LITERATURE

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight nick at gutter of bifolium. Addressed 'To | Revd G Bainton.' Reads: 'Dear Sir | You are quite at liberty to publish my letter. - If it finds its way into the papers, I should be obliged if you would kindly forward me a copy. | Ever yours truly | Chas Mackay'.

14 + [1]pp, 8vo. Stapled eight-leaf pamphlet. Publishers' slug on reverse of final leaf. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Scarce: no copy at the British Library, and the only copy located on OCLC WorldCat at Princeton. A pleasing memento of a grand affair, attended by a host of dignitaries, including Princess Margaret, the Prince of Wales (who read the first lesson) and Betjeman's publisher John Murray (who read the second lesson).

On one side of 4.5 x 10.5 cm piece of paper, cut from end of letter for autograph hunter. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Believe me, dear Mr Browne | Yours very sincerely | Katharine Tynan Hinkson | Robert Browne Esq.'

The full title reads: 'Can Hiraethlon | David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr,) | Pan yn Garcharor yng Nghaerfyrddin, am y Terfysg yn amser Becca. | Cenir ar y dôn “Roslin Castle.'” The title may be translated as 'A nostalgic song, written when a prisoner in Carmarthen, for the riot in Becca's time. | Sung to the tune of 'Roslin Castle'. 4pp, 12mo (15.5 x 9 cm). Paginated [1]-4. Disbound. A frail survival: aged and worn, with damp-stain along one edge. Beneath the title is a small vignette of a sailing ship, and at the end of the final page is another of a crown. Poem in four sixteen-line stanzas.

4pp, 16mo (15.5 x 9 cm). Paginated [1]-4. Bifolium. Disbound. A frail survival, aged and worn. The first leaf (pp.1-2) carries the poem 'Cerdd y Tobacco' ('The Tobacco Poem'), in five eight-line stanzas, with the title followed by a half-page stock woodcut (evidently from a tobacconist's advertisement) of an oriental figure seated on crates on the dockside, with sailing ship in the background. At the foot is engraved: 'FINE TEAS AND TOBACCO'. The second leaf (pp.3-4) carries the poem 'Can y Bachgen Main' ('Song of the Slender Boy'), in six eight-line stanzas.

The title is 'Hanes alarus am 26 o golliers a gollasant eu bywydau yn pwll glo Bedwellty, gerllaw Tredegar, Dydd Gwener, Mehefin 16, 1865.' This may be translated as 'The woeful tale of 26 colliers who lost their lives in the Bedwellty coal mine, near Tredegar, Friday, 16 June 1865. 4pp 16mo (15.5 x 9 cm). Paginated [1]-4. Bifolium. Printer's slug at foot of last page. Disbound. A frail survival: aged and worn.

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.

Florence Montgomery's 1869 novel 'Misunderstood' was admired by Henry James, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and George Du Maurier, and was childhood reading of Vladimir Nabokov. It has been adapted for cinema twice (in Italy in 1966, in Hollywood in 1984). The present item is 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In envelope addressed to 'Mrs. William Levi | Woughton Hall | Bletchley'. (The recipient Lilian Maud Levi was the granddaughter of Sir Henry Cunningham Montgomery, and the daughter of the Dean of Worcester Grantham Munton Yorke.) The postmark gives the year as 1921.

1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight damage to blank reverse caused by removal from mount. Reads: 'Dear Mrs. Suckling – if it be you that is C. S. - I can't come into Town – but shall always be glad to see you here.'

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Folded once.

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to 'B. Nicholson, Esq., | Brooks's, | St. James's Street, S.W.1.' (Nicholson was the son of Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West.) She begins by thanking him for his 'kind letter and charming gift of your drawings of St. Nectaire', adding: 'as an author my vanity is flattered by your appreciation of “Romanesque France”'. She is glad she has helped 'a certain number of people in getting to know some of the beauties of France', but feels 'something of a fraud about the book as without the help of my friend Mr.

1p, 4to. In good condition, with slight creasing to extremities, on a leaf of 'Onion Skin' paper. A sixteen line poem in three stanzas, beneath which is written, boldly and in pencil: 'W B. Stanford | Trinity College | Dublin'. The poem is one of Stanford's best and best-known, and features in Donagh MacDonagh's 'Poems from Ireland' (1944) and Brendan Kennelly's 'Penguin Book of Irish Verse' (1970). The present version exhibits no variations from the text printed by Kennelly.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-creased grey paper. Addressed to 'Dear Prof Brunbaugh'. He explains that Brunbaugh's letter of 19 September 'went into a large collective envelope marked “For attention”', adding 'You can guess what that means. It is lucky ever to have come out.' He has 'made a copy of a short poem' for Brunbaugh, and hopes that he will go and see him when he next comes to Ireland.

2pp, 12mo. Creased and worn. Folded once. She explains that she and her husband and daughter are on the way to Rome, where they will stay at the Hotel Molaro for six days, and expresses the hope that 'we may have the pleasure of seeing you & Mr. Story during that time, if you are at home'. She admits that she feels 'a considerable hesitation about letting any of our friends in Rome know of our coming', as they are 'so overdone with “forestieri” at this time of year'.

Good clear signature on one side of slip of paper, an irregular rectangle roughly 1.5 x 12.5 cm. In fair condition, aged and worn, with traces of mount on reverse. Reads: 'Your's [sic] most affectionately | James Hogg'.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded once. Wretched handwriting, resulting in the following tentative transcription. He begins by saying that he is sorry she has been ill, adding, 'I have no advantage over you in that matter. The [?] and [?] got hold upon me.' Regarding the celebrated circulating library, he writes that 'Mudie's little game is 'not to [buy?] another little [me?], knowing that he can weary out the public. | I have therefore to circulate my own copy among students, but it is out at present.

The book is 272pp, 8vo. A good copy, lightly aged, with binding sunned along top, in worn dustwrapper. The volume contains – along with autograph corrections of incidentals – a couple of autograph notes in pencil, one of a minor nature and the other reading: 'Daisy & Charles attended the funeral – March 26 – as recorded in Archibald Marshall's diary'; also one minor emendation in ink. The material inserted in the volume is described below. Accompanying the volume is a long typewritten radio script of an interview between Fry and 'Leslie', with autograph additions in pencil by Fry.

In addition to his distinguished career as a playwright, Fry had some success in Hollywood. He completely rewrote (uncredited) the screenplay of 'Ben-Hur' (1959), and was responsible for the screenplay of the Dino De Laurentiis epic 'The Bible: In the Beginning' (1966), directed by John Houston. The present item is a treatment for a film that did not make it into production. It is [1] + 71pp, 8vo. Each page on a separate loose leaf. With thin card covers, also loose, the front cover carrying a duplication of the title-page, and the back cover blank. In good condition, lightly aged.

Three items (letter, photographic card, and pamphlet), all in good condition. ONE: ALS. 31 December 1954. 1p, 8vo. Signed '(Mrs.) Rita Spurr.' and addressed to 'Dear Mr. Christopher Fry'. She begins by thanking him 'for the very great pleasure & stimulus' which she derived 'during the year that is passed' from his play 'The Dark is Light Enough'.

1p, 8vo. In good condition. Folded twice. With secretarial note in blue pencil, recording response by 'C.F.' The letter concerns Fry's screenplay for the 1966 film 'The Bible: In the Beginning...', produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston, which recounts the first 22 chapters of the Book of Genesis. Stallworthy wonders whether Fry remembers 'that, “in the dark backward and abyss of time”, the OUP wanted to publish your screen-play for the film of Genesis, but the film company's lawyers wouldn't allow it.

Five items in good condition, all lightly aged. ONE: ACS. Signed 'Kathy'. 1 March 1990. Clearly a covering note on sending the other material. Simply reads: 'Good to speak – | love | Kathy'. TWO: Duplicated copy of typescript of speech by 'Fr. John Gilling'. Headed: 'REQUIEM MASS: St. Mary the Virgin, Bourne Street. 7th February 1990. | JONATHAN GRIFFIN'. 2pp, 8vo.

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly-aged. Folded three times. Sixteen-line poem, neatly typed (with one error overtyped an autograph proof mark separating two words) titled 'For Andrew Young. 1885-1971.' Signed at bottom 'Richard Church.' A charming poem, which was published in the Cornhill Magazine in 1971.

Both items in good condition, lightly aged, as is an enclosure to the second letter, a photocopy of Lowbury's pamphlet 'A Letter from Hampstead'. ONE: 24 September 1969. 2pp, 12mo. In envelope addressed to Fry at his East Dean home The Toft. He is grateful for Fry's letter praising his collection of poems 'Figures of Light'.

All three items in good condition, with both letters lightly-creased at the foot. ONE: TLS. Signed 'John Mortimer'. 11 November 1995. 1p, 8vo. He was delighted to receive Fry's letter and would 'like to visit a writing group with which you're connected. If I'm free on May 10th I'll come. I'm just waiting to hear about a trip to Florida – so do let the committee write to me. I'll know by then more clearly what I'm doing.' TWO: TLS. Signed 'John', with Mortimer deleting the typed word 'sincerely'. 1 March 1997. 1p, 8vo. He found it 'a delight' to hear Fry's 'lecture at the RSL'.

2pp, landscape 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Begins: 'Dear Christopher Fry, | I am sorry to contradict you, but I showed my co-editor, the poet Rodney Pybus, your poem “For Edmund Blunden”, and we both [last word underlined] feel it should be published, and that we would like to publish it. Please.' In the hope that Fry will agree, he asks him to 'sign and return an acceptance form and send us the biog. note you would like to print alongside the poem'. He continues: 'I do hope you'll agree.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Each page numbered by Fry. An Unsigned document from the Christopher Fry archive. Warm personal recollections, entertaining and evocative. Unpublished.

1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded once. 'I was hoping you would make a suggestion about price. I had at first thought of asking £5 for each copy, but if you would throw in that copy of my father's book (my own is in pieces) I suggest £12 for the three. Of course I want you to make your profit.' He ends by asking if Hancox would like the books signed.

Pepys's house at Brampton is the subject of an article by Chris Partridge in the Observer, 30 May 2004, which states that 'The first earl, Edward Montagu, was Pepys's cousin and patron, giving him the political clout to further his career in the Navy Office. In 1927 the then earl gave the Pepys House Trust a 100-year lease at a peppercorn rent, and it has been open to the public ever since. All three items in good condition, lightly aged. Drinkwater's second letter and Chappell's draft reply pinned to one another. ONE: Drinkwater to Chappell, 31 May 1933. TLS. 2pp, 4to.

On one side of square of paper cut from a 12mo leaf. In fair condition, aged and lightly creased. Folded twice. Reads: 'For Coals and the School | With Lord Tennyson's | Compliments and best Wishes | May 1 / 85'. Presumably 'the School' is the Blue Coat School at Aldworth, and it seems that Tennyson was sending a cheque for the purchase of 'Coals', possibly as part of a tradition.

[12]pp, landscape folio. Sewn with red thread. The words 'The Big Grey Man' on cover and title-page in red ink, rest of pamphlet in black ink. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. A 48-line poem, in eight six-line stanzas, spread over three rectos, signed at end 'Richard Rowley.' Inscribed on title-page: 'Mrs. Brown. | With best wishes for Christmas | from | Mr. & Mrs. R. V. Williams. | 1942.' Six bucolic illustrations reproduced from woodcuts by Annesley, including one on cover. Colophon on recto of last leaf, with printers' slug on otherwise-blank reverse.