BOOK

[Sir Rupert Hart-Davis, publisher.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rupert') to antiquarian bookseller Percy Muir, praising his catalogues as his 'favourite reading', and ordering items while 'saving up' for his daughter's wedding.

Author: 
Rupert Hart-Davis [Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis] (1907-1999), publisher, editor and letter-writer [Percy Muir [Percy H. Muir] (1894-1979), leading bookseller with firm Elkin Mathews]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Bromsden Farm, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. 20 April 1963.
£90.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with three punch holes to margin, and endorsement of number in a circle. The letter begins: 'My dear Percy | Your catalogues – especially the literary parts of them – are my favourite reading. You find such unusual books, and describe them with such care and skill.' He asks him to send him, 'to Soho Square', the two Rothenstein items nos 260 and 260 a'. He explains that while he longs 'for some of the Blunts', his daughter is getting married that June, and he is 'saving up for that'.

[Robert Harling, typographer who may have served as model for James Bond.] Typed Letter Signed ('Luv Robert') to the bookseller Percy Muir, on his eightieth birthday, discussing their lives and criticising their old friend, Ian Fleming's wife Ann.

Author: 
Robert Harling [Robert Henry Harling] (1910-2008), typographer, designer, journalist and novelist, friend of Ian Fleming and possible model for James Bond [Percy Muir (1894-1979), bookseller]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of The Glebe House, Godstone, Surrey. 17 January 1975.
£450.00

See Harling's entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. The salutation ('My dear Percy'), valediction ('Luv Robert'), and one additional word in autograph; the rest typed. He begins by thanking Muir for a copy of 'PHM 80', the volume celebrating Muir's eightieth birthday.

[Andrew Lang, Scottish poet, author and collector of folk tales.] Autograph Letter Signed ('A. Lang') to 'Miss Roberts', regarding illness, 'Mudie's little game', an author's lack of remuneration, Sir Francis Bacon.

Author: 
Andrew Lang (1844-1912), Scottish poet, author, anthropologist and collector of folk and fairy tales
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Alleyne House, St Andrews, Scotland. 6 January [no year].
£35.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded once. Wretched handwriting, resulting in the following tentative transcription. He begins by saying that he is sorry she has been ill, adding, 'I have no advantage over you in that matter. The [?] and [?] got hold upon me.' Regarding the celebrated circulating library, he writes that 'Mudie's little game is 'not to [buy?] another little [me?], knowing that he can weary out the public. | I have therefore to circulate my own copy among students, but it is out at present.

[ Dewitt Miller ] Autograph Note Signed "Dewitt Miller" to Stephen Wheeler, Foreign Office, England, Editor of Landor's Letters, asking about Landor-related books.

Author: 
Dewitt Miller (1857–1911), American educator, librarian, journalist, minister, orator, and book collector
Publication details: 
[Embossed heading] The Players, Sixteen Gramercy Park [NY], 27 Oct. [no year].
£56.00

Three pages, 12mo, bifolium, very large handwriting, good condition. With envelope. "I should be glad to know if you have a copy of a book entitled Landor - a Critical Estimate [underlined) | Evans. | G.P. Putnam's Sons. | Also | Selections from Landor, made by Geo. Hillard (circa) 1850. | Sincerely : | Dewitt Miller | P.O. Box drawer 1351 | Philadelphia".

[Robert Hawker, Devon clergyman called the 'Star of the West'.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rob Hawker') to London bookseller Ebenezer Palmer, regarding the marketing of the tracts of the Village Sermon Society.

Author: 
Robert Hawker (1753-1827), Devon clergyman and hymnologist; vicar of Charles Church, Plymouth, called the 'Star of the West' for his popular preaching [Ebenezer Palmer, London theological bookseller]
Publication details: 
[Plymouth?]; 22 November 1824.
£150.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and spotted, with loss at foot of reverse of last leaf, the verso of which is addressed to 'Mr Palmer | Bookseller | 18 Paternoster Row'. The recipient is the theological bookseller Ebenezer Palmer the elder (c.1782-1866). Twenty-two lines of text in a difficult hand. The stridently pious tone perhaps hints at some degree of mental instability. The letter opens: 'My dear Sir & friend in the LORD | I greet you in Him'.

[Donald Monro, Physician General to the Army.] Autograph Letter Signed ('D. Monro. | Physician to the Army.') [to Thomas Cadell the elder, London bookseller], proposing terms for a revised edition of his 'Account of the Diseases'.

Author: 
Donald Monro (1727-1802), Physician General to the Army, and medical author [Thomas Cadell the elder (1742-1802), London bookseller, successor to Andrew Millar (1705-1768)in the Strand]
Publication details: 
'Cox-Heath [Coxheath military camp near Maidstone, Kent] | Septr 21st – 1779.'
£450.00

The recipient is not named, but as the letter makes clear it is Thomas Cadell the elder (1742-1802), successor to the celebrated bookseller Andrew Millar (1705-1768) in the Strand. Millar was one of the booksellers concerned in the first edition of Monro's 'Account of the Diseases which were most frequent in the British Military Hospitals in Germany' ('London: Printed for A. Millar, D. Wilson, and T. Durham, in the Strand; and T. Payne, at the Mews-Gate.') The letter casts light on the relationship between author and publisher in the eighteenth-century London book trade. 2pp, 4to.

[John Aikin, physician and author.] Autograph Memorandum Signed ('J. A.') to the London publishers Cadell and Davies, a reader's report providing a damning assessment of a work 'much below mediocrity'.

Author: 
John Aikin (1747-1822), physician and author, brother of Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825) [Cadell & Davies [Thomas Cadell the younger and William Davies], London publishers]
Publication details: 
Without place or date, but after the establishment of the firm of Cadell & Davies in 1793.
£350.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Messs. Cadell & Davies'. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to one edge. An interesting document, providing an insight into the world of Georgian publishing. Without preamble or salutation, reads: 'This work, in point of style, composition, & sentiment – everything, in short, in which the writer's merit is concerned, is much below mediocrity. But whether its subject, & the side it takes in party, might not at the present moment gain it some public favour, is what I cannot answer.

[Henry Cockton, Victorian novelist, author of 'The Life and Adventures of Valentine Vox, the Ventriloquist'.] Autograph Note Signed ('Henry Cockton') to his publisher Richard Bentley, arranging a meeting.

Author: 
Henry Cockton (1807-1853), Victorian novelist, author of 'The Life and Adventures of Valentine Vox, the Ventriloquist' [Richard Bentley (1794-1871), London publisher]
Publication details: 
Bury St Edmunds; 8 December 1841.
£80.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Addressed to 'R Bentley Esqre.' Reads: 'My Dear Sir | I this day received the note which you directed to be sent to me and will do myself the pleasure of calling upon you on Friday Morning at eleven'. Having previously appeared as a serial, Cockton's first novel 'Valentine Vox' was published in book form by Robert Tyas in 1840. Bentley commissioned Cockton's second novel 'Stanley Thorn' for 'Bentley's Miscellany', and published it in book form in 1841.

[ Royal Hospitals; book ] Memoranda, References, and Documents relating to the Royal Hospitals of the City of London [...] continued below.

Author: 
[ Royal Hospitals ]
Publication details: 
London: Printed by Arthur Taylor [...] Printer to the Honourable City of LOndon, 1836
£120.00

"Prepared and printed under tthe Directions of the Committee of the Court of Common Council appointed in relation to the said hospitals. [xii].167, original boards, rebacked in brown lightly embossed cloth, original title label on spine, corners bumped, some foxing, mainly good condition. Copies held by major and London libraries but no other currently on the market.

[ Earl of Haddington ] Autograph Letter Signed "Haddington" to an unnamed correspondent [a Campbell?]

Author: 
Charles Hamilton, 8th Earl of Haddington DL (1753–17 March 1828) Scottish nobleman and apparently Collector.
Publication details: 
"Tyn." [Tynninghame] 8 Jan. 1815.
£80.00

One page, cr. 8vo, good condition. He taks health to start off with. Then "I am very glad you have found all I want of the Luxembourg Gall[e]ry. As for the Marquis of Annandale & Lord Glasgow [miniatures?], you did well not to buy them as I believe I can get them here from the families. The first vol[ume] of Valmont [presumably Laclos's" Les Liaisons Dangereuses" ], I am glad you have found. As to Grangers Biography. I am not sure if my Son has not got a copy. at all events let me know the price, as a friend of mine wants it.

[George Cruikshank, Victorian caricaturist, friend and illustrator of Charles Dickens.] Autograph Signature ('Geo Cruikshank').

Author: 
George Cruikshank (1792-1878), Victorian caricaturist and book illustrator ('the modern Hogarth'), friend and illustrator of Charles Dickens
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£25.00

On 2 x 8 cm slip of paper, cut from document. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on larger piece of white paper cut from leaf of an album. A distinctive, strong signature, reading 'Geo Cruikshank'. No other text. From the distinguished autograph collection of Richard Hunter, son of Ida Macalpine, whose collection of 7000 books relating to psychiatry is in Cambridge University Library.

[Sir Thomas Phillipps of Middle Hill, eccentric book and manuscript collector, complains of having been 'plundered' by a Worcester lawyer.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Thos Phillipps') to the wife of Sir Charles Hastings, in reply to an invitation.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) of Middle Hill, eccentric collector of books and manuscripts; Sir Charles Hastings (1794-1866) of Worcester, surgeon and founder of the British Medical Association]
Publication details: 
'M H [i.e. Middle Hill] 12 Aug. [no year, but after Sir Charles Hastings' 1850 knighthood]'
£350.00

3pp, 16mo. On bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged. Phillipps's letter (or draft letter) is a reply to a dinner invitation from the wife of the eminent Worcester physician Sir Charles Hastings. It occupies the reverse of the first leaf, and both sides of the second leaf of the bifolium. The recto of the first leaf carries the invitation, in manuscript, with the text in square brackets printed in copperplate: 'Sir Charles & Lady Hastings [Request the pleasure of] Sir Thos & Lady Phillipps' [Company at Dinner] on Thursday the 28th. Inst.

[Sir Charles Hastings, eminent surgeon, angers Sir Thomas Phillipps.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to Sir Thomas Phillipps, regarding the Worcestershire Natural History Society, with Signed Autograph Draft of reply by Phillipps.

Author: 
Sir Charles Hastings (1794-1866), surgeon and founder of the British Medical Association [Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), collector of books and manuscripts; Worcestershire Natural History Society]
Publication details: 
Both from Worcester. 25 and 29 January 1846. Draft of Phillipps' reply dated 31 January 1846.
£450.00

Both letters in good condition, lightly aged. Both bifoliums, and both signed 'Charles Hastings'. ONE: 25 January 1846. 4pp, 12mo. He is 'glad to hear' that Phillipps is thinking of 'coming down to one of our evening meetings at the Natural History Society' (Hastings being the chairman). The date for the next meeting will be fixed on the following day, and Hastings' son, who is a member of the committee, will communicate with Phillipps. 'Our last meeting went off very well.

[ 'A New Work on Evolution.' ] Prospectus for the second edition of 'Fallen Angels, A Disquisition upon Human Existence - An Attempt to Elucidate some of its Mysteries, especially those of Evil and Suffering.' With printed publicity card.

Author: 
'One of Them' [ i.e. Frederick Braby ] [ Gay and Bird, London publishers ]
Publication details: 
London: Gay and Bird, 5 Chandos Street, Strand. [ 1894. ]
£35.00

Four pages, 4to, bifolium, some foxing but mainly good condition.The work was hugely popular, going through numerous editions between 1894 and 1907. The title is (deliberately) misleading. The work is an exploration of theological rather than biological questions, with the author stating that 'The How, Why, and Wherefore have not received the full amount of profound and reverent study that the ineffably intrinsic importance of the subject to ourselves warrants.' Lewis Carroll had a copy in his library.

[John Evelyn of Wotton House, Surrey, seventeenth-century diarist, writer and gardener.] Autograph ownership inscription of book, with shelfmarks, reading: 'Catalogo Evelyni inscriptus. | Meliora Retinete.'

Author: 
John Evelyn (1620-1706) of Wotton House, Surrey, diarist, writer and gardener
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£250.00

On one side of 14 x 2 cm slip of paper, cut from the flyleaf of a book. Aged and with contemporary blotting to one corner. The slip is neatly placed in a paper windowpane mount. Reads: 'Catalogo Evelyni inscriptus. | Meliora Retinete' Two shelfmarks deleted: 'N. 16' and 'J: 231'. A good brief description of Evelyn's book collecting is given in his entry in the Oxford DNB. As there are four catalogues of his books, identifying the work to which the two present shelfmarks are assigned should not present any difficulty.

[Constantin François, Comte de Volney.] Autograph Letter Signed ('C Volney'), in English, to the publisher Sir Richard Phillips, discussing plans for a new London edition of his 'Ruins of Empires', previously translated by Thomas Jefferson.

Author: 
Comte de Volney [Constantin François de Chassebœuf, Comte de Volney] (1757-1820), radical French politician [Sir Richard Phillips (1767-1840), author and publisher; Thomas Jefferson; Joel Barlow]
Publication details: 
Paris. 3 August 1818.
£1,200.00

Volney's 'Ruines' (1791) was extremely influential, particularly in the United States. In 1796 Volney met Thomas Jefferson at Monticello to discuss Jefferson's plan to translate the book into English. Jefferson had completed the greater part of his translation by the time he mounted his 1800 bid for the presidency, at which point he handed over the project to Joel Barlow, who translated the last four chapters and, at Jefferson's request, put his name to the whole translation, which was published in 1801.

[Constantin François, Comte de Volney.] Autograph Note in the third person, 'au Ministre du tresor public', presenting a copy of his 'Tableau du Climat et du Sol des Etats-Unis'.

Author: 
Comte de Volney [Constantin François de Chassebœuf, Comte de Volney] (1757-1820), radical French politician and friend of Thomas Jefferson
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [Replied to on 25 October 1803.]
£750.00

1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. On bifolium with stub from mount adhering to blank second leaf. Neatly written and reading: 'Le Senateur Volney a l'honneur d'offrir au Ministre du tresor public, comme a l'un des juges les plus competens et les plus Eclairés l'examplaire ci-joint de Son Nouveau livre Tableau du climat et du Sol des Etats-unis D'Amerique | et leprie d'agreer des tres humbles civilités.' At the head of the page the recipient has written: 'Rep. 2o Br[umair]e. 12. [i.e.

[James Bertrand Payne, fraudster who brought down the London publishing house Edward Moxon & Co.] Four Autograph Letters Signed to H. Cholmondeley-Pennell, one explaining his retirement from the firm, and two about Pennell's book 'Crescent'.

Author: 
James Bertrand Payne (1833-1898), editor, author and fraudster [Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell (1837-1915), poet and writer on angling]
Publication details: 
The first two on letterhead 44 Dover Street, Piccadilly, London, W. [i.e. the premises of Edward Moxon & Co.], 17 and 26 October 1868. The third from The Grange, Brompton, 22 February 1869. The fourth with no place, 23 May 1869.
£200.00

The four letters are in good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Written in Payne's neat and mannered hand, and all four signed 'J Bertrand Payne'. For the background to the correspondence see Jim Cheshire's article 'The Fall of the House of Moxon', Victorian Poetry, Spring 2012. Payne was manager of the London publishing house Edward Moxon & Co., celebrated for their association with poets.

[Philip Hofer, book collector and curator at the Houghton Library, Harvard University.] Autograph Letter Signed and Typed Note Signed to Stephen Harrison, regarding his collection of drawings by Edward Lear

Author: 
Philip Hofer (1898-1984), book collector and founder of the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts in the Houghton Library of Harvard University [Stephen Harrison; Edward Lear]
Publication details: 
Both on letterheads of The Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Autograph letter dated 19 October 1966. Typed note dated 28 November 1966.
£100.00

See Hofer's obituary in the New York Times, 12 October 1984, in which it is stated that 'Mr. Hofer, who was secretary of the Fogg Museum at Harvard for 12 years, was a recognized book collector focusing on 18th-century German, Iberian and Italian publications. Mr. Hofer put together an Italian book collection considered the finest outside Italy. | Konrad Oberhuber, professor of fine arts at Harvard, said of Mr. Hofer: ''He was one of the most farsighted collectors that Harvard ever had. [...]”'. Two airmail letters, both in good condition.

[Richard Bentley, London publisher.] Autograph Letter Signed to Leicester Buckingham, regarding his 'Life of Mary Queen of Scots'.

Author: 
Richard Bentley (1794-1871), London publisher for whom Charles Dickens edited 'Bentley's Miscellany' [Leicester Silk Buckingham (1825-1867), dramatist and author]
Publication details: 
New Burlington Street [London]. 11 May 1855.
£80.00

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to 'Leicester Buckingham Esq'. Bentley writes that the matter of Buckingham's life of Mary Queen of Scots is 'just now brought to [his] attention'. 'If you are passing this way any day between 12 and 2 o'C you will be sure to find me, or my son, who will be able to discuss the subject with you'. He finds that he 'paid to Mr Wageman for a copy of the Miniature of the Queen executed for yuou at your desire, £3 . 3. 0', and asks to be sent this.

[ Littleton Powys, second-eldest of the Powys family, Sherborne schoolmaster and naturalist.] Four Autograph Letters Signed (all 'Littleton') to the journalist Collin Brooks ('Collin'), mainly regarding his late wife the novelist Elizabeth Myers.

Author: 
Littleton Powys [Littleton Charles Powys] (1874-1955) of the Powys Family, teacher (Sherborne) and naturalist [his wife the novelist Elizabeth Myers (1903-1947); Collin Brooks (1893-1959), journalist]
Publication details: 
All four letters from The Quarry House, The Avenue, Sherborne, Dorset. (The first on a letterhead of the address.) 5 May, 20 August and 10 September 1948; and 28 April 1949.
£420.00

Four good letters, in which the author's love for his wife and grief at her death are apparent. Littleton Powys was the second-eldest of eleven, his siblings including writers John Cowper Powys, T. F. Powys and Llewelyn Powys, architect A. R. Powys, artist Gertrude Powys, lacemaker Marian Powys, and poet and novelist Philippa Powys. His autobiography 'The Joy of it' was published in 1937, with the sequel 'Still the Joy of it' appearing in 1956. The four letters are in good condition, lightly aged. They total 12pp., 12mo.

[Lady Margaret Sackville, poet and children's author, mistress of Ramsay MacDonald.] Typescript of juvenile novel 'Sylvia Thistledown', with autograph emendations, regarding the advetures in Fairy-land of Amelia Egerton and the fairy of the title.

Author: 
Lady Margaret Sackville (1881-1963), English poet and children’s author, who had an affair with Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, daughter of Earl De La Warr, cousin of Vita Sackville-West
Publication details: 
On front cover: 'Margaret Sackville | 22. Lansdowne Terrace | Cheltenham'. Undated, but date stamped 30 November 1945.
£950.00

According to the Daily Telegraph, 2 November 2006 (see the end of this description), Lady Margaret Sackville was 'a poet who mixed with writers such as W B Yeats and Wilfred Scawen Blunt, was a friend of Lady Ottoline Morrell, a leading member of the Bloomsbury Set'. 167pp., 4to. Each page on the recto of a separate leaf, the whole bound with green thread through punch holes in margins. The first page worn and with label (of literary agent?) removed from head, otherwise in good condition, lightly aged and worn.

[James Bertrand Payne, editor and author.] Three Autograph Letters Signed to H. Cholmondeley-Pennell, written around the time of his prosecution by the London publishers Edward Moxon & Co., and launch of his magazine 'The King of Arms'.

Author: 
James Bertrand Payne (1833-1898), editor, author and fraudster [Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell (1837-1915), poet and writer on angling]
Publication details: 
All three on letterheads of Tempsford House, the Grange, Brompton, S.W. [London] One from 1871 and two from 1873.
£220.00

The three letters are in good condition, lightly aged. All three signerd 'J Bertrand Payne'. The first has a letterhead in red, the other two have a different letterhead in blue. Both designs feature exuberant monograms and lettering in Victorian Gothic type, which, together with Payne's exuberant handwriting (the last letter also being written in purple ink), accurately reflect the character of the man Tennyson angrily dismissed as 'peacock Payne'. Three excellent letters, the background to which is of interest.

[ Lupton Relfe jr, Victorian London bookseller and publisher. ] Itemised bill on his letterhead, with separate Autograph Receipt Signed.

Author: 
Lupton Relfe (d.1851?), London bookseller, publisher and stationer (apprenticed to J. Hatchard's Sons)
Publication details: 
Both items dated 13 September 1825. Bill on letterhead of Lupton Relfe ('From J. Hatchard & Son's [sic]'), 'Bookseller, Publisher & Stationer', No. 13 Cornhill, London.
£40.00

Both items in good condition, lightly aged. The autograph receipt is on a slip of paper attached to the invoice with sealing wax. The invoice is docketed: 'For Par Re: Richd Clarke | 1825 | Sepr. 13th. | Mr Lupton Rolfe Bill for Books | £2 13 6 | No 13 Cornhill London'. ONE: Invoice. 1p., 12mo. Handsome letterhead for items 'Bought of Lupton Relfe | (From J. Hatchard's Son's [sic]) | Bookseller, Publisher & Stationer. | No.

[ Vero Kemball Shaw writes to his publishers 'Messrs Geo Routledge & Sons'.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Vero Shaw') concerning the production of his books 'The Encyclopaedia of the Kennel' and 'The Encyclopaedia of the Poultry Yard'.

Author: 
Vero Kemball Shaw (1851-1921), author of books on dogs and animal husbandry [George Routledge & Sons, London publishers]
Publication details: 
56 St John's Park Mansions, Highgate, N. [London] '3 of July [1913]'.
£50.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. The letter would appear to concern both of the books which Shaw published with Routledge in 1913: 'The Encyclopaedia of the Poultry Yard' and 'The Encyclopaedia of the Kennel'. He begins by explaining that he is finally sending in 'title page, & dedication, which I should have sent in earlier had I not been awaiting Mr T[?]s permission to dedicate the book to him.

[The Glasgow book trade: John B. Wylie of Jackson, Wylie & Co. booksellers to the University, on the death of an employee.] Typed Letter Signed ('John B. Wylie') to John G. Wilson of J. & E. Bumpus, discussing 'Dalglish' and his demise.

Author: 
John B. Wylie, director of Jackson, Wylie & Co, booksellers to the University of Glasgow [John G. Wilson [John Gideon Wilson (1876-1963)] of the London booksellers J. & E. Bumpus; Dalglish]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Jackson, Wylie & Co. ('Booksellers, Librarians, Stationers & Bookbinders'), 73 West George Street, Glasgow. 10 April 1931.
£45.00

1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. He acknowledges Wilson's 'kind letter regarding Dalglish', who 'suffered a good deal during the latter weeks of his life, but I am glad to say that even then he still retained that brightness of disposition of which you speak'.

[Hodder & Stoughton, London publishers.] Typed Note Signed by two of the firm's directors, the brothers R. Percy Hodder-Williams and Ralph Hodder-Williams, asking Jackson Gregory to accept a 'special copy' of his 'Riders across the Border'.

Author: 
Hodder & Stoughton, London publishers, founded 1868: Robert Percy Hodder-Williams (1880-1958) and his brother Ralph Hodder-Williams (1890-1961), directors
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, St. Paul's House, Warwick Square, London, E.C.4. 6 December 1938.
£50.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. The brothers ask Gregory to 'please accept this special copy of RIDERS ACROSS THE BORDER, with our warmest regards, and with every good wish for Christmas and the New Year.' Gregory had published his book with the firm earlier in the year.

[ Charles Young, head of the Kensington booksellers Lamley & Co., to John G. Wilson of Messrs Bumpus. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('C.') to Wilson

Author: 
Charles Young, head of the Kensington booksellers Lamley & Co. [ [John Gideon Wilson (1876-1963)] of the London booksellers J. & E. Bumpus; John Murray Ltd ]
Publication details: 
On his letterhead, Lamley & Co., 1, 3 & 5 Exhibition Road, S.W.3. [ London ] 19 July 1931.
£40.00

R. J. L. Kingsford, in his history of the Publishers Association, describes Young as 'a bookseller of outstanding character and ability, a friend of Arnold Bennett, and the discoverer of the literary distinction of George Sturt'. 1p., 12mo. Neatly and closely written. Headed 'private', and addressed to 'Dear John'. Young is apparently following a dinner (of the Publishers Association) at which George Bernard Shaw was present, and the subject of the letter would appear to be an exhibition Wilson's firm has mounted of books by the London publisher John Murray.

[ Charles Sumner, Bishop of Winchester. ] Autograph Note Signed ('C Winton.') to 'the Society' [i.e. the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge], with an order, in another hand of books required by him.

Author: 
Charles Richard Sumner (1790-1874), Bishop of Llandaff and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, and then Bishop of Winchester
Publication details: 
Farnham Castle. 2 January 1832.
£56.00

2pp., 12mo. The item comprises a note in Sumner's hand on the first page, beneath which, and continuing onto the second page, is an order in another hand for 34 books in eight categories, under the headings 'Bibles', 'Testaments' and 'C[ommon] Prayers'. Sumner writes: 'Revd. Sir. | I request you will send me the following books on the terms of the Society, by Lamport's Farnham Waggon.' The order, in another hand, begins: 'Bibles | 5 8o Medium Small Pica without Marg[inal] Ref[erences]. And Apocr[ypha]'.

[ Bhikkhu D. Pannasara Thero (Pandit Dehigaspe Pannasara Thero), Sri Lankan Buddhist and Sanskrit authority and publisher.] Autograph Card Signed ('D. Pannasara'), an enquiry to the London oriental publsihers Arthur Probsthain & Co.

Author: 
D. Pannasara Thero [ Pandit Dehigaspe Pannasara Thero ], Sri Lankan Buddhist cleric, authority on Bhuddist and Sanskrit scripture, and publisher [ Arthur Probsthain & Co., London oriental booksellers]
Publication details: 
Galle, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]. 18 May 1939.
£56.00

On the back of a printed 'Ceylon | Post Card | For use to British countries'. With Galle postmark of 18 May 1939. Pannasara signs 'D. Pannasara' and gives his details as: 'Bhikku [sic], D. Pannasara Thero | Jayawardhanarama | Dangedara, Galle | Ceylon'. An enquiry in English regarding the 'Milinda Panha – translated from Pali by J. W. Rhys Davids Vol. I-ii'. Annotations in pencil and ink by the recipients.

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