ENGLISH

See the entries on Sambourne and Meredith in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and folded twice for postage. Addressed ‘To George Meredith Esquire / O.M.’ and signed ‘Linley Sambourne’ with the usual five underlinings. Begins: ‘Dear Mr Meredith, / I venture to write & let you know how very much it rejoices our Household that his majesty has confered [sic] on you the Order of Merit. I, amongst countless others have always felt the incompleteness of that most distinguished body with your name absent.

See his entries in the Oxford DNB and History of Parliament. The present item is on one side of a 21 x 8.5 cm piece of wove paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with one fold. Minor traces of two red wafers from previous mounting on blank reverse. Written out by Harding in his attractive hand (he was a stylish fellow: his obituary in the Annual Register stated that ‘no one had a finer choice of words and few a more graceful delivery’), the note reads: ‘Received May 4th.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded once for postage. The recipient is the novelist George Meredith's daughter Marie Eveleen (Mariette; 1871-1933), wife of Henry Parkman Sturgis (1847-1929), American-born banker and Liberal politician. Addressed to ‘Mrs Sturgis’ and signed ‘Frank Dicksee’. He is sorry to hear of her illness, but ‘fortunately the summer is coming & long before it is here I trust you will be yourself again’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 9.5 x 10 cm piece of paper, laid down on 11 cm square piece of card. In good condition, lightly browned and aged. The letterhead is printed in red. The inscription reads ?Faithfully yours / Solomon J Solomon?.

Wyndham’s entry in the Oxford DNB states that the family estate was ‘some 4000 acres in Wiltshire’. Milford (1829-1913) was his rector at East Knoyle, and the letters inform him about arrangements for the funeral of Wyndham’s father Percy Scawen Wyndham (1835-1911). Both items in good condition, lightly aged, and folded for postage. Each addressed to ‘My dear Canon Milford’ and signed ‘George Wyndham.’ ONE: 14 March 1911. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Begins: ‘I have found a written permission from my Father to have the Funeral - committal to the erth - where I think best.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once for postage. The year is given in pencil, and a note in the same hand identifies the recipient as ‘Mrs Florence Doubleday (wife of publisher) in Oyster Bay’. Ten lines of text, in a close hand, with larger, firm signature ‘John Gielgud.’ A somewhat pompous missive. He thanks her for giving him ‘so delightful an opportunity of meeting you, and to ask me to stay in your charming house and meet your friends, who were all so nice to me’.

See his entry in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. A year before these letters Hodgkinson had become an assistant keeper in the Department of Architecture and Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert, where his first task had been to organize the display of the Hildburgh collection of English medieval alabasters. Also in 1946 Robertson had begun his long career at Edinburgh University, having worked through the war at Bletchley Park, before joining the unit assigned to track down works of art looted by the Nazis.

1p, small 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice for postage. Written in a close hand, with a larger and more forceful signature, with long underlining: ‘John Gielgud.’ Reads: ‘Dear Mrs. Bannerman. / All my best thanks for the lovely lilies, which arrived fresh and safely. They are quite enchanting - and cost a small fortune if one buys them in a florists.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded twice for postage. The letter reads (with autograph parts in square brackets): ‘[Dear Mr. Hedley,’] / Thank you. / Mary and I are of course thrilled - first and foremost for Glyndebourne’s sake. / [It was charming of you to write. / Yours sincerely, / George Christie / P.S. I’m afraid I dont ever send autographed photographs. Sorry to disappoint you.] / [P]PS Please forgive typescript.’

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper, with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, folded for postage. With good large firm signature. The main body of the letter reads: ‘Dear Mrs Dickens / I shall be very glad to sing one number, my “Young Dietrich” at your Hospital Matinée on June 14th. With love from house to house / Sincerely / Yours / Geo. Henschel’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The items are unrelated. Both are in good condition, lightly aged, and each folded once for postage. LETTER: 2pp, 12mo. On grey paper. Addressed to ‘The London Correspondent of the Birmingham Daily Post’ and signed ‘George Henschel’.

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.' On card with stamp, crest and ‘POST CARD’ printed in red. In fair condition, lighly worn. Addressed to ‘Miss Minshull / 1 Claverley Grove / Finchley N.3.’ Reads on the other, crosswise: ‘Please excuse a hasty scrawl: can you come to Lincoln’s Inn at 5 on Wed? Dont answer if all right. / I am so glad you’re able to do it: it will be fine I think. / Adrian C. Boult / 11 Chelsea Embankment / S.W.3.’

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.' The two items are unrelated. LETTER: 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly creased. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘C. Holme-Barnett, Esq., / 54 Anchorage Road, / Sutton Coldfield, / Warwickshire.’ The salutation and valediction are in Boult’s autograph: ‘Dear Mr Holme-Barnett’ and ‘Yours sincerely / Adrian C. Boult.’ The letter concerns two Birmingham conductors.

See Smith’s entry in the Oxford DNB, and Michael Kennedy's assessment of Boult, in his entry in the same work: 'In the music he admired most, Boult was often a great conductor; in the rest, an extremely conscientious one.' The two items are unrelated. LETTER: 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once for postage and with corners snipped diagonally to make an octagonal shape. Salutation and valediction are in Boult’s autograph: ‘Dear Mrs Brown’ and ‘Yours very sincerely / Adrian C. Boult’. PROGRAMME: 12pp, 8vo. Stapled.

See his entry and hers in the Oxford DNB. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged, and each folded once for postage. Neatly and firmly written. Both addressed to ‘Dear Miss Scott’ and signed ‘Keith Falkner’. ONE: 2pp, 12mo. Eleven lines. He will be ‘pleased to sing in the “Peasant Cantata” at the Union “At Home” on June 28th’ and asks to know ‘which version you will be doing as soon as you decide?’ He ends with thanks for her ‘kind sympathy - I do appreciate it very much’. TWO: 2pp, 8vo. Twenty-three lines of text.

See his long and sympathetic entry by David Gilmour in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Curzon acquired the Priory at Reigate after his marriage in 1895, and the letter probably dates from around March to July 1922, when, according to the Oxford DNB, ‘he was laid low by a combination of phlebitis, thrombosis, and lymphangitis which kept him out of action for five months’. 4pp, 12mo. On bifolium. Written in pencil. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight spotting at foot of first page. One central fold for postage.

See her entry in Encyclopedia Britannica. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with some grubbiness around the top-left corner. The text of the letter and the stylish and assured signature are unaffected. Reads: ‘Dear Neil Hurst, / Thank you very much for your letter. I’m delighted to know that you have enjoyed my work, and it was kind of you to write. / I have pleasure in sending you a signed photograph, with my best wishes. / Yours sincerely, / Judi Dench’. Dench terminates the signature with a diagonal dash through a widely-spaced colon.

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and creased. Ten lines in a close, controlled hand. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Whitworth’ and signed ‘Christopher Hampton’. He writes to confirm that he will be free on the date he suggested he ‘might be able to come down to meet you’. He also gives an alternative date. ‘At the moment I’m working on a new translation of “Uncle Vanya”, which was to be finished by the end of November.

After serving in the Great War, Burn (son of Sir Joseph Burn) studied at the Slade between 1918 and 1922, winning six prizes. After teaching in London at the Royal College, and in Boston, he offered his services to the war effort. After the war he went back to the Royal College, as a senior tutor. The four ot the items here are in fair condition, lightly worn and discoloured. Each is folded once for postage. Although only one is dated, the others appear to date from around the same time. ONE (‘Monday’): 1p, 4to. Unsigned.

Written during the 1984-5 Old Vic production of Arthur Schnitzler’s ‘The Lonely Road’, in which Eggar starred opposite Anthony Hopkin, with a young Colin Firth. 2pp, 12mo. Good bold signature: ‘Sincerely / Samantha Eggar’. Addressed to 'Mr Sephton'. In good condition, lightly aged, folded for postage. She thanks him for his ‘inquiry as to whether I would be able to talk to you about “Whos Who of Hollywood Britons’, and gives the only date that is convenient. ‘The show comes down at 5.15 approx, maybe a call to the theatre to check would be wise’. From the papers of Kenneth Sephton.

Leighton’s entry in the Oxford DNB explains that ‘In 1954 she began a long run (nearly four years in London and New York) as Anne Shankland and Sybil Railton-Bell in the double bill of Terence Rattigan's Separate Tables, co-starring with Eric Portman and winning a Tony award as best actress.’ 2pp, 4to. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Sephton’, with good bold signature, ‘Margaret Leighton.’ In good condition, lightly aged, folded for postage.

According to Delane’s entry in the Oxford DNB, he settled ‘from about 1847 at 16 Serjeants' Inn, Temple’. The addressee appears to be ‘W. Forsyth Esq’, and is named in the letter as a brother of the Conservative politician William Forsyth (1812-1899), who took silk in 1857, and hence also of the diplomat Sir Thomas Douglas Forsyth (1827-1886), both of whom have ODNB entries. 2pp, 12mo, with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded twice for postage, in the neat remains of a windowpane mount.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightl aged. Folded once for postage. The recipient is not named, but the letter has at its head the date stamp of the Royal Society of Arts, London, and is docketed by Wood. Signed ?H. Brereton Baker?. He agrees to give ?the three Cantor lectures as you suggest, provided they can begin after the 3rd. week in February?. He gives the subject as ?Catalysis in its scientific and industrial aspects?. A pencil note at the foot gives dates for the lectures as ?Mch 16, 23, 30?.

Watford?s obituaries noted her sensitive acting style, and ranked alongside Peggy Ashcroft. On both sides of a 14.5 x 10 cm card, with no printing but for the name ?GWEN WATFORD? in red at the head of recto. Addressed to ?Dear Mr Sephton? and with good firm signature ?Gwen Watford?. In good condition lightly aged. Twelves lines of neatly written text. She has ?just finished another mid-week matinee?, and is writing thank him for his ?most encouraging letter?, which she will ?treasure?.

In his entry on Laye in the Oxford DNB, Sheridan Morley describes her as a ?bright, particular star?. 1p, 12mo, on grey-blue paper with monogram of her initials printed at top left. The letter concerns the 1969-70 Palace Theatre production of ?Phil the Fluter?, in which she played Mrs Fitzmaurice. Addressed to ?Dear Kenneth? and with good firm signature ?Evelyn Laye?. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. She thanks him for the letter and ?the lovely Shamrock?, which she has planted ?in a little pot, as it was so very thoughtful of you to sentd it to me for Good Luck?.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The letter is addressed from the house of Frederick Goodall (also see ODNB), which at other times was occupied by Laurence Alma Tadema and James Murray. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to ?My dear Mrs. Calkin? and signed ?Frank Holl?. Twenty-six lines of text in a hurried hand. He thanks her for her ?kind trouble - & for the rifle which my model called for and brought with him this morning?. He is sorry that her son George has been injured.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. A nice item, printed on shiny card. Bifolium folding to 21 x 14.5 cm. In good condition, lightly aged. On the front is a photograph of Scales and West by Jane Bohn. On reverse of first leaf is the menu, on recto of second the ?Toast List?, and the verso of the second a list of officers. McEwan?s inscription, in a good firm hand is at top left of the menu. It reads: ?With Best Wishes / Geraldine / McEwan?. From the papers of Kenneth Sephton. See Image.

In his entry on Laye in the Oxford DNB, Sheridan Morley describes her as a ?bright, particular star?. 1p, 16mo.Good firm signature. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. On the otherwise-blank reverse is Laye's monogram, with her initials. Reads: 'My dear Kenneth. / Thank you for your very sweet letter[.] I am so delighted you liked the broadcast[.] It brought back many happy memories to me & when I sat & listened to it all alone I must say I longed for the past. / Bless you. / Evelyn Laye.' From the papers of Kenneth Sephton.

Balogh’s entry in the Oxford DNB notes his ‘flamboyant mind and considerable moral courage’. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Films and Filming. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. The collection is in good condition, lightly aged and worn.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. The valediction of a letter, cut away for an autograph collector. On a slip of paper, around 7.5 x 1.5 cm. On lightly discoloured paper, with tear through signature, attached to piece of card with archival tape. Reads: ‘Very sincerely yours / Ellen Wood’.