ILBERT

A tenuous Titanic item: at the time of writing Simon, as solicitor-general, was representing the Board of Trade at the British enquiry into the sinking, at the address on the letterhead. See his entry and Ilbert's in the Oxford DNB. Joyce Violet Ilbert (1890-1957) was the youngest of Sir Courtenay's five daughters. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Written in pencil. Signed ‘John Ilbert’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The identity of the recipient is unclear. Written on one side of a small (12 x 9.5 cm) plain card. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with one vertical crease. Reads: ‘Dear Walter / Enclosed is, as you may see, addressed to Speaker Court. I opened it & think it may be for Miss Erskine. If not, will you send it on to Lady Ilbert. Nothing is known of it here. / Yours sincerely / James W Lowther’. Lady Ilbert was wife of the Clerk of the Commons, Sir Courtenay Ilbert, from whose papers the item derives.

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged and discoloured. Folded twice. The salutation ‘Dear Sir Courtenay’ and valediction ‘Yours v. truly / Devonshire’ in his autograph, the rest type. Addressed to ‘Sir Courtenay Ilbert, G.C.B.’ He is ‘hoping to arrange a small and informal gathering to consider the future of the Law School at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield’, and asks Ilbert to join ‘a certain number of gentlemen’ who will be lunching with him at Devonshire House on a named date, ‘With that object in view’.

Written while Clerk of the Commons. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Joyce Violet Ilbert (1890-1957) was the youngest of his five daughters. 8pp, 12mo. Two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to ‘My Dear Joyce’ and signed ‘Yr. loving father | C. P. I.’ Begins: ‘I wish for my sake that you were on board the Cedric - for I miss my [?]-valet-secretary very much. If you were here, you would be hoping that the voyage would never come to an end’. They have had ‘almost perpetual sunshine since we left New York’. ‘The ship is extremely comfortable.

See his entry, and that of Lady Ilbert’s husband, in the Oxford DNB. The three items in good condition, lightly aged, and folded for postage. ALS ONE (19 December 1910): 1p, 12mo. ‘I am sorry you have had domestic anxieties. They are the most poignant.’ He continues: ‘It would delight me to have a peaceful hour with you and Ilbert, without prejudice to Fisher and his wife.’ Signed ‘M.’ ALS TWO (2 July 1911): 2pp, 12mo.

Parliamentary legislative draftsman (1841-1924), Benjamin Jowett's literary executor. Three pages, 12mo. Very good, with traces of glue to blank verso of second leaf of bifoliate. Docketed in pencil. 'Miss Flora Shaw has asked me whether I could send you an early copy of the paper which I am to read at the Imperial Institute to-morrow afternoon. | The paper has not been printed, & the only spare copy which I have is the rouggh copy from which I had another typed for my own use. | I fear that this is very illegible.