LITERATURE

[David Irving, Scottish librarian and biographer.] Autograph Letter Signed to George R. Kinloch, lawyer, philanthropist and antiquarian, about publications of Scottish interest.

Author: 
David Irving, (1778 – 1860) Scottish librarian and biographer.
Publication details: 
Advocates Library, 17 July 1837
£80.00

One page, 12mo, neat hand, good condition. Dear Sir, | I request you to accept of my best thanks for your valuable present of the Selections from the Minutes of the Presbyteries of St. Andrews and Cupar. I was previously acquainted with the book, which appears to me to be not a little curious. On Saturday I returned to the printed the last sheet of Buchanan De Scriptoribus Scotis; and in the course of a fortnight, I may expect the copies to be in a tangible form [...]. Note: George Ritchie Kinloch (c.

['one of the Two Best Read Men in England': Abraham Hayward, author and translator.] Autograph Letter Signed with reference to a 'long review' of his book in the Morning Post.

Author: 
Abraham Hayward (1801-1884), Victorian man of letters and lawyer, whose translation of Goethe?s Faust was praised by Carlyle
Publication details: 
'8 St. James St. [London] / March 11 [no year]'. On embossed letterhead of the Athenaeum Club.
£30.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, and Antony Chessell?s 2009 biography of Hayward (subtitled ?one of the Two Best Read Men in England? - the other was Macaulay). 1p, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. The recipient is not named. Reads: ?It is now nearly three weeks since I heard from you. What is the cause. / I send you the Morning Post with a long review of my book. / All goes well with me. / Ever yours / A Hayward?.

[Alfred Austin, Poet Laureate.] Autograph Signature with Autograph Note disavowing poems. On printed acknowledgement of ‘Kind Congratulations’ (at his appointment).

Author: 
Alfred Austin (1835-1913), Poet Laureate
Publication details: 
9 January 1895. With printed letterhead ‘Swinford Old Manor, / Ashford, Kent.’
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Wilfred Scawen Blunt’s assessment was brutal: ‘It is strange his poetry should be such poor stuff, and stranger still that he should imagine it immortal.’ And it is ironic that Austin may not have even written the lines for which he is now principally remembered, on the illness of the Prince of Wales: ‘Flashed from his bed the electric message came | He is not better, he is much the same’. 1p, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium of good watermarked wove paper.

[Shakespeare portraits: James Hain Friswell, novelist and essayist.] Autograph Letter Signed to the publishers Virtue & Co, regarding their ‘fine print of the Chandos Portrait’ and his ‘certain status as a critic on that special subject’.

Author: 
James Hain Friswell (1825-1878), novelist and essayist [William Shakespeare portraits; George Virtue, London publisher]
Publication details: 
18 January 1873; on letterhead of Fair Home, Bexley Heath, Kent.
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Friswell was described by Tennyson as ‘the would-be poet, / Friswell, Pisswell - a liar and a twaddler’. 1p, 16mo. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Fourteen lines of text. Addressed to ‘Messrs Virtue & Co.’ Signed ‘J. Hain Friswell’. Begins: ‘Gentlemen, / Many thanks for your fine print of the Chandos Portrait of Shakspere which I will notice in the P. C.

[Gilbert Thomas [Gilbert Oliver Thomas], pacifist poet and critc.] Autograph Letter Signed, thanking ‘Calvert’ [William Robinson Calvert] for his review of ‘Calm Weather’ and discussing the critical response to the book.

Author: 
Gilbert Thomas [Gilbert Oliver Thomas] (1891-1978), pacifist poet and critic, imprisoned as a conscientious objector during the Great War [William Robinson Calvert (1882-1949), journalist]
Publication details: 
8 April 1930; on letterhead of Flatford, Meadway, Gidea Park, Essex.
£180.00

2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Thirty-nine lines, closely written. Signed ‘Gilbert Thomas’. He begins by thanking him ‘most warmly for your letter and the most kind and generous review to hand this morning.

[‘The Old Bohemian’: G. L. M. Strauss [Gustave Louis Maurice Strauss], Anglo-Canadian writer and dramatist.] Autograph Letter Signed to Octavian Blewitt of the Royal Literary Fund describing his poor personal and financial situation.

Author: 
G. L. M. Strauss [Gustave Louis Maurice Strauss] (c.1807-1887), Anglo-Canadian writer and dramatist, nicknamed ‘The Old Bohemian’ [Octavian Blewitt (1810-1884), Secretary, Royal Literary Fund]
Publication details: 
4 June 1883; 4 Inverness Terrace, Broadstairs, Kent.
£56.00

See his entry and Blewitt’s in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged laid paper, with thin strip of tape from mount on reverse of second leaf. Thirty-seven lines of text. Addressed to ‘Octavian Blewitt Esq.’ and signed ‘G. L. M. Strauss’. He begins by describing his situation: ‘I venture to solicit your kind friendly advice.

[Alfred Austin, Poet Laureate.] Autograph Signature with Autograph Note disavowing poems. On printed acknowledgement of ‘Kind Congratulations’ (at his appointment).

Author: 
Alfred Austin (1835-1913), Poet Laureate
Publication details: 
9 January 1895. With printed letterhead ‘Swinford Old Manor, / Ashford, Kent.’
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Wilfred Scawen Blunt’s assessment was brutal: ‘It is strange his poetry should be such poor stuff, and stranger still that he should imagine it immortal.’ And it is ironic that Austin may not have even written the lines for which he is now principally remembered, on the illness of the Prince of Wales: ‘Flashed from his bed the electric message came | He is not better, he is much the same’. 1p, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium of good watermarked wove paper.

[Robert Leighton, Scottish author of boys’ fiction.] Autograph Note Signed to ‘Scout Sibson’.

Author: 
Robert Leighton (1858-1934), Scottish author of boys’ fiction, husband of author Marie Connor and father of poet Robert Aubrey Leighton
Publication details: 
‘Heather Cliff / Lowestoft / Jan: 1920’.
£30.00

1p, landscape 12mo. On ruled paper. In fair condition, but with traces of glue from mount from reverse, a strip of which shows through along the outer edge, not affecting text. Good firm signature, underlined: ‘Robert Leighton’. Clearly a response to a request for an autograph: ‘Dear Scout Sibson, / I have much pleasure in acceding to your wish. / Very truly yours / Robert Leighton’.

[Friedrich Spielhagen, German novelist and literary critic.] Autograph Signature for collector on otherwise blank-piece of paper.

Author: 
Friedrich Spielhagen (1829-1911), German novelist and literary critic
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£25.00

See his entry in Encyclopaedia Britannica. Elegant signature, with final flourish curving backwards above the signature. Clearly in response to a request for an autograph, on 14 x 10 cm piece of cream paper. In good condition, lightly aged.

[Lord Macaulay [Thomas Babington Macaulay] (1800-1859), great Victorian historian, poet, Whig Member of Parliament.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Miss Richardson', declining a dinner engagement.

Author: 
Lord Macaulay [Thomas Babington Macaulay] (1800-1859), great Victorian historian, proponent of the ‘Whig interpretation of history’, poet, Member of Parliament, a great influence on Winston Churchill
Publication details: 
'Albany [London] June 17. 1851'.
£45.00

With Thomas Carlyle recognised by the Victorians as one of their two greatest historians. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On grey wove watermarked paper. In good condition, lightly creased and aged. Folded twice. Reads ‘Dear Miss Richardson, / I am extremely sorry that I have an engagement which will make it impossible for me to have the pleasure of dining with you on Wednesday fortnight / Very truly yours, / T B Macaulay’.

[Mary Russell Mitford, author of 'Our Village'.] Autograph Letter in the third person to the bookseller William Baynes, expressing pleasure at sending contributions for his 'intended publication'. With reference to her publisher G. B. Whittaker.

Author: 
Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855), author and playwright, best known for her collection of sketches, ‘Our Village’ [William Baynes & Son; George Byrom Whittaker (1793-1847), London publisher]
Publication details: 
'Three Mile Cross, near Reading / June 10th. 1825.'
£95.00

See her entry, and that of Whittaker, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, landscape 12mo. A corner of the letter carrying a few words of text has been torn away on opening; it is still attached, beneath a red wax seal, so that the entire document is present in two parts. Otherwise in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Addressed by Mitford 'To / Messrs. Baynes & Son / 23 Paternoster Row'. Begins: 'Miss Mitford presents her Compts. to Mr.

[Algernon Charles Swinburne, prominent English poet of the Victorian period.] Envelope Addressed by Swinburne to John H. Ingram, with Signed Note by Ingram confirming that the handwriting is Swinburne's.

Author: 
Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909), prominent English poet of the Victorian period [John Henry Ingram (1842-1916), English biographer of Edgar Allen Poe]
Publication details: 
No place and date, but with two Malvern postmarks of 9 January 1875.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Ingram's biography of Poe was responsible for his reabilitation, and his extensive collection of material relating to the writer is now in the University of Virginia. Entire small envelope (roughly 12 x 7 cm), self-printed with stamp. In good condition, lightly aged, with flap at back torn in opening of letter. With postmarks at front and back of the envelope, both dated 9 January 1875; front postmark from Malvern and back one from West Malvern. Addressed by Swinburne to ‘John H. Ingram Esq.

[Robert Graves [Robert von Ranke Graves], poet and author of ‘I Claudius’ and ‘Goodbye to All That’.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr Scarr’, declining to give any further talks, ‘not being an extemporizer’.

Author: 
Robert Graves [Robert von Ranke Graves], poet and author, noted for his war memoir ‘Goodbye to All That’ and his historical novel ‘I Claudius’
Publication details: 
25 July 1962; on letterhead of Canellun, Deya, Mallorca, Spain.
£380.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Mr Scarr: / I’m sorry but I have already engaged myself for three talks besides my offical three and, not being an extemporizer, can’t undertake any more. / Yours sincerely / Robert Graves’. See Image.

[Hugh Walpole [Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole], popular English novelist, born in New Zealand.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Patterson Webb’ regarding a ‘carol’ he sent him. With double-signed photograph by Elliott & Fry.

Author: 
Hugh Walpole [Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole] (1884-1941), popular English novelist, born in New Zealand [Elliott & Fry, London photographic studio]
Publication details: 
Letter dated 30 December 1932; on letterhead of 188 St John’s Road, Corstorphine, Edinburgh 12. Photograph (by Elliott & Fry) dated by Walpole to December 1932.
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items were previously held together by a small dab of glue at the head of the letter. They are now separated, and traces of the glue remain, not affecting any text. Otherwise they are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: ALS, 30 December 1932. 1p, 12mo. Signed Hugh Walpole. He thanks him for his charming ‘Carol’: ‘I have been picking it out on the piano. And I send back the photo autographed. With every good wish for 1933’.

[John Masefield, Poet Laureate and children's writer.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Miss McConnell’ and Signed inscription to ‘Jeannie McConnell’.

Author: 
John Masefield (1878-1967), Poet Laureate and children's writer
Publication details: 
Neither item with date or place.
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both items are somewhat sunned, but in good overall condition. ONE: ALS. 1p, 4to. Folded three times for postage. Signed ‘John Masefield’.

[Compton Mackenzie, Anglo-Scottish writer.] Three Typed Letters Signed to Mr and Mrs Raymond [Raymont], with reference to Henry Irving, A. L. Rowse, Cornwall and the Seychelles.

Author: 
Compton Mackenzie [Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie] (1883-1972), Anglo-Scottish writer
Publication details: 
23 November 1961; 6 February 1964; 6 September 1965. The first two on letterhead of 31 Drummond Place, Edinburgh 3; the last on letterhead of Pradelles, Les Arques, Par Cazals, Lot. France.
£120.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The three items are in good condition, each with his firm signature ‘Compton Mackenzie’. Each is 1p, 4to, in good condition, folded for postage.Despite being scored through, one can see that the first and last salutation are addressed to ‘Mrs Raymont’, and the second to ‘Mr Raymond’. ONE: 23 November 1961. He is pleased that she enjoyed his book ‘Mezzotint’: ‘The setting is really the Seychelles but of course I had to lay it in the South Atlantic instead of the Indian Ocean.’ He agrees with her ‘about these efforts at modernity by some of my contemporaries.

[Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate.] Autograph Card Signed to Geoffrey Parsons, regarding the publication of his poetry book 'Peter's Progress' and a 'H[odder] & S[toughton]' 'ordeal'.

Author: 
Cecil Day-Lewis [C. Day-Lewis] (1904-1972), Anglo-Irish poet and British Poet Laureate who also wrote crime fiction under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake [Geoffrey Parsons (1910-1987), poet]
Publication details: 
30 September 1953; 'from Mrs. [last word deleted] C. Day-Lewis, 96 Campden Hill Road, W.8. [London]'
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is presumably the lyricist Peter Claremont Parsons. Plain postcard, apart from letterhead. In good condition, lightly aged. Image on request.Postmarked (from Paddington), stamped and addressed to ‘Geoffrey Parsons esq. / 22 Westbourne Park Road / W.2’. Small signature: ‘C. D. L.’ Reads: ‘Many thanks for Peter’s Progress. [Parson’s poetry book, published that year by Hand & Flower] I’ve read it with great pleasure & amusement, & fallen foul of little except ‘legacies’ rhyming with exegesis. My memory of those H. & S.

[Sir Henry Newbolt, poet and writer, author of the anthology-piece 'Drake's Drum'.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mrs. Lord' describing how he deals with correspondence.

Author: 
Sir Henry Newbolt [ Sir Henry John Newbolt ] (1862-1938), poet, novelist and historian, author of the patriotic anthology-piece 'Drake's Drum'
Publication details: 
27 September 1912. On letterhead of Netherhampton House, Salisbury.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Lightly aged and worn. With central horizontal and vertical crease for postage, each quarter with double pinholes at the centre (from attachment of an enclosure?). Signature unaffected (it starts close to vertical crease). Reads: 'Dear Mrs. Lord / With the greatest pleasure - and with ten thousand apologies. I thought I had answered long ago. But letters lie in heaps in my tray & on my table - everywhere! and I carry them about in bags labelled carefully Unanswered until I dare no longer look inside.

[Charles Reade, popular Victorian novelist and playwright.] Autograph Letter in the third person to 'Alderman Spiers', regretting that he 'cannot dine out of College', but stating that he will 'look in'.

Author: 
Charles Reade (1814-1884), popular Victorian novelist and playwright [Magdalen College, Oxford]
Publication details: 
'Magd Coll [Magdalen College, Oxford] / Sunday. Feb 14 [1862].'
£50.00

Reade was a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1836 to his death. According to his entry in the Oxford DNB: ‘in the years of his fame, and particularly in the early 1860s, he did much of his writing in his rooms at Magdalen, using them as a retreat. His tenure of the fellowship was contingent on his remaining unmarried, a stipulation he complained of bitterly but continued to put up with, even when he was earning thousands a year as a writer’. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly discoloured, on thin wove paper. Folded once.

[Sir Henry Newbolt, poet and writer, author of the anthology-piece 'Drake's Drum'.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mrs. Lord' describing how he deals with correspondence.

Author: 
Sir Henry Newbolt [ Sir Henry John Newbolt ] (1862-1938), poet, novelist and historian, author of the patriotic anthology-piece 'Drake's Drum'
Publication details: 
27 September 1912. On letterhead of Netherhampton House, Salisbury.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Lightly aged and worn. With central horizontal and vertical crease for postage, each quarter with double pinholes at the centre (from attachment of an enclosure?). Signature unaffected (it starts close to vertical crease). Reads: 'Dear Mrs. Lord / With the greatest pleasure - and with ten thousand apologies. I thought I had answered long ago. But letters lie in heaps in my tray & on my table - everywhere! and I carry them about in bags labelled carefully Unanswered until I dare no longer look inside.

[Hugh Walpole [Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole], popular English novelist and author, born in New Zealand.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mr Hunt', regarding a proof he is sending, and explaining the source of a quotation.

Author: 
Hugh Walpole [Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole] (1884-1941), popular English novelist, born in New Zealand
Publication details: 
10 July 1935. On letterhead of Brackenburn, Manesty Park, Keswick.
£50.00

Of his activities around this time the Oxford DNB writes: 'he 'wrote film scripts in Hollywood in 1934–5 for classics such as David Copperfield (MGM, 1935), in which he played a bit part, and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)'. The subject of the letter may be his novel 'The Inquisitor', published by Macmillan in 1935. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded once. Reads: ‘Dear Mr. Hunt / Here is a proof. The quotations are from the [?] Version. to me the only [last word underlined] version. / Yours sincerely / Hugh Walpole’.

[Hugh Walpole [Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole], popular English novelist and author, born in New Zealand.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Miss Jennings’, complaining that there was ‘no half crown in the envelope’.

Author: 
Hugh Walpole [Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole] (1884-1941), popular English novelist and author, born in New Zealand
Publication details: 
27 December 1937. On letterhead of 188 St. John’s Road, Corstorphine, Edinburgh 12 [Scotland].
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Miss Jennings / Thank you for your letter. There was however no half crown in the envelope. I searched carefully. / Yours sincerely / Hugh Walpole’.

[David Masson [David Mather Masson], Scottish biographer of Milton and editor of Macmillan’s Magazine.] Autograph Signature taken from letter, with photographic portrait from magazine.

Author: 
David Masson [David Mather Masson] (1822-1907), Scottish biographer of Milton and editor of Macmillan’s Magazine
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£20.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 6 x 3.5 cm slip of paper, cut from letter. Reads ‘Yours very truly, / David Masson.’ Laid down on piece of 16mo paper, beneath oval photographic portrait of Masson cut from magazine. Biographical details typed at head of page. In good condition, lightly aged. Seee Image

[Alaric Watts [Alaric Alexander Watts], poet and journalist, editor of the ‘Literary Souvenir’.] Autograph Letter Signed, requesting the Hon. Spencer Ponsonby to place a letter to Lord Clarendon, applying for a post at the London Library.

Author: 
Alaric Watts [Alaric Alexander Watts] (1797-1864), poet and journalist, editor of the ‘Literary Souvenir’
Publication details: 
'12 Bridge Road | St. John's Wood / March 11th. 1857'.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, with slight wear at top left-hand corner of second leaf (not affecting text). Biographical details added in small type at head of first page. Addressed to ‘The Honbl Spencer Ponsonby’ and signed ‘Alaric A. Watts.’ Begins: ‘Dear Sir / May I trespass so far upon your kindness as to ask you to place the enclosed letter [not present] to Lord Clarendon. It is on the subject of the London Library of which his Lordship is the President’.

Tennyson forgery: manuscript document presenting itself as a letter from Alfred Lord Tennyson to the wife of William Ewart Gladstone, agreeing to a visit as long as he can smoke his pipe.

Author: 
Tennyson forgery: Alfred Lord Tennyson, one of the greatest of English poets, Poet Laureate to Queen Victoria
Tennyson forgery
Publication details: 
Stated to have been sent from 'Aldworth / Oct 25 - 76'. [25 October 1876]
£180.00
Tennyson forgery

An apparent forgery of a letter the text of which is quoted in Hallam Tennyson’s 1897 memoir of his father. 1p, 12mo. On discoloured wove paper. Aged, and with repair with archival tape at extremities on reverse. Folded twice for postage. Reads: ‘Aldworth / Oct 25 - 76 / My dear Mrs Gladstone / On Monday then - if all be well. As you are good enough to say that you will manage everything rather than lose my visit - you must manage that I may have my pipe in my own room whenever I like? / Yours ever / A Tennyson/’.

[Dumas fils: Alexandre Dumas the younger, French novelist and playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed [to a prospective agent?] with regard to the sale of paintings in his Paris house.

Author: 
Dumas fils: Alexandre Dumas the younger (1824-1895), French novelist and playwright, author of ‘La Dame aux Camélias’, on which Giuseppe Verdi based his opera ‘La traviata’
Publication details: 
[1883.] On letterhead of Salneuve par Montcresson (Loiret).
£250.00

An interesting item occupying the zone in which French connoisseurship and literature overlap. In 1880 - three years before the present item - Maurice Mauris (Marchese di Calenzano) described a visit to Dumas fils’s Paris house in Rue de Villers. ‘The walls above the library are enriched with a priceless collection of paintings, modern and antique. Diaz, Fortuny, Marchal, Vernet, Delacroix are there seen at their best. Dumas generally presents himself with a new painting after he has presented a new book to the public.

[W. W. Jacobs, writer noted for his ghost stories and tales of the sea.] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
W. W. Jacobs [William Wymark Jacobs] (1863-1943), English short-story writer, noted for his tales of the sea and ghost stories
Publication details: 
No date. On letterhead of 'Beechcroft, / Berkhamstead.'
£20.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 10 x 7 cm piece of paper, cut down from letterhead. In good condition, lightly aged, with pin holes at top left. Clearly sent in response to a request for an autograph. Reads: 'Yours very truly / W. W. Jacobs'. See scan

[‘John Strange Winter’ [Henrietta E. V. Stannard], English novelist and magazine editor.] Autograph Note Signed both in nom de plume and real name to Norman Wetton, in response to a request for an autograph.

Author: 
‘John Strange Winter’ [Henrietta Eliza Vaughan Stannard, née Palmer] (1856-1911), English novelist and magazine editor
Publication details: 
24 August 1905, on postcard with stamp and Kensington [London] postmark.
£25.00

On 14 x 9 cm plain printed postcard, addressed (by the recipient) to ‘Norman Wetton / 7 Claremont Road / Forest Gate / Essex’. On the plain side of the card she writes: ‘With pleasure here is the sign-manual of your’s [sic] faithfully / John Strange Winter. / (Henrietta. E. V. Stannard.) / Aug 24. 1905 -’.

[Comte de Montalembert.] Three items, in French, relating to Charles Forbes René, Comte de Montalembert: Lithographed funeral announcement and notice, and a page of autograph.

Author: 
Charles Forbes René, Comte de Montalembert (1810-1870) of the Académie française, liberal Catholic French historian and publicist
Publication details: 
Funeral announcement and notice: Paris, 1870. Announcement: ‘Administration spéciale des Funerailles, 70, rue des Saints Pères, Henri de Borniol, Directeur.’ The other item undated.
£90.00

The three items in good condition, lightly aged. Each folded. ONE: Lithographed copperplate funeral announcement. 1p, 4to. Black bordered. At foot: ‘Administration spéciale des Funerailles, 70, rue des Saints Pères, Henri de Borniol, Directeur.’ Headed ‘M’. Begins: ‘Vous êtes prié d’assister aux Convoi, Service et Enterrement, de Monsieur Charles-Rene-Forbes Conte de Montalembert, ancien Pair de France, Membre de l’Académie Française, décédé le 13 Mars 1870, muni des Sacraments de l’Eglise, en sa demeure, rue du Bac, No.

[Somerset Maugham] Three Autograph Letters Signed Willie, two with their envelopes, to Mme Jan Boissevin [Charlotte Boissevin, n?e Ives, sometime actress. See Wikipedia]. See Note below]}.

Author: 
Somerset Maugham [William Somerset Maugham (1874 ? 1965) writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories.]
Maugham
Publication details: 
Two from Villa Mauresque, St Jean Cap Ferrat | A.M., the other [embossed] 5 Portland place. No years given but postmarks (one virtually illegible) suggest 1934-5 (with a possible exception. See below).
£850.00
Maugham

Letter One: [No envelope; undated] One page, 8vo, good condition. Text: Forgive me for not having written before to thank you for your very kind letter, but I have had something like five hundred letters & telegrams of congratulation & they have been a job to deal with. It was very kind of you to write. I am just off to England to receive the insignia. [Maugham was made a Companion of Honour in 1954 if that indicates the date of the letter(?)]; Letter Two: Postmark 24 Oct. 1934 and dated Oct. 34 (though the '3' looks like a '2'), Two pages, 8vo, good condition.

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