JAMES

[ R. Palme Dutt. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Raji') to 'Jimmy' [ James Shields ], thanking him for the 'masterly' fashion in which he has 'handled the press job' during Dutt's campaign in the 1945 general election.

Author: 
R. Palme Dutt [ Rajani Palme Dutt ] (1896-1974), chief theoretician of the Communist Party of Great Britain [ Jimmy Shields (1900-1949), Scottish communist, twice editor of the Daily Worker ]
Publication details: 
On his letterhead as 'Communist Candidate for Sparkbrook'. 6 July 1945.
£65.00

1p., 4to. On aged and worn paper. The letterhead features a photographic portrait of Dutt. Written the day after the General Election, in which Dutt came third in the Sparkbrook constituency, with fewer than two thousand votes. As Shields is leaving in the morning, he feels compelled to write to him 'to express what we all feel about the wonderful way you have handled the press job. It has been masterly, and every other constituency might well be jealous of us.' He ends with 'Millions of thanks, cheers and congratulations'. From the Jimmy Shields papers.

[ Thomas Arnold the Younger. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('T. Arnold') to Rev. R. Hutchinson, regarding the views of St Augustine on 'Perseverance and Predestination' and 'the good works of the heathen'.

Author: 
Thomas Arnold the Younger [ Tom Arnold ] (1823-1900), Professor at University College, Dublin, son of the headmaster of Rugby School and brother of the poet Matthew Arnold, literary scholar (Wikipedia
Publication details: 
Laleham, The Parks. 22 December 1872. [ Laleham on Thames, Middlesex (now Surrey). ]
£200.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Arnold, whose conversion to Roman Catholicism hindered his academic dvancement in England, was grandfather of the writer Aldous Huxley, and taught James Joyce at Dublin. At the time of writing he was running a private tutoring establishment at Oxford. He begins the letter by explaining that it has hardly been possible to reply to Hutchinson 'during term time [...] I had so much work on my hands'.

[ The Original Society of Papermakers, Maidstone. ] 72 printed items

Author: 
The Original Society of Papermakers, Maidstone, Kent [ James Bourke and R. Robertson, Secretaries ]
Publication details: 
Mainly printed by R. W. Burkitt, Maidstone, Kent. Three dating from 1901, the other 69 from between 1920 and 1929.
£450.00

An interesting collection of material relating to trades unions in the paper industry, and a scarce survival. The University of Birmingham, which holds a small collection of pre-twentieth-century material relating to the Original Society of Papermakers, notes that 'Few records have survived, including papers kept by chance and found within later correspondence'.

[ Florence Warden ('Mrs. G. E. James'), novelist. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Florence James'), an invitation to dinner.

Author: 
Florence Warden [ 'Mrs. G. E. James', née Florence Alice Price ](1857-1929), novelist
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 21 Addison Road North, Kensington, W. [ London. ] 26 March 1889.
£45.00

On one side of a 9 x 11 cm piece of grey paper. In a minuscule hand, with the recipient's name has been scored through: 'Dear Mr. <?>, | Will you come to supper on Thursday? | Yours sincerely, | Florence James'.

[ Printed item. ] Circular for the First Edition Club, London, by 'A. J. A. Symons, Secretary', inviting publishers to submit books to be included in 'the Fifty Books of the Year', and giving the criteria.

Author: 
The First Edition Club, London, founded by A. J. A. Symons [ Alphonse James Albert Symons ] (1900-1941) [ Curwen Press? ] [ William Foyle ]
Publication details: 
The First Edition Club, 6 Little Russell Street, London. [ Printed by the Curwen Press? ] [ Between 1922 and 1931. ]
£28.00

1p., 4to. Nicely printed (by the Curwen Press?) on watermarked laid paper. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. A nice piece of First Edition Club ephemera. The year to which the circular relates is meant to be added in manuscript, but has not been. Begins: 'The Committee appointed to choose the Fifty Books of the Year for [blank] will be grateful if, at your early convenience, you will submit such of your publications as seem to you most likely to be selected. I may perhaps remind you that the criteria by which judgment is made are | 1. TYPOGRAPHICAL DESIGN | 2. PAPER | 3. BINDING | 4.

[ James Spencer Northcote, Roman Catholic convert. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. Spencer Northcote.'), as editor of 'The Rambler', to contributor Richard Simpson, discussing items for review, Daniel William Cahill, and the Oratory, Edgbaston.

Author: 
James Spencer Northcote, Roman Catholic convert, President of Oscott College [ Richard Simpson (1820-1876); Daniel William Cahill (1796-1864); Oxford Movement ]
Publication details: 
The Oratory, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Undated [ 1854 ].
£120.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, on lightly aged paper. The Rambler was hugely unpopular with the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England for its liberal attitude and satirical emphasis. According to his entry in the ODNB, Northcote edited the journal between June 1852 and September 1854. Simpson (whose ODNB entry also see), under co-proprietor Sir John Dalberg Acton, would take over the editorship before turning it over to John Henry Newman, who would resign after a few months due to pressure from the hierarchy, and the magazine would be discontinued in 1864.

[ Sir Henry Ellis, librarian. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Henry Ellis') to Nicholas Carlisle, asking on behalf of Daniel Lysons what became of a number of Chichester antiquities forwarded to the Society of Antiquaries.

Author: 
Sir Henry Ellis (1777-1869), Principal Librarian at the British Museum [ Nicholas Carlisle (1771-1847), Daniel Lysons (1762-1834), Samuel Lysons (c.1763-1819), James Dallaway (1763-1834), antiquaries]
Publication details: 
'B. M. [ British Museum, London ] | Sept. 8th 1819.'
£56.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed, with postmarks, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Nicholas Carlisle Esqr. | Society of Antiquaries Apartments | Somerset Place.' In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. He has received 'a Letter from Mr. Daniel Lysons 'respecting "some fragments of brass belonging to a sacrificial Vessel found near Chichester," which were entrusted by Mr. Dallaway to the care of Mr. S.

[ Josiah Burchett, Secretary of the Admiralty. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J Burchett') to Lord of the Admiralty Sir Robert Rich, a sick note describing his symptoms and the circumstances.

Author: 
Josiah Burchett (c.1666-1746), Secretary of the Admiralty, clerk and servant to Samuel Pepys [ Sir Robert Rich (1648-1699) of Roos Hall, Suffolk; James Welwood (1652-1727), physician ]
Publication details: 
Epsom. 26 August 1697.
£120.00

2pp., 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly-aged, with seal cut away from second leaf, which carries a postmark and the address: 'For the Rt. Honoble. Sr. Robert Rich, one of the Lords of the Admiralty. At his house near ye Admty. Office. | Westminster'. Thirty-two lines of text.

[ James Elmes, architect. ] Autograph Letter Signed to publisher Charles Ollier, requesting clarification on the question of the parcel of 'Mr Cooke'.

Author: 
James Elmes (1782-1862), architect, civil engineer and author [ Charles Ollier (1788-1859), publisher ]
Publication details: 
2 Childs Place, Temple [ London ]. 18 July 1827.
£50.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. He begins by explaining that he has been 'too much engaged' since last writing to Ollier 'to come so far westward', or he would not intrude on his time. He asks him to return 'the letter of Mr Cooke, that I enclosed to you, under cover and a line just to say, whether there were two parcels, as he mentions, or only the one, that I took, as he desires great care and a return of them'.

[ James Stuart ('Athenian Stuart'), painter and architect. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J Stuart'), requesting that the bookseller Francis Wingrave ('Frank') place a number of advertisements regarding 'our exhibition'.

Author: 
James Stuart [ called 'Athenian Stuart' ] (1713-1788), painter and architect [ Francis Wingrave (c.1745-1820), London bookseller ]
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£180.00

1p., 4to. On bifolium. Written in an elegant assured hand. Addressed on second leaf, 'To | Mr Francis Wingrave'. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Reads: 'Dear Frank | I shall be much obliged to you if you can possibly get the copies I leave with this, inserted in the Gazeteer, the Public, & the Ledger, & the Morning Chronicle, we suppose it of consequence to the success of our exhibition, the interests of which I have greatly at heart. | Yours sincerely | J Stuart | Any expence attending the publication I shall gladly reimburse you'.

[ William Bowyer, London printer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('W Bowyer') to 'Mr. Redknap', regarding a threatening letter from a creditor. With engraving of Bowyer by James Basire.

Author: 
William Bowyer (1699-1777), eminent London printer [ James Basire (c.1730-1802), engraver ]
Publication details: 
Letter dated 1 September 1758. [ Engraving published in London in 1812. ]
£180.00

Both items are in fair condition, lightly aged, with the letter inserted in a windowpane mount, and the engraving laid down on the recto of the second leaf of the bifolium of which the mount forms the first leaf. The letter is 1p., 4to., and addressed on the reverse 'To Mr. Redknap'. Written in a difficult hand, it concerns a threatening letter Bowyer has received, stating that the sender (whose name is indecipherable) 'will hardly stay so long without Money', considering that 'Mr. Miller is going to Bath, & will not return probably within a Month'. Bowyer 'wd.

[ J. C. Williamson Ltd., Australian theatre management firm. ] Collection of 15 numbers of 'J. C. Williamson Ltd. Magazine Programme' and two numbers of 'Theatre Royal Magazine Programme'.

Author: 
J. C. Williamson Ltd., Australian theatre management firm, founded by American actor James Cassius Williamson (1845-1913)
Publication details: 
[ Printed by Whitmarks Ltd, Sydney, Australia, for the publishers City Ads. Ltd. ] The 17 numbers dating from between 1928 and 1941.
£220.00

The collection is in fair condition, with rusted staples, and slight age and wear to the covers of most of the numbers, with a handful in not such good condition, the covers of one of them being almost detached. All 4to, and ranging in length between 20pp. and 64pp. Well-illustrated, with coloured covers, biographies, news and gossip, relating to actors, plays, the chain and its theatres, as well as wider topics such as 'Russian Ballet in London', 'A Few Toilet Hints. By Phyllis Monkman', 'The Grenadier Guards Band. Shortly to Tour Australia', and 'Modern Make-Up'. By Miss May Murray.

[ James Atlay, Bishop of Hereford. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. Hereford') to 'Bateman', on the evils of 'excessive smoking', and giving a bon mot by Archbishop Magee.

Author: 
James Atlay (1817-1894), Bishop of Hereford [ William Connor Magee (1821-1891), Archbishop of York ]
Publication details: 
Oxton Hall, Tadcaster, on cancelled letterhead of The Palace, Hereford. 30 September 1892.
£45.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. He begins by stating that, as he takes the Eagle newspaper, he has 'seen your poem & Bowling's version', before continuing: 'The only comfort that I can find in the smoling - excessive smoking - of the present day is that the Tobacco is less disagreeable and (I hope) less noxious than the weed of my youth'. He is not himself a smoker, 'but my boys smoke, to excess I think'.

[ James Sheridan Knowles, Irish dramatist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. Sheridan Knowles') to the Birmingham printing ink manufacturers Beilby & Co, regarding a debt (incurred through his association with the Glasgow newspaper 'The Free Press').

Author: 
James Sheridan Knowles (1784-1862), Irish dramatist and actor [ Beilby & Knotts, Birmingham; William Spencer Northhouse, editor, 'The Free Press', Glasgow newspaper ]
Publication details: 
'July 1828 | Port Bannatyne | near Rothsay | Island of Bute | N[orth]. B[ritain].' [ Scotland. ]
£180.00

3pp., 4to. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper, with some repair, and traces of stub from mount still adhering. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmarks, to 'Messrs Beilby & Co | Printing Ink Manufacturers | Birmingham'. On the same page, in another hand: 'Mr Reuben Sparks.' Knowles's entry in the Oxford DNB gives the context. In 1816 he 'moved to Glasgow, where he established and ran a school for nearly twelve years [...] In 1823 and 1824 he added to his income by conducting the literary department of the Free Press, a Glasgow paper which advocated liberal and social reform.

[ Gerald Bullett, author and broadcaster. ] Christmas card containing his poem 'White Frost', signed by him and printed by James Guthrie's Pear Tree Press.

Author: 
Gerald Bullett (1893-1958), writer and broadcaster; his wife Rosalind Bullett [ Edith Marion Rosalind Barker, née Gould ] (1887-1982) [ James Guthrie, The Pear Tree Press, Bognor Regis ]
Publication details: 
'This is one of 75 copies of White Frost a copyright poem by Gerald Bullett printed by James Guthrie at The Pear Tree Press Flansham Bognor Regis December 1936'. [ The Old Farm, East Harting, Sussex. ]
£180.00

On piece of laid paper folded twice to make a 19 x 14 cm. card. In good condition, with light signs of age. Tiny printer's device on back cover the only illustration. Front cover in black ink reads: 'Christmas Greetings from Rosalind & Gerald Bullett The Old Farm East Harting Sussex'. Colophon in brown ink on left-hand side of opening. Right-hand opening carries the sixteen-line poem, in four four-line stanzas, the first of which reads: 'I went to the window, where the morning was, | And saw innocence scattered on the grass.

[ Charles E. Robinson of the University of Delaware. ] Duplicated typed 'List of Charles Ollier Imprints (1817-23; 1846-49) and Works'.

Author: 
[ Charles Ollier (1788-1859), publisher, author and editor; Professor Charles E. Robinson; Percy Bysshe Shelley; John Keats ]
Publication details: 
Dated July 1985 by Robinson with his details: Prof. Charles E. Robinson, College of Arts and Science, Dept. of English, 204 Memorial Hall, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
£65.00

Robinson is the author of Ollier's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, in which he discusses the 'fifty titles' that Ollier and his brother James published between 1817 and 1823, and the others dating from his second stint as publisher between 1846 and 1849. The list is 10pp., 4to. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Subtitle: '(*Indicates that U. of Delaware Library has in original, microform, or photo rpt.)' Robinson has given the date and his details in autograph at the head, and has starred items in 'urgently need' in red ink.

[ Printed item. ] A List of Choice Books on Sale by J. Bohn, 66, St. James's Street.

Author: 
J. Bohn [ James Bohn; James George Stuart Burges Bohn (1803-1880), London bookseller ]
Publication details: 
[ J. Bohn, 66, St. James's Street, London. ] J. Tuck, Printer, 6, Helmet Court, 338 1/2 Strand [ London ] ] [ December 1846. ]
£50.00

16pp., 12mo. Stabbed and unbound. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Dated in pencil in a modern hand at head of first page. Eighteenth and nineteenth century items in alphabetical order between A and G (but complete, nineteenth-century booksellers' catalogues often being issued as parts of series), The entry for the new edition of Dugdale's 'Monasticon Anglicanum', offered at £31 10s 0d, takes up more than half a page of small print. For more on Bohn see his entry in the Oxford DNB. Now scarce.

[ A. J. Hall and Dr. James Stewart. ] Autograph Note Signed [ to Dr James Stewart ] by the Irish singer A. J. Hall, with biographical 'Memo. by Dr. James Stewart ("Sheamus Rua")'.

Author: 
A. J. Hall, Irish singer [ Dr James Stewart ('Sheamus Rua') of the Irish Medical Schools' and Graduates' Association ]
Publication details: 
Note on letterhead of the Junior Athenaeum Club, 116 Piccadilly [ London ]. 18 November [ circa 1898 ]. Stewart's memorandum undated.
£60.00

The note and memo are on a 12mo bifolium. In good condition, lightly-aged. The letter is signed 'A. J. Hall' and addressed to 'My dear Doctor'. He explains that he would gladly visit him, 'if at liberty', but that he is 'at Wolverhampton that night with Madame Albani'. The biographical note, presumably in Stewart's autograph, is on the reverse of the second leaf of the bifolium, beneath the following, in red ink: 'Memo. by Dr. James Stewart ("Sheamus Rua") Hon. Secy.

[ Printed item. ] The Directory of Second-hand Booksellers and List of Public Libraries, British and Foreign. Edited by James Clegg.

Author: 
James Clegg [ (b.1843) publisher, proprietor of the Aldine Press, Rochdale ]
Publication details: 
'Second Edition'.Rochdale: Printed and Published by James Clegg, Wet Rake. London:Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C. [ also New York, Paris and Leipzig ] 1888.
£120.00

[3] + viii + 112 + 51pp., 4to. Internally fair, on lightly-aged paper, in binding with heavily-damaged leather spine and worn green cloth covers. The author states that the volume is the second edition in his preface, 'the First having been published by the late Arthur Gyles, in 1886'. The object 'is primarily to supply a work of convenient size for the use of Second-hand Booksellers, which may facilitate intercourse with their confreres in our own and other countries'. Three pages of advertisements at front, and a further fifty-one at rear.

[ Privately-printed keepsake playlet by Mary Hyde about Colonel Ralph Isham and the purchase of the Malahide Papers of James Boswell, with signed inscription by the author. ] Levée at Fifty-Third Street.

Author: 
Mary Hyde [ Viscountess Eccles (1912-2003), book collector and philanthropist ]; Brooke Crutchley, Printer to the University of Cambridge [ Colonel Ralph Isham; James Boswell; Samuel Johnson ]
Publication details: 
Printed in Great Britain at the University Printing House, Cambridge (Brooke Crutchley, University Printer). 1972 [ inscription dated 1971 ].
£150.00

19 + [1]pp., 4to. Nicely-printed, and saddle-stitched and placed in grey paper wraps with tasteful white label on cover with title printed in red. Inscribed inside front cover 'For Desmond + Dorothy - | with love from | the Playwright | Christmas | 1971'. The playlet is an amusing representation of a single night at the 1946-1949 high point of excitement over the discovery of the Malahide Papers ('During three years the incidents described here were repeated several times a week.'), and features among others Isham himself, his cleaner 'Mrs.

[ Printed volume. ] Recollections of a Literary Life; and Selections from my Favourite Poets and Prose Writers. By Mary Russell Mitford, Author of "Our Village," "Belford Regis," etc.

Author: 
Mary Russell Mitford, Author of "Our Village," "Belford Regis," etc. [ Jane Porter; James Maclehose, Glasgow bookseller; Edmonds & Remnants, binders; Richard Clay, London printer ]
Publication details: 
New Edition. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 1859. [ R. Clay, printer, Bread Street Hill, London. ]
£60.00

xii + 516pp., 16mo. Frontispiece portrait of author. In red cloth binding with embossed patterning and gilt spine. Internally in good condition, in heavily-worn binding with split hinges. Ownership inscription on front free endpaper of 'The Misses Porter', presumably Mitford's friend Jane Porter and her sisters (an example of Jane Porter's handwriting being loosely inserted in the volume). Ticket on front pastedown of 'JAMES MACLEHOSE | Bookseller & Stationer | 61 St. Vincent St. | GLASGOW'. Ticket on rear pastedown of 'EDMONDS & REMNANTS, BINDERS.'

[ King William IV, as Lord High Admiral. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('William') to Sir James Cockburn, Inspector General of the Royal Marines, regarding 'the proper mode of depositing the various Colours' used by the different divisions.

Author: 
King William IV (1765-1837) of the United Kingdom, King of Hanover [ Sir James Cockburn (1771-1852), 9th Baronet, Inspector General of the Royal Marines ]
Publication details: 
Admiralty [ London ]. 16 August 1828.
£250.00

2pp., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Cockburn is not named as the recipient, but the item is from his papers. There has been some difficulty regarding 'the proper mode of depositing the various Colours that have been in use with the different Divisions of the Royal Marines', but William (who was at the time the Duke of Clarence) knows 'that these Colours belong to His Majesty and not as in Departments to the Colonels'. He gives instructions, 'so that they may be placed in the Chapel of the Royal Hospital' at Greenwich, and gives his reason for doing so.

[ King William IV, as Lord High Admiral. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('William') to Sir James Cockburn, Inspector General of the Royal Marines, concerning officer's examinations, divisional reports, and the preparation of a portrait.

Author: 
King William IV (1765-1837) of the United Kingdom, King of Hanover [ Sir James Cockburn (1771-1852), 9th Baronet, Inspector General of the Royal Marines ]
Publication details: 
Bushy House. 14 November 1829.
£250.00

2pp., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Cockburn is not named as the recipient, but the item comes from his papers. William (at the time the Duke of Clarence) writes: 'I rejoice exceedingly at the favourable account you are enabled to give me concerning the late examination for Adjutants amongs the Royal Marine Officers'. He is anxious to have Cockburn's 'various reports from the different Divisions'.

[ King William IV as Lord High Admiral. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('William') to Sir James Cockburn, Inspector General of the Royal Marines, on Lt-Col. Robert Moncrieff acting 'foolishly' over his commission. With ALS from Moncrieff on the subject.

Author: 
King William IV (1765-1837) of the United Kingdom, King of Hanover [ Sir James Cockburn (1771-1852), 9th Baronet, Inspector General of the Royal Marines; Lt Col. Robert Moncrieff ]
Publication details: 
Admiralty [ London ]. 22 November 1827. [ Moncrieff's letter to Cockburn from Portsmouth, 22 November 1827. ]
£200.00

2pp., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with slight tear to one edge. Cockburn is not named as the recipient, but the item comes from his papers. William (at the time the Duke of Clarence) writes that he is enclosing Moncrieff's letter, 'by which you will perceive he is acting foolishly not to use a harsher term. My determination therefore is when I arrive tomorrow afternoon at Portsmouth to be informed by you whether he sells or goes on the Half pay of a Colonel which is Fourteen Shillings and Six Pence pr: diem.

[ Offprint. ] Library Association of the United Kingdom, 1891. Report on Library Appliances.

Author: 
James D. Brown [ James Duff Brown; Library Association of the United Kingdom ]
Publication details: 
Dated 'August 19th, 1891.' [ John Bale & Sons, Steam Printers, 87-89, Great Titchfield Street, London. ]
£100.00

17pp., 8vo. Unbound. In fair condition, on aged paper with slight rusting to staple. Addressed 'To the Council of the Library Association of the United Kingdom'. The author explains that for the purposes of his report 'the definition of library appliances is mechanical contrivances designed to carry on or facilitate the work of a library, but excluding such as are connected with structural arrangements'. The only copy on either OCLC WorldCat or COPAC at the British Library and University of Bristol.

[ William James Callcott, marine artist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('W. J. Callcott') to Dr Maitland Coffin, offering a painting at an 'awfully low' price so that he can pay his studio rent.

Author: 
William James Callcott (c.1823-1900), English marine artist [ Maitland Coffin ]
Publication details: 
From 48 Stockwell Park Crescent, London S.W. On letterhead of the Savage Club, Lancaster House, Savoy, W.C. 22 December 1886.
£180.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Headed 'Private'. He writes that he called the previous day at Coffin's chambers, and that he will do so the following day, 'and will bring that bit for the wall'. He states 'in confidence' that he wishes to 'pay a surgeon on Saty next £6. 5. 0 rent for Studio - he is a good fellow but he wants his rent'. Callcott has in the studio 'a number of works, & I would let you have (if agreeable) a good picture recent work size 61in x 41 - Rocky Coast - never used yet in Exhibition or otherwise'.

[ Abbott Laurence, American ambassador to London. ] Autograph Signature ('Abbott Laurence').

Author: 
Abbott Laurence (1792-1855), American politician and philanthropist, congressman and ambassador to London, 1849-1852
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£22.00

On 1 x 5 cm. piece of paper. In fair condition, lightly aged. Cut from a letter.

[ The Argyle Theatre, Birkenhead, Victorian music hall. ] Typed Letter Signed ('Tom') from licensee and manager T. D. Clarke to theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope, discussing productions for children.

Author: 
T. D. Clarke [ Tom Clarke ], Licensee and Manager, The Argyle Theatre, Birkenhead [ the Wirral; Merseyside; music hall; W. Macqueen-Pope [ Walter James Macqueen-Pope ] (1888-1960), theatre historian ]
Publication details: 
On illustrated letterhead of the Argyle Theatre, Birkenhead. 28 July 1945.
£45.00

The Clarke family ran the Argyle for fifty years from 1890 to 1940, during which period it was one of the best-known provincial theatres. It opened as the Argyle Music Hall in 1868, and between 1876 and 1890 was named the Prince Of Wales Theatre, being used mainly to stage plays. In 1890 the focus returned to music hall and variety and it was renamed the Argyle Theatre. Its archives are in the University of Sheffield. 2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, somehwhat grubby and creased at foot of leaf.

[ William Pett Ridge, novelist and humorist. ] Autograph Card Signed ('W. Pett Ridge'), apologising for being unable to attend a meeting.

Author: 
W. Pett Ridge [ William Pett Ridge ] (1859-1930), English novelist and humorous journalist with the St James Gazette
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Garrick Club, London. 'Wednesday' [no date].
£25.00

On both sides of a card. In good condition, with light aging. He hopes she will have 'a very succcessful meeting', but cannot give 'a promise to attend', as other matters are 'engaging, just now, all the attention I have to spare'.

[ J. Stelfox Gee, Manchester philatelist. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. Stelfox Gee') to 'Autolycus', regarding a document concerning 'the Manchester Mail Coach in 1805'.

Author: 
J. Stelfox Gee [ James Stelfox Gee ], philatelist [ H. Verity & Sons Limited, 67 Mosley Street, Manchester ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of H. Verity & Sons Limited, 67 Mosley Street, Manchester. 19 May 1924.
£45.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. He is sending 'the two accounts or whatever you like to call them for the Manchester Mail Coach in 1805', but 'cannot make out exactly what they are beyond being a monthly return of the takings and division of profits of the running of the Machester to Derby Coach for August 1805'.

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