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[Sir William Rothenstein, artist and writer on art.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mrs Morel’ [Mary Florence Yonge Morel], regarding his painting of her ‘noble husband’ [the campaigning journalist E. D. Morel].

Author: 
Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945), artist and writer on art, Principal of Royal College of Art [Mary Florence Yonge Morel [née Richardson], wife of Edmund Dene Morel (1873-1924), journalist]
Publication details: 
31 May 1911; on letterhead of 11 Oak Hill Park, Frognal, Hampstead.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, along with that of E. D. Morel, a campaigner like Roger Casement against abuses in the Belgian Congo. (Morel had been given a 'testimonial luncheon' two days before the writing of this letter.) 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, creased and worn. Folded for postage. Ten lines of stylishly-written text. Signed ‘W. Rothenstein’. After thanking her for writing he states: ‘Nothing could please me more than to feel that you care for something I have put into the painting of your noble husband.

[Newcastle and Berwick Railway, 1846.] Manuscript 'Minutes on projected Railways in the Manor of Tynemouth' by 'Thorp & Dickson', Alnwick attorneys, 'Read to Mr. Hudson' (i.e. George Hudson, 'the Railway King').

Author: 
Newcastle and Berwick Railway, 1846: Thorp and Dickson, Alnwick attorneys [George Hudson (1800-1871), 'he Railway King'; Duke of Northumberland; Manor of Tynemouth]
Publication details: 
?Alnwick October 23 - 1846?. ?Thorp & Dickson?.
£220.00

See Hudsons's entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, foolscap 8vo, on three leaves, with fourth covering leaf ('23rd Oct. 1846. / Copy / Railway Minutes / Thorp & Dickson / &c &c'). Attached at one corner with red ribbon. Headed: 'Alnwick October 23 - 1846 / Minutes on projected Railways / in the Manor of Tynemouth - / Read to Mr. Hudson, of which he requested a copy.' There are five minutes, the last covering two pages. The first three read: '1.

[ Margaret Armstrong, Lady Armstrong, gardener. ] Autograph Letter in the third person to 'Messrs Carr' [ of the Newcastle Daily Journal ], asking them to insert a notice of the death of 'Mr. John Pratt', one of her family's servants at Jesmond Dene.

Author: 
Margaret Armstrong [ née Margaret Ramshaw ], Lady Armstrong (1807-1893), gardener, wife of William George Armstrong (1810-1900), 1st Baron Armstrong [ Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Jesmond Dene, Newcastle on Tyne. 26 December 1865.
£40.00

Margaret Ramshaw of Bishop Auckland married the industrialist William George Armstrong (1810-1900), 1st Baron Armstrong, in 1835. She played an important role in the design of the gardens at Jesmond Dene, the couple’s house in Newcastle, and later at Cragside, which is now a National Trust property. 2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice, and with traces of mount on blank second leaf.

[Sir Hubert von Herkomer, painter.] Five illustrated items designed by him for his private Wagnerian theatre: invitation to 'The Sorceress'; prospectus, libretto and invitation card for his 'Pictorial-Music-Play' 'An Idyl'; and Christmas card.

Author: 
Sir Hubert von Herkomer (1849-1914), German-born British painter admired by Van Gogh [Joseph Bennett; Edward Dalziel (1817-1905), wood engraver; Dorothy Dene (1859-1899), actress; Lululaund, Bushey]
Publication details: 
The Herkomer Theatre [on the Lululaund Estate], Bushey, Hertfordshire. 1889 and 1890. [Items printed by Novello, Ewer, and Co. of London, and R. and R. Clark of Edinburgh.]
£1,150.00

In addition to his pioneering cinematographic work, Herkomer was a theatrical innovator. As Lynda Nead points out in her 'The Haunted Gallery' (Yale, 2007), it was shortly after the opening of his art school that 'he and his students created an auditorium, modelled on Wagner's Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, for public performances of plays, written, directed and, indeed, performed by Herkomer'. See also M. A. K. Taylor, 'The New Stagecraft' (1953); J. Stokes, 'Resistible Theatres' (1972); and L. M. Edwards, 'Herkomer: A Victorian Artist' (1999). These five items all relate to the project.

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