DONALDSON

[John William Donaldson, philologist, classicist, and biblical scholar.] Autograph Memorandum, signed 'J. W. Donaldson', giving four 'reasons' why 'Hercules was the husband & not the purchased slave of Omphale'.

Author: 
J. W. Donaldson [John William Donaldson] (1811-1861), philologist., classicist and biblical scholar [Sir Thomas Gery Cullum (1777-1855) of Hardwick House and his wife Lady Ann Cullum (1807-1875)]
Publication details: 
No place [King Edward's School, Bury St Edmunds]. 2 April 1844.
£56.00

See Donaldson's entry in the Oxford DNB, which states that he was 'greatly beloved by his friends, who included N. C. Thirlwall and W. H. Thompson. The diarist Henry Crabb Robinson spoke enthusiastically of the charm of his conversation.' 3pp, 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. No salutation or valediction, and the recipient is not named, but the item derives from the papers of Sir Thomas Gery Cullum and his wife Lady Anne Cullum, of Hardwick House.

[Marsha Hunt, Hollywood and Broadway actress.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Marsha Hunt') to the English playwright Christopher Fry, describing her admiration for, and association with, his work, with reference to Richard Burton and Vincent Price.

Author: 
Marsha Hunt [Marcia Virginia Hunt] (born 1917), Hollywood and Broadway actress [Christopher Fry (1907-2005), playwright]
Publication details: 
On her letterhead, Sherman Oaks, California. 28 February 2005.
£220.00

3pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. A long and entertaining letter, beginning: 'Dear Mr. Fry, | Probably late in 1949, in a New York City duplex living room, two married couples lay prone on the floor, fanned out around a single copy of “The Lady's Not for Burning”, the better to read aloud all its colorful roles. The couples were Alfred Drake (with whom I had played the previous season in my first Broadway play), his wife, my writer husband [i.e. Robert Presnell Jr] and I.

Autograph Letter Signed to (Charles Edward) Fagan.

Author: 
Arthur Donaldson Smith
Publication details: 
25 January 1895; Barre.
£250.00

American physician and explorer of Africa (1866-1939). The recipient was Assistant Secretary at the Natural History Museum, London. One page, 12mo. Good, on slightly discoloured paper, and with remains of stub still neatly attached to one edge. A significant letter, sent on the eve of Donaldson Smith's most notable expedition. 'Just a line in haste to tell you I & Dodson [a taxidermist engaged for the expedition] are ready to start for Rudolph Gillitt [another taxidermist] having left for England after hearing of his father's death.

Autograph Letter Signed to Dr [Albert] Gunther.

Author: 
Arthur Donaldson Smith
Publication details: 
24 January 1895; Barre.
£150.00

American physician and explorer of Africa (1866-1939). The recipient (1830-1914) was Keeper of the Zoological Department at the British Museum, 1875-95, and Vice-President of the Royal Society, 1875-6. Two pages, 12mo. Very good, on slightly discoloured paper with a little light spotting. Traces of previous mount adhering to one edge. He is sending some 'spirit-specimens' from his collection and has written to Sir William Flower 'as to the disposition of the entire collection'.

Autograph Letter Signed to (Charles Edward) Fagan.

Author: 
Arthur Donaldson Smith
Publication details: 
25 January 1895; Barre.
£250.00

American physician and explorer of Africa (1866-1939). The recipient was Assistant Secretary at the Natural History Museum, London. One page, 12mo. Good, on slightly discoloured paper, and with remains of stub still neatly attached to one edge. A significant letter, sent on the eve of Donaldson Smith's most notable expedition. 'Just a line in haste to tell you I & Dodson [a taxidermist engaged for the expedition] are ready to start for Rudolph Gillitt [another taxidermist] having left for England after hearing of his father's death.

Two Signed Manuscript Legal Agreements with Sir Herbert Hay Langham, the first by the fraudster Walter Hastings Coward, the second by James Donaldson, regarding prospecting on the island of Madeira for 'Mines or Deposits of Chromium or Chrome Ore'.

Author: 
Sir Herbert Hay Langham (1840-1909); Walter Hastings Coward; James Donaldson; William Lattey, London solicitor [chromium and chrome ore mining in the island of Madeira; prospecting]
Publication details: 
The agreement with Coward dated 31 October 1892; drawn up by Henry Lattey, 24 Cornhill, E.C., London. The agreement with Donaldson dated 26 July 1895.
£120.00

Both items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Neither is signed by Langham. ONE: Agreement with Coward, 1892. 1p., foolscap 8vo. On vellum paper with red embossed tax stamp. 'I Walter Hastings Coward hereby bind myself to disclose to Herbert Hay Langham all Chrome Ore or Chromium Mine that I may discover or otherwise acquire any right or share to or that I may have at present discovered or otherwise have acquired any right or share in the Island of Madeira'.

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