CHARLES

Autograph Letter Signed ('Ch. Fechter.') to an unnamed 'dear Friend', describing himself as 'so young a fellow as your devoted comrade, now writing', and expressing 'profound and hearty friendship'

Author: 
Charles Fechter [Charles Albert Fechter] (1822-1879), French actor and playwright who found enormous success in Britain and America
Publication details: 
No place. 25 October 1861.
£50.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Begins: 'My very dear Friend, | I lack words to express my real gratitude for your heartfelt kindness to so young a fellow as your devoted comrade, here writing'. He hopes for an opportunity to show proof of his 'profound and hearty friendship'. He ends with renewed thanks, and 'sincere loves [sic] to your good Wife and dear self'.

[Cosmo Hamilton and his 'Eugenic play'.] Autograph Letter Signed to J. L. Garvin, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, regarding his play 'The Blindness of Virtue', with reference to eugenicist Caleb Saleeby.

Author: 
Cosmo Hamilton [born Henry Charles Hamilton Gibbs] (1870-1942), playwright and novelist [James Louis Garvin (1868-1947), editor of the Pall Mall Gazette; Caleb Saleeby (1878-1940); eugenics]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Whiteleaf, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. 'Monday' [1914]
£45.00

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded twice. The letter begins: 'When my Eugenic play “The Blindness of Virtue” was first produced at the Little Theatre two years ago [i.e. in 1912] (about which Dr Saleeby [i.e. eugenicist Caleb Saleeby (1878-1940)] wrote very kindly & in great agreement in the P. M. G) you were kind enough to send a member of your staff to see me for a talk.' He explains that since that time he has had the play 'in the United States & Canada where it is still running & I have many more things to say about it & those places'.

[Charles Fechter, Anglo-French actor and playwright.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to 'Mr. Osborne', the first regarding his itinerary and the choosing of a plot suited to Osborne's style; the second regarding his busy life and examining a play.

Author: 
Charles Fechter [Charles Albert Fechter] (1822-1879), French actor and playwright who found enormous success in Britain and America
Publication details: 
Letter One: on letterhead of 30 Park Road, Regent's Park, N.W. [London] 17 August 1869. Letter Two: no place, on monogram letterhead (with motto 'Faiblesse vaut vice'). 19 April 1872.
£120.00

Both items are 2pp, 12mo, and bifoliums. Both in good condition, lightly aged, and each folded once. The second has rust marks to margin from a paperclip. Given the sunbject-matter, the recipient may be a relation of the actress Mrs William Barry (1739-1771), whose maiden name was Osborne. ONE: 17 August 1769; on Park Road letterhead. Signed 'Ch. Fechter.' He begins by announcing: 'I have, by no means, altered my mind; but have been – and am still – strolling about the country'.

[Lord Albemarle, Whig politician and racehorse owner.] Autograph Letter in the third person to the Mayor Elect of Yarmouth, declining a dinner invitation.

Author: 
Lord Albemarle [William Charles Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle] (1772-1849), Whig politician and racehorse owner
Publication details: 
Quidenham [Norfolk]. 24 September 1815.
£56.00

1p, 8vo. In good condition. Laid down on part of leaf from album. Reads: 'Lord Albemarle presents His Compliments to the Mayor Elect, and is sorry to find that It is not in his power to have the Honor of dining with him at Yarmouth on Michaelmas Day next.'

[George Arbuthnot, civil servant, as Private Secretary to Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Charles Wood.] Autograph Letter Signed ('G. Arbuthnot') to unnamed editor, sending for publication a corrected copy of speech in reply to motion by Disraeli.

Author: 
George Arbuthnot (1802-1865), senior civil servant [Charles Wood (1800-1885), 1st Viscount Halifax, Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer]
Publication details: 
Downing Street [London]. 7 April 1849.
£50.00

According to his entry in the Oxford DNB, Arbuthnot 'served as private secretary successively to seven patronage secretaries; to the permanent head of the department, Sir Charles Spearman, and his successor, Sir Charles Trevelyan; to the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel; and to Sir Charles Wood, chancellor of the exchequer in Russell's administration'. The present item was written by Arbuthnot while holding the last position. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Laid down on part of a leaf from an album.

[Christopher Fry, playwright.] Typescript of a cinematic 'Story Treatment' of 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens: 'A 90 Minute Animated Color Version', 'Adapted by Christopher Fry'.

Author: 
Christopher Fry (1907-2005), playwright; Charles Dickens
Publication details: 
With address of Fry's agent: ACTAC (Theatrical & Cinematic) Limited, 16, Cadogan Lane, London S.W.1'. Without date [1970s or 1980s?].
£400.00

In addition to his distinguished career as a playwright, Fry had some success in Hollywood. He completely rewrote (uncredited) the screenplay of 'Ben-Hur' (1959), and was responsible for the screenplay of the Dino De Laurentiis epic 'The Bible: In the Beginning' (1966), directed by John Houston. The present item is a treatment for a film that did not make it into production. It is [1] + 71pp, 8vo. Each page on a separate loose leaf. With thin card covers, also loose, the front cover carrying a duplication of the title-page, and the back cover blank. In good condition, lightly aged.

['Johnson's Alamode Beef House': celebrated London eaterie associated with Charles Dickens.] Autograph Letter Signed from proprietor R. J. P. Jaquet, asking Sir Herbert Taylor to help with application to Bow Street magistrates Birnie and Minshull.

Author: 
'Johnson's Alamode Beef House', Drury Lane, London, Robert John Philip Jaquet, (1799-1867), proprietor [Sir Herbert Taylor (1775-1839); Sir Richard Birnie (c.1760-1832); Charles Dickens; Bow Street]
Publication details: 
21 Clare Court [Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London]; 2 March 1829.
£450.00

An interesting document relative to London social history, and a nice piece of Dickensiana. George Johnson is said to have established his celebrated restaurant Johnson's Alamode Beef House at 21 Clare Court, Drury Lane, in the 1780s, although the present letter states that it was licensed around 1805 . In 1824 a twelve-year-old Charles Dickens – employed in a nearby blacking warehouse as a result of his father's imprisionment for debt – himself experienced an incident which he later made use of in 'David Copperfield'.

[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'.

[Royal College of Surgeons.] Document with ten Signatures: Thomas Keate, Master; Sir Charles Blicke, Sir David Dundas, Governors; Sir William Blizard; Henry Cline; Sir James Earle; Sir Everard Home; George Chandler; Thompson Forster; Charles Hawkins.

Author: 
Royal College of Surgeons: Thomas Keate; Sir Charles Blicke; Sir David Dundas; Sir William Blizard; Henry Cline; Sir James Earle; Sir Everard Home; George Chandler; Thompson Forster; Charles Hawkins
Publication details: 
Royal College of Surgeons [London]; 6 July 1810.
£800.00

The document bearing the ten signatures is 1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of document. Folded twice. A printed form, completed in manuscript, with the ten signatures of leading figures in the medical world of Georgian London in a column at bottom right, the first two grouped as 'Governors' and the other seven as 'Examiners': 'Charles Blicke | David Dundas | C Hawkins | J Earle | G Chandler | T Forster | Everard Home | William Blizard | Henry Cline'.

[Michael Davitt, Irish republican politician.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Michael Davitt.') to W. M. Knox, regarding his 'direction' of the forthcoming newspaper 'Labour World'.

Author: 
Michael Davitt (1846-1906), Irish republican and agrarian campaigner, founder of the Irish National Land League, Member of the British Parliament [Irish Republican Brotherhood; Home Rule; Fenians]
Publication details: 
On letterhead (with full-page illustration) of the Arundel Hotel, Victoria Embankment, Strand, W.C., London; 23 March 1890.
£200.00

The present letter relates to the founding by Davitt – who inspired Mahatma Gandhi – of the newspaper 'Labour World', in which he was an early promoter of the British Labour Party. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once. The reverse of the second leaf carries a full-page engraving of the 'Arundel Hotel, | Victoria Embankment, Strand, W.C.' He begins by informing Knox that 'Mr Stead' has handed him his 'favour to him of the 12th. inst.' He continues: 'The paper alluded to in the Review of Reviews is not to be started in Ireland.

[Camilla Parker-Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall: personal reminiscences of John Phillips.] Privately-printed pamphlet: 'Camilla Story', with facsimiles of five letters from her, and accounts of two meetings, with her negative view of Cherie Blair..

Author: 
John Phillips (1926-2017), flâneur and executor of Violet Trefusis (1894-1972; née Keppel), English socialite and author, lover of Vita Sackville-West [Camilla Parker-Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall]
Publication details: 
[Phuket, Thailand.] 2013.
£500.00

After a twelve-year 'amitié amoureuse' with Phillips, Violet Trefusis (a relation of Camilla Parker-Bowles, both being members of the Keppel family) died in 1972, appointing him her literary executor and leaving him her last home, La Tour de Saint Loup. The present item – no other copy of which has been traced – is from a collection of Phillips's papers amassed by his friend Barbara Reed, containing pamphlets privately printed by him between 2009 and 2014.

[Charles Murchison, eminent physician, President of the Pathological Society of London.] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'C. Murchison') to [William Frederick] Cleveland, regarding treatment of the final illness of the physician James Copland.

Author: 
Charles Murchison (1830-1879), eminent physician; President of the Pathological Society of London [William Frederick Cleveland; James Copland; Sir Henry Thompson]
Publication details: 
5 and 10 July 1870. The first with letterhead of 79 Wimpole Street, London W.
£450.00

For Murchison and the subject of the letter, the eminent Scottish physician and medical author James Copland (1791-1870), see the Oxford DNB. Both items bifoliums; and both in good condition, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse of the second leaf. ONE: 3pp, 12mo. He begins by saying that he has seen Sir Henry Thompson (1820-1904), who 'cannot possibly meet us to-morrow but he will be at Dr Coplands at 3.40 on Thursday – That is the day of my Law Case but I will be there if I can'.

[John Coakley Lettsom, physician, founder of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. C Lettsom'), to Charles Taylor, expressing great distress on the death of his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D.

Author: 
John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1815), physician, philanthropist, abolitionist, founder in 1773 of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin [his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D. (1771-1800)]
Publication details: 
'Sambrook Co [Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street, London]; 29 January 1800.
£450.00

Lettsom's entry in the Oxford DNB erroneously states that his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D., 'a physician of promise', died in 1799. For the true details, see Gentleman's Magazine, January 1800. 1p, 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn, with thin strip of paper adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf, which is addressed, with fragment of seal in black wax, to 'Mr Charles Taylor | 134 | Cheapside'. The recipient may well be Charles Taylor (d.1816), physician, originally a Manchester calico printer and dyer, who later became Secretary of the Society of Arts, London.

[John Coakley Lettsom, physician, founder of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. C. Lettsom') to 'Dr. Taylor' [Charles Taylor], regarding his nomination as member of the Society.

Author: 
John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1815), physician, philanthropist, abolitionist, founder in 1773 of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin [Dr Charles Taylor, Secretary, Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
['Sambrook Co [Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street, London] | Nov. 25. 1805.'
£450.00

The recipient is Charles Taylor (d.1816), physician, originally a Manchester calico printer and dyer, who later became Secretary of the Society of Arts, London. 1p, 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with postmarks to 'Dr. Taylor | Principal Secretary | to the Society of Arts &c | Adelphi'. Folded four times. Reads: 'Dear Doctor | I have this day proposed your name to the Medical Society of London.

[Charles Arthur Mercier, forensic psychiatrist.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to psychiatrist Bedford Pierce, regarding: the 'spook business', Sir Victor Horsley and 'forcible feeding', punctuation, the 'hopeless' case of 'Jackson'.

Author: 
Charles Arthur Mercier (1851-1919), pioneer in the field of forensic psychiatry and debunker of spiritualism, President of Medico-Psychological Association [Bedford Pierce (1861-1932), psychiatrist]
Publication details: 
Both on letterheads of The Flower House, Southend, Catford, S.E. [London]. 23 July 1906 and 28 December 1909.
£500.00

Both letters are signed 'Chas. Mercier'. ONE 23 July 1906. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper adhering to the blank second leaf. The letter, which is written in a playful tone, begins: 'My dear Bedford Pearce [sic] | Blamed if I do? I am not so ignorant of the Canonical Books as to confuse Prov: 26. 4 with 26. 5. Your offence, which cries aloud to heaven, is the omission of a comma! A quotation should follow the original verbatim et literatim [sic] et punctuatim, and a stop is an integral part of the text.

[Bryan Waller Procter (the poet 'Barry Cornwall'), as Commissioner in Lunacy.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B. W. Procter'), asking a colleague (Harris?] for information about the 'Conduct' of 'some patients', 'particularly about Miss Anne [Lealer?].

Author: 
Bryan Waller Procter (1787-1874), poet under pseudonym 'Barry Cornwall' and Commissioner in Lunacy, 1832-1861, member of London Magazine circle, friend of Charles Lamb, Thackeray and Wilkie Collins
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Office of Commissioners in Lunacy, 19 New Street, Spring Gardens [London]. 12 August 1847.
£120.00

Proctor was a much loved individual in literary circles, from the days of the London Magazine to the mid-Victorian period, in which he was the dedicatee of both Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair' and Wilkie Collins's 'Woman in White'. His reputation as a poet was international: he was thought highly of by Pushkin. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse. The letter reads: 'Dear [Harris?] | Pray tell me where [?] I can have some conversation with you about some patients of the name of [Lealer? Lester?], whom you know.

[Sir Thomas Watson, President of the Royal College of Physicians.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Thomas Watson.') to Yarmouth physician Henry Davey, suggesting a meeting and tour of London University, with reference to 'Mr. Bell', i.e. Sir Charles Bell.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Watson (1792-1882), President of the Royal College of Physicians, 1862-1866 [Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842), Scottish physiologist and surgeon; Henry William Robert Davey of Yarmouth]
Publication details: 
24 Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square [London]. 'Monday Evening. - Feby 23. 1829'.
£200.00

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, Lady Bell, wife of Sir Charles Bell, Scottish physiologist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Marion Bell') to her husband's 'old Pupil and Friend' Henry Davey of Yarmouth, discussing the publication of his letters to his brother.

Author: 
Marion Bell [Marion, Lady Bell, née Shaw] (1787-1876), wife of Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842), Scottish physiologist and surgeon [Henry William Robert Davey of Beccles, Yarmouth physician]
Publication details: 
[47?] Albany Street N.W. [London] 24 March [1870].
£600.00

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.

[Robert Hamilton of Ipswich, Irish army physician and medical author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('R: Hamilton') to Sir Charles Brian Blagden, Secretary, Royal Society, praising that body in regard to a 'trifling performance' presented to its library.

Author: 
Robert Hamilton (1749-1830) of Ipswich, Irish army physician and medical author [Sir Charles Brian Blagden (1748-1820), medical officer in the Army and Secretary of the Royal Society, London]
Publication details: 
Ipswich; 10 February 1788.
£250.00

1p, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with broken seal in red wax, to 'Dr. Blagden | Secry. to the | Royal Society | London'. After thanking Blagden for the trouble he has taken 'in transmitting the thanks of the R: Socy. To me for the trifling performance I sent to the Library', Hamilton continues: 'I consider myself as honoured by its reception.

[Sir Charles Blagden, physician and scientist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('C. Blagden') to Louis Odier, Genevan physician, regarding the sojourn in England of Jean-François Berger, and the changes in Geneva.

Author: 
Sir Charles Blagden [Sir Charles Brian Blagden] (1748-1820), physician and scientist, Royal Society secretary [Louis Odier (1748-1817) and Jean-François Berger (1779-1833), physicians of Geneva]
Publication details: 
No place. 13 February 1810.
£350.00

3pp, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse of second leaf, which is addressed 'À Monsieur | Monsieur L. Odier | Docteur et Professeur en Médecine | à Genève.' He begins by expressing the 'great pleasure' he has felt in again seeing Odier's handwriting, and learning that he and his family are in good health.

[Lord Charles Somerset and George Rose, Joint Paymasters General of the Forces.] Both men's Autograph Signatures, with those of witnesses Henry Hallam, William Stewart Rose, Henry Wrottesley and [Mark?] Blyth, to document appointing attorneys.

Author: 
George Rose (1744-1818) and Lord Charles Somerset (1767-1831), Joint Paymasters General of the Forces; Henry Hallam, historian; William Stewart Rose; Henry Wrottesley; [Mark?] Blyth
Publication details: 
'this 8th. day of November one Thousand Eight Hundred and five, in the forty Sixth Year o f His Majesty's Reign'.
£200.00

For information about George Rose (1744-1818) and Lord Charles Somerset (1767-1831) see their entries in the Oxford DNB. The two men served as Joint Paymasters General of the Forces, 1804-1806. Rose, who was a close friend of Lord Nelson, was mocked by Cobbett for enriching his family at the public expense. The present document, witnessed by one of his second sons the poet William Stewart Rose (1775-1843), appoints his eldest son, the future Sir George Henry Rose, (1771-1855), as one of the two attorneys of his office.

[Charles Townshend, British politician behind the Townshend Acts.] Autograph Signature ('C Townshend') and seal, with signatures of Charles Bembridge, John Powell, Thomas Farraine, to document appointing Robert Digby deputy paymaster of Minorca.

Author: 
Charles Townshend (1725-1767), British politician behind the Townshend Acts in the American Revolution; Charles Bembridge; John Powell; Thomas Farraine [Admiral Robert Digby (1732-1815); Minorca]
Publication details: 
'the 12th. of June 1765 in the Fifth Year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lord George the Third of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c.'
£220.00

1p, foolscap 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to edge on reverse. Folded once. Signed 'C Townshend' with good impression of seal in red wax at bottom right. Nineteen-line document in a secretarial hand, with tax stamp at head. At foot, by two members of the Army Pay Office, Horse Guards: 'Sign'd, Sealed and delivered, (being first duly stamp'd) in the presence of | John Powell | Chas: Bembridge'.

[Thomas Pell Platt, orientalist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('T P Platt'), as Librarian to the British and Foreign Bible Society, to Rev. Charles Sumner [later Bishop of Winchester], Librarian to George IV at Carlton House, presenting a set of volumes.

Author: 
Thomas Pell Platt (1798-1852), English orientalist, Librarian of the British and Foreign Bible Society [Charles Sumner (1790-1874), Bishop of Winchester, librarian to King George IV at Carlton House]
Publication details: 
Bible Society's House | Earl Street, Blackfriars | March 30. 1825'.
£75.00

1p, 4to. In fair condition, aged and worn, with creasing and heavy wear at head. Folded three times. Addressed to 'The Rev. C. R. Sumner'. Reads: 'Rev. Sir | As Librarian of the British & Foreign Bible Society, I have the honor to state to you that a Resolution has been passed by the Committee of that Society, requesting permission to offer to His Majesty as a mark of their dutiful homage a set of Copies of the Versions of Holy Scripture executed or reprinted at their expence.

[Julia Maria Hallam, wife of historian Henry Hallam.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J M Hallam') to Lady Elizabeth Palgrave, wife of Sir Francis Palgrave, reporting in affectionate terms on her son's health at Eton College.

Author: 
Julia Maria Hallam (1783-1840), wife of historian Henry Hallam (1777-1859), sister of poet Sir Charles Abraham Elton (1778-1853) [Lady Elizabeth Palgrave [née Turner] (1799-1852)]
Publication details: 
'Eton Friday Eveng.' [With postmark dated 29 July 1837.]
£180.00

2pp, 4to. On first leaf of bifolium, the second leaf carrying the address to 'Lady Palgrave | Hampstead Green', with four postmarks, one dated 29 July 1837. In fair condition, on aged, worn and creased paper. Lady Elizabeth Palgrave was the wife of the archivist and historian Sir Francis Palgrave (1788-1861, né Cohen), and daughter of the banker, naturalist and bibliophile Dawson Turner (1775-1858) of Yarmouth.

[Charles Williams, poet and author (the Inklings), to the playwright Christopher Fry.] Autograph Letter Signed, Typed Letter Signed and Typed Card Signed (all 'C. W.'), in copy of his 'Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury', with Fry's ownership signature.

Author: 
Charles Williams (1886-1945), English poet and author, a member of the Inklings [Christopher Fry (1907-2005), playwright]
Publication details: 
Autograph Letter from Southfield House, 1941. Typed Letter, 1942, and Typed Card, 1944, both on Oxford University Press letterheads.
£450.00

The letters are in fair condition, lightly aged; the card is discoloured and stained. Loosely inserted in a copy of Williams's 'Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury', 75 + [1]pp, 8vo, with the ownership signature 'Christopher Fry' on the front free endpaper, in worn binding with fraying at head of spine. Delightful and revealing letters, mixing personal and business (Williams worked for the Oxford University Press and Fry was published by them). ONE: ALS from Southfield House, 17 December 1941. 2pp, 12mo. Thirty lines of closely-written text, on a leaf of ruled paper torn from a notebook.

[Christopher Fry ownership inscription to a book by Charles Williams.] The House of the Octopus. [A Play in Three Acts]

Author: 
Charles Williams [Christopher Fry; the Inklings]
Publication details: 
London: Edinburgh House Press, 2 Eaton Gate, S.W.1. 1945.
£60.00

115pp, 12mo. In good condition: sound and tight, on browning War Economy paper, in green cloth with slight bloom, and in slightly worn and chipped browning dustwrapper. (The subtitle 'A Play in Three Acts' features on the dustwrapper, but not on the title-page.) Fry's ownership inscription 'Christopher Fry' is in blue ink at the top right-hand corner of the recto of the front free endpaper. A verse drama from the library of the leading twentieth-century English exponent of the genre, after T. S. Eliot.

[Christopher Fry ownership inscription to a book by Charles Williams.] The Region of the Summer Stars.

Author: 
Charles Williams [Christopher Fry; the Inklings]
Publication details: 
Editions Poetry London. 1944.
£450.00

55pp, 8vo. In fair condition, internally tight and sound, on browning paper, in lightly-worn blue cloth binding. No dustwrapper. Slight dink at head of spine. Ownership inscription 'Christopher Fry' in blue ink at top right-hand corner of recto of front free endpaper. Fry and Williams were on cordial terms, the latter working for Oxford University Press and the former being published by them.

[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.

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