JUDGE

See his entry, and Sharpey?s, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of tape from mount adhering to blank second leaf. Folded for postage. Addressed to ?Dr. Sharpey Secy F S.? and signed ?Fred Pollock?. Begins: ?My dear Dr. Sharpey / I have nearly completed the abstract - I intend to dine at the Club & be present at the meeting to day & I shall ask you when you require the abstract?? He explains that he is ?presiding in the nisi prius C[our]t.?, and that he would like to have ?the leisure of a Sunday to finish it?.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Docketted in pencil in a contemporary hand: ?1853 [sic] / Duke of Wellingtons funeral? (on 18 November 1852). Signed ?W: Bovill?. Begins with reference to the family business (corn factors) in Milford Lane, City of London: ?My dearest Wife. / I have just seen George & find that there is the large bed room at the top of the house in Milford Lane unoccupied & we can have it - they can arrange something for the two boys & I dare say Mr.

Coleridge was the nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. See his entry, and that of Cranworth, in the Oxford DNB. The letter relates to Palmerston’s first ministry. 1p, 16mo (cut down to a 12 x 10 cm piece of wove paper). In fair condition, lightly aged and discoloured, with traces of glue from mount adhering to one edge of blank reverse. Signing himself ‘J. T C’, Coleridge writes: ‘My dear Awdry / I have been with the Chancellor in consequence of the above - & promised to send him a minute in writing - where we have had trouble. Can you help me with your recollection. / In haste.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Signed ‘J Fletcher Moulton’. Begins: ‘Dear Mrs Earle / Just at the worst moment of the fight your inspiring letter came to cheer me.’ He hopes he will be deserving of the ‘kind things’ she writes: ‘I could truthfully say things at least as kind in return but I fear my epistolary style does not lend itself thereto so I shall trust that you will take these as said.’ He ends by saying that he will retain the letter ‘as one of those which has [sic] given me most pleasure in my life’.

A spirited and characteristically-forceful letter, casting interesting light on the social side of London legal practice in the Victorian period. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 8vo. On Bifolium with thin mourning border. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with some nicking and light creasing at edges. Begins: ‘D[ea]r Aspinall, / I suppose from my not having heard from you no one knows of a case in point. So, unless you tell me there is some precedent - of danger, I’ll recommend my secretary to take his chance.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The item is from the Villiers papers, and the recipient is presumably the Theresa, wife of the Hon. George Villiers (1759-1827), daughter of Lord Boringdon and sister of the Earl of Morley. (See the entry on her son Thomas Hyde Villiers (1801-1832) in the History of Parliament.) 2pp, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, folded once. Signed ‘Erskine’.

Talfourd’s entry in the Oxford DNB notes that he was ‘particularly loved’ by Dickens, and that he ‘provided the archetype of the idealistic Tommy Traddles in David Copperfield; his children Frank and Kate gave their names to two youngsters in Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby.’ The subject of the letter is the actor Henry Thomas Betty (1819-1897), son of ‘the young Roscius’ Henry Betty (1791-1874), whose entry in the ODNB also see. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, and with slight traces of mount on reverse. Folded for postage. Begins: ‘My dear Sir, / Mr.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, with that of the recipient Lady [Maria] Theresa Lewis (1803-1865), who lived in Kent House in Knightsbridge with her second husband Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bart, her first husband having been the novelist Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). 32mo, 2pp. On the two sides of a piece of gilt-edged paper. In good condition, folded once for postage. Signed ‘F Jeffrey’. A difficult hand.

The third letter gives an excellent indication of Birkett’s pride in his use of language. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. All three signed ‘Norman Birkett’. In fair condition, lightly aged and little grubby. The first letter with a small hole to one corner, and the two leaves of the last letter held together with a pin. ONE: ALS, 9 July 1953. 1pp, 4to. He is adding Collins’s book to his ‘select library on “words”’.

Interesting items, casting light on the nitty-gritty of Victorian constituency politics. Both are signed 'W. S. Robson' and addressed to 'B. Piffard Esq'. Both in good condition, lightly aged, with the second a little spotted. Each on a bifolium. ONE (26 May 1885): 3pp, 12mo. He has been informed 'that it is now the wish of the Watford (or Divisional) Association that I should visit the Division & address meetings there.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. 1p, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Reads: 'Lord Justice Fry would be obliged if Mr Piffard would send him a Micro-slide of Conidia bearing Hyphae of Eurotium repens, isolated & stained by a new application of Iodine Vapour. He encloses 2/- in stamps.'

See his entry, and Craig’s, in the Oxford DNB. 13 x 9 cm envelope, with seal (no impression of any kind) in red wax over the broken flap. In good condition, lightly aged. On the front of the envelope, in Jeffrey’s hand, ‘To / James Gibson Craig Esqre / 7. North St Andrew Street’. Beneath this, at bottom left and between the customary lines is the signature ‘F. Jeffrey’.

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. From the papers of Arthur George Liddon Rogers (1864-1944), son and editor of the economist Thorold Rogers [James Edwin Thorold Rogers] (1823-1890), for information regarding whom see his entry in the Oxford DNB. A little grubby, but in fair condition, folded once. Good clear signature. Reads: ‘The 1st. of January 1926. / My dear Rogers, / Many thanks for your letter and information re the hostel. I have already brought it before The Bishop of St. David’s and hope that something may result. / With kind regards and best wishes.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The item is from the Gatty papers. (Herbert is writing to Gatty in Trinidad, and it is Gatty who will be appointed in place of the subject of the letter.) 1p, 8vo, on good laid paper. In good condition, but with creases from having been folded into packet (not through signature). A good looking item, with ?Confidential? in left-hand margin. Reads: ?Sir, / I am directed by Lord Knutsford to ask you to be so good as to inform him confidentially whether Mr. Justice Cook, Puisne Judge in Trinidad is to your knowledge in the habit of drinking to excess.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. 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 three items are in fair condition, lightly aged and creased (the last in particular, being on airmail paper), and folded for postage. All three signed 'Devlin'. ONE: 27 October 1974. 1p, foolscap 8vo.

See Craig’s entry, and that of Chesterfield, in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 4to. Bifolium. The second leaf had been neatly inserted into a windowpane mount. On brittle and aged paper; complete, but coming away at foot from torn remains of mount, with slight chipping at foot of first leaf, the central horizontal fold of which has closed tears along its crease. The item is unsigned, but ‘Lord Craig’ is identified as the author in pencil in nineteenth century hand twice on the mount. Ninety-two closely-written lines, with extensive revision and amendation.

Within a couple of years of his death Norbury’s nickname was given as ‘the hanging judge’ (see ‘The Georgian Era’, vol.2, 1833), and yet no mention is made of the fact in his entry in the Oxford DNB. The present document is 1p, 4to. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged.

A. Three pages, 12mo, bifolium, some foxing and wear, text clear and complete, but scrawled. For the last two years or more in consequence of suffering severely from [undeciphered illness - see image of pp.1 &3] I have been obliged to give up all [evening?] visiting - [Were it not [?] it would have given me the greatest pleasure to have come to you [?] Colvill [scientist?] on this [?]. | For some reason was printed my coming to the meetings of the R[oyal] S[ociety].

An evocative artefact of a bygone age of well-read men with substantial libraries. See Coleridge’s entry in the Oxford DNB (in addition to his achievements he was the great-nephew of the poet). 3pp, 12mo. On a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘Coleridge’ and addressed to ‘My dear Dickenson’. Coleridge’s hand is not an easy one, and the following rendition is in parts tentative. He begins by stating that he is touched ‘not a little’ by Dickenson’s letter, not having forgotten ‘old days in Harley Street & [St George’s?] Square’. He grieves at ‘the necessity you mention [i.e.

See Fry’s entry in the Oxford DNB. Dickinson was an influential proponent of the League of Nations. The present item concerns the London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War, an international code of maritime law, following on from the second Hague Conference. Great Britain, as the world’s chief naval power, had felt that such a court should be governed by defined principles, and had convened an international concerence in London in 1908. The Declaration that was issued three years later comprised 71 articles. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once.

2pp., 12mo. On leaf with mourning border. In good condition, lightly-aged, with neat repair to a short closed tear. He is returning a memorandum, 'which is quite correct & may be acted on', and has made a payment of £380 to his account with Drummonds Bank.

See Powell’s entry in the Oxford DNB. While presiding over the 1712 trial of Jane Wenham for witchcraft he ruled that there was ‘no law against flying’. 1p, long 8vo. On recto of first leaf of bifolium. Folded twice. On laid paper with government watermark, with two blind-stamped sixpenny tax stamps at head of page. Text intact, but with wear, closed tears and slight loss to some edges and a crease. Text by Powell himself, signed ‘John Powell’, with red wax seal (without any impression). Signed at foot of page: ‘Wittness | W Price’. Endorsed with date on reverse of second leaf.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Clearly and firmly written. The letter would appear to concern an individual who is threatening to resign his membership of the Athenaeum Club, and ends with reference to proxy voting for new members. Hughes begins by reporting that he has 'already written to the good but peppery & impulsive Dr. of whom I am as fond as you are'.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On one side of a 12 x 11 cm piece of paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Reads: 'Lincoln's Inn Fields | 23d. June 1829 | Sir Wm. Grant will have the honor of joining the Old Fish Dinner party on Saty. the 27th. of June.'

7pp, folio. On four leaves. In good condition, lightly aged. In worn modern half-binding of brown leather spine and corners and cloth covers, split at hinge. The poem is of 124 lines, arranged in five irregular stanzas. A nauseating exercise in brazen sycophancy, written in the aftermath of the Bloody Assizes. Not mentioned in Barnes's entry in the Oxford DNB, which does state that his 'adulation for the Stuarts [...] probably continued undiminished' with the accession of William and Mary.

2pp, folio. On bifolium endorsed on reverse of second leaf. In fair condition, lightly creased and aged. Three folds. Embossed with five pound tax stamp at head. Printed in copperplate, with the details of the appointee 'John Amhust Philpott of Cranbrook in the County of Kent, Gentleman' filled-in in manuscript. Circular stamp of the Court of Justice at end of document with two signatures: 'Entd. | H. R. W.' and 'Entered 14th June 1876 | E W Williamson | Deputy Registrar of Solicitors'.

1p, 8vo. Aged and worn, with closed tears, chipping and creasing. Several folds. The full heading reads: 'Case on Mr. Chrisr. Blacketts Will & Mr. Ords Opinion | See Copy of Will'. Endorsed on reverse: '1750 June 13th - | Copy | Mr. Ords Opinion on Mr. Blacketts Will'. Twenty-eight lines of neatly-written text, arranged as two queries, each with its answer. Contains a couple of corrections by Ord. The case concerns the various claims on a freehold of 'Mrs. Eliz: Smart and Mrs. Martha Maria Bellassyse' and 'Mrs. Blackett'. The various families in the case hailed from the north-east of England.

For Jessel's judicial high standing see his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. In envelope with Penny Red and postmarks, and 'LADHAM HOUSE, | GOLDHURST' printed on the flap, addressed by Jessel to 'E. A. Scott Esq | Schoolfield | Rugby | Warwickshire'. The envelope is signed 'G. Jessel' at bottom left of cover, and the letter concludes with the same signature. He is 'glad to be able now to withdraw the notice' he gave Scott about his son Charles 'leaving Rugby'.

Tindal is notable for defending Queen Caroline in her 1820 adultery trial, and for introducing the special verdict 'Not Guilty by reason of insanity', in the case of Daniel M'Naghten. The letter is undated, but Tindal states that it was a written a week after the death of Rev. John Kirk, Rector of Thwing, which took place on 6 November 1827 (see Kirk's death notice, Gent. Mag., November 1827). 3pp., 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded four times. Tindal begins his letter: 'My dear Lord Chancellor, | I am requested by my friend, the Revd. T.