BOSWELL

[Thomas Davies, bookseller; Boswell & Johnson; Thomas Cadell] Autograph Letter Signed Thos Davies to Unnamed correspondent (Thomas Cadell, publisher? see below), unwilling to participate in an auction including books in quires.

Author: 
Thomas Davies, bookseller (1713-1785}
Publication details: 
[1784?]
£450.00

One page, 12mo, laid down on l. larger stiff paper, some staining but text clear and complete. I would willingly be of service to Mrs Evans & attend the sale; but I wish not to buy books in quires - I am besides so very deaf that it is a pain to me to be in company - | Mrs Evans & you may depend upon my doing what little service is in my power when y[ou]r bound stock is sold [...] | P.S. I am delighted greatly with y[ou]r Travels ['Voyages' excised] of Mr. Coxe - He is a most accomplished Gentleman & I am sure has a most excellent heart..

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[ Thomas Pennant, naturalist, traveller, and writer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Tho. Pennant') to London solicitor 'Mr Shepherd', regarding 'the matter respecting Major Hughes'.

Author: 
Thomas Pennant (1726-1798), naturalist, traveller, and writer, admired by Samuel Johnson
Publication details: 
Downing. 9 December 1781.
£320.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed, with two postmarks, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Mr Shepherd, Sollictor [sic] | Boswell court | near Lincolns inn | London.' In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. The letter reads: 'Sir | I am obliged to Mr Middleton for recommending a Gentleman of yr worth & abilities; but yesterday the matter respecting Major Hughes is transferred to other hands for which I am thankful as it will be equally well pursued. I am Sir | Yr obedt Servt | Tho. Pennant. | Downing Decr 9th 1781 | I shall pay chearfully [sic] all past Charges'.

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[ Privately-printed keepsake playlet by Mary Hyde about Colonel Ralph Isham and the purchase of the Malahide Papers of James Boswell, with signed inscription by the author. ] Levée at Fifty-Third Street.

Author: 
Mary Hyde [ Viscountess Eccles (1912-2003), book collector and philanthropist ]; Brooke Crutchley, Printer to the University of Cambridge [ Colonel Ralph Isham; James Boswell; Samuel Johnson ]
Publication details: 
Printed in Great Britain at the University Printing House, Cambridge (Brooke Crutchley, University Printer). 1972 [ inscription dated 1971 ].
£150.00

19 + [1]pp., 4to. Nicely-printed, and saddle-stitched and placed in grey paper wraps with tasteful white label on cover with title printed in red. Inscribed inside front cover 'For Desmond + Dorothy - | with love from | the Playwright | Christmas | 1971'. The playlet is an amusing representation of a single night at the 1946-1949 high point of excitement over the discovery of the Malahide Papers ('During three years the incidents described here were repeated several times a week.'), and features among others Isham himself, his cleaner 'Mrs.

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Autograph Letter Signed ('Chauncey B. Tinker') from the Boswell scholar Chauncey Brewster Tinker, Professor of English Literature at Yale University, concerning the proposed presentation of a manuscript by Charles McCamie of West Virginia.

Author: 
Chauncey Brewster Tinker (1876-1963), Professor of English Literature at Yale University, and authority on James Boswell and Doctor Samuel Johnson
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Yale College Department of English. 8 October 1924.
£80.00

2pp., 12mo. With stamped and postmarked envelope, addressed by Tinker to 'Chas. Mc.Carnie, Esqr., | Natl. Bank of W. V. Bldg, | Wheeling, W. V.' Tinker considers that 'The MSS.

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Autograph Letter Signed ('C. B. Tinker'), Typed Letter Signed ('C. B. T.') and Autograph Note Signed ('Tinker') from the Boswell scholar Professor Chauncey Brewster Tinker of Yale University to the Johnson scholar Charles McCamic.

Author: 
Chauncey Brewster Tinker (1876-1963), Professor of English Literature at Yale University, and authority on James Boswell
Publication details: 
All three on letterheads of 847 Memorial Quadrangle, New Haven. Autograph Letter. 22 October 1924. Typed Letter: 30 May 1928. Autograph Note: 7 June 1928.
£150.00

Autograph Letter: 1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. In envelope addressed by Tinker to McCamic at Wheeling, West Virginia. He thanks him for sending 'the book on Barber'. 'It enriches my working library, and I shall be frequently reminded of what I owe to your kindness and interest.' Typed Letter: 1p., 12mo. Fair, on lightly-aged paper with light rust stain from staple at head. McCamic's 'file of the British Magazine' is 'rare, if not unknown'.

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Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'Frederick A. Pottle') from Frederick Albert Pottle, editor and biographer of James Boswell, to the Johnsonian Charles McCamic, with a long discussion of the publishing history and current prices of three works.

Author: 
Frederick A. Pottle [Frederick Albert Pottle] (1897-1987), biographer of James Boswell, and editor of his journals [Charles McCamic, Johnsonian; Chauncey Brewster Tinker; Robert Borthwick Adam]
Publication details: 
Both from 367 Elm Street, New Haven, Connecticut (one on a letterhead). 12 May and 11 June 1928.
£220.00

Both letters fair, on aged paper. Letter One: 12mo, 4 pp. Discussing the possibility that McCamic might be able to 'stop-over in New Haven' on his journey to Smith. 'You might be interested to see the proofs of the Bibliography'. 'This has been a hard letter to write, and doesn't sound as cordial as I should wish, [...] I wish I could invite you to stay with me on the night of the 15, but I live in a small apartment and have no accomodations [sic] for guests'. Letter Two: 10pp., small 4to.

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Kisses, being an English translation in Verse of the Basia of Joannes Secundus Nicolaïus of the Hague, Accompanied with the original Latin Text; to which is added An Essay on the Life and Writings of Secundus.

Author: 
Joannes Secundus Nicolaius [John Lodge, engraver; Thomas Davies, Bookseller to the Royal Academy, Russell Street, Covent Garden]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for T. Davies, in Russel-Street, Covent-Garden, Bookseller to the Royal Academy; and sold by J. Bew, in Paternoster-Row. 1775.
£56.00

8vo: 224 pp. Errata on last page. Frontispiece and portrait of the author on p.65 by Lodge. In original brown calf binding, with red label with 'Kisses of Secundus' in gilt, on spine. A tight copy, with the flyleaves becoming detached, the frontispiece foxed and with a closed tear at the head of the hinge, and a 4mm ink stain spreading upwards along the leaves along the bottom edge. Elegantly printed, with a four-page preface by the unnamed translator, followed by a 32-page 'Essay on the Life and Writings of Secundus'.The poems are on the versos, with the translations on the facing rectos.

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