MANUSCRIPT

[Louis-Arsène Delaunay, French actor with the Comédie Française.] Autograph Letter Signed, in French, to Tom Taylor, playwright and editor of Punch, in enveloped addressed by him to 'Sir Tom Taylor'.

Author: 
Louis-Arsène Delaunay (1826-1903), French actor who over four decades created almost two hundred parts with the Comédie Française [Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright and editor of Punch]
Publication details: 
'London July 4 1879 / Upper Montagu st. W'.
£50.00

See his entry in Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Taylor's in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded once. In worn envelope with Penny Red stamp and postmark, and slight loss around flap. The envelope was no doubt retained because it was addressed by Delaunay to 'Sir Tom Taylor / Lavender Sweet [sic] / Wandsworth'. A neatly laid written and laid out communication, addressed to ‘Cher Monsieur Taylor’ and signed ‘Yours truly / L Delaunay / de la Comedie française’.

[Lord Simon [John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon], Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Chancellor.] Autograph Letter Signed to Joyce, daughter of Sir Courtenay Ilbert, regarding arrangements for her wedding.

Author: 
Lord Simon [John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon] (1873-1954), Liberal Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor [Sir Courtenay Ilbert, Clerk of the Commons]
Publication details: 
4 June 1912. On letterhead of 'Headquarters: / The London Scottish, / 59, Buckingham Gate, / London, S.W.' [During the British enquiry into the Titanic sinking, at this venue.]
£35.00

A tenuous Titanic item: at the time of writing Simon, as solicitor-general, was representing the Board of Trade at the British enquiry into the sinking, at the address on the letterhead. See his entry and Ilbert's in the Oxford DNB. Joyce Violet Ilbert (1890-1957) was the youngest of Sir Courtenay's five daughters. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Written in pencil. Signed ‘John Ilbert’.

[Lord St Helens [Alleyne Fitzherbert, Baron St Helens], diplomat, Ambassador to Russia and Chief Secretary for Ireland.] Autograph Letter Signed to Charles R. Broughton, authorizing a charge on refunded Land Tax as retired Foreign Ministers.agent.

Author: 
Lord St Helens [Alleyne Fitzherbert, Baron St Helens (1753-1839], diplomat, Ambassador to Russia, Chief Secretary for Ireland, for whom Mount St Helens is named [Charles R. Broughton]
Publication details: 
‘Grafton Street [London] / 2 May 1810’.
Upon request

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 8vo. Sixteen lines of closely-written text. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with short closed tears along the five creases from the folding of the item into a packet. Docketed on the reverse of the leaf: ‘May 2d 1810 / Lord St Helens / Authy to charge Agency at the rate of 1 P Ct on Monies recovered on accot of Land Tax refunded to Foreign Ministers &cr.’ Signed St Helens.

[Lord Brassey [Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey], Liberal party politician and Governor of Victoria.] Autograph Letter Signed quoting three ‘maxims’ that he uses.

Author: 
Lord Brassey [Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey] (1836-1918), Liberal party politician, Governor of Victoria in Australia and yachtsman
Publication details: 
18 December 1911. On two letterheads of Sand Hill, Winslow, Bucks.
£45.00

See his entry, and that of his father the civil engineer, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On separate letterheads. The recipient is not named and there is no salutation (though the letter is complete). Signed ‘Brassey’. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Begins: ‘I have two maxims for [hourly?] use. / I do the little I can do and leave the rest to thee / What thou livest live well. The rest commit to Heaven / Nor should the last message of the greatest sailor since the world began ever be forgotten / England expects that every man this day will do his duty’.

[Lord Canning [Charles John Canning, Earl Canning], Governor-General and first Viceroy of India.] Autograph Letter Signed to Lord Fitzgerald, as Under-Secretary to Lord Aberdeen at the Foreign Office, concerning Baron Brunow.

Author: 
Lord Canning [Charles John Canning, Earl Canning (1812-1862)], Governor-General and first Viceroy of India [Lord Fitzgerald [William Vesey Fitzgerald (1783-1843)], Anglo-Irish politician]
Publication details: 
'F. O. [Foreign Office, Whitehall] Nov 11. 41 [1841]'.
£120.00

Showing signs of the early stirrings of the Great Game. See Canning's entry, and that of Fitzgerald, in the Oxford DNB. At the time of the letter Canning was serving in his first governmental appointment, as Under-Secretary to Lord Aberdeen in the Foreign Office, in Peel’s administration, while Fitzgerald was President of the Board of Control. The ‘Baron Brunow’ referred to in the letter is Russian Ambassador in London, Philipp Graf von Brunnow (1797-1895). 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of a bifolium. Docketed on second leaf, ‘Lord Canning / respecting Baron Brunow Novr 11/41’.

[Lady Salisbury [Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury, wife of Conservative prime minister Lord Salisbury.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Miss Faithfull'

Author: 
Lady Salisbury [Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury, née Alderson (1827-1899)] wife of Conservative prime minister Lord Salisbury [Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury]
Publication details: 
25 November [no year, but between 1887 and 1892]. On letterhead of Hewell Grange, Bromsgrove.
£45.00

Lady Salisbury is referred to in her husband’s entry in the Oxford DNB as ‘a buoyant and forceful woman who could share his intellectual interests and encourage and facilitate his career’. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Written in a good firm hand. Addressed to ‘Dear Miss Faithfull’ and signed ‘G Salisbury’.

[Lady Catharine Long, novelist and religious writer.] Latter part of Autograph Letter Signed [to Mr. Harris], discussing her view of the state of the soul after death, and Mrs Jervoise’s ‘troubled married life’.

Author: 
Lady Catharine Long (1797-1867), novelist and religious writer, daughter of Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford
Publication details: 
No date or plafe.
£90.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Twenty-three lines of text. In fair condition, lightly aged, but with slight creasing at head of leaf. Folded twice. Financial calculations written lengthwise underneath signature, with light smudging.

[Lady Eastlake [Elizabeth, Lady Eastlake], author, wife of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, President of the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to the widow of the travel writer Richard Ford, offering a gift of 'early strawberries & grapes'.

Author: 
Lady Eastlake [Elizabeth, Lady Eastlake, née Rigby] (1809-1893), author, wife of painter Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, President of Royal Academy and first Director of the National Gallery [Richard Ford]
Publication details: 
'7 Fitzroy Sqr [London] / May 4. 1864.'
£45.00

A jaunty missive. Lady Eastlake and her husband have separate entries in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 16mo. Eighteen lines. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Addressed to 'Dear Mrs Ford' and signed 'Eliz Eastlake'. A 'kind friend in the country' is insisting on sending her 'early strawberries & grapes' and she asks Mrs Ford not to 'commit the extravagance of orderg any yourself, but trust to me to have the offering transferred to 123 Park Street'. She will be sending for the fruit at Euston Station around 2 o'clock on the Saturday, '& they shall be shortly after that with you'.

[Jacob Schwartz, American-born proprietor of the Ulysses Bookshop in London, dealer in James Joyce and the Modernists.] Autograph Letter Signed

Author: 
Jacob Schwartz [Jake Schwartz] (b. 1899, fl. 1960), New York dentist who turned to bookselling and founded the Ulysses bookshop in London, dealing largely in James Joyce and the Modernists
Publication details: 
23 October [no year]. On letterhead of the Ulysses Bookshop, 20 Bury Street, London WC1.
£80.00

Several James Joyce scholars have turned their attention to Schwartz, an early dealer in his books and manuscripts, as well as publisher of a couple of pirated editions. See William S. Brockman, 'Jacob Schwartz - The Fly in the Honey' in Joyce Studies Annual, Summer 1998. 1p, 4to. On the Ulysses Bookshop letterhead, printed on green paper. Addressed to 'Dear Sir:' and with valediction 'Au Revoir / Dr J Schwartz / prop / Ulysses Books'.

[John Adams-Acton, English sculptor.] Letter in a Secretarial Hand, Signed by him, inviting the editor of Punch Tom Taylor to visit his studio, with a list of six works to be seen there, including a bust of the prime minister Gladstone.

Author: 
John Adams-Acton (1830-1910), English sculptor [Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright and editor of Punch]
Publication details: 
‘Margutta House. / 103. Marylebone Road / March 28th. 1873.’
£56.00

See his entry, and that of Taylor, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Only the sculptors heavily inked signature ‘John Adams-Acton’ is in his hand, the rest more lightly written by an amanuensis. Addressed ‘To, Tom Taylor Esqr.’ Begins: ‘I address you as a representative of the press to solicit you to pay my studio a visit.’ He lists the names of five ‘public and distinguished men’ whose busts he can show, beginning with ‘The Right Honble W. E. Gladstone - Premier’ and including ‘Isaac Holden Esqr.

[Joseph Peter Thorp, journalist and typographer.] Two Autograph Letters Signed: one with personal news to Sir Evelyn Wrench (and with note by Wrench), the other to ‘Miss Wrench’, filled with information about printing.

Author: 
Joseph Peter Thorp (1873-1962), journalist and typographer [Sir Evelyn Wrench [Sir John Evelyn Leslie Wrench] (1882-1966), imperialist and biographer]
Publication details: 
ONE (to Sir Evelyn Wrench): 14 May 1954; on letterhead of The White Cottage, Portmeirion, Penrhyndeudraeth, N. Wales. TWO (to 'Miss Wrench'): Undated, but written shortly after One; from the White Cottage, Penrhyndeudraeth, N. Wales.
£120.00

Two good substantial letters, filled with personal and professional content. See the entries for Thorp and Wrench in the Oxford DNB. Both letters in brown ink in Thorps calligraphic hand. ONE (to Sir Evelyn Wrench): 2pp, 8vo. On cream paper with brown italic letterhead. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Signed ‘Peter’. Begins: ‘My dear Evelyn / We are going to make a great change in our way of life. For a long time I have felt that both physically & financially this house is beyond our strength.

[Earl Grey [Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey], Liberal politician.] Autograph Letter Signed to Tom Taylor, editor of Punch, praising a performance of his play ‘The Ticket-of-Leave Man’.

Author: 
Earl Grey [Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey], Secretary of State for War in two Liberal administrations [Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright and editor of Punch]
Publication details: 
2 June [no year, but 1863, and on paper watermarked with that date]; on letterhead of 13 Carlton House Terrace.
£65.00

See the entry for Grey and Taylor in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Begins: ‘Dear Mr Taylor - / I am just come home from seeing “the ticket of leave man,” & before I go to bed I must thank you for an evening of very great enjoyment.’ It pleased him ‘to see so good a play, not taken from the French, but really English, [the play was in fact adapted from the French] & teaching the public what is true instead of encouraging a popular delusion of the day’.

[Henry Livings, working-class Lancastrian playwright, screenwriter and actor.] Typed Letter Signed to Paul Furness, discussing the pubs he has frequented.

Author: 
Henry Livings (1929-1998), working-class Lancastrian playwright, screenwriter and actor in the first 'Carry On' film and the 'Coronation Street' television series
Publication details: 
Undated [1982 or 1983]. 49 Grains Road, Delph, ‘via Oldham’ [Lancashire].
£80.00

Livings’s entry in Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that his farces ‘convey serious truths’ with ‘both a dazzling comic flair and an unexpected force and profundity that is heightened by his use of colloquial language’. 1p, foolscap 8vo. Twenty-two lines of text. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with four light ink underlinings. Signed ‘Yours, / Henry Livings’. One of a number of letters to Furness by writers, responding to his enquiry about socialist authors and British pubs.

[‘Now do you understand why authors leave the country?’: Beverley Nichols, novelist and poet.] Typed Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Bryon’, regarding an interview, and conclusion of Typed Letter Signed joking about heavy correspondence.

Author: 
Beverley Nichols (1898-1983), novelist and poet, author of more than sixty books, writer on gardens and gardening
Publication details: 
ONE (TLS to 'Mr. Bryon'): 6 June 1934; on letterhead of Six New Street, Westminster, S.W.1. TWO (conclusion of TLS): without date or place.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The first letter, and probably the second, were written around the time when his ‘Down the Garden Path’ (1932) and its two sequels had made Nichols wildly popular, eliciting several parodies. ONE (TLS to ‘Mr. Bryon’): 1p, 12mo. Discoloration along top part of outer edge, otherwise in good condition. Folded once. Good clear signature ‘Beverley Nichols’. He thanks him for sending the interview. ‘I think it is admirably written, and expresses my views very clearly.’ TWO (conclusion of TLS): 1p, 12mo. Twenty-nine lines of text. In good condition, lightly aged.

[' the beginning of confusion & will end in chaos': Cardinal Manning [Henry Edward Manning], Roman Catholic prelate, second Archbishop of Westminster.] Conclusion of Autograph Letter Signed ('Henry. E C. Archbp'), with reference to women in politics

Author: 
Cardinal Manning [Henry Edward Manning] (1808-1892), Roman Catholic prelate; second Archbishop of Westminster, 1865-1892
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£60.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Twenty-six lines of text, in a close and disciplined hand. Signed 'Henry. E C. Archbp'. In fair condition, lightly aged, with small dap of light red ink at head of last page. Folded once. Begins: 'the Guardians of the Poor. Not a Catholic Child would they give up 24 years ago. Now all the 33 Boards give us our Children, & give us their maintenance out of the Rates. They Visit our Schools and are perfectly content: & we are on the fairest & friendliest terms.

[Sir John Betjeman, poet laureate.] Typed Letter Signed from Elizabeth Moore (‘Dorinda’), ‘Secretary to Sir John’, telling Paul Furness that he cannot help in his 'researches into pubs with connections with the Socialist movement’ due to ill health.

Author: 
[Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984), poet laureate] Elizabeth Moore (‘Dorinda’), ‘Secretary to Sir John’
Publication details: 
15 February 1982. 29 Radnor Walk, London, SW3.
£25.00

Betjeman’s daughter Candida Lycett Green, in her edition of her father’s later letters, refers to Moore as the his ‘gentle secretary’, ‘whom he always called “Dorinda,” and who lived on the other side of the street’. She also states that after his stroke in 1981, the poet could no longer sign his name, and dictated letters to Moore. 1p, foolscap 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded once for postage. On his letterhead (‘Sir John Betjeman’ at top left, and address at top right) printed in brown ink on cream paper. Addressed to ‘Mr. Furness’.

[Admiral Sir Richard Fortescue Phillimore, Royal Navy officer, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.] Autograph Signature (‘Richard F. Phillimore’) on a fly leaf removed from a book.

Author: 
Admiral Sir Richard Fortescue Phillimore (1864-1940), Royal Navy officer who served with distinction in the First World War, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
Publication details: 
1920. No place.
£25.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 8vo. Large bold signature - ‘Richard F. Phillimore / 1920.’, a third of the way down the page on what is clearly the fly leaf of a book. The rest of the leaf is blank. The side of the leaf with the signature is somewhat discoloured, the reverse not so much. In good condition otherwise.

[Sir Wentworth Dilke [Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1st Baronet], Leading Commissioner of the Great Exhibition.]

Author: 
Sir Wentworth Dilke [Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1st Baronet] (1810-1869), Leading Commissioner of the Great Exhibition of 1851,
Publication details: 
'76 Sloane Street [London] / 3. October 1856.'
£45.00

See his entry, with those of his father and son (all three named Charles Wentworth Dilke) in the Oxford DNB. With regard to the present item the ODNB states: 'His deep involvement in the project [i.e. the 1851 Great Exhibition] is demonstrated by his massive bequest of exhibition material now held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.' 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with a crease to one corner. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to 'Henry Maudsley Esq' and signed 'C Wentworth Dilke'.

[Sir Theodore Martin, Scottish poet and author.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sylvain Van de Weyer, Belgian Ambassador, regarding a 'charming appeal' of ' M. Derôme to the Times', and his latest paper in the Quarterly Review.

Author: 
Sir Theodore Martin (1816-1909), Scottish poet and author, husband of actress Helena Faucit [Sylvain Van de Weyer (1802-1874), Prime Minister of Belgium, Belgian Minister at the Court of St. James’s
Publication details: 
'31 Onslow Square [London] / 31st Decemr 1871'. With letterhead of his family crest.
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Fifty-eight lines of text. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Begins: Dear M. Van de Weyer / Altho' I had been prudent enough to preserve the appeal of M. Derôme to the Times in its original form, not the less welcome was the glorified text which I found on my table yesterday on our return from a short visit to Brighton. That charming appeal acted as a mental Conserve alimentaire to me, when it first appeared, and it shall be placed with certain other valued opuscules, where I can offen turn it to the like account.

[Sir Landon Ronald, conductor and composer, Principal of the Guildhall School of Music, London.] Typed Letter Signed to W. J. Phillips ('My dear old Phil '), lamenting his absence on a 'great night, and one I shall never forget'.

Author: 
Sir Landon Ronald (1872-1938), conductor and composer, Principal of the Guildhall School of Music, London
Publication details: 
12 November 1935. On letterhead of the Guildhall School of Music, John Carpenter Street, Victoria Embankment, EC4 [London].
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with one short closed tear to an edge. Folded twice for postage. The salutation (‘My dear old “Phil,” ’) and the signature ‘Landon Ronald’ are in autograph, the rest typed. The recipient is ‘Dr. W. J. Phillips, / “Kelvinside,” / Malcolm Road, / Wimbledon, S.W.’ He sends a ‘thousand thanks’ for Phillips’s ‘delightful telegram’. ‘It was indeed good of you to think of us all down here. It was a great night, and one I shall never forget.

[Sir Theodore Martin, Scottish poet and author.] Autograph Letter Signed to Shirley Brooks, future editor of Punch, discussing his autograph and that of his wife the actress Helena Faucit, and portait photographs by Disderi and others.

Author: 
Sir Theodore Martin (1816-1909), Scottish poet and author, husband of actress Helena Faucit [Shirley Brooks [Charles William Shirley Brooks], editor of Punch; Disdéri, Paris photographer]
Publication details: 
'31 Onslow Square [London] / 21 February 1864', embossed with his family crest.
£45.00

See the two men's entries, with that of Helena Faucit, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Addressed to 'Shirley Brooks Esq' and signed 'Theodore Martin'. Brooks has evidently asked for autographs and photographs of Martin and his wife, the celebrated actres Helena Faucit (1817-1898). The letter begins: 'My dear Brooks / Here are the autographs you wish. There is not in all The Lady of Lyons one line to which any reasonable being could wish to attach his name. It is only the situations which are good for anything.

[Sir John Taylor Coleridge, judge and editor of the Quarterly Review.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir John Wither Awdry, asking for clarification. On reverse of part of letter from the Lord Chancellor Lord Cranworth.

Author: 
Sir John Taylor Coleridge (1790-1876), judge and editor of the Quarterly Review [Robert Monsey Rolfe, Lord Cranworth (1790-1868), twice Lord Chancellor; Sir John Wither Awdry (1795-1878), judge]
Publication details: 
'April. 19. 1855 / P[rivy]. C[ouncil].'
£56.00

Coleridge was the nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. See his entry, and that of Cranworth, in the Oxford DNB. The letter relates to Palmerston’s first ministry. 1p, 16mo (cut down to a 12 x 10 cm piece of wove paper). In fair condition, lightly aged and discoloured, with traces of glue from mount adhering to one edge of blank reverse. Signing himself ‘J. T C’, Coleridge writes: ‘My dear Awdry / I have been with the Chancellor in consequence of the above - & promised to send him a minute in writing - where we have had trouble. Can you help me with your recollection. / In haste.

[Richard Westmacott, sculptor, Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to the gardener Edward William Cooke, insisting on paying for flowers, and reporting that his 'poor mangy-looking wall is now pretty well covered'.

Author: 
Richard Westmacott (1799-1872), sculptor and Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy, son of Sir Richard Westmacott (1799-1872) [Edward William Cooke (1811-1880), marine artist and gardener]
Publication details: 
'W. / 1 K[ensington]. G[ate]. [Hyde Park, London] / Thursday'. No date.
£45.00

See his entry, and those of his father and Cooke, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 16mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with dab or red wax to one corner, and part of another corner torn away, presumably in breaking open the seal. Folded diagonally for postage. Addressed to 'My dear Mr Cooke' (the recipient's identity is beyond doubt) and signed 'Richd Westmacott'.

[Sir Francis Chantrey [Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey], sculptor.] Autograph Letter Signed to Edward Hawkins, recommending the artist William Beetham for permission to draw at the British Museum.

Author: 
Sir Francis Chantrey [Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey] (1781-1841), sculptor [Edward Hawkins (1780-1867), Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum; William Beetham (1809-1888), artist]
Publication details: 
‘Belgrave Place [London] / 15th. June 1830’.
£56.00

See his entry, and Hawkins’s, in the Oxford DNB. The subject of the letter, William Beetham, was an early emigrant to New Zealand, where he was one of the colony’s first European artists. 1p, 12mo. With mourning border. In fair condition, aged and worn, with a tiny piece of loss to one corner. Traces of paper mount adhering to blank reverse. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘Edwd. Hawkins Esqr.’ and signed ‘F Chantrey’. Begins: ‘My Dear Sir / The bearer Wm.

[Lord Sligo [Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquis of Sligo], Governor of Jamaica.] Autograph Letter Signed with regard to payment for a theatre box 'for the remainder of the season'.

Author: 
Lord Sligo [Howe Peter Browne (1788-1845), 2nd Marquis of Sligo, previously Viscount Westport and Earl of Altamont], Anglo-Irish peer, Governor of Jamaica, abolitionist
Publication details: 
'Mansfield St [London] June 6th [1824?]'
£45.00

Sligo was appointed Governor of Jamaica in 1834. His efforts on behalf of the recently-emancipated slaves (including the financing of two schools) caused him to become unpopular with the plantation owners, and he was effectively ousted in 1836. 2pp, 12mo. Twenty-one lines of text. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Small square of paper with engraving of the family crest laid down at the foot of the second page. Addressed to ‘My Dear Sir’ and signed ‘Sligo’. The Marquis’s handwriting is somewhat opaque.

[Max Müller, Sanskrit scholar, Oxford's first Professor of Comparative Philology.] Autograph Signature and Note to printed letter of thanks (addressed in autograph to 'Mr. Conway') for congratulations on his appointment to the Privy Council.

Author: 
Max Müller [Friedrich Max Müller; Muller] (1823-1900), Sanskrit scholar and philologist in England, born in Germany, Oxford's first Professor of Comparative Philology
Publication details: 
Printed date and place: ‘7 NORHAM GARDENS, / OXFORD, / May, 1896.’
£45.00

See his long and appreciative entry in the Oxford DNB, concluding with the praise of his ‘pioneering achievements, especially in the fields of Vedic studies and comparative philology'. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lighty aged. Folded for postage. In autograph are the salutation (‘Dear Mr. Conway’) and valediction and postscript (‘Yours very truly / F. Max Müller / (in bed with a cold)’. The printed body of the letter reads: ‘Being quite unable to answer the numerous letters addressed to me, I had to choose this way of thanking my friends for their kind congratulations.

[Richard Westmacott, sculptor, Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to the wife of ‘Mr B.’, congratulating the couple on their wedding anniversary, and looking forward to his own marriage.

Author: 
Richard Westmacott (1799-1872), sculptor and Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy, son of Sir Richard Westmacott (1799-1872)
Publication details: 
‘Wednesday / Aug. 8. 1838’. No place.
£45.00

See his entry, and that of his father, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with neatly-trimmed remnants of a windowpane mount adhering to the edges of the leaf. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘My dear Madam’ and signed ‘R. W:’, followed by odd flourish.

[Laurence Olivier, distinguished English actor, star of stage and screen.] Autograph Signature on publicity photograph.

Author: 
Laurence Olivier [Laurence Kerr Olivier, Lord Olivier] (1907-1989), distinguished English actor, star of stage and screen, one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century
Olivier
Publication details: 
No date or place (1930s). Stamp on reverse of The Photo Repro Co., Photo House, 10 St Martin’s Court, London WC2.
£35.00
Olivier

Olivier’s luminous achievements are well described in his entry in the Oxford DNB. An 8 x 11 cm photographic image, printed in black and white on an 8.5t x 13.5 cm card, with the actor's autograph signature mostly on the blank area beneath the image: ‘L Olivier’. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. An attractive image of the head of the young thespian, staring moodily to his right, hair slicked back, with part of white shirt and smart dark jacket just visible. Not present among the 114 portraits of Olivier in the National Portrait Gallery inventory.

[Lord Moulton [John Fletcher Moulton], mathematician, Liberal politician and Cambridge Apostle.] Autograph Letter Signed, thanking ‘Mrs Earle’ for one of the letters which have 'given me most pleasure in my life’.

Author: 
Lord Moulton [John Fletcher Moulton, Baron Moulton (1844-1921)], mathematician, judge, Liberal politician and Cambridge Apostle
Publication details: 
24 May 1894. Deleted and thus indecipherable ‘S.W.’ London address.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Signed ‘J Fletcher Moulton’. Begins: ‘Dear Mrs Earle / Just at the worst moment of the fight your inspiring letter came to cheer me.’ He hopes he will be deserving of the ‘kind things’ she writes: ‘I could truthfully say things at least as kind in return but I fear my epistolary style does not lend itself thereto so I shall trust that you will take these as said.’ He ends by saying that he will retain the letter ‘as one of those which has [sic] given me most pleasure in my life’.

[Isabel Bigley, American actress who originated the starring role of Jeanie in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Me and Juliet’, and the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser’s ‘Guys and Dolls’.] Signed publicity photograph in 'Oklahoma' costume.

Author: 
Isabel Bigley (1926-2006) American actress who originated the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls, and the starring role of Jeanie in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Me and Juliet’
Publication details: 
No date, but apparently for the 1947 London production of Oklahoma. Stamp on reverse of Richardby Photo Centre Ltd, 2 Brick Street, Park Lane, London W1.
£35.00

See her 18 October 2006 obituary in Variety, which states that 'Bigley had been playing Laurey in the London production of “Oklahoma!” when she was offered the role of Sarah Brown, the “mission doll” who entrances gambler Sky Masterson in the show based on Damon Runyon’s characters.' She won a Tony Award for her performance. A 10.5 x 13.5 black and white photographic image, printed on an 11.5 x 16.5 cm piece of matt card. In good condition, lightly aged. A head and torso shot of a seated Bigley dressed as Laurey, smailing over her left shoulder against a plain and shadowy background.

Syndicate content