LONDON

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium, endorsed 'Clarke' on reverse of second leaf. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. The letter begins: 'My dear Webster, | Charles Kean has requested me to give him information respecting Theatres in England, in which it is probable he may form engagements on his return from America, as he wishes his plans to be arranged if possible previous to his departure from the United States, so as he may see his way clearly on his arrival in England.' He asks whether it would answer Webster's purpose 'to make any proposal to him'.

2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. A very good and informative letter. Written from the A. J. C. Ranch, which Van Druten had purchased with his former lover Carter Lodge (now his business manager) and the British actress Auriol Lee. Van Druten left his interest in the ranch to Lodge, together with the rights to his work, including the play discussed here, 'I am a Camera', an adapatation of Christopher Isherwood's stories. (For the relationship between Van Druten and Isherwood, see Peter Parker's biography of the latter.) This entitled Lodge to income from the film 'Cabaret'.

1p, 4to. In fair condition, aged and creased, on thin Whatman wove paper, with wear to edges. Reads: 'I was acquainted, for some years, with Mr. Horatio Goodday, while he was residing as a pupil, with my friend Mr. Fincham, of Spring-Gardens, [i.e. the surgeon George Fincham] and had many opportunities of observing his excellent moral qualities and professional acquirements. Mr. Fincham has always expressed himself as highly pleased with the excellent conduct of his pupil.'

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Addressed to 'E Gambart Esq' and endorsed by the recipient. Two years earlier Gambart had published 'Passages from the Poems of Thomas Hood', illustrated with 34 plates by the Junior Etching Club (of which Whistler was a member between 1857 and 1862). The book had been well-received, but the letter makes clear that it had not covered its costs.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. 'My dear Sir | The Era Almanack will entirely consist of Theatrical information and general literature is not contemplated in the plan. Otherwise I need hardly say I should have been most happy to have availed myself of your aid.' The Era Almanack ran from 1868 to 1919, and was one of the more reliable theatrical annuals.

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.'

Twelve 8vo sheets of duplicated typescript, eleven of which are printed on both sides, making a total of 23pp. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with wear to extremities and slight damage to corners from tearing of staple. The first five sheets are stapled together. ONE: 'Local Hotels (within 4 miles radius)'. Map on reverse, captioned: 'How to reach Heathrow Airport – London'. TWO: 'British Airports Authority | Heathrow Airport – London'. 'Issued by: Press and Public Relations Office | British Airports Authority | Heathrow Airport – London'. Printed on 4pp over two leaves.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. A white label has been stuck over the letter's salutation, but MacWhirter writes the name of the recipient at the end of the letter: 'W. Agnew Esq'. He cannot express the pleasure he felt on receiving Agnew's letter.

1p, 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, and folded several times. The main text reads: 'Gentn | By inserting the following correct [last word underlined] Statement of Benefits at the Liverpool Theatre (this season) in your next Mirror you'll particularly oblige your most obt. Servt. | Edwd. Murray'. Beneath this is a list of the names of 15 individuals, with the amount of money made by each one's benefit, coming to a total of £2665. The list begins with 'Miss Murray £263' and ends with 'Mr Simmons 101'. The penultimate entry is for 'Mr Wild (Prompter) 103'.

1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight wear at head repaired on reverse with archival tape. The context of the letter is explained in Fawcett's entry in the Oxford DNB: 'In September 1829 Fawcett was superseded in the management of Covent Garden […] the theatre in which he had been a main prop for thirty-nine years. With a salary of £100 a year allowed him as treasurer and trustee of the Covent Garden Theatrical Fund he retired to a cottage at Botley, near Southampton.' The letter begins: 'Some weeks back I enclos'd you a draft for £10 intended for the Widow Paulo.

Postcard with printed stamp. In good condition, on aged paper. Address by her to 'Miss Johnson [identified in pencil as Isa Johnson] | 23 Weltje Road | Hammersmith | London - W'. The card reads: 'My thanks for your letter - I am sorry I did not see you to speak to the other day. I hate leaving here in next few days it has done me such a lot of good.'

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. The letter casts an interesting sidelight on the practicalities of the late-Victorian theatre. He begins by explaining that he is sending back a wig he made for him, which was 'an admirable one in every way', and asking that he make him 'one like it for America & to bestow your best skill on it as it is of great importance to me'. He instructs him to 'make the wig a shade darker, something of the color it is dyed behind, & put a little natural white hair on the temples each side'.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Begins: 'My very dear Friend, | I lack words to express my real gratitude for your heartfelt kindness to so young a fellow as your devoted comrade, here writing'. He hopes for an opportunity to show proof of his 'profound and hearty friendship'. He ends with renewed thanks, and 'sincere loves [sic] to your good Wife and dear self'.

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded twice. The letter begins: 'When my Eugenic play “The Blindness of Virtue” was first produced at the Little Theatre two years ago [i.e. in 1912] (about which Dr Saleeby [i.e. eugenicist Caleb Saleeby (1878-1940)] wrote very kindly & in great agreement in the P. M. G) you were kind enough to send a member of your staff to see me for a talk.' He explains that since that time he has had the play 'in the United States & Canada where it is still running & I have many more things to say about it & those places'.

Both items are 2pp, 12mo, and bifoliums. Both in good condition, lightly aged, and each folded once. The second has rust marks to margin from a paperclip. Given the sunbject-matter, the recipient may be a relation of the actress Mrs William Barry (1739-1771), whose maiden name was Osborne. ONE: 17 August 1769; on Park Road letterhead. Signed 'Ch. Fechter.' He begins by announcing: 'I have, by no means, altered my mind; but have been – and am still – strolling about the country'.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with traces of mount, and red wax seal, adhering to the reverse of the second leaf, which is franked (the franker's name and signature illegible) to 'Sir John Phippart [sic] | &c &c | No 8 New Burlington St'. Slight loss to one corner of second leaf, from breaking open of seal, with damage to one word of text.

4pp, 8vo, paginated 401-404. Originally a bifolium, but with the leaves separated. In fair condition, lightly aged, with each leaf carrying in a margin a strip of paper from the mount. Several fold lines. Page one carries the half-penny tax stamp. In small print and double column. The entire number concerns the battle. Begins: 'Admiralty-Office, April 15, 1801.

The item would appear to relate to William Gaskill's 1984 Chichester Festival production of Congreve's 'Way of the World', in which Joan Plowright played Lady Wishford, and John Moffatt played Witwoud, although it is not clear why Fry should have been making directorial suggestions in this case. 2pp, 8vo. Written in pencil. In fair condition, aged and worn. Folded twice. From the Fry papers, and so possibly either a draft or not sent. The identity of the recipient is not clear.

Both items in good condition, but the postcard (of a Viennese street scene) with stamp torn off. ONE: ALS. Signed 'Walter (Rilla)'. Vienna; 7 November 1966. 1p, 8vo. Twenty-six lines of text, in a neat close hand.

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.

An interesting document relative to London social history, and a nice piece of Dickensiana. George Johnson is said to have established his celebrated restaurant Johnson's Alamode Beef House at 21 Clare Court, Drury Lane, in the 1780s, although the present letter states that it was licensed around 1805 . In 1824 a twelve-year-old Charles Dickens – employed in a nearby blacking warehouse as a result of his father's imprisionment for debt – himself experienced an incident which he later made use of in 'David Copperfield'.

Printed in black on one side of a 51 x 39 cm piece of light-green paper. Heavily inked, in the variety of types and point sizes typical of the period. Printed on high-acidity paper, and perhaps a unique survival. Aged and worn, with chipping and short closed tears to extremities. Reads: 'Imperial College | Literary and Debating Society | [thick-thin rule] | A LECTURE | ON | “The Interaction of Life | and Matter” | BY | SIR OLIVER LODGE, | D.Sc., F.R.S.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and spotted, with loss at foot of reverse of last leaf, the verso of which is addressed to 'Mr Palmer | Bookseller | 18 Paternoster Row'. The recipient is the theological bookseller Ebenezer Palmer the elder (c.1782-1866). Twenty-two lines of text in a difficult hand. The stridently pious tone perhaps hints at some degree of mental instability. The letter opens: 'My dear Sir & friend in the LORD | I greet you in Him'.

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.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. As he is leaving town on the following Monday, he only has the following two days 'at my disposal here'. He suggests times on those days when he would be happy to see him. 'A visit here would be better than one at Westgate, because then you could see my Workshop'.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf of bifolium. Reads: 'My dear Sir, | I shall be happy to meet you at your friends Mr. Rackhams at ¼ before 5 o'clock tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon & trust our efforts may be attended with the same success as upon the former occasion.'

1p, 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of blank second leaf. Folded once. The recipient is not named. Reads: 'Dear Sir | It would have given me pleasure to have forwarded actively your wishes if I had power to do so – All I have been able to do is to give advice to the Childs father as to the course to pursue – and that I have done.'

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf. The recipient is not identified. Begins: 'My Dear Sir, | I would have had much pleasure in accepting your invitation, & meeting Professor Liebig [Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), German chemist], but while you are enjoying yourselves, I expect to be a hundred miles at least on my way to Scotland in the Royal yacht.' He hopes to be able to make Liebig's acquaintance on his return.

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the blank reverse. Folded twice.Unsigned. Eighteen line typescript with a number of autograph emendations.He begins by thanking 'Dr Osler' for the letter he has sent containing a request made not only in his own name, but also in those of the American neurologists Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914) and James Jacksom Putnam (1846-1918), and which Jackson has 'carefully considered'. He continues: 'Many of my papers, all the old ones, are very old fashioned and are not worthy of reprint.

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse. Folded several times. Addressed at bottom left 'To the Curators of the library of the College of Surgeons'. Reads: 'Gentlemen, | Mr. Fergus, who is desirous of obtaining the advantage of reading in the library of the College of Surgeons, is known to me as a most respectable young man, and the permission to carry on his researches in your library will be bestowed on a very deserving person.'