and Hankey, London bankers deeply involved in the West Indian sugar and slave trade; Peter Simond (1691-1785); John Hankey (1741-1792)

[Simond and Hankey, London bankers involved in the West Indian sugar and slave trade.] Two manuscript bills in French, ‘A Messieurs Messrs. Ante. & Dan. Bierens a Amsterdam’, each signed by ‘Pre: Simond’ and endorsed by ‘Jean Hankey’.

With the surge of interest in the slave trade attention has lately been directed at Simond and Hankey, a ‘past constituent’ of the NatWest Bank. These two items are nice artefacts of the firm. Both are in good condition, lightly aged, and laid out in the same way, with the bill written out on...

£100.00
Sir James Paget (1814-1899), 1st Baronet, prominent English surgeon, considered with Virchow as one of the founders of scientific medical pathology [Charles Klugh]

[Sir James Paget, founder of scientific medical pathology.] Autograph Letter Signed to Charles Klugh on receiving his baronetcy, with printed card on his wife’s death, and newspaper cutting from The Times on his funeral.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The three items are laid down on a leaf from an album, the letter on one side and the other two items on the other. The material is in good condition, lightly aged, with the letter slightly ruckled. LETTER: 1p, 12mo. Letterhead printed in red. Beneath the letter...

£180.00
Sir Sidney Colvin (1845-1927), literary and art critic, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, biographer of John Keats and friend of Robert Louis Stevenson

[Sir Sidney Colvin, British Museum curator, biographer of Keats and friend of R. L. Stevenson.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr Fagan’, declining any item from the ‘various volumes and packets of prints’ he has sent.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with strip of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Fagan’ and signed ‘Sidney Colvin’. He begins by informing him that of the ‘various volumes and packets of prints’ he has...

£50.00