LEIGH

From the Macqueen-Pope papers. The occasion of the article was the forthcoming premiere of Rattigan’s play ‘The Sleeping Prince’, Olivier’s production of which, at the Phoenix Theatre in London, opened on 5 November 1953. The movie rights were bought by Marilyn Monroe, and the Hollywood film appeared in 1957 as ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’, with Olivier reprising his stage role, and Rattigan also writing the filmscript. See the entries on the Oliviers and Macqueen-Pope in the Oxford DNB. Interest in Beauchamp’s novels has grown in recent years.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The present item is a valediction cut from a letter, clearly provided for an autograph hunter. On small rectangle of paper. Neatly written and in good condition. Reads: ‘A Austen Leigh / Provost of King’s / College, Cambridge / July 13, 1890’. Text on reverse (part of testimonial) reads: ‘[...] degree in 1889, being placed in the first division of the Second class of the Classical Tripos. He has always borne a high character; and his abilities, morals & manners [...]’.

Hughes began as a journalist, writing the popular column ‘Sub Rosa’ in the Morning Leader, before descending from the Press Gallery onto the floor of the House of Commons. However short, the present item gives a faint echo of the verve for which he was renowned as a backbencher and after-dinner speaker. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘Spencer Leigh Hughes’. Reads: ‘Dear Armstrong / Another lunatic! There are many about. I was lecturing in Scotland recently & had quite an ovation when I talked about the “British” parliament.’

See her entry, and that of her husband, in the Oxford DNB. Signed ‘Mary Cowden Clarke’. 1p, 12mo. Laid down on white-paper backing. Brittle and discoloured, with chipping and tears along the outer edge, as a result of clumsy removal from an album. Blind-stamped letterhead of small head of Shakespeare. Endorsed in pencil: ‘To Mrs Kerrison Harvey’. With the usual expressions of gratitude to the writer and ‘Mr. Kerrison Harvey’, she and her husband decline the ‘obliging invitation for the 9th.’, ‘as we have given up visiting, and lead a very quiet home life’.

2pp, 18mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded once. Written in a close, elegant hand. Written on receipt of a presentation copy of MacQueen-Pope's latest book, the letter begins: 'My dear Popie, | Thank you so very much for St James's, Theatre of Distinction. I think I am enjoying it even more than I usually enjoy your individual-theatre books, because the St James's meant so much to me. It was the first London theatre I ever went to - long before I could read or went to a school.

2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. Twenty lines of text. In fair condition, aged and worn, with chipping and short closed tears to extremities. Folded twice. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Joseph Blunt Esqre.' Signature underlined with a flourish.

On 7.5 x 14 cm piece of laid paper, laid down on part of a leaf from an album. In fair condition, on aged and spotted paper. The letter reads: 'G Dr. respects to Miss Lusada - begs she will please to accept the enclosed - 3 more Letters will follow - wch. shall be sent. to Miss Lusada - Dr. is gone to dine with Mr. Morgan, who desires his Compts. and informs Miss L. that he will send to her soon the little Mathematician'. The recipient was in fact Abigail Lousada, the bluestocking daughter of Isaac Barrow Lousada [sic] of Devonshire Square.

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of grey-paper mount on blank reverse, and minor discolouration at one edge from glue used. The actor Henry Leigh Murray (1820-1870) is identified in pencil as the recipient. The letter begins: 'My dear Sir, | You are quite welcome to a P[rivate]. Box if there is one to spare'. He asks him to 'call or send to Mr. Massingham at the Box Office at 1/2 past 4 o'clock who has received instructions to attend to your wishes, if all the Boxes are not let by that time'.

See Meadows' entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient of the letter is not named, but it comes from the album of the actor Henry Leigh Murray, which also contained a letter regarding a theatre box from Charles Kean (offered separately). 1p, 12mo. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of grey paper mount on reverse, and slight discolouration at corners from glue. Written with mock-pomposity, and beginning: 'My dear Sir | I hereby give you notice that Mr C. Kean has delivered unto me a Card for a Private Box for to-morrow Augt. 19th.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight traces of glue from mount adhering to edge on reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. An interesting letter, casting light on publication practices in Victorian London, with reference to a successful female author. Mrs Gascoigne asks Schoberl advice regarding the publication of her book 'Spencer's Cross; or, The Manor House. A Tale for Young People. By the author of "Belgravia"', which would be published by Charles Westerton in 1854. The letter begins: 'Mrs. Gascoigne presents her compliments to Mr.

Three strips of paper, each with a single column of text in small print: 47 + 55 + 30 cm. Complete article, paginated to 3. The second strip has the running title 'National Guard - A Visit to Flanders - 2'. Aged and creased, and with a corner torn away from the third strip, resulting in loss of text to six lines and the running title, Two minor manuscript corrections.

Two good tight copies, on lightly aged paper, in worn original bindings with gilt decorations on front covers, with engravings on browning paper because of high acidity content. Both volumes with bookplate of Alan Angele and manuscript library shelf label. ONE: 'The Comic Latin Grammar'. 163 + [3]pp., 8vo. Eight engravings and numerous illustrations in text (the first engraving is positioned as frontispiece rather than at p.23 as specified).

4pp., 8vo. 96 lines of text. On paper ruled for accounts. On lightly-aged paper, with loss to corners and at central edge, affecting a few lines of text. Accompanying the letter is a translation (2pp., 8vo) by Colin Jordan, with the assistance of Dr Loukas Christodloulos. The letter is of great interest, casting light on Leigh Fermor's activities in Crete in the period following the Second World War.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, with light signs of age and wear. After following Horton's 'kind advice' concerning 'Mr Hedgcock's & my little alphabet', 're some sketches with more action in them', he has been to 'Town' to show the designs to the publishers Grant Richards. He 'called in person on Thursday but after some delay they have eventually rejected the Alphabet. [...] Evidently from what I was told the sketches such as you advised would have been more what they wanted', so he will do them again 'in that style and try again with other people'.

[1] + 62pp., folio. On rectos only. Bound with metal studs into yellow card covers, with the spine reinforced with cloth tape. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Loosely inserted is a five-page carbon typescript describing 'Approximate number of costumes necessary'. Also inserted is a typed page beginning with an 'Extract from letter from Sir Donald Wolfit: 8.7.58. | At the moment it looks like an opening date in the second half of September out of London for six or seven weeks first. Mr. Laurence Irving will be in touch with you in the near future for a preliminary discussion'.

Auction Catalogue, 50pp., 8vo, beige printed paper wraps, stitched, dulled, minor nick to spine, pencilled notes on cover, "Hazlitt" and "Defective.Small part of page 9 apparently burnt away; description of item 226 (p.21) cut out with loss also of most of 238 and all of 239 (p.22). The cutting out of this led to a cut in page 23 with no loss of text. The auction includes The Hazlitt Papers (letters by Hazlitt, The Lambs, Leigh Hunt etc), and some interesting Shakepeariana. Only three copies reorded on

2 pages, 4to, good condition.

6pp., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight damp damage to one corner. The section on Taylor covers the first two pages, with the first page is headed 'Works of John Taylor not yet issued by the Spenser Society | The numbers on the left hand are those in Hazlitts Handbook under the head of Taylor. The numbers on the right hand are those of the number of leaves in each work to which the left hand number refers.' No titles are given, only the number in Hazlitt. The rest of the document is devoted to Wither, this time with titles given.

5pp., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with wear to corner (not affecting text). With deletions and emendations. The letter begins: 'Dr. Reed in his letter dated July 30th has truly stated that both in my Reports and in private conversation I have borne testimony to the great usefulness of the Fever Hospital or "House of Recovery" at Monsall.

ONE (catalogue): 19pp., foolscap 8vo. On ten leaves of 'A Pirie & Sons' laid paper stitched together. On aged paper, with damp damage causing loss to text of first two pages. Title reads: '<...> tish plants <...> Herbarium of gh, Sandiway House Whalley Range Manchester'. The entries arranged in alphabetical order under letter headings, beginning with 'Anemone nemorosa' and ending with 'Verbena officinalis'. TWO ('Desiderata | November 8th 1873'): 10pp., foolscap 8vo. In pencil. 262 entries numbered by Leigh, at around thirty entries per page.

4pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. The copy of the letter closely and neatly written over three of the pages, and the note on 'Peroxide of Iron' on the other. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight damp damage at head (not affecting text). The letter contains a number of deletions and emendations, and begins: 'I am in receipt of your letter of March 19th. Since I wrote you last I have had a letter from Mr Chubb enquiring about the process and our use of it in Manchester.

4pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and worn paper. In two hands, suggesting collaboration.

Austen-Leigh's three letters are all signed 'R A Austen Leigh'. ONE: ALS to Vellacott. 3 May 1942; 'as from | D2 Albany | Piccadilly W.1'. 2pp., 12mo. He asks if Vellacott can 'enlighten me on the following point - I am editing some letters of Dr. Goodall, who was Provost of Eton 1809 to 1840. There follows a sixteen-line transcript of a letter written in May 1838 from Goodall to his brother, regarding which he writes: 'Who would Mr.

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The recipient presumably held a living near Leigh's Warwickshire mansion Stoneleigh Abbey (said to be the model for Sotherton Court in his cousin Jane Austen's 'Mansfield Park'). Leigh apologises troubling Brodie 'with the enclosed rather singular letter which I have received from one of your Parishioners'.

The Oxford DNB entry on Sir Walter Besant states that, 'Concerned to cultivate better understanding with North America, Besant worked in the last two years of his life for the Atlantic Union.' In fact it was Besant who founded the club in 1900, with Conan Doyle and others, with the object, according to The Times, 22 February 1900, 'of drawing together the various English-speaking peoples and strengthening the bonds of union by the formation of ties of personal friendship among individual members'.

1p., 4to. Neatly written out in a contemporary hand (presumably the recipient's), with 'Copy' at the head. In very good condition, on lightly-aged laid paper with watermark of 'W D WELLS'. Signature transcribed as 'Wm. Lock'. Lock has just received Murray's letter of 18 May, 'giving me an Account of the Sales of my Books and Prints which is so much below what I had reason to expect, that I must beg you to apply only One thousand to the Payment of my Debt to my Fathers Executors'.

All items in good condition. The letters on blue paper, and each in a stamped, postmarked envelope, addressed to 'Mrs Felicity Rhodes | North Lodge | 128 Banbury Road | Oxford'. Letter One (29 May 1995): 2pp., 12mo. He thanks her for typing the poem, which is 'only just the first part of a rather long one and doesn't really quite stand on its own - not that the whole thing comes off except for a few lines here and there.' he has 'never thought of having any Poems published', as he is 'only too aware of how sadly they limp along'. He has only shown them to 'one or two friends'.

Both items in fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. The two are attached with a rusty pin, and there is a tiny hole at the head of the memo, affecting the word 'Kyriakos'. LETTER: 1p., 4to. Signature illegible. Addressed 'To: Mr. P. Leigh Fermor | British Council | ATHENS | From: Claims Section | British Embassy | ATHENS'. With 'Ref: 133/2803/109' and headed 'Subject: Force 133 Claim - Kyriakos PATTAKOS (2803)'. Requesting Leigh Fermor's 'general observations' on the enclosed memo regarding Pattakos's 'petition to H.M. Ambassador requesting payment of compensation amounting to £150/200.

The Campaign of Actors for Sunday Theatres appears to have been active from January 1943 until at least 1944, with the actor Alec Clunes as Honorary Treasurer. The fourteen items in this collection are in good condition, on aged paper, in a beige card folder carrying the title 'LIST OF 213 CELEBRITIES'. [NB. While the first item described below is likely to be, as its title states, the work of Noel Coward, one other item at least in this collection (present in two versions as nos.

4pp., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He considers the cut excellent, and is grateful to Brooks for having 'managed so well' with his article. 'Many such an article of mine has been sacrificed, though absolutely a pretty good one, and comparatively to that which stood in its place, superexcellent. But such is my luck. By the by, don't measure the quantity of all that I do by what appeareth.' He reports that 'Fred is much amused with the verses on the Queen's first baby. I said that there are two men here besides himself who understand a joke.