BRITISH

See Cary's entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. The recipient is not named, but the item is from the papers of Lady Maria Theresa Lewis, and the letter is written to her first husband, the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), whose father Thomas Lister of Armitage Park was a childhood friend of Cary's (see his 1847 biography by his son).

Written while Bunsen was Ambassador in London, 1841-1854. See the recipient's entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo, on the first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with strip cut from second leaf, which is docketed ‘Chev Bunsen / March 1854 / Interieur’. The letter reads: ‘My dear Lord Clarendon / I shall not fail to be at the appointed time, to-morrow eleven o’clock, at the Railway Station, and bring Count Groeben with me (who is enchanted with your reception & concersation). / Every yours faithfully / Bunsen’.

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. The five items are in good condition, lightly aged, with each on a 4to bifolium, and all folded for postage. In a neat and attractive hand. The text of each letter is on the first leaf, and the first two letters are addressed by Porteus on the reverse of the second leaf, each with broken seals in red wax. In Letters Four and Five Porteus lays out his objections to Maurice’s ‘Elegy on the late Right Honourable William Pitt’, published in 1806 under the name ‘T. M.’ ONE (St James’s Square, 10 April 1898): 1p, 4to. Addressed to ‘Revd. Mr Maurice / No.

See Michael Kennedy's assessment of Boult, in his entry in the Oxford DNB: 'In the music he admired most, Boult was often a great conductor; in the rest, an extremely conscientious one.' Good bold signature ('Adrian C. Boult') is centred on one side of an 11.5 x 9 cm piece of card. The signature and the space around it are clear, but the discoloured card has a smudge on it, and carries traces of previous mount on reverse. At foot of signed side, in pencil:Sir Adrian Boult - Conductor of the B.B.C.Orchestra London / Famous English Conductor'. See Image.

See his entry by Ruari Maclean in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. With Bentley’s distinctive stylized signature ‘Nicolas Bentley’. After thanking him for his letter he writes (apparently with reference to a newspaper article): ‘I am sorry if in using the phrase “I am afraid” I ruffled your grammatical sensibilities. I used it because I meant it.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘Randoph S. Churchill. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. After apologising for the delayed response he administers an effective put-down: ‘I do not pretend to be an expert in these mattes, but I have never heard the word EQUALITARIAN used in ordinary talk. EGALITARIAN, on the other hand, I have heard used by a wide variety of people who speak good English, including Sir Winston Churchill.

The third letter gives an excellent indication of Birkett’s pride in his use of language. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. All three signed ‘Norman Birkett’. In fair condition, lightly aged and little grubby. The first letter with a small hole to one corner, and the two leaves of the last letter held together with a pin. ONE: ALS, 9 July 1953. 1pp, 4to. He is adding Collins’s book to his ‘select library on “words”’.

A poignant letter, written during Joad's final illness (he died on 9 April 1953). Joad’s entry in the Oxford DNB ends with this assessment: ‘Cyril Joad was an outstanding educator, a tireless proponent of ‘progressive’ causes, and one of the best-known broadcasters of the 1940s.’ The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler, and the letter concerns his 1952 book 'The Choice of Words'. 2pp, 4to. Aged and discoloured, and cropped at the head with loss of a line of text. Folded once for postage. Date given in ink at head, presumably by Collins.

See the entries for Dicksee and Lady Orchardson’s husband Sir William Quiller Orchardson (1832-1910), RA, in the Oxford DNB. Lady Orchardson (1853-1917) was the daughter of the London publisher Charles Moxon. The Orchardsons married in 1873. Among their four children was the painter Charles Moxon Quiller Orchardson (1873-1917), who studied in the Royal Academy Schools and was killed in action during World War One. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘Frank Dicksee’.

An interesting item, providing valuable biographical information. The Gills were a prominent family of English painters, all puzzingly absent from the Oxford DNB. Edmund Gill’s father was the portrait painter Edmund Ward Gill (1794–1854) and among his brothers were the painters William Ward Gill (1823–1894) and George Reynolds Gill (1827–1904). After studying at the Royal Academy he fell under the influence of David Cox. The present item relates to Gill’s entry in the 1884 eleventh edition of the Routledge reference work by Thompson Cooper, ‘Men of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries’.

Four closely written pages, 12mo, bifolium, good condition. He initially responds to Rogers' comments about the question of 'Britain & England'. You say you 'decline to recognise that the history of England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland, is of any importance beside the history of England whether politically, constitutionally or economically - at any rate until the present century'. Now with all due deference, this seems to me to be beside the question. The title, or rather one of the titles of your father's book [ROGERS (James E. Thorold)] is 'England's Industrial & Commercial Supremacy'.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The letter is 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight discoloration to margin at head and light rust spot. Reads: ‘Dear Mr. Haynes King, / It was extremely kind of you to write & congratulate me on my election as R.A. & I appreciate the attention very much.

See Sheila Markham’s interview with Thorp’s grandson Jim in ‘The Bookdealer’, April 1995, and the report ‘Now it’s the end of the Thomas Thorp story’, Surrey Live, 17 January 2003. 132pp, 8vo. Stapled. Pagination includes grey printed wraps, with title and first and last entries. On cheap discoloured paper, with slight wear to bottom corner of first few leaves; spine worn and chipped, covers detached. Undated, but with no item found dated later than 1929. Fifty-one pages (33-83) of bookplates in small print.

See the entries on Simon and Ross in the Oxford DNB. At the time of writing Ross was a Fellow of Oriel College. Barnett House in Oxford was established in 1914 as a result of an appeal to academic and political figures, mainly through the actions of another Oriel fellow, Sidney Ball (1857-1918). It was named after Canon Barnett, founder of the university settlement Toynbee Hall. Barnett House was intended as a ‘citizens’ house’ - a centre for economic and social enquiry, and between 1957 and 2004, as a department of the university, was a centre for the training of social workers. See G.

An attractive and highly-finished production, in black ink, on 17.5 x 20.5 cm piece of wove paper, glued on the reverse at the four corners to a leaf extracted from the autograph album of the novelist George Meredith and his daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Parsons' monogram signature 'AP. in its two-bordered square is at the bottom left of the drawing, and there is an additional autograph signature with date to the right of the drawing on the leaf of the Meredith album: 'Alfred Parsons.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. Signed ‘W Sharpey’ on ticket engraved in copperplate on one side of 15 x 10.5 cm card. In fair condition, a little worn and somewhat discoloured with age, and with short vertical crease to the left of the signature. Blind-stamped with ‘Treasury Seal’. The signature is at bottom right, with number of ticket (59) and the initials of the secretary ‘’ at bottom left. Attractively laid out, with text reading ‘University College, London. / Anatomy and Physiology. / William Sharpey, MD. / Professor. / Admit Mr.

Now viewed in a favourable light, Panizzi was a controversial figure in his own time, being dubbed a ‘fat pedant’ by Thomas Carlyle, who was moved to press for the creation of the London Library as a result of the Italian’s high-handed behaviour. From the Piffard papers. 1p, 4o. On recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with short closed tears to both leaves on fold. Folded four times.

See the two men's entries in the Oxford DNB. The three items are in good condition, lightly aged and worn; the second is lightly spotted. Each is folded once. All three signed 'Bryce'. ONE: 13 February 1914. No place. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. Begins: 'My dear Ross / I should like [to] help in so good a cause, but cannot possibly venture to make any promise for a date so distant as Nov. next. It would be a tempting of Providence as we say in Scotland.' He is not even certain whether he will be in England then, 'and there is nothing one has more to avoid than the breaking of promises'.

An amusing piece of Victorian memorabilia. Written in pencil on one side of a slip of paper, roughly 14 x 7 cm, torn from the bottom of a leaf. Both sides of the paper are ruled, with the ruling on the reverse wider spaced. Confirming the fact that the item is a telegram is the fact that the word ‘Clerk.’ is printed at bottom right of the reverse, with the word ‘Railway’ in pencil at top right.

An interesting indicator of the economic impact of the continental blockade in the year of the Battle of Trafalgar. Roger Knight provides an excellent overview of the background to the present document in his ‘Convoys: The British Struggle against Napoleonic Europe and America’ (2022), and in particular the fifth chapter, which deals with North Sea Convoys between 1804 and 1812.

The present item - presumably autobiographical and definitely unpublished - is in a disordered state, and certainly not in the best of condition, with some parts apparently missing; but it is certainly worthy of attention, as a well-written production over which the author has taken some pains, with numerous manuscript additions and emendations in green and black felt-tip pen, describing from the point of view of a young Englishman 1960s Anglo-Japanese culture shock. 239pp, all but two of which are 4to, the two being foolscap.

Richard Colley Wellesley (1760-1842), 1st Marquess Wellesley [as Earl of Mornington]; John Jeffreys Pratt (1759-1840), 1st Marquess Camden [as Viscount Bayham]; John Thomas Townshend (1764-1831), 2nd Viscount Sydney of St Leonards. See their entries in the Oxford DNB. On 5.5 x 15.5 cm strip extracted from a document, and laid down on 8 x 21.5 cm part of gilt-edged leaf from an album. In good condition, lightly aged on aged and creased mount. The signatures are written above one another: 'Mornington / Bayham / J. Th. Townshend'.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 13 x 6.5 cm piece of thin paper, apparently cut from the end of a letter for an autograph hunter. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, folded twice. Reads: ‘Francis Grenfell / Maj Genl / April 16 / 1892.’ See image.

On the yellow-paper pastedown of the detached front cover of an 8vo book. Reads: ‘Basil Lubbock. / 1906.’ with underlining. The cover is blue cloth, with an illustration of a sailing ship in a storm embossed in gilt at the centre. The signature and surrounding area are in good condition. The lower part of the board is damp stained, with wear and discoloration to the blue cover.

Lightly-inked signature 'Basil Lubbock' on recto of 8vo leaf of cream paper, clearly the ownership inscription, beneath signature of 'J Bailey', on a front free endpaper extracted from a volume. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased.

For the family see the entry on ?HOMFRAY, of Wollaston Hall, and The Hill, near Stourbridge; Broadwaters, Kidderminster; and The Hyde, Kinver, Staffordshire?, in H. S. Grazebrook, ?The Heraldry of Worcestershire? (1873). 1p, 8vo. Text clear and complete, on aged paper worn and chipped at edges, with one short closed tear. Previously folded into a packet. Endorsed. Reads: ?Sir / I have just rec?d yours enclosin [sic] a statement of the Half Pay which you say is 33? - 8s - [?]d & that there is only 12? . 15s due to me for 6 months.

2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight spotting and single punch hole centred above letterhead. Folded twice. The letter is addressed to 'My dear Vice-Chancellor' without further elaboration, but the item comes from the Ross papers. Temple explains that it has been ?difficult to foresee how this summer could be arranged: the planning of domestic life in two houses under present conditions of staffing is very complicated!? His wife will not be joining him in the visit, as she ?feels obliged to spend that week-end at Canterbury?.

See the entries on Thornycroft and Allingham in the Oxford DNB. The letterhead is also of interest: 'One-Oak' is a notable example of the work of the Arts and Crafts architect A. H. Mackmurdo. 1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with traces of mount adhering to blank reverse. Folded twice. Initial ?H? of signature slightly smidged. Reads: ?Dear Mrs Allingham / I have only [?] got your note. / I enclose two cards for RA. Hoping to see you there / Yours very sincerely / Hamo Thornycroft?. See Image.

1p, 4to. In fair condition, on aged and somewhat brittle paper, with unobtrusive repair to one corner. Folded three times. Certainly not in Wellington's distinctive hand. Reads: 'The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to Mr: Briggs and begs to acquaint him that he is going out of Town this night. / But he will be happy to receive the Gentleman mentioned in Mr. Briggs's note at the Ordnance Office Pall Mall on Friday next at three oClock. / London / 27th: Novr: 1826.' See Image.

Lightly-written signature (?Cliff Richard?) in blue ink at bottom left of 21 x 16 cm photographic print on glossy paper of black and white publicity photograph of a tanned Richard sitting in swimming trunks with his hands on his knees, looking at the viewer between two rather plain brunettes in bikinis. The print is somewhat creased and worn, with minor discoloration to white border at the top edge. See Image.