BELL

One page, 16mo, bifolium, fold mark, minor stain, text clear and complete. Text: Sir Henry Littlejohn has the honor to accept the invitation to the opening of the New Botanical Buildings on Monday 13th June at 3p.m. for which he has to thank the University of Glasgow. Note: A. According to AI, Littlejohn was knighted in 1895; B. 13th June 1901, the new Botany Building of the University of Glasgow was officially opened by Sir Joseph Hooker in the presence of a distinguished company; C. Apparently he connected smoking with cancer in 1900. See Image,

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items in good condition, lightly discoloured, and each folded twice. Both addressed to ‘Doyne . C . Bell’. ONE (17 December 1886): 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. Signed ‘J. Callcott Horsley. He explains the reason for not writing sooner: ‘I waited to see how our wants were likely to be as to small pictures’. The picture that Bell describes ‘must be a very interesting one’, and Horsley would ‘much like to see it’.

Sepia portrait on 10 x 15 cm photographic print, on card. In good condition, lightly aged. Good bold inscription across foot: ‘Best wishes / Joan Barry’. A soft-toned head-and-shoulders portrait of a Marcel-waved Barry, staring dreamily to the left, with pursed made-up lits, in a sleeveless white gown with pearls and bracelet, left hand to chin and right hand supporting left elbow. Scan on application.

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 Cases, 1868. 8vo. From Arthur Young, Esq., Prop., Lond. Inst.’ (The work was compiled by Young himself.) Like the subject of this letter J. Z. Bell, Young hailed from Dundee, and since Bell's mother's maiden name was Anna Young, it may be that Young and Bell were kinsmen, perhaps cousins. 1p, 12mo.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Mr Keary, / Enclosed is for 1000th Number of Pearson’s Weekly. It is not what I wanted to do for you, but illness and other interruptions have spoiled my work for the last two months. So please reject if necessary. / Faithfully yours / J. J. Bell’.

A good firm signature, and not a common one. While hugely popular (see his entry in the Oxford DNB), Sims was an intensely private man, who refused to give autographs. 1p, landscape 12mo. In fair condition lightly aged and with slight rust spotting from paperclip; folded for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Adza Vincent, / My wife and I both thank you for sending Christopher’s Bedford talk. I have taken the liberty of typing a copy for own archives, and can now return the one you sent. / With renewed thanks, / Yours sincerely, / Alastair Sim’.

4to, 1 p. Fourteen lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. He has been 'extremely unwell', and is sending '3 bills for the account of Thomsons Chemistry £1100'. 'I trust that you will not be dis-satisfied with this as I can assure you conscientiously that I could not afford to give them shorter.' Reference to Longmans, and to his anxiety, 'as you left the settlement to my own conscience'.

On 20 x 15 cm piece of paper torn from an exercise book. Aged and worn, with fraying to left-hand edge where the item has been torn away from the exercise book, but in fair overall condition. A faux-naive effort, crude but full of energy, painted in orange, yellow, red, blue, grey, purple, green. On reverse in pencil: 'Juvenile | painting | By Martin Bell'.

A nice piece of Edinburgh historical ephemera. See the entry on George Berry (1795-c.1874), the first man to register to vote there following the passing the Great Reform Act, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1874-1875, where he is described as 'an enthusiastic "Free Trader"'. 40 x 10 cm slip of laid paper, with printed form on one side, headed 'COPY of ENTRY in the REGISTER of QUALIFIED VOTERS for the CITY of EDINBURGH.' In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with clean vertical cut unobtrusively repaired with archival tape.

1p, 8vo. In good condition. Folded twice. With secretarial note in blue pencil, recording response by 'C.F.' The letter concerns Fry's screenplay for the 1966 film 'The Bible: In the Beginning...', produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston, which recounts the first 22 chapters of the Book of Genesis. Stallworthy wonders whether Fry remembers 'that, “in the dark backward and abyss of time”, the OUP wanted to publish your screen-play for the film of Genesis, but the film company's lawyers wouldn't allow it.

The recipient of this letter is the surgeon Henry William Robert Davey (1798-1870) of Yarmouth, son of surgeon Henry Sallows Davey (1781-1855) of Beccles; and the 'Mr. Bell' mentioned in it is Sir Charles Bell, who had taught Davey ten years before at Theatre of Anatomy, Great Windmill Street. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, with a strip cut away from the outside edge of the second leaf, which carries two postmarks and Watson's address to 'Henry Davey Esqre | Tavistock Hotel | Covent Garden'. Twenty-one lines of neatly-written text.

Marion Shaw, daughter of Charles Shaw of Ayr, married Charles Bell in 1811. Following the death of her husband in 1842, she lived with her brother the surgeon Alexander Shaw (1804-1890), and their house became a centre of artistic and literary society. The recipient is a former pupil of Bell's at the Hunterian School of Medicine in Great Windmill Street, London, the surgeon Henry William Robert Davey (1798-1870), son of surgeon Henry Sallows Davey (1781-1855) of Beccles. The letter is written on the publication of 'The Letters of Sir Charles Bell, K.H., F.R.S.L.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. The 'Gentlemen' are clearly the publishers of a book which they wish Bell to review. She writes that she is greatly obliged to them for offering her 'a copy of your beautiful book on Japan', and has written 'to 4 editors to ask for space for early notices of it'. The book is 'indeed a marvel of technical skill in reproduction & it would be a pleasure to me to speak as highly of it as it deserves'.

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Will. Jerdan Esq | Grove House | Brompton', with second signature 'Allan Cunningham' at bottom left of address. Docketed on the same page, presumably by Jerdan: 'A Cunningham | Introduction of Mr Bell | Ed. Of Edinh. Lit. Journal'. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The author, recipient and subject of the letter are all Scottish. A spirited and amusing letter: 'My dear friend. | Peace and health be with you in spite of captious authors and high-trotting horses.

On both sides of a 9 x 11 cm. grey card with embossed letterhead. In good condition, lightly aged. Docketted and with Royal Academy of Arts stamp. 'Lt. Colonel Crompton begs to enclose a cheque in payment of his subscription and will be greatly obliged to the Secretary if he will send him a form to enable his Bankers - Messrs. Barclay & Co. to pay the subscription in future.' Crompton's firm Crompton & Co. was one of the world's first large-scale manufacturers of electrical equipment.

Four pages, 12mo, in large readable hand, bifolium, fold marks, otherwise good condition. "I return the papers you were so kind to lend me and let me keep to show to my travellrs.

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. On laid paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and spotted. Printed in black with title in red. The first page headed: 'Now Ready | Small Colombier 8vo. With 7 Photogravure Plates, and 84 Illustrations in Half-Tone, £2, 2s.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. For further information about Williamson and his publications, see his entry in 'Who Was Who'; see also Marillier's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

1p., 12mo. On aged and worn paper. Cameron writes: 'Dear Sir, | I regret that the enclosed verses would occupy too much room for our space, but I return them with our thanks to you for bringing them under our notice'. The recipient is not the London publisher, who died in 1890.

Bell's entry in the Oxford DNB records that 'In conversation with the prince regent (later George IV), Lord Chancellor Eldon was said to have described Bell as the best lawyer then at the equity bar, though he could "neither read, write, walk, nor talk": Bell was lame, spoke with a broad Westmorland accent, the effect of which was heightened by a confirmed stammer, and wrote in a hand never more than barely legible.

3pp., 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Docketed at head of first page. She begins by explaining that at her 'interview with Mr. Bell on the 8th. he suggested an alteration in an important sentence, giving me the alternative of taking the MS. home with me or of correcting the sentence in the proofs. At the time I thought the latter course would be the best, but it occurs to me that it would save expence if the correction was made now.' She asks Cazenove to 'ask Mr. O'Connor if he would kindly alter the words in accordance with the enclosed [not present]'.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, on aged and worn paper. The letter reads: 'Dear Prof. Candy, | I think you would wish to see enclosed which please return after perusal. | If you hear of anything kindly let me know. It is the most pressing difficulty we have and we see no present way of surmounting it. | With renewed thanks, | always sincerely yours, | Mackenzie Bell'.

20pp, 12mo. Stapled. In red printed wraps, with cartoon on cover showing giant worker sweeping away miniature capitalists. In fair condition: lightly-aged and with central vertical fold. Scarce: the only copies on COPAC at the British Library and Warwick University.

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged pink wove paper. Within fancy border. Beneath the title a four-line epigram by 'Cook', beginning 'The School-boy remembers his holiday ramble'. The poem proper, of twenty lines, is signed in type at the end 'J. H.' It begins: 'Oh! Wenlock Chimes, the dear old Chimes, | You carry us back to by-gone times,' and ends, 'And 'ere your notes their rest have found, | Cheer all our Friends the Wrekin round.' The word 'your' in the penultimate line is printed 'you', with the final 'r' added in manuscript.

1p., 4to. Good, on aged paper. The letter (possibly addressed to the book's publisher) reads 'My dear Sir, | It would give me great pleasure to write for the "Liberty Bell," but I dare not at this moment say I could prepare anything in the time you mention. | Yours truly | [signed] S. Judd.'

12mo, 4 pp. 64 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He was 'mistaken about the Marylebone Election - Having been a prisoner so much lately' he had 'not seen many electors & those whom I saw thought it was too late & regretted to see a split in the liberal party'. He 'did not influence a single vote being too unwell to take any part in it'. He 'left town to escape the excitement'. He has 'already troubled our new Representative with a little Parliamentary Business', and is sending Wyld 'some documents on the same subject by the Book post'.

12mo, 2 pp. Fifteen lines. Text clear and complete. Thanking Wyld for his 'Support on Thursday in the House of Commons, agreeing with the Lords' Amendment for the exemption of Pharmaceutical Chemists serving on Juries'. He hopes that the exemption will prove 'a Stimulus to Pharmaceutical education and thereby be of great service and increased safety to the Public'. Hills was Mayor of Cambridge from 1894 to 1895.

8vo, 12 pp. Stitched as issued. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Two engravings ('Egyptian Obelisks' and 'Egyptian Sarcophagus') in text. Begins 'The subject on which I am about to make a few remarks this evening is the Sculptural Art Treatment of Granitic Surface, or the Surface of Granite.

4to bifolium (leaf dimensions 26 x 20.5 cm). The notification certificate is on the recto of the first leaf, and Highton's letter is on the recto of the second. Versos of both leaves blank. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper, with 5 cm closed tear to margin of second leaf caused by removal of letter from stub, traces of which still adhere to the verso of the second leaf. The certificate is tastefully printed in black, with the Society's crest in red in the top left-hand corner.

8vo, 1 p. Addressed by Combe on the reverse, to which his monogram seal in red wax (with his motto 'RES NON VERBA QUAESO') still adheres. In poor condition, on discoloured paper, with damage to a few words of text above the signature caused by clumsy removal from the mount, a part of which still adheres to the reverse. Repaired with archival tape. The letter presumably concerns 'Additional testimonials on behalf of George Combe, as a candidate for the chair of logic in the University of Edinburgh' (1836). It reads 'Gentlemen | Be so good as correct these proofs, make them up in 8vo.