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Author, Title, Summary Subject Price
John Van Druten [John William Van Druten] (1901-1957), English playwright and theatre director [Walter James Macqueen-Pope (1888-1960),; Ivor Novello; Christopher Isherwood; Julie Harris]

[John Van Druten, dramatist.] Typed Letter Signed ('John van Druten') to W. J. Macqueen-Pope, discussing his memories of Ivor Novello, and his new play 'I am a Camera', based on Christopher Isherwood, and Julie Harris.

2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. A very good and informative letter. Written from the A. J. C. Ranch, which Van Druten had purchased with his former lover Carter Lodge (now his business manager) and the British actress Auriol Lee. Van Druten left his interest in the ranch to...

£150.00
Joyce Grenfell [Joyce Irene Grenfell, née Phipps] (1910-1979), comedian, monologist, actress and singer

[Joyce Grenfell, comedian.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Joyce Grenfell') to 'Mr Chipp', gracefully explaining her reasons for having to refuse for a second time his 'kind invitation'.

1p, 16mo. In fair condition, folded once, with two punch holes at margin, one affecting a word of text. She states that it is kind of him to ask her again, and she feels 'very churlish in having to say NO a second time', but her 'autumn-winter plans are complicated by a big concert tour & a...

£30.00
[Australia: kangaroo hunting and numismatics] Robert Barton (1839-1930), assayer, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint in Melbourne, Australia

[Australia: kangaroo hunting and numismatics.] Autograph Letter Signed from Robert Barton, Assayer, Royal Mint in Melbourne, to ‘Grubbe’, giving advice on hunting kangaroo and duck.

Barton, who was born in London, joined the Royal Mint’s Melbourne branch as one of two assayers on its opening in 1869; in 1887 he was promoted to Superintendent, and in 1895 to Deputy Master, holding that position until his reitrement in 1904. See his entry in the Encyclopaedia of Australian...

£120.00
Joyce Grenfell [Joyce Irene Grenfell, née Phipps] (1910-1979), comedian, monologist, actress and singer [Sheridan Russell (1900-1991), husband of social worker Kit Russell [Kit Stewart] (1909-1998)]

[Joyce Grenfell, comedian.] Two Autograph Letters Signed ('Joyce Grenfell' and 'Joyce') to Sheridan Russell, one regarding the Bermondsey 'settlement' Time and Talent, the other from New York, on the city, her audiences and the reception of her show.

For information on Russell see the Oxford DNB entry on his wife from 1957, the social worker Kit Russell [Katherine Frances Russell, née Stewart] (1909-1998). Both letters are in fair condition, lightly aged and creased. ONE: Signed 'Joyce Grenfell'. 2pp, 12mo. She begins the letter with a...

£56.00
Admiral John Markham (1761-1827), Royal Navy officer who served in the American and French Revolutionary Wars, Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and First Naval Lord, MP for Portsmouth [Miles Burn]

[Admiral John Markham, Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and First Naval Lord.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J Markham') to John Atkins, regarding the 'general drunken habits' of 'Mr [Miles] Burn', and the impossibility of reinstating him 'to his rank'

The letter is 1p, 12mo, and is accompanied by the covering 8vo leaf, addressed to 'John Atkins Esqre | Duke Street | Westminster', with a second signature for franking. The covering leaf is endorsed: 'Admiralty August 21 1806 | Adml. Markham concerning Miles Burn that it would be impossible to...

£100.00
Louisa Stuart Costello (1799-1870), Anglo-Irish miniature painter, travel writer and author, friend of Sir Francis Burdett

[Louisa Stuart Costello, Anglo-Irish miniature painter.] Autograph Letter Signed ('L. S Costello') to 'Miss de Witte', discussing 'Yankee' and Scandinavian poetry, and enclosing a 'trifle' to help a family the recipient is helping.

4pp, 16mo. Bifolium on light-green paper. In good condition, lightly aged. The letter begins: 'My Dear Miss de Witte | Of course I found the Yankee Poems directly after You were Gone – too carefully put by. Do not put mine away too carefully – as I want You to really read them. (Poetry of France...

£65.00
Edmund Yates [Edmund Hodgson Yates] (1831-1894), Scottish journalist and author, friend of Charles Dickens, proprietor of The World newspape

[Edmund Yates, journalist and author, friend of Dickens, proprietor of The World newspaper.] Auttograph Signature and conclusion of letter, with autograph not by his de facto editor A. M. Broadley.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient (?Broadley Pasha?) was a renowned autograph collector and shady social figure, as well as the de facto editor of Yates?s ?World?, until the Cleveland Street scandal drove him into exile in 1890 (the year of this item with its reference to 'going...

£15.00
Ferdinand de Lesseps [Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps (1805–1894) French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal,

[ Ferdinand de Lesseps; Suez ] Autograph Note Signed "ferd. de Lesseps" to "Mr Hartley" [Sir Charles Augustus Hartley (1825–1915) eminent British civil engineer ), acknowledging congratulations to his 80th birthday

See image. One page, 12mo, crumpled and lined but text clear, but part nearly illegible, as follows: "Je vous envoie mes plus affectueux remerciements pour l'envoi de votre telegramme dont lequel vous m'adressez vos felicitations pour l'anniversaire. | subscription and signature followed by four...

Science, Medicine and Technology £180.00 De Lesseps
Robert Clarke, actor-manager, Theatre Royal, Liverpool [Charles Kean (1811-1868), actor-manager, son of Edmund Kean, husband of Ellen Tree (1805-1880); Benjamin Webster (1797-1882), actor, dramatist]

[Charles Kean and his wife Ellen Tree prepare to return from America.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rt. Clarke.') from Robert Clarke to Benjamin Webster, asking on Kean's behalf for 'information respecting Theatres in England', discussing Kean and wife.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium, endorsed 'Clarke' on reverse of second leaf. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. The letter begins: 'My dear Webster, | Charles Kean has requested me to give him information respecting Theatres in England, in which it is probable he may form...

£80.00
Marshall Hall Higginbottom (1822-1895), Nottingham surgeon, nephew of Marshall Hall, eminent physician and neurophysiologist, vivisectionist and abolitionist [Rev. Samuel Walker; Joseph Toynbee]

[Marshall Hall Higginbottom, Nottingham surgeon, nephew of eminent neurophysiologist Marshall Hall.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Rev. Samuel Walker], recommending the ear-surgeon Joseph Toynbee.

A nice item, casting light on the practice of the provincial medical profession in Victorian England. See Higginbottom’s obituary in the British Medical Journal, 16 March 1895. There are a number of references to Higginbottom in the memoir of 1861 memoir of Marshall Hall (1790-1857) by his widow...

£45.00