MANUSCRIPT

[Joan Greenwood, actress.] Autograph Letter Signed to the translator Edward Marsh, regarding a 'most interesting and infuriating' 'Cocteau profile', and Henry Sherek's copy of the script of T. S. Eliot's 'Confidential Clerk'.

Author: 
Joan Greenwood (1921-1987), English actress, best-known for her role as Sibella in the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) [Edward Marsh, translator; Henry Sherek (1900-1967), theatre manager]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 4 Wentworth Studios, Chelsea, SW3 [London]. 9 September 1953.
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. Written lengthwise across the paper, so that the letterhead runs up the left-hand margin of the first page. She thanks him for his letter and 'the Cocteau profile (most interesting and infuriating - splendid misunderstanding - written down with such authority.)', as well as '"The Holy Terrors" notices'. She has been delayed in sending him the script of 'The Confidential Clerk' as she had to go to King's Lynn. She is sending the script now, and asks for it to be returned 'fairly soon, as it is Henry Sherek's and he may suddenly scream for it!' (Sherek was the play's producer.)

[James Thompson, proprietor and editor of the 'Leicester Chronicle'.] Autograph Letter Signed to the printer and antiquary John Gough Nichols, regarding a Camden Society report, Sir Bernard Burke and a subscription edition by 'Mr Potter'.

Author: 
James Thompson (1817-1877), county historian and editor and proprietor of the 'Leicester Chronicle' [John Gough Nichols (1806-1873), printer and antiquary and editor of the Gentleman's Magazine]
Publication details: 
Chronicle Office, Leicester. 20 May 1856.
£75.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. He begins: 'You would see that we found room for an extract from the Camden Society report in last week's Chronicle'. He asks Nichol to 'find space for the enclosed letter in the Gentleman's Magazine'. He is 'acquainted with the pedigree in question', but does not think that 'Sir Bernard Burke's statements are in all cases to bee relied upon'. The letter continues: 'I do not know whether you are in Mr Potter's secrets.

[George Charles Brodrick, Warden of Merton College, Oxford.] Autograph Card Signed ('George C Brodrick') to 'Mr. Leveson-Gower', regarding two 'anti English articles' in the North American Revew, one by Lloyd Stephens Bryce.

Author: 
George Charles Brodrick (1831-1903), Warden of Merton College, Oxford [Lloyd Stephens Bryce (1851-1917), American journalist; the North American Review]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Merton College, Oxford. 20 February 1900.
£40.00

On both sides of the 11 x 9 cm card. Very good, with light signs of age. He feels he must thank him for 'two numbers of the North American Review, both containing interesting articles'. despite 'their anti English spirit'. He was glad to read 'Bryce's article' to which he feels 'some injustice has been done'.

[Dilys Powell, journalist and film critic.] Typed Letter Signed to Robert Swan, declining his 'interesting offer' of 'original portrait drawings' by Swan himself.

Author: 
Dilys Powell [Elizabeth Dilys Powell] (1901-1995), British journalist, author and film critic [Robert Swan]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Sunday Times, 135 Fleet Street, London. 14 Octobeer 1936.
£38.00

1p., 4to. On creased and lightly-aged paper, with wear and chipping to edges. She thanks him for his letter 'and for your offer of original potrait drawings by yourself', in which she was 'greatly interested'. She explains that there is a limitation of space, 'and as a general rule we are exhibiting portraits only when we can associate with them some other relic or possession of the writer concerned'. In response to 'our appeal' she has received 'souvenirs of past writers, and I am concentrating on these. This being so, I feel I must very reluctantly decline your interesting offer'.

[Douglas William Jerrold, playwright and contributor to Punch.] Autograph Note Signed ('Douglas Jerrold') to 'Webster', accepting an invitation in lighthearted style.

Author: 
Douglas William Jerrold (1803-1857), playwright, journalist and contributor to Punch
Publication details: 
Putney. 29 November [no year].
£28.00

1p., 32mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The note reads: 'My dear Webster, | I have fasted all the week in joyful expectation of the 1st of December. | Every truly your's [sic] | Douglas Jerrold'.

[Charles Conway Thornton, Second Secretary at the British Embassy, Berlin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Conway Thornton') to Lady Florence Head, providing a detailed 'list of times & places' for a reception in the Stadtschloss, Berlin.

Author: 
Charles Conway Thornton (1851-1902), successively Second Secretary at the British Embassy, Berlin, and Consul-General at Budapest [Lady Florence Head, wife of Sir Robert Garnett Head (1845-1907)]
Publication details: 
Berlin [on British Government embossed letterhead]. 19 January 1893.
£45.00

5pp., 12mo. The letter proper is three pages long, on a bifolium, and is accompanied by a two-page 'list of times & places' on a separate leaf. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. With 18 x 23 cm letterhead, on the cover of which Thornton has written 'To | Sir Robert Head. Bart. | III | Zimmer Strasse 97 | Hier.', with his signature 'C. Thornton' in the bottom left-hand corner.

[Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool.] Autograph Note in the third person to 'Mr Broser'

Author: 
Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool [Lord Liverpool] (1784-1851), Tory politician
Publication details: 
Fife House [London]. 13 October 1847.
£30.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly aged and worn paper. The note reads: 'Ld Liverpool encloses a draft value 57 .. 12. 2 to Mr Broster he begs Mr Browster will acknowledge the receipt of this by a letter addressed as above'.

Autograph Signature ('George Willes') of Admiral Sir George Ommanney Willes.

Author: 
Admiral Sir George Ommanney Willes [Admiral Sir George Willes] (1823-1901) [Royal Navy; Admiral]
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£23.00

Written on a 4 x 11 cm piece of paper, cut from letter. Laid down on a 6 x 14 cm piece of grey paper, annotated in a contemporary hand: 'Admiral Sir George Willes'. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Reads 'Yours v. truly | George Willes'.

[Arthur Henry Bullen, publisher and literary editor.] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'A. H. Bullen'), on the subject of Nell Gwynne's birthplace, the first to Charles Lavers Lavers-Smith, and the second to his son Hamilton Lavers-Smith.

Author: 
A. H. Bullen [Arthur Henry Bullen] (1857-1920), English publisher and literary editor [Charles Lavers Lavers-Smith and his son Hamilton Lavers-Smith; Nell Gwynne]
Publication details: 
Both items on letterhead of 'A. H. Bullen, | Publisher, | 47, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.' 21 April and 4 May 1903.
£80.00

The two items in fair condition, on aged and worn paper. ONE: To 'C. Lavers Smith, Esq'. 21 April 1903. 2pp., landscape 8vo. He asks 'whether prints are to be had of Nell Gwynne's reputed birthplace at Hereford'. He made enquiries about the house in Hereford on the previous Saturday. 'It was pulled down in 1861; but in 1858 two photographs of it were taken, and I found an old photographer who had negatives which he promised to lend to me for a small consideration.

[Printed booklet, with photographic illustrations.] The Mount Pleasant Artists' Rest Home. Rickmansworth. Hertfordshire. Founded 1929.

Author: 
[The Mount Pleasant Artists' Rest Home, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, founded in 1929 by the artist Francis William Reckitt (1860-1932), 'as a Convalescent Rest Home for [...] male artists'
Publication details: 
[The Mount Pleasant Artists' Rest Home, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.] Undated. [Circa 1929.]
£100.00

15pp., landscape 12mo. With four additional pages of photographic plates ('Exterior facing south', 'The lounge', 'The dining room', 'A bedroom'). Stitched into grey printed wraps. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. The booklet includes a list of trustees and other officers, a descriptive text, the 'Regulations relating to the home', 'Form of application' (with two pages of 'rules', including 'CASES NOT ADMITTED') and 'Medical Report'. The descriptive text begins: 'The Home has been built and generously endowed by Mr. F. W.

[Novello & Co., Limited, music publishers.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Novello & Co Ltd | W. C. H.') to Dr Carl Peters, informing him that he has money due to him from the sales of his uncle Carl Engel's 'Violin Family'.

Author: 
'W. C. H.', Novello & Co., Limited, music publishers, London [Dr Carl Peters (1856-1918), German African explorer, nephew of Carl Engel (1812-1882), musicologist]
Publication details: 
On Novello & Co. letterhead, 1 Berners Street, W. London. 30 September 1898.
£35.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'Dr. Carl Peters | 29 St James Street | W'. The letter reads: 'Dear Sir | We beg to inform you that we have a small amount due to you from the sales of your "Violin Family" by Carl Engel but, before forwarding same, we shall be glad to know whether the above is your correct address.'

[Thomson Hankey senior, merchant banker with extensive West Indian interests.] Autograph Letter Signed to his son Thomson Hankey junior, making him a gift of £4000 and share 'of the Ship Elizabeth Capt. Walker now on her Voyage to Grenada'.

Author: 
Thomson Hankey senior (1773-1855), City of London merchant banker with extensive West Indian interests [his son the banker, economist and Liberal politician Thomson Hankey junior (1805-1893)]
Publication details: 
Mincing Lane [City of London]. 19 June 1826.
£150.00

1p., 8vo. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf 'To Thomson Hankey Junr.' In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Thomson, | I give to you as a free Gift the Sum of Four Thousand Pounds & authorize you on 30th. of this Month to place that Sum to your Credit with our House by the Debit of my private Account. I also give you the one fourth Share of my two thirds Share of the Ship Elizabeth Capt.

[Mrs Isabella Hankey, widow of West Indian merchant banker John Peter Hankey.] Signed manuscript 'Bond of Indemnity | Mrs. Hankey to Executors and Trustees of John Peter Hankey Esqr. deceased', referring to 'Sugar Plantations' and 'Negroes Slaves'.

Author: 
Mrs Isabella Hankey, widow of John Peter Hankey (d.1807) of Grenada, West Indian merchant banker [Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co., London bankers; Sir William Alexander]
Publication details: 
[London, England.] 21 July 1814.
£120.00

3pp., folio. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Signed 'Isabella Hankey' and witnessed by 'John fforster Carey Street'.

[J. H. Peacock, proprietor of the Ship & Turtle Tavern, Leadenhall Street.] Autograph Letter Signed to the banker Thomson Hankey senior, announcing his retirement from business, and recommending the new owner, 'my late Cook Mr Geo Painter'.

Author: 
J. H. Peacock, proprietor of the Ship & Turtle Tavern, Leadenhall Street, 'opposite the East India House', City of London [George Painter; Thomson Hankey senior; Messrs Thomson Hankey, 7 Mincing Lane]
Publication details: 
'Ship & Turtle Tavern | Leadenhall St. | opposite the East India House'. May 1839.
£120.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'T Hankey Senr'. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. He thanks him for 'the many kind favors I have received & as the Turtle season has commenced & having retired from business & resigned it to my late Cook Mr. Geo Painter of this Tavern I should be obliged by your future favors to him who will be answerable for the Turtle.' He concludes: 'I stand Debtor to you'. The Tavern was situated at 129 Leadenhall Street. Painter would also become a purveyor of earthenware pottery from the same address.

[The 5th Duke of Newcastle, as Colonial Secretary.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Newcastle'), regarding the 'system of promotion in the Colonial Service', in reply to the recommendation by Liberal MP and banker Thomson Hankey that he employ 'Mr Price'.

Author: 
Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle under Lyme (1811-1864), Liberal politician [Thomson Hankey junior (1805-1893), banker and MP]
Publication details: 
Colonial Office [Whitehall, London]. 27 September 1853.
£135.00

3pp., 4to. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. Newcastle has already been informed of Price's wish to be placed in the Colonial Office by 'the Duke of Roxburghe and others, whose interest in his wefare, would have great weight with me, if I felt that I could consistently with the present claims upon me, hold out any hope of complying with Mr. Price's request'.

[Jamaican sugar plantations in the slavery period.] Detailed double-entry signed manuscript accounts of 'Sales of 20 Hogsheads Sugar received by Gibbs, Son & Bright, Pr. the St. Elizabeth Geo: Lewis from Jamaica for account of Thomas Foster Esqr.'

Author: 
Gibbs, Son & Bright, Bristol merchants [Thomas Foster; Daniel Stanton; Thomson Hankey senior (1773-1855), City of London merchant banker with extensive West Indian interests]
Publication details: 
[Gibbs, Son & Bright.] Bristol. 3 December 1822.
£120.00

On one side of a 47 x 20 cm piece of paper. Docketted on reverse. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. In part a form, printed in copperplate, with the details completed in manuscript, and signed on behalf of the firm 'Bristol 3rd December 1822 | Errors Excepted | Gibbs Son & Bright'. Included on the debit side are: Duty; Entry Fees, Wharfage, Town & Dock dues; 95 day's Interest; Freight; Warehouse Rent, Porterage, Weighing & Hauling; Insurance from Fire; Brokerage; Commission, leaving 'Nett Proceeds' of £257 18s 10d on £819 5s 0d.

[Bert Thomas, cartoonist.] Print of Thomas's celebrated ' "Arf a mo' Kaiser!' First World War cartoon of an English Tommy lighting his pipe, on the front of a brown-paper envelope addressed by Thomas to Suffolk artist William Henry Booth.

Author: 
Bert Thomas (1883-1966), Welsh cartoonist associated with 'Punch' [William Henry Booth (1861-1928), Suffolk artist]
Bert Thomas
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [1918.] Green halfpenny George V postage stamp, with postmark of 'S.W.' beneath the two uprights of a triangle (no base).
£120.00
Bert Thomas

The envelope is 27.5 x 12.5 cm, and the cartoon is printed lengthwise (around 15cm long including caption) on the front in brown ink, with facsimile signature. In good condition, lightly-aged and worn, with the flap of the apparently-empty envelope gummed back into place. The stamp is attached in its customary place, with the address in Thomas's autograph beneath it: 'Wm. Booth Esq | The Rosery | Cambridge Rd. | Felixstowe'. Thomas's original cartoon had been drawn in ten minutes for the Weekly Dispatch 'Smokes for Tommy' campaign.

[E. Cecil Mornington Roberts.] Holograph Poem (signed 'Cecil Roberts'), a sonnet titled 'Liberty Challenged' ('Not without cause just and unshakeable').

Author: 
E. Cecil Mornington Roberts [Cecil Edric Mornington Roberts] (1892-1976), writer and editor
Publication details: 
On his 'E. CECIL MORNINGTON ROBERTS' letterhead, 'c/o Clarke & Co. | 13 & 14 Fleet St. EC.'
£100.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on aged, creased and worn paper. The poem features under the title 'Liberty Imperilled' in Roberts's collection 'Charing Cross and Other Poems of the Period' (1919), and the context suggests that the poem was composed at the commencement of the First World War. The sonnet begins: 'Not without cause just and unshakeable | Will we surrender up the cherished prize | Of individual liberty, so well | and nobly held'.

Unpublished Holograph First World War Poem (signed 'H W Aubrey') by English army officer Captain Henry Wentworth Windsor Aubrey [H. W. Aubrey], titled 'To our offspring - America' ('You're blood of our blood, & bone of our bone').

Author: 
Captain Henry Wentworth Windsor Aubrey [H. W. Aubrey] (c.1859-1934), M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.
Publication details: 
No place. Dated 24 July 1918.
£120.00

Henry Wentworth Windsor Aubrey was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Dorset Regiment Militia on 21 April 1875, and resigned his commission three years later. He qualified as a Doctor in 1885 and practiced in Clifton, where he was a keen cricketer and golfer. During the First World War he served in the RAMC, reaching the rank of Temporary Captain (Home) on 1 December 1917. 2pp., 8vo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with a couple of minor water stains to one corner.

[Harold Tomlins, Master, the Apolline.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H. J. G. Tomlins') to the ship's owners Messrs. Hankeys, explaining why he has had to put into port at Queenstown, Ireland, while transporting troops to Bermuda. With copy letter.

Author: 
H. J. G. Tomlins, Master of the Apolline brig, the property of Messrs. Thomson Hankey & Co., London merchants and banker; Captain W. Mosse; Edward Walker [Admiral Sir Henry Ducie Chads (1788-1868)]
Publication details: 
Tomlins to Hankeys: 'Ship "Apolline" | Queenstown Ireland'. 13 December 1856. Copy letter from the 'Hired Freight Ship | Apolline'. 10 December 1856.
£130.00

On 29 November 1856 The Times had reported that 'The 26th company of the Royal Engineers, under the command of Captain G. E. L. Walker, R.E., will leave the head-quarters of that establishment at Brompton Barracks, Chatham, this morning for Gravesend, where they will embark on board the Appoline, [sic] for Bermuda.' Both items in good condition, on lighty aged and worn paper. Both docketed by the recipients. ONE: Tomlins to Hankeys, 13 December 1856. 3pp., 4to. Bifolium.

[Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury, as Lord Talbot.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Talbot') to the London bankers Messrs Hankey & Co., regarding payments due and 'the price of W. India produce'.

Author: 
Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury [Lord Talbot] (1803-1868) [Messrs. Thomson Hankey & Co., London bankers]
Publication details: 
'Kiplin [Hall] Catterick [Yorkshire]'. 17 November 1851.
£120.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Docketted 'Answered same date G H'. The letter begins: 'As the time is approaching when another instrument will be due to <?>, I should be much obliged to you if you could send me the amount of the balance due to you at the time the arrangement was made, & the different payments that have been made since'. The letter continues on the same subject. The postscript reads: 'Please mention what are the profits of the price of W. India produce'. From the Hankey & Co. banking archive.

[Thomas Coutts & Co., London bankers.] Manuscript Letter from the firm (signed 'Thomas Coutts & Co.') to John Hankey of the London banking family, expressing 'much surprize' at his firm's treatment of a bill from Lord St John.

Author: 
Thomas Coutts & Co., London bankers [John Hankey, member of the London banking family of Hankey & Co.; Lord St John]
Publication details: 
Strand [London]. 17 July 1790.
£180.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed on reverse of second leaf 'To | John Hankey Esqr'. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper.

[Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co., London bankers.] Signed Manuscript Document giving a barrister's opinion (Paterson?) on a disputed right of way between property owned by the firm in Grenville, Grenada, 'and a lot in the occupation of Mrs. V. Morrison'.

Author: 
[Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co., London bankers; Grenville, Grenada; Mrs. V. Morrison; Paterson]
Publication details: 
'Chambers | St. Georges [Grenada] | 9th. May 1906'.
£140.00

3pp., foolscap 8vo. 90 lines of text. Bifolium. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The signature, in a different hand from the rest of the document, is difficult to decipher: '<?> | Barrister at Law'. (The Paterson family were prominent on the island.) The document begins: 'The question submitted to me for an opinion is whether Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co. are entitled to a right of way for carts drawn by cattle &c along a passage lying between a lot of land in the Town of Grenville the property of the firm, and a lot in the occupation of Mrs. V. Morrison.

[Executive Committee of Jamaica.] Manuscript Letter Signed ('Wm: R[?]:') from Executive Committee Office to Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co., London bankers, regarding the payment of substantial sums towards the Bank of England Jamaica Guaranteed Loan.

Author: 
[Executive Committee of Jamaica; Messrs Thomson Hankey & Co.; Bank of England; Jamaica Guaranteed Loan]
Publication details: 
'Jamaica No 81'. Executive Committee Office. 26 January 1856.
£220.00

3pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. The letter begins: 'Gentlemen, | I am directed to inform you that a Bill of Exchange drawn by His Excellency the Governor and the Members of the Executive Committee, on the Lords of the Treasury, for the sum of £10.822 .. 9 ..

[Sugar plantations in Jamaica.] Two Manuscript Banker's Letters relating to the Duckenfield Hall, Meylersfield and Friendship Estates, made out for the London firm of Hankeys, and signed by partners Cyril Gurney, H. A. Trotter and L. M. Harvey.

Author: 
[Cyril Gurney (1868-1926); H. A. Trotter; L. M. Harvey; Duckenfield Hall Estate; Meylersfield Estate; Friendship Estate; Jamaica; Jamaican sugar plantations]
Publication details: 
Duckenfield Hall Estate letter: On [Hankey's] letterhead of 7 Mincing Lane, London, EC; 29 December 1915. Meylersfield and Friendship Estates letter: no place; dated 26 June 1917.
£220.00

The two items are in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Accompanying the two items is the envelope in which they were contained, docketted: 'Letters. | Duckinfield [sic] Hall Estate | { | Meylersfield Estate & Friendship Estate Trust'. Both items are signed 'Cyril Gurney | H. A. Trotter | L. M. Harvey'. ONE (Duckenfield Hall Estate letter): 1p., 4to.

[William George Shrubsole, Victorian artist.] Autograph Manuscript of lecture titled 'The Ideal in Art', 'delivered at Bangor, N. Wales in Dec. 1886, in connection with the Menai Society of Science and Literature'. With signed drawing of W. E. Bacon.

Author: 
William George Shrubsole [W. G. Shrubsole] (1856-1889), British artist [The Menai Society of Science and Literature, Wales]
Publication details: 
'Bangor [Wales] Decr. 1886.'
£280.00

The lecture, which is unpublished, is an interesting personal statement by a neglected Victorian painter who died tragically young. (A rather impressive example of his work, in Turneresque style, titled 'The Heart of the Hills', is in the Maidstone Museum.) The lecture is 30pp., 8vo, in a ruled notebook with embossed black wraps. In good condition, on aged paper with some wear and discoloration. Ownership inscription of 'W. G. Shrubsole | Bangor Decr. 1886' inside the front wrap. The first page is headed 'The Ideal in Art. | by W. G. Shrubsole Dec.

[Sir Edwin Arnold.] Holograph Poem, signed 'Edwin Arnold', titled 'The Heavenly Secret', exhibiting a few differences from the printed version, presented to Mrs A. G. Henriques.

Author: 
Sir Edwin Arnold (1892-1904), poet and journalist, best-known for his 'Light of Asia' (1879) [Mrs A. G. Henriques]
Publication details: 
Place not stated. 6 March 1887.
£75.00

1p., 8vo. Laid down on a piece of card. Aged and discoloured, with chipping to extremities and some loss of text. The poem is sixteen lines long, arranged in two eight-line stanzas. The first stanza reads: '"Sometimes" - Althaea sighed - "in hours of sadness, | A sudden pleasure shines upon the soul; | The heart beats quick to half-heard notes of gladness, | And from the dark mind all its clouds unroll: | How comes this, Poet! You, who know things hidden, | Whence sounds that undersong of soft Content? | What brings such peace, unlooked-for & unbidden! | Answer me!

[Sir William Grey-Wilson, colonial governor.] Autograph Letter Signed ('W. Grey Wilson'), writing to an unnamed female correspondent on his return to England from the Bahamas.

Author: 
Sir William Grey-Wilson (1852-1926), KCMG, Governor of St Helena, 1887-1897; of the Falkland Islands, 1897-1904; and of the Bahamas, 1904-1912
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Midland Grand Hotel, London. 12 June 1912.
£35.00

1p., 8vo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Madam | As I only landed in England yesterday your two letters of May 31st: and June 9th. have only just reached me.' He thanks her for forwarding photographs, which he is returning, and informs her 'that the Isle of Wight is at present not considered a suitable climate for my wife'.

[Sir Charles Hallé, conductor and pianist.] Two Autograph Notes in the third person to Lady Blanche Drummond

Author: 
Sir Charles Hallé [formerly Carl Halle] (1819-1895), conductor and pianist
Publication details: 
Both on letterheads of 11 Mansfield Street, W [London]. 12 and 14 July [no year].
£56.00

Both items 1p., 16mo, and both in good codition, on lightly-aged paper. The first note reads: 'Mr. Charles Hallé presents his respectful compliments to Lady Blanche Drummond and would feel greatly obliged if she would kindly take his lesson to-morrow at 4 o'clock instead of half past three.' The second confirms the time for a second lesson.

[Richard Almack, Suffolk solicitor and antiquary.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rd Almack') to 'Dear Edwd:' [Edward Shepherd] discussing in detail the points in a contested Victorian will, and the 'contumely of the disappointed'.

Author: 
Richard Almack (1799-1875) of Long Melford, Suffolk, solicitor and antiquary
Publication details: 
Melford [Long Melford, Suffolk]. 14 October 1856.
£150.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. A well-written and oddly-entertaining letter, and an evocative piece of Victorian social history. From the context it is clear that the recipient and his wife have been accused of overstepping the terms of a will, and on this matter Almack begins: 'Furniture is very comprehensive, and would I think include Work boxes, Chests, & plated Goods. It has even been decided that plate would so pass! - Also plated would. | Under "bed linen," Blankets & Quilts pass. Under "Household Linen", Coloured Table Cloths & Doyleys would pass.

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