LADY

[Giuseppe 'Pino' Orioli, Florentine bookseller and companion of Norman Douglas.] Autograph Signature ('G. Orioli'), and Signed Autograph Inscription ('Pino') on title-leaf of his book 'Adventures of a Bookseller'.

Author: 
Giuseppe Orioli [Pino Orioli] (1884-1942), Italian bookseller, first publisher of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' by D. H. Lawrence, and close companion of the English novelist Norman Douglas
Publication details: 
The inscription is dated 'Florence day of publication', the book being published in Florence in 1937.
£150.00

Only the prelims of the book are present, on four leaves. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight damage at the margin of the first leaf. Orioli's two inscriptions are on the two central leaves. Comprising a leaf with series title ('The Lungarno Series No. 12'); leaf with half-title and limitation (no 5 of 300) on reverse, signed 'G. Orioli'; title leaf; and contents leaf. The inscription on the title reads: 'This is for Barbara and Raphael | with love and affection | from Pino [Orioli] | Florence day of publication'.

Printed petition endorsing the registration of midwives, headed 'Private and Confidential.] [Provisional. The Midwives' Institute.' Completed in manuscript with names, addresses and sums pledged.

Author: 
Angela Frances Mary Wigram [née Vaughan], Lady Fitzwygram (d.1935) [The Midwives' Institute, London, founded 1881]
Publication details: 
[London, 1891.]
£150.00

1p., foolscap 8vo. In good conditiion, on lightly-aged paper, with ancient price on blank reverse. The printed text reads: 'Whereas, the Lives of Mothers are daily sacrificed by the action of ignorant persons, who can at present undertake the duties of a Midwife without let or hindrance, although this calling requires careful training and guarantees of efficiency: | The Midwives' Institute has been constituted to deal effectively with this matter by procuring the introduction and passing of an Act, which the British Medical Journal states is the only remedy against the existing evils.

[Item printed for the Chetham Society, inscribed by the editor.] A Forme of Confession grounded upon the ancient Catholique and Apostolique Faith. Made and composed by the Honorable Ladie the Lady Bridget Egerton. A.D.1636.

Author: 
Lady Bridget Egerton; Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P.; Chetham Society, Manchester
Publication details: 
Printed for the Chetham Society. 1871.
£90.00

Beneath title on title-page: 'From the original MS. in the possession of Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P.' [1] + 31pp., 4to. With frontispiece facsimile in black and red. On aged and worn paper, in damaged binding, with front hinge split and spine held together with tape. Bookplate label of M. A. E. Cotton on front pastedown. In dark-green cloth binding, with gilt design on front board incorporating the words of 'BRIDGETS BELIEFE' within a ruled border. Inscribed by the editor on the front free endpaper: 'Marianne | from her affectionate brother | P. M.

['Specimen Copy' of first issue of magazine, with 'Tauchnitz Edition' catalogue bound in.] The Tauchnitz Magazine. An English Monthly Miscellany for Continental Readers. [With contributions by Bret Harte, E. Nesbit, Lady West and James Payn.]

Author: 
Bernard Tauchnitz, Leipzig publisher [Bret Harte; E. Nesbit; Lady West; James Payn]
Publication details: 
Magazine: 'Edited, published and printed by Bernhard Tauchnitz, Leipzig.' No.1. August 1891. Catalogue: 'Bernard Tauchnitz, Leipzig.' September 1891.
£220.00

Magazine: [8] + 80pp. In blue printed illustrated wraps. Internally in good condition, on aged paper, with unopened signatures, in worn and chipped wraps. Stamped in red at head of front cover: 'SPECIMEN COPY.' Announcement at foot of front cover: 'This magazine is not to be introduced into England or its colonies nor into the United States of America.' The first eight pages carry advertisments, as do both sides of the back wrap.

[The Cornwall Estate, Jamaica.] Manuscript bill of loading of 'Supplies required for Cornwall Est[at]e. for the year 1838' to London bankers Messrs Hankeys, with letter from William Ridyard and estate manager Robert Locke, and copy letter from Locke.

Author: 
Lady Katherine Barham [Lady Katharine Foster-Barham (née Grimston)] (1810-1874) [Messrs. Hankeys, Plummer & Wilson, London bankers]
Publication details: 
Both letters from Westmoreland, Jamaica. Ridyard and Locke's letter dated 28 July 1837; Locke's 'Duplicate' letter dated 10 July 1837.
£950.00

The three items form a letter of 4pp., foolscap 8vo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf: 'Bill loading | Messrs. Hankeys Plummer & Wilson | Mincing Lane | London | Lady Kathe Barham'. Docketed '97 Robert Locke | 10 | 28 July 1837 | Received 20 September [1837]'. The bill of loading covers the whole of the first page, with two columns of closely written items, ranging from '2300 yds Osnabury 8lbs do thread' to quinine, opium and '1 Box Hydrometer proof Bubbles from 15 to 30'.

[John Russell Lowell, American poet.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. R. Lowell'), while American ambassador in London, to Lady Elphinstone, declining an invitation and attempting to arrange a meeting to renew their acquaintance.

Author: 
J. R. Lowell [John Russell Lowell] (1819-1891), American poet, author and diplomat [Lady Elphinstone]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 40 Clarges Street, Piccadilly, W. [London] 2 July 1886.
£60.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, and with the margins cut down. The letter reads: 'Dear Lady Elphinstone, | I am very sorry that an engagement here will prevent my having the pleasure of coming to you this afternoon. But I hope to be able to go out to Richmond next Friday & if so shall do myself the honour of renewing so agreeable an acquaintance.'

[Lady Megan Lloyd George.] Typed Note Signed ('Megan Lloyd George') to J. Livingstone of Newcastle-on-Tyne, with a signed photograph of herself.

Author: 
Megan Lloyd George [Lady Megan Arfon Lloyd George (1902-1966), Liberal politician and daughter of Prime Minister David Lloyd George (1863-1945)
Publication details: 
Letter on House of Commons letterhead. 16 March 1949.
£50.00

The letter is 1p., 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Livingstone has sent her the photograph which he has cut from a magazine, and she writes that she has 'had pleasure in signing the enclosed picture', and is 'so glad you like it'. The photograph is 17 x 14 cm, in black and white, and shows a smiling Lady Megan seated at a table with a piece of paper in front of her. She has signed it 'Megan Lloyd George'. It is laid down on a piece of 22 x 16.5 cm card, and is aged and lightly ruckled.

[Lady Muriel Paget.] Typed Letter Signed to Ernest Frederick Gye, congratulating him on his diplomatic posting to Tangier.

Author: 
Lady Muriel Paget [Lady Muriel Evelyn Vernon Paget, née Finch-Hatton] (1876-1938), humanitarian relief worker [Ernest Frederick Gye (1879-1955), diplomat, son of Ernest Gye and Dame Emma Albani]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 'British Subjects in Russia Relief Association (1930)'. 30 January 1933.
£50.00

1p., 4to. On aged paper, with slight damage at margin and head, not affecting text. She congratulates him 'on the news that I have read in this morning's paper'. She is sorry 'that there are probably no D.B.S. in Tangier', but hopes that 'some day you will go "en poste" to U.S.S.R.' She concludes by thanking him 'for all that you have done to help us with the work for D.B.S. in Russia'.

[Margaret, Lady Rhondda.] Autograph Card Signed ('M. R.') to 'Dear John', apologising for 'having been so rude to my fellow guest' at a lunch, and admitting that she is 'ridiculously [...] touchy' about her magazine 'Time and Tide'.

Author: 
Margaret, Lady Rhondda [Margaret Haig Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda] (1857-1958)], suffragette and founder of the magazine Time and Tide
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 'Time and Tide', 32 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1. 10 December 1952.
£50.00

Written over 13 lines on both sides of the 9 x 11 cm card. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. 'Dear John, | I do feel ashamed of having been so rude to my fellow guest yesterday - It was a dreadful thing to do! The fact is I am, I suppose, very touchy about Time & Tide - ridiculously so really - I don't think he had read it - but after all why should he, poor man - I really wasn't very fair - | Please forgive me - except for feeling that I had behaved abominab[ly], just at the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my most excellent luncheon'.

[Hester Catherine Browne, Dowager Lady Sligo.] Autograph Letter in the third person soliciting the votes of 'Mr. Shewell [...] for Henry Jennings at the Election for the Idiot Asylum in April, 1854'.

Author: 
Hester Catherine Browne [nee de Burgh] (1800-1878), Marchioness of Sligo [Lady Sligo], wife of Howe Peter Browne (1788-1845), 2nd Marquess of Sligo [Shewell; Idiot Asylum]
Publication details: 
Portumna Castle, County Galway, Ireland. 12 December 1853.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on aged paper. The letter reads: 'The Dowr. Lady Sligo presents her Compliments to Mr. Shewell, & begs earnestly to solicit his Votes for Henry Jennings at the Election for the Idiot Asylum in April, 1854 - | Lady Sligo can recommend Henry Jennings as a member of a very poor & industrious family -'.

[Lady Elizabeth Eastlake, daughter of Dr Edward Rigby and wife of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Eliz: Rigby'), sending personal news to her aunt, with reference to the family of the bookseller John Murray.

Author: 
Lady Elizabeth Eastlake [née Rigby] [Elizabeth, Lady Eastlake] (1809-1893), daughter of Dr Edward Rigby (1747-1821) and wife of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) [John Murray, London bookseller]
Publication details: 
'Blackheath. | Wednesday night [undated, but 1840s]'.
£100.00

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In fair condition, on aged paper. She begins by explaining the reasons for her silence, and apologising if she has 'seemed neglectful': 'the truth is that I quitted Chester Squr on Monday, for Miss Squire's of Blackheath [...] I return to London to morrow mg, to spend a few days with Mr. Murray's [publisher] family in Albemarle St. & then think of takg the railroad to Derby [opened in 1844] to fulfil a long promised visit.' The letter continues with references to 'Mrs Reese Sr.' of Chester Square, 'dear Kath:' and 'dear Matty'.

[William Hurrell Mallock, novelist and conservative writer.] Two Autograph Letters Signed ('W. H. Mallock') to 'Lady Dorothy [Nevill]', with his short story 'Positivism on an Island: The New Paul and Virginia', extracted from the Contemporary Review.

Author: 
W. H. Mallock [William Hurrell Mallock] (1849-1923), novelist, journalist and conservative writer [Lady Dorothy Nevill (1826-1913), hostess]
Publication details: 
The two letters from L<airbeck?> Cottage, Keswick, Cumberland. 28 and 31 March 1878. The printed short story extracted from The Contemporary Review, London, vol.32, 1878.
£220.00

The present short story, based on Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's 1787 novel Paul et Virginie, was expanded into a novel published by Chatto & Windus in the same year, and is regarded as a significant example of the dystopian literature popular during the period. The three items are attached to one another along margins. All in good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Letter One (28 March 1898): 2pp., 12mo. He explains that he is hoping to send her a copy on the following day 'a copy of a new production of mine, which is to appear in the "Contemporary Review".

[Printed pamphlet.] University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. Hall of Residence for Women Students. The Alexandra Hall (named by Special Permission), opened by H.R.H. Princess of Wales, 26th June, 1896. Rules and Regulations. [With application form.]

Author: 
[Miss E. A. Carpenter, Lady Principal, The Alexandra Hall of Residence for Women Students, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; Board of Education Research Library]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.]
£180.00

10pp., 12mo. Comprising fourteen leaves (the first three paginated to 6 and the rest unpaginated), with the central bifolium ('Fees (Exclusive of Vacations)' and perforated 'College Entrance Form') on pink paper and the rest in red. Stapled and unbound. In good condition, with stamp and shelfmarks of the Board of Education Library. Three perforated leaves, carrying the 'College Entrance Form' (as described above), 'Hall Entrance Form for Resident Women Students' and 'Entrance Certificate | To be signed by a qualified medical man.' The 'Rules and Regulations' are on pp.3-6, and include '5.

[Printed keepsake, with two illustrations.] In thankful Commemoration of the 90th Birthday of The Dowager Lady Barrow, January 5th, 1900. Printed by one who owes much to her loving spiritual help and letters when he was an Eton Boy in 1845.

Author: 
'W.B.-M.' [Rev. William Bramley-Moore] [Rosamond Hester Elizabeth (1810-1906), Lady Barrow, daughter of William Pennell and adopted daughter of John Wilson Croker; Sir Thomas Lawrence; G.F. Zink]
Publication details: 
'W.B.-M., 26 R. Sq., [i.e. William Bramley-Moore, 26 Russell Square, London] Jan. 6th, 1900.'
£80.00

4pp., ,4to. Bifolium. Printed in gold on shiny art paper, with the two illustrations in black. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The recto of the first leaf carries a memoir of Lady Barrow, 'Reproduced, by permission, from "The Surrey Comet," Dec. 25, 1899.': 'LADY BARROW - nee Rosamond Hester Elizabeth, daughter of the late William Pennell, Esq., Consul-General in Brazil - was born January 5th, 1810, and was the twenty-first child of her parents. Six weeks after her birth she became the adopted daughter of the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker, who had married her eldest sister.

Holograph Poem by the English poet Sir William Watson, titled 'To the Lady Katharine Manners | (with a volume of the author's poems)'.

Author: 
Sir William Watson (1858-1935), English poet
Publication details: 
Dated 'William Watson | Windermere | Aug 1897'.
£100.00

2pp., 8vo. Neatly written out on two leaves of laid paper with watermark of Caxton Superfine Vellum. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The poem consists of twenty-eight lines arranged in seven four-line stanzas, the first reading: 'On lake and fell the loud rains beat, | And August closes rough and rude.

Autograph Letter in the third person from the Scottish clergyman and writer Archibald Alison to Lady Charlotte Campbell, playfully lending her a copy of Thomas Campbell's recently-published poem 'Gertrude of Wyoming'.

Author: 
Sir Archibald Alison (1792-1867), Scottish lawyer and historian [Lady Charlotte Campbell (1775-1861), novelist and diarist; Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), Scottish romantic poet]
Publication details: 
'Bruntsfield Links [Edinburgh, Scotland]. Sunday Eveng. [5 March 1809]'.
£90.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium, addressed by Alison on reverse of second leaf to 'The | Lady Charlotte Campbell | D<?>cks Hotel'. Good, on aged paper, with label at head in a contemporary hand attributing the letter to Alison, who was seventeen at the time of writing, but already at Edinburgh University. Docketed by Campbell 'from Mr. Alison | recevd Edinh. | March Seven 1809'. An interesting letter, casting light on the reading practices of the upper classes in Georgian Scotland. Alison's conceit is that he is writing a letter of introduction for a real person.

Autograph Letter Signed from Elizabeth Todd Nash of Madison, Connecticut, to Lady Marie de Grasse Evans, concerning her book 'Fifty Puritan Ancestors'.

Author: 
Elizabeth Todd Nash of Madison, Connecticut, author of 'Fifty Puritan Ancestors' [Lady Marie de Grasse Evans (d.1907), wife of Sir Francis Henry Evans]
Publication details: 
225 Central Park West, New York City. 25 March 1902.
£60.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'My dear Lady Evans - | Last week my publishers Messrs Tuttle Morehouse & Taylor sent you the two copies of "Fifty Puritan Ancestors" ordered so long ago. I trust you will find it as satisfactory as the rest of the Ward kin have done.' She apologises for a misunderstanding over the sending of a letter by Lady Evans 'to cousin Frank Ward - as I supposed you intended me to do'. 'Fifty Puritan Ancestors, 1628-1660. Genealogical notes 1560-1900. By their lineal descendant, E. T.

[Privately printed booklet, in French, on Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse and his role in the American Revolution.] Appel aux Etats-Unis. Un Grand Oublié.

Author: 
[Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse (1722-1788), commander of the French fleet at the Battle of Chesapeake; Lady Marie de Grasse Evans (d.1907), American-born wife of Sir Francis Henry Evans]
Publication details: 
Imprimerie des Orphelins d'Auteuil, 40, rue La Fontaine, Paris. No date.
£220.00

16pp., 12mo. Stapled. In cream wraps, with the title in brown on front cover. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with vertical fold and slight rust staining to cover from staple. From the Evans family papers, which include those of de Grasse's descendant Lady Marie de Grasse Evans [née Stevens]. No copy traced, either in English-speaking libraries or the Bibliotheque Nationale.

Manuscript indenture on parchment, with signatures and seals: 'Conveyance of Lands of Stapleton in the County of Leicester. Mr. Joseph Knight and Mr. John Edwards to The Baroness Noel Byron [Anne Isabella, Lady Noel Byron], and others'.

Author: 
Anne Isabella Noel Byron (1792-1860), 11th Baroness Wentworth and Baroness Byron [Lady Byron], wife of poet George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale [Lord Byron]; John Edwards; Joseph Knight
Publication details: 
1 August 1853. [Indenture by Fry & Son, London, Law Stationers.]
£200.00

On two skins, with the usual seals and tax stamps, and further text and signatures on the reverse of the first skin, including a witnessed receipt for £450 from Knight; also a memorandum, 2 August 1853, 'Exparte The right Honorable Anne Isabella Baroness Noel Byron Widow', 'Before me | Wm. Cowdell. | A Master Extraordinary in Chancery'. The first skin carries a plan of the property (8 acres 3 rods 33 perches), to the west of the East Shilton road to Stapleton, and of Wigstones Farm, Stapleton and Kirkby Lordship, and with the road from Barwell to Kirby going through it, coloured in green.

Hand-coloured steel engraving by S. Cousen from painting by W. H. Bartlett of a river view of Albany, New York

Author: 
William Henry Bartlett (1809-1854), English landscape painter; John Cousen (1804-1880), engraver [Albany, New York]
Publication details: 
From the book 'The History of the United States of North America' (New York: Virtue & Yorston, 1855-1856).
£28.00

11 x 17.5 cm., with the original margin of the print, with caption, trimmed away, and the engraving laid down on a piece of 24.5 x 30.5 card. From the papers of Marie de Grasse, Lady Evans, wife of Sir Francis Henry Evans, and originally Marie de Grasse Smith, daughter of Hon. Samuel Smith of Albany, New York. In pencil on the mount: 'Albany 1837.'

Autograph Letter Signed ('Saml. Smith') from the Whig poltician and barrister Hon. Samuel Stevens, asking the Adjutant General of the State of New York, L. Ward Smith, to be one of the 'groom's men' at his wedding.

Author: 
Hon. Samuel Stevens (c.1798-1854) of Albany, New York, American barrister, Whig politician, friend and associate of Daniel Webster [L. Ward Smith (d.1863), Adjutant General of the State of New York]
Publication details: 
New York. 15 June 1842.
£180.00

Stevens married Mary Frances Smith (d.1890; second husband John Fowler Butterworth), daughter of Silas O. Smith of Rochester, and two of their children were the novelist Augusta de Grasse Stevens (1852-1894), and Marie de Grasse, Lady Evans (d.1920), wife of the English Liberal politician Sir Francis Henry Evans (1840-1907). 2pp., 4to. 35 lines of text. In good condition on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmark, to 'Mr L Ward Smith | Rochester | N.Y-'. The letter begins: 'My dear Ward | How affectionate & familiar a man is, when he is about to ask a favor.

Galley proof of magazine article 'Christmas in America Fifty Years Ago' by Augusta de Grasse Stevens, with note from 'E. Lowe' to her mother Mrs Butterworth; and manuscript biography of 'the young and rising novelist' in her sister Lady Evans's hand.

Author: 
Augusta de Grasse Stevens (1852-1894), daughter of Samuel S. Stevens (d.1854) of Albany, New York, and his wife, nee Mary Frances Smith [later Mrs John Fowler Butterworth] (d.1890)
Publication details: 
Neither item dated. [1890s.] Lowe's note on the proof from 7 Harley Gardens, SW [London].
£200.00

Both items in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Item One (galley proofs): On piece of 13 x 49 cm. paper. In manuscript at head: '7 Harley Gardens SW | Monday | Dear Mrs Butterworth | The Printer will send you a proper proof tomorrow | Yours in haste | E Lowe'. The first part only, in small type, with one minor correction. The article is attributed to Augusta de Grasse Stevens in Helen O. Black's 'Notable Women Authors of the Day' (1893). Item Two (manuscript biography): 4pp., 4to. With a few minor emendations.

A pressed flower, picked from the grave of the American politician Daniel Webster by Marie de Grasse Stevens [later Lady Evans].

Author: 
[Daniel Webster (1782-1852), American politician; Marie de Grasse Evans (d.1920), Lady Evans [nee Marie de Grasse Stevens, daughter of Hon. Samuel Stevens of Albany, New York]
Publication details: 
Picked from the Old Winslow Burial Ground section of the Winslow Cemetery, near Marshfield, Massachusetts. August 1859.
£80.00

Small sprig (6cm long), pinned to 8 x 5 cm piece of ruled paper, torn from a notebook. The paper carries the note by Stevens: 'Grave of Daniel Webster | August 1859.' Placed in a 9.5 x 12 cm envelope, docketted in pencil: 'From Daniel Webster's grave | M. F. B'. Marie de Grasse Stevens, daughter of the Hon. Samuel Stevens of Albany, New York, friend and colleague of Daniel Webster, and widow of Irving Van Wart, married the English banker Francis Henry Evans in 1872. She became Lady Evans on his being knighted in 1893. From the Evans papers.

Two autograph diaries of Rev. William Jebb Few, MA, of Christ Church, Oxford, 'continued during residence' at Henley-on-Thames; Alverston, Hampshire; Braemar, Elgin and Banff (as tutor to the Earl of Fife's son); Reading. With carte de visite.

Author: 
William Jebb Few (c.1835-c.1881), MA, of Christ Church, Oxford, and Rector of St Nicholas, Guildford, Surrey [Alexander William George Duff (1849-1912), 1st Duke of Fife]
Publication details: 
The two diaries covering the period from 30 May 1858 to 25 August 1864, and written at Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire; Alverston, Hampshire; Mar Lodge, Braemar; House, Elgin; Duff House, Banff; and 6 Coley Hill and 4 Castle Crescent, Reading.
£450.00

Both volumes in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, in worn black leather bindings, marbled endpapers. Both 4to, the first volume smaller than the second. First Diary: 168pp., 4to. Titled by Few: 'Diary commencing May 30, 1858, and continued during residence at Henley on Thames Oxfordshire. Alverston Hampshire'. Includes two pages of addresses, page of 'Books Read' in 1860 and 1861, and page of accounts for 1861. Second Diary: 180pp., 4to.

Autograph Signature of the British novelist Margaret Kennedy [Margaret Davies, Lady Davies].

Author: 
Margaret Kennedy [Margaret Davies, Lady Davies] (1896-1967), English novelist and playwright
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£20.00

On one side of a piece of 11 x 11 cm paper, cut from the bottom of a letter. In good condition, lightly-aged. Reads, all in Kennedy's hand: 'Yours sincerely | Margaret Kennedy'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Vera Meynell') from Lady Vera Meynell, wife of the typographer Sir Francis Meynell, to 'Dear Jack' [the anthropologist J. H. Driberg], asking him to 'let bygones be bygones' and visit her at Toppesfield, 'Hitler permitting'.

Author: 
Lady Vera Meynell [née Vera Rosalind Wynn Mendel] (1895-1947), wife of Sir Francis Meynell (1891-1975), publisher and typographer, founder of the Nonesuch Press [Jack Herbert Driberg (1888-1946)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 39 Woburn Square, WC1 [London]. 5 July [no year, but during the Second World War].
£65.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Jack | It is a long time since we met - but perhaps that is my fault. If so, will you let bygones be bygones - and come over to Toppesfield some time?' She suggests a date, 'Or any Sunday lunch in the immediate future', stating that 'after July, all plans are "Hitler permitting"!' Driberg has noted his acceptance of the invitation up one margin. [Driberg was a Lecturer in Anthropology at Cambridge University from 1934 to 1942. His brother was the colourful Labour MP Tom Driberg.

Holograph poem (signed 'G J W A E') by George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, titled 'Remembrance & Hope | addressed to my dearest Caroline', lamenting the depression of his sister Caroline-Anne Agar-Ellis over their mother's death.

Author: 
George James Welbore Agar-Ellis (1797-1833), 1st Baron Dover, politician and art patron, and his sister Caroline-Anne Agar-Ellis (1794-1814), children of Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden
Publication details: 
Dated 'April 1814'.
£180.00

2pp., 4to. Fair, on aged paper, with a thin strip from a stub adhering to one edge on the reverse. Previously folded into a packet, and docketed in a contemporary hand 'by Agar Ellis'. 24 lines in heroic couplets. Agar-Ellis's sister Caroline-Anne would die at Roehampton on 12 May 1814, a month after the writing of this poem, which links her demise with that of their mother, Caroline, daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough, a few months before (23 November 1813).

[Printed item.] The History of Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom of Coventry, with a Description of St. Michael's Church, the Holy Trinity, and other Places of Worship, with numerous Local Illustrations. [...]

Author: 
[J. Tomkinson, Coventry publisher; Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom; the Coventry Cemetery]
Publication details: 
Fifth Edition. Coventry: Printed and published by J. Tomkinson, High Street, 1877.
£210.00

After '[...] with numerous local illustrations.' the title continues: 'To which is added a short account of The Coventry Cemetery, Waterworks, St. Mary's and Draper's Halls, School of Art, New Free Library, Bond's and Ford's Hospitals; also the History of Stoneleigh and Combe Abbeys, Kenilworth Castle, &c.' 48pp., small (15 x 12 cm) 4to. With fold-out frontispiece and nine engraved plates, including 'The Countess Lady Godiva riding through Coventry' and 'Peeping Tom of Coventry'. In green printed card wraps with red cloth spine.

Eleven manuscript items, from the papers of Thomas William King, York Herald, relating to the claim to the dormant baronetcies of Mackenzie of Tarbat and Royston by Alexander Mackenzie of Tasmania, uncle of the Dowager Lady Filmer.

Author: 
Thomas William King, York Herald [William Anderson, Marchmont Herald; Helen [née Monro; 1810-1888], Dowager Lady Filmer; Alexander Mackenzie of Tasmania; Mackenzie of Tarbat and Royston]
Publication details: 
Mostly London and Edinburgh, 1858.
£320.00

In 1826 Lieut-Col. Alexander Mackenzie, eldest son of Colonel Robert Mackenzie of Milnmount, assumed the dormant baronetcies of Tarbat and Royston [ALEXANDERMACKENZIE OF ROYSTON CROMARTY TARBET GRANDVILLE.], despite their having been forfeited under attainder in 1763. On his death without issue in 1841 his only brother Sir James Sutherland Mackenzie also assumed the titles. He died unmarried and insane on the 24 November 1858. The claim to which the present documents relate does not appear to have been pursued, and the baronetcies have remained dormant.

Seven manuscript items relating to the claim of Sir Adam Fergusson of Kilkerran to the title of Earl of Glencairn and Lord Kilmaurs, including a petition, memoranda, lists of evidence, judgement.

Author: 
Sir Adam Fergusson (1733-1813) of Kilkerran, Ayr, Scotland [Earl of Glencairn and Lord Kilmaurs]
Publication details: 
Scotland and England; 1796 and 1797.
£450.00

The background to the collection is simply stated. On the death of the 15th Earl of Glencairn in 1796 the title became dormant. It was claimed by Fergusson (praised by Boswell but dismissed by Johnson as 'a vile Whig' and derided by Burns as 'aith-detesting chaste Kilkerran') as heir of the line of the 10th Earl. Fergusson's claim was opposed by Sir Walter Montgomery Cunningham of Corshill, as presumed heir male along with Lady Henriet Don, sister of the 15th Earl, and wife of Sir Alexander Don of Newton Don, Roxburghshire.

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