LONDON

Catalogue of a Valuable Collection of Book-Plates, (Ex-Libris.)

Author: 
Puttick and Simpson, London auctioneers [auction catalogues; bookplates; ex-libris]
Publication details: 
London, 1897. Sale the 28th, January, at two o'clock precisely, At the Rooms of PUTTICK & SIMPSON, 47, Leicester Square. [Printed by S. and J. Brawn, 13, Gate Street, High Holborn, W.C.]
£125.00

8vo: 21 pp. Stitched and unbound. Tastefully printed on good watermarked laid paper. Aged, and with the covers grubby. Priced and named to lot 113, and with a few of the other lots priced in pencil. A slip, dimensions 2.5 x 15.5 cm, has been cut away from the beginning of the sale (pp.3-4), resulting in the loss of the entries for three lots (12, 13 and 14). Scarce, with no copy listed on COPAC or WorldCat.

Some Correspondence on the Subject of the Grant of £1,800, made to the National School of the Hamlet of Highgate, by the Committee of Privy Council for Education.

Author: 
[Highgate National School] [John Holmes, of the British Museum; Nathaniel Basevi; Robert Lingen; Harry Chester; Lewis Vulliamy; William Ford]
Publication details: 
Privately printed [1853?]. [Printed by Cox (Brothers) and Wyman, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's-Inn Fields.]
£85.00

8vo: 30 pp. on sixteen leaves (including final blank). Unbound and stitched as issued. Text clear and complete. A scarce item (the only copies on COPAC at the British Library, Lambeth Palace and the Guildhall). On aged, worn and damp-stained paper, with chipping to extremities. Regarding the ' "rumours" alleged against' Ford and Chester ('in reality a definite statement made by a gentleman on the authority of Mr.

Catalogue of Engraved Portraits, comprising many rare Mezzotints, Stipple and Line Engravings by Faber, Simon, J. Smith, S. W. Reynolds, Edelinck, Marshall, Gaywood, Wierix, De Pass, Faithorne, Houbraken, Bartolozzi and others. [complete in 4 parts]

Author: 
Myers & Rogers, London booksellers, printseller and autograph dealers
Publication details: 
Parts I to III (numbered 15 to 17) published in 1901; Part IV (no. 18, supplement) published in 1902. Parts I and II 'On Sale by Myers & Rogers, 44, Booksellers' Row, Strand, London, W.C.' Parts III and IV by the same firm from 59 High Holborn.
£300.00

8vo: continuously pagined 1-187, followed by three pages of publishers' advertisements. A tight copy, in good condition, with the four parts (each of which retains its original orange printed wraps) bound together in contemporary brown cloth gilt and floral endpapers. An invaluable reference work, containing a total of 14293 items, each priced and with a brief description. Example: '4428 Hobart (Mrs.) Lady Buckinghamshire, caricature by Newton, Mrs. H. (very corpulent) driving over the weighing machine in front of a Weigh House, sinks down in the pit, folio, 1797, 4s'.

[Pickering's Diamond Classics.] Quintus Horatius Flaccus.

Author: 
The Pickering Horace' [Quintus Horatius Flaccus; William Pickering, London publisher; Charles Corrall, printer; Pickering's Diamond Classics; miniature books]
Publication details: 
Londini: Typis C. Corrall; Impensis Gul. Pickering, 31, Lincoln's Inn Fields. MDCCCXX.' [London: William Pickering, 1820. Printed by Charles Corrall.]
£450.00

A bibliographical landmark: the first issue of the first volume in Pickering's series of 'Diamond Classics' 32mo: [ii] + 185 + [i] + [i]. Engraved frontispiece portrait of 'Horace' by R. Grave, facing engraved titlepage, which precedes the letterpress titlepage. On the reverse of the leaf with p.185 on its recto is a portrait of Sir Francis Bacon, captioned 'Advancement of Learning.' On the page facing this are the 'Corrigenda.' Tight copy, on aged paper, with a few dogeared pages, in contemporary black russia binding with boards and spine ornamented in gilt and title 'HORATIUS'.

A Detail of the Wonderful Revolution at Paris; Or, An Exact Narrative of All that passed in the Capital of France, particularly the Siege and Capture of the Bastille, from the 11th of July, 1789, to the 23d of the same Month.

Author: 
M. D** C** [i.e. Monsieur de Courtive] [translated by 'S. M.'] [James Ridgway, London publisher; the fall of the Bastille, 1789]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for James Ridgway, No. I, York Street, St. James's Square. 1789.
£450.00

8vo: [iv] + 48 pp. Stabbed as issued. In modern brown paper wraps. Good, on lightly aged paper. Beneath the author's name on title-page: 'Dedicated to the District of PETIT ST.

The Traveller's Oracle; Or, Maxims for Locomotion: Containing Precepts for Promoting the Pleasures and Hints for Preserving the Health of Travellers. [Part II: 'By John Jervis, An Old Coachman.] [Including sheet music of eight songs by Kitchiner.]

Author: 
William Kitchiner ['John Jervis, An Old Coachman.']
Publication details: 
London: Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street. Second Edition, 1827. [London: Printed by J. Moyes, Took's Court, Chancery Lane.] [Sheet music engraved by Sidney Hall, Bury Street, Bloomsbury.]
£300.00

2 vols, 12mo. Vol.1: viii + 264 pp. Vol.2: viii + 336 pp. Complete, with all the engravings of sheet music listed in the contents (vol.1: five two-page plates and one four-page plate, with one more piece of music 'printed with the letterpress'; vol.2: one two-page plate). Both volumes good and tight, on lightly-aged and spotted paper. In worn contemporary half-calf binding, marbled boards, with the first volume rebacked. Each volume with bookplate of Frederic Perkins, Chipstead Place, Kent.

Number Four in the series of Christmas cards printed by the Favil Press for the Poetry bookshop, containing the poem 'The Curate's Christmas Eve' by Monro, and two coloured engravings by Stewart, one entitled 'Decorations'.

Author: 
Harold Monro (1879-1932); Alistair Stewart; The Favil Press; The Poetry Bookshop
Publication details: 
No date [circa 1928]. Printed 'by The Favil Press, 152 Church Street, Kensington, W.8 and published, in collaboration with the printers, by The Poetry Bookshop, 38 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.1.'
£45.00

Printed on one side of a piece of paper roughly 46 x 32 cm, folded twice to make a 23 x 16 cm card. Good, on lightly aged and spotted paper. On the front is a small illustration in green and black, roughly 7.5 x 6 cm, showing a picture of a domestic Christmas interior in an ivy-topped frame. Inside the card, on the left-hand page, is Monro's poem, of 18 lines arranged in three stanzas, beginning, 'The Curate and the Spinster sit.

The Unhappy Princesses. In two Parts. Containing First, The Secret History of Queen Anne Bullen. [...] Secondly, The History of the Lady Jane Grey. [...] Adorn'd with Pictures.

Author: 
R. B.' [i.e. 'Robert Burton', pseudonym of Nathaniel Crouch (c.1640-1725?), London printer and bookseller]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for N. Crouch, at the Bell against Grocers-Alley, in the Poultry, near Cheapside. 1710.
£250.00

12mo: 159 + [9] pp. (Publisher's catalogue of 'Books Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell against Grocers-Alley in the Poultrey near Cheapside.' begins at foot of p.159 and continues for nine unpaginated pages, ending 'FINIS.') Lacks frontispiece. Woodcuts on pp.26, 61 and 121. In worn original calf binding. No endpapers. Aged and with worn fore-edge. Separate title to second part on p.89 ('The Secret History of the Lady Jane Gray', 'London: Printed for Nath. Crouch. 1710.') Scarce: COPAC only lists reproductions, with the note: 'R.B.

The Art of Poetry, Written in French by The Sieur de Boileau. In Four Canto's. Made English By Sir William Soames, Since Revis'd by John Dryden, Esq;

Author: 
Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux; Sir William Soames; John Dryden; Henry Hills junior, London printer
Publication details: 
London: Printed and Sold by H. Hills, in Black-fryars near the Water-side. 1710.
£400.00

12mo: 40 pp. Disbound. Good, on lightly aged paper. Contemporary ownership inscription of 'William Francklyn" on title-page. This edition is scarce: no copy in the British Library, and the only copy on COPAC at Liverpool.

Autograph Letter Signed to Sonnenschein.

Author: 
James Samuelson, editor of 'Subjects of the Day' [George Routledge & Sons Limited; William Swan Sonnenschein [Stallybrass] (1855-1934), publisher]
Publication details: 
22 September 1890; Trevenna, Grosvenor Road, on letterhead of 'GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LIMITED | "SUBJECTS OF THE DAY." | (EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.)'
£30.00

8vo, 1 p. Good, on lightly-aged paper. In response to a 'kind note', Samuelson informs Sonnenschein that 'the next number of our Review, which will appear shortly, is to deal with the Irish question'. He has 'a very copious list of publications' and although he would have welcomed Sonnenschein's assistance, he hardly thinks it is worth his while at the present time to trouble himself over the matter, 'for reasons which I will explain to you some day'.

Copyright publishing agreement for two songs by 'Mr Blanchard' [Thomas Blanchard?], in a secretarial hand, signed by Brewer.

Author: 
Samuel Brewer, London publisher of sheet music
Publication details: 
27 February 1849; 23 Bishopsgate St. Within [City of London].
£75.00

4to, 1 p. Bifolium, addressed with postmarks, penny red stamp, and remains of black wax seal, on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr Blanchard, 5 Hackney Terrace, South Hackney'. Text clear and complete. In poor condition, on aged, ruckled and stained paper. Following their 'conversation of Saturday Morning' Brewer agrees 'to purchase the Copyrights of the "City Polka's [sic] & also the Song entitled "Ever the Same" upon the following terms [...]'.

Typed Letter Signed to Rev. J. W. Thompson, "Brockenhurst", Birmingham Road, Walsall, Staffs.

Author: 
Philip Unwin, cousin of Sir Stanley Unwin (1884-1968) [George Allen & Unwin Ltd, publishers; Sir Stanley Unwin]
Publication details: 
20 August 1931; on letterhead of George Allen & Unwin Ltd, Publishers and Exporters.
£45.00

4to, 2 pp. Thirty-two lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged and creased paper. A tactful letter in response to an enquiry concerning the possibility of employment as a translator of Dutch publications. Unwins 'very seldom have occasion to translate from Dutch, but we should always be glad to give consideration to any important Dutch book which you were able to bring to our attention'. He suggests times when Thompson might be able to meet Stanley Unwin, who is travelling on the continent.

Autograph Letter Signed ('R Seeley') to his business partner Service.

Author: 
Richmond Seeley, son of and successor to Robert Benton Seeley (1798-1886), London publisher [F. Stanley Service; Seeley, Service & Co.; 'Clive Holland' [Charles James Hankinson] (1866-1959)]
Publication details: 
5 February 1908; Holmbury, Epsom.
£85.00

12mo, 3 pp. Bifolium with mourning border. Good: lightly aged and with a slight bloom at the foot. Text clear and complete. Written to a business partner, and providing an insight into the everyday workings of the Edwardian book trade. The beginning of the letter appears to be a response to suggestions by Service of authors to write a book on Holland. Begins 'Dear Mr. Service, | We cannot employ Clive Holland again until he has at least put his "Egypt" into a shape in which we can venture to reprint it.

Typed Letter Signed ('John G. Murray') to 'Mrs. Norsworthy'.

Author: 
John Murray the sixth [John Grey Murray; Jock Murray; John Arnaud Robin Grey Murray (1909-1993), London publisher
Publication details: 
9 March 1936; on the firm's 50 Albemarle Street letterhead.
£28.00

4to, 1 p. Eight lines in typescript and one line in manuscript. Good, on lightly-aged paper. With stamped Envelope addressed in manuscript. The firm is 'sorry to hear' that she intends to 'take two volumes' over her book on Henry III, not considering that 'a biography of him could succeed in more than one complete volume. To take him to 1237 in the first volume would spoil the completeness of what we feel should be a one-volume biography.' He adds in manuscript: 'I hope we will not prove too unwieldy.'

Autograph Letter Signed ('J Bowles') to 'Mr Wright | Piccadilly', confirming his authorship of the 'Letters of the Ghost of Alfred'.

Author: 
John Bowles (1751-1819), barrister and author [John Wright (1770-1841) of Piccadilly, bookseller and publisher of Gifford's 'Anti-Jacobin']
Publication details: 
Tuesday' [no date, but circa 1798]. Place not stated.
£120.00

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium with address on second leaf. Twenty-five lines. Text clear and complete. On aged, spotted and repaired paper. A significant letter, confirming Bowles's hitherto-tentative authorship of the 'Letters of the Ghost of Alfred', which was printed by Wright in 1798. Bowles informs Wright that he will 'receive some Copies of ye. Ghost of Alfred' the following morning. 'The price [I conceive] should be only 2/6 in boards there being but about 130 pages including thhe advertisements'.

Business communication on partly printed form, regarding the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.

Author: 
Williams & Norgate, London booksellers [Sir John Philippart (1784-1875); The Asiatic Society of Calcutta]
Publication details: 
30 May 1870; on letterhead of 14, Henrietta-Street, Covent Garden ('Also at 20, South Frederick-Street, Edinburgh.').
£28.00

12mo (21 x 13 cm), 1 p. On green paper. Clear and complete. On aged, creased and grubby paper. Reads (manuscript text in square brackets): Messrs. Williams & Norgate present their compliments to [Sir John Philippart] and beg to inform [him that the Asiatic Socy Calcutta send them the Journal, as it is published to be forwarded to him, if he does not require it, W & N will return the numbers to Calcutta'. Docketed in a contemporary hand at head: '10 packets returned 31st May 1870'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('R. Brimley Johnson') [to Swan Sonnenschein], proposing a work for publication, and outlining his literary achievements.

Author: 
R. Brimley Johnson [Reginald Brimley Johnson] (1867-1932), English author and editor [Swan Sonnenschein, London publishers]
Publication details: 
19 February 1893; on embossed letterhead of Llandaff House, Cambridge.
£65.00

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He was introduced to the recipient 'by Mr. Philip Malleson of Croydon, when I wanted to send an Essay to The Albemarle'. Asks if he 'might be disposed to let me write a volume on Jane Austen or Leigh Hunt for your Dilettante Library', Austen being 'specially before the public just now'. He has edited Austen's novels and two 'well received' volumes of selections from Hunt for 'Mr. Dent's Temple Library'. 'If you do not care to arrange for either of these authors I would suggest Miss Burney[,] Hazlitt or T. L. Peacock.

Autograph Note Signed ('George A Lawrence') to unnamed publisher [Tinsley?].

Author: 
George A. Lawrence [George Alfred Lawrence] (1827-1876), English novelist
Publication details: 
Undated. On monogrammed letterhead of 25 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, London.
£35.00

12mo, 1 p. Six lines. Mourning border. Text clear and complete. Aged, creased and a little grubby. Asking to be sent '4 copies of "The Butterfly", if ready', and if not to be told 'when it will be'. Lawrence published his 'Breaking a Butterfly; Or Blanche Ellerslie's Ending' anonymously by Tinsley in 1869.

Autograph Letter Signed ('George A Lawrence') to an unnamed publisher [George Routledge?].

Author: 
George A. Lawrence [George Alfred Lawrence] (1827-1876), English novelist [Miss Caulfield; George Routledge]
Publication details: 
22 March 1858; Plymouth.
£35.00

16mo (leaf dimensions 13 x 10 cm), 3 pp. Bifolium. Twenty-eight lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and lightly creased paper with small closed tear in margin (not affecting text). He has been asked by 'Miss Caulfield' to 'perform the ceremony of "introduction" with a view to your publishing (if you approved of it) a work she has lately written [...] <"Janet de Rinzy?">'.

Autograph Note Signed ('D. Lysons.') to unnamed publisher.

Author: 
Sir Daniel Lysons (1816-1898), English army officer
Publication details: 
11 January 1893; on letterhead of 22 Warwick Square, London S.W.
£56.00

12mo, 1 p. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Large bold signature. He has 'no present intention of publishing any book on [his] career'. It may be that the correspondence planted a seed, as three years after the writing of this note Lysons published 'Early Reminiscences' (John Murray, 1896).

Autograph Letter Signed ('Thos: Day') to 'Edmund Taylor Esqe | Castle Yard Windsor | Berkshire', including original unpublished forty-line manuscript poem by Day entitled 'Lines address'd to Windsor', in which he has 'spit his spite' on the town.

Author: 
Thomas Day [Edmund Taylor; Windsor, Berkshire; Oxford Street; Georgian London; John Romney?; Matthew Cotes Wyatt?]
Publication details: 
25 March 1810; Oxford Street.
£40.00

The work of a cultured and witty man, but not by the author of 'Sandford and Merton', who died in 1789. While possible authors include the 'Mr. Thomas Day, solicitor, Woburn, Bedfordshire', whose death at the age of 47 on 18 February 1824 was reported in The Times (5 March 1824), and the Thomas Day who lived around this time at Montague Street, Russell Square, the most likely candidate, considering the references to 'Romney' and 'Wyatt' is the Thomas of 'DAY William, and Thomas Day, of No. 95, Gracechurch-street, in the city of London, oilmen', who went bankrupt in 1841.

Autograph Letter in the third person to the publishers Swan Sonnenschein & Co.

Author: 
Sir Charles Hallé [born in Germany as Carl Halle] (1819-1895), English conductor and pianist
Publication details: 
30 June 1890; Sydney, Australia.
£35.00

12mo, 1 p. Twelve lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged and grubby paper. A formal letter in the third person. He has 'received with surprise the enclosed invoice. [not present] He has given no orders for any copies of the work & must therefore decline to accept the parcel, should it have been sent out to him in Australia.' If it is 'lying at his London house' he will forward it to the firm 'on his return home'.

Typed Letter, signed by 'C B', 'per W. & G. Foyle, Ltd, to C. F. Bradshaw, headmaster of the Council School at Cresswell, Worksop, Derbyshire.

Author: 
Foyles Bookshop [W. & G. Foyle Ltd of 119-125 Charing Cross Road, London booksellers]
Publication details: 
18 March 1939; on 'W & G FOYLE LTD' letterhead.
£22.00

4to, 1 p. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper with minor rust stain from paperclip at head. Letterhead, in light and dark blue, featuring globe and the mottos 'BOOKSELLERS TO THE WORLD' and 'STOCK OF NEARLY THREE MILLION VOLUMES'. Thirteen lines of text. Bradshaw is clearly unhappy at the price asked for a copy of Cox's 'Memorials of Old Derbyshire'. 'The writer would point out that we received six reports regarding this book from various clients, but in no case at a price allowing us to quote below 15/-.

Typed Letter Signed ('V.G.') to Daniel George.

Author: 
Sir Victor Gollancz (1893-1967), London publisher [Hilary Rubinstein; Daniel George]
Publication details: 
21 September 1955; on letterhead of Victor Gollancz, Ltd.
£56.00

4to, 2 pp. Postscript ends abruptly ('I have read innumerable books on Italy, <...>'), suggesting a page lacking. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. An interesting letter shedding light on Gollancz's attitude to the practice of sending out advance copies of books for review. Addressed to 'My dear Daniel'. Further to a report he has received from 'Hilary' (his nephew Hilary Rubinstein) regarding a conversation with George 'at John Coates's party', Gollancz assures him that there is no 'personal reason' why he is no longer receiving 'a stream of advance copies'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Lewis Melville') to Messrs George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.

Author: 
Lewis Melville' [Lewis S. Benjamin (1874-1932)], English author and actor
Publication details: 
5 August 1903; 1 Doughty Street, Mecklenburgh Square, W.C., on cancelled letterhead of the Weekly Dispatch.
£28.00

12mo, 1 p. 7 lines of closely-written text. Clear and complete. On aged and slightly-grubby paper. He has received their letter regarding his 'Life of Thackeray', and appreciates 'the reason for your delay in deciding whether or no to issue a cheap edition. Undoubtedly the inclusion of my book in a series would benefit us both, & I hope Mr Lee may be able to make me an offer.'

Autograph Note Signed ('G O Trevelyan') to the publisher Alexander Macmillan

Author: 
Sir George Otto Trevelyan (1838-1928), politician and author [Alexander Macmillan (1818-1896), publisher]
Publication details: 
Undated [after 1864]; Wallington, Newcastle.
£25.00

12mo, 1 p. Four lines of text. Good, on aged paper with watermarked date '<...>864'. 'If the "Macaulays" have not gone yet, would you send them here, directed to me.' Trevelyan was nephew of the historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, of whom he published a biography in 1880.

Etching of the church of St Mary-le-Strand, London, and surrounding streets. Signed in pencil 'Hanslip Fletcher.'

Author: 
Hanslip Fletcher (1874-1955), English engraver [Emery Walker]
Publication details: 
Dated 1912. 'Copyright A. D. Power. Emery Walker Ph.sc.'
£56.00

Printed in brown on a piece of watermarked laid paper, 29 x 36 cm. Dimensions of image 18 x 22 cm. On lightly-creased paper, with a few short closed tears to margins at extremities. A bustling scene, from the top storey of a building, showing the traffic of coaches, carriages and carts around the church, which is seen from the front with St Paul's Cathedral in the background. In addition to the pencil signature, the print has the dated facsimile signature 'Hanslip Fletcher 1912'.

Engraving ('Benjamin Green sculpt.') in red and black, with explanatory letterpress, titled 'A View Of The Library Founded In 1429 By RICHARD WHITTINGTON.'

Author: 
Benjamin Green ('Pott') [Thoams Pennant; Richard ('Dick') Whittington; London topography; Christ's Hospital; libraries]
Publication details: 
London Pubd. Jany. 1 1793 by N Smith Gt. Mays Buildings St. Martins Lane.'
£56.00

Printed on one side of a piece of thick wove paper, 21 x 17.5 cm. At the head of the page is the engraving, enclosed in an oval 12.5 cm high and 15 cm wide. A clear impression of a scarce print, on grubby, spotted paper. Within the border is engraved in red 'Part of Christs Hospital taken from the Stewards Office 1765.' According to the six lines of copperplate text at the foot of the page 'It was 129 feet long and 31 feet in breadth, [...] It was furnished with Books at the expence of £556 . 10s of which £400 were given by the founder, and the remainder by Dr.

The History, Or Anecdotes, Of the Revolution in Russia, In the Year 1762. Translated from the French of M. De Rulhiere.

Author: 
Claude Carloman de Rulhiere [Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia; Russian eighteenth-century history; revolution of 1762]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for T. N. Longman, Paternoster-Row. 1797.
£180.00

8vo: [ii] + xxiv + 178 + [ii] pp. With half-title, and final leaf containing two pages of 'New Publications printed for T. N. Longman, No. 39, Paternoster-Row.' Frontispiece, becoming detached, of 'Catherine II. Empress of Russia, Taken from an Original Bust.' Tight copy, on aged and lightly discoloured paper, in worn and stained contemporary half-binding of chipped vellum spine and corners and marbled boards. Minor staining at foot of frontispiece, title and first leaf of prelims.

Two Christmas keepsakes: 'Literary Characters', with drawings by Edwin Baker; and 'Imaginary Conversations', with cover design by Hans Tisdall.

Author: 
Jonathan Cape Limited, London publishers [Edwin Baker; Hans Tisdall; Alden Press, Oxford]
Publication details: 
Literary Characters': 1954, 'Printed in the City of Oxford at the Alden Press on paper mould-made supplied by Spalding & Hodge Ltd.' 'Imaginary Conversations', 1956, 'Printed in Great Britain in the City of Oxford at the Alden Press'.
£50.00

Literary Characters'. 12mo (leaf dimensions roughly 18 x 12.5 cm): 32 pp. Stitched with brown thread. Fore-edge and top-edge rough. Unbound as issued. Very good. Cartoon in red ink of man seated at typewriter on front cover, and another, in black ink, of a hatted-figure skulking away with a walking stick held behind his back on back cover. Initial note, with publisher's colophon, on p.2: 'This series of Literary Characters appeared in Now & Then numbers 77-87 and is here reprinted by Jonathan Cape Limited for their friends | Christmas 1954'.

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