[ Irving Montagu of the Illustrated London News and Punch. ] Three Autograph Letters Signed (one 'Irving Montagu' and two 'Montagu') to Edward Draper

The three items in fair condition, on aged and worn paper, the last two items with traces of grey paper from mounting adhering. ONE: From Charlotte Street. 'Saturday' (undataed). Signed 'Irving Montagu'. 2pp., 8vo. Arranging to dine at Draper's in the face of a clashing invitation. TWO: From Briar Cottage, 2 January 1893. 4pp., 12mo. Signed 'Montagu'. A warm letter, thanking him and praising his family and 'staunch friends': 'You speak very kindly of success in store for me - not so much for myself as for Cissie [his wife, born Cecilia Laura Borrell (1859-1910)] and the bairn do I wish it might be so - you and I are both fighters [...] I had my share of rough and tumble before my campaigning experiences [during the Russo-Turkish War, described in his book 'Camp and Studio' (1890)] and feel very deeply that I owe what impetus I have had to a wish to deserve well of such old friends as yourselves, to whom Cissie Violet and self again unite in best good wishes'. A postscript refers to 'Rufus' and his return to his studio. THREE: From Irving Cottage, 7 January 1893. 1p., 12mo. Signed 'Montagu'. He has been 'jacked up this week with a game foot', which thwarted his attempt to visit the Drapers at 60 Vincent Square. His wife Cissie, who has had a bad cold, joins him in 'mutual Salaams'.