ONE

[Agricultural Restoration of Belgium and North-Eastern France] Printed scheme (by Sir Rider Haggard?) of an appeal to British farmers and landowners for crops and breeding stock, 'to be offered and sent to French agriculturalists ravaged by invasion'

Author: 
Edward T. Brown, Secretary, Agricultural Restoration of Belgium and North-Eastern France [Sir Henry Rider Haggard; the Great War]
Publication details: 
Agricultural Restoration of Belgium and North-Eastern France, 39, Queen Anne's Chambers, Westminster, London, SW. Main document undated (late 1914 or early 1915), with appended letters dated 25 November and 1 December 1914.
£180.00

4pp., 4to. On four leaves attached at one corner by a brass stud. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The proposal of the 'scheme' covers the first two pages, with the first page headed with the associations name and address, with a list of the eleven members of the 'Central Committee', headed by the Marquis of Lincolnshire, and including 'Sir RIDER HAGGARD' (who must surely have had a hand in the document's composition), and the secretary E. T. Brown.

[Duplicated First World War school magazine.] Our Own. The Magazine of Sidmouth St Boys' Demonstration School. Boys' Dept. HULL. [The first fourteen issues, including a 'Shakespere Tercentenary Number'.

Author: 
[Sidmouth Street Boys' Demonstration School, Hull, Yorkshire.] [Shakespeare Tercentenary, 1916; Sidmouth Street Football Club; Dudley Murton Freeling (b.1899), Royal Flying Corps]
Publication details: 
[Sidmouth Street Boys' Demonstration School, Hull.] Issues 1 to 14. Dating from between 1913 and April 1919.
£250.00

Totalling 280pp., 8vo (each issue 20pp), with aditional grey card printed covers to issues 13 and 14. The first twelve issues are bound up, without covers, in a black leather half-binding with black cloth boards. As the covers are lacking it is only possible to date these issues from the gilt title on the spine: 'OUR OWN | 1913-6'. Ownership inscription on front free endpaper: 'Cecil Thom | 22 Nov. 1916.' (Henry E. Thom appears to have been a music teacher at the school.) Modern bookplate of John Gadd on front pastedown. Issues 13 (March 1917) and 14 (April 1919) are loosely inserted.

[First World War postcard poem by the 'Bath Railway Poet', Henry Chappell.] The Day. ['You boasted the Day, and you toasted the Day, | And now the Day has come.']

Author: 
Henry Chappell (1874-1937), the 'Bath Railway Poet' [Daily Express, London; First World War poetry]
Publication details: 
London: "Daily Express". Undated [1914]. 'Reprinted from the London "Daily Express" (Copyright).'
£160.00

Chappell gained a degree of fame with the publication of this poem in the Daily Express of 22 August 1914. The poem is addressed to the German people, and concerns the supposed toast among German army officers in the lead-up to the First World War, 'Der Tag' (i.e. 'the day' on which the war with England would commence). The poem is printed in portrait alignment on one side of a 14 x 8.5 cm postcard, within red and blue ink borders, giving a 'red white and blue' effect. Beneath the title in square brackets is the following: 'The author of this magnificent poem is Mr.

[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.

[Printed prospectus with 'Form of Application' completed in manuscript.] Prospectus of Commonwealth of Australia 4 1/2 Per Cent. 3 Years' War Savings Certificates.

Author: 
Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Commonwealth of Australia 4 1/2 Per Cent. 3 Years' War Savings Certificate; Lieut. J. Moss, Selborne Chambers, Howard Street, Perth
Publication details: 
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 24th March, 1917.
£56.00

2pp., 4to. On worn and aged paper, unobtrusively repaired with archival tape. The prospectus is on one side of the leaf, headed in capitals 'Money obtained by the sale of war savings certificates will be used by the Commonwealth for war purposes only.' The reverse carries the 'Form of Application for Commonwealth of Australia 4 1/2 Per Cent. 3 Years' War Savings Certificate.' The form has been completed and signed by Lieutenant J. Moss, at Selborne Chambers, Howard Street, Perth, with an application for £875.

Anonymous manuscript First World War narrative poem titled 'The Message of the King', concerning a blinded soldier who asks a doctor to kill him.

Author: 
[First World War dramatic monologue; Royal Army Medical Corps, Delhi Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire]
Publication details: 
[RAMC Delhi Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire.] Circa 1918.
£80.00

Four pages, 4to. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged ruled paper, with watermark 'D. K & Co. | LONDON'. Sixty-four lines, arranged in eight eight-line stanzas. Apparently unpublished. Evocative of the sensibilities of a more naive age: sincerely meant, but coming across somewhat in the style of a Stanley Holloway monologue.

[Two 'Répertoire Lecombe' French First World War lyrics, printed on one handbill.] 'Verdun on ne passe pas! Marche populaire.' and 'Ce sont les Yeux'.

Author: 
[Jules Cazol; Eugène Joullot; René Mercier; Lecombe; the Battle of Verdun, 1916]
Publication details: 
'Imp. F. LAMBERT, Marché-au-Charbon, 12, Brux' [Brussels, Belgium; circa 1917.
£120.00

2pp., 4to. On a single leaf, both sides of which are headed 'Répertoire Lecombe'. Printer's slug at foot of 'Verdun on ne passe pas!' Both lyrics printed in two columns (no score to either). In good condition, on aged and worn high-acidity paper. 'Ce sont les Yeux' begins: 'Chacun dans la vie cherche son idéal.' The 'Dernier Refrain' reads: 'Et bien des yeux de mère, | Sont tournés vers la frontière | Où là-bas leurs chers petits enfants | Pour sauver la France donnent leur sang.

[Offprint, 'Reprinted by kind permission of "The Morning Post."'] [on cover:] The True Story of the Tank [drophead title:] A Miscarriage of Justice. | How the Tank was devised. | Lord Kitchener's Foresight.

Author: 
[Captain Bede John Francis Bentley (1878-1939), Royal Army Service Corps, claimed inventor of the tank; Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener [Lord Kitchener] (1850-1916)]
Publication details: 
On cover: 'Morning Post. [London] | Wednesday, August 9 [1922].' At rear: 'Printed by St. Clements Press, Ltd., Portugal Street, Kingsway, W.C.2.'
£65.00

[2] + 11 + [1]pp., 12mo. Printed in black on cream paper, with the wraps printed in blue in 'Stop Press' style. In very good condition, with minor spotting from staples. Presumably printed up by Bentley himself, and taking the story of his claim to 29 March 1922, the Home Office response to his petition to the king. The text begins: 'When Earl Kitchener called in Captain Bentley, a pioneer of motor transport, to embody in actual design the famous car which became known in the war a a "Tank," he promised that his interests as an inventor would be safeguarded.

[John French, 1st Earl of Ypres, as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.] Autograph Letter Signed ('French') to 'Sir Edward' [Sir Edward Guy Dawber]

Author: 
John French [Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French], 1st Earl of Ypres (1852-1925), First World War General and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Sir Edward Guy Dawber (1861-1938), architect]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Vice Regal Lodge, Dublin. 6 June 1918.
£300.00

3pp., 4to. On bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with closed tears along fold lines. He begins: 'Dear Sir Edward | I owe you & the Council of the "Artists General Benenvolent Institution" a most humble &

[Malcolm Osborne, painter.] Two Autograph Letters Signed to Westley Manning, in the first describing his wartime enlistment in the Artists Rifles, and training under the artist William Lee-Hankey.

Author: 
Malcolm Osborne (1880-1963), English landscape painter [William Westley Manning (1868-1954), artist; The Artists Rifles, British Territorial Army; William Lee-Hankey (1869-1952), artist]
Publication details: 
The first from 11 Edith Grove, Chelsea. 24 July 1915. The second from 15 Redcliffe Square, South Kensington. 25 July 1921.
£80.00

Both letters in very good condition, neatly written out on lightly-aged paper. ONE: 2pp., 4to.

[Halifax Explosion, Nova Scotia, Canada, 6 December 1917.] Twelve postcards of scenes of devastation by the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion in history, by Underwood & Underwood of New York.

Author: 
Underwood & Underwood, N.Y. [Halifax Explosion, Nova Scotia, Canada, 6 December 1917]
Publication details: 
Copyright Underwood & Underwood, N.Y. [New York.] 'Novelty Mfg. & Art Co., Limited, Montreal [Canada]'. Undated [1917 or 1918].
£100.00

The largest man-made explosion before the the development of nuclear weapons, with a force equivalent to nearly 3 kilotons of TNT, occurred when the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc, laden with wartime munitions, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. The explosion devastated the Richmond District of Halifax, killing 2000 and injuring 9000. Each postcard carries the words 'Copyright Underwood & Underwood, N.Y.' next to the caption beneath the image, with 'Novelty Mfg.

[Printed handbill poem.] "La Belgique Martyre." Poème du maître belge Emile Verhaeren, dont la publication a été autorisée par l'auteur comme contribution a l'oeuvre "Asiles des Soldats Invalides Belges."

Author: 
Emile Verhaeren [Asiles des Soldats Invalides Belges; German war crimes in Belgium; the First World War]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [Circa 1918.]
£220.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. The poem, of 60 irregular lines, is placed (with a facsimile of Verhaeren's signature at the foot) within a thick floral border, reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts movement. It begins: 'Ce n'est qu'un bout de sol dans l'infini du monde. | Le Nord | Y déchaîne le vent qui mord. | Ce n'est qu'un peu de terre avec sa mer au bord | Et le déroulement de sa dune inféconde.' Scarce: no copy in the Bibliotheque Nationale, on COPAC or in the Imperial War Museum.

[WITH MS MAP] First WW aerial reconnaissance photo. of the area around Passchendaele during the 3rd Battle of Ypres, and intelligence map of the same area, with manuscript plan of the Honnecourt Wood and Lempire-Ronssoy area in pencil on reverse.

Author: 
[Aerial photograph and manuscript map of the Passchendaele area during the 3rd Battle of Ypres, First World War; No. 105 Machine Gun Company; British Army]
Publication details: 
Passchendaele, Belgium. 'Reproduced & Printed by No 5 Advanced Section AP & SS'. Stamped on the reverse: 'NO. 105 MACHINE GUN COMPANY', with the date '1/9/17' [i.e. 1 September 1917.
£800.00

Printed on a piece of card, roughly 50 x 22 cm., with the photographic side shiny and the reverse carrying the manuscript plan matt. In fair condition, folded four times and lightly aged, worn and chipped. The whole of the one side comprises a single photographic print, with 'Reproduced & Printed by No 5 Advanced Section AP & SS' at the foot. The upper part of this print reproduces an aerial photograph, roughly 15 x 22 cm, with six positions indicated: 'Kansas Cross', 'Gravenstafel', 'Passchendaele', 'Otto FM. D. 15a', 'Delva FM.

Substantial Autograph Letter Signed ('Frederick Niven') from the Canadian novelist Frederick John Niven to the Irish journalist and essayist Robert Lynd, explaining his ill health and praising Lynd's writing.

Author: 
Frederick Niven [Frederick John Niven] (1878-1944), novelist from British Columbia, Canada, born in Chile of Scottish parents [Robert Lynd (1879-1949), Irish journalist and essayist]
Publication details: 
Lorenza, Combe Martin, North Devon. 26 December 1916.
£160.00

4pp., 4to. Fair, on lightly aged and creased paper, with a few closed tears. The letter begins: 'Dear Lynd: I have been very ill and after two months in bed and an introduction to what Marley called "the thick, sweet smell of chloroform" I have been sent down here to get better - with the word of specialist and doctor that when I am well again I shall be better than I have been for a long time. This I write because I have often thought of writing to tell you how much I relish your papers.

Autograph Letter Signed from J. W. Leach in Australia to his aunt Mrs Baker in Sidcup, England, discussing his return to 'good old Sydney', the 'frightful state' of the country post-War, and the arrival of 'a great number of English Brides'.

Author: 
J. W. Leach of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia [Mrs Baker, Sidcup, Kent, England]
Publication details: 
84 Victoria Street, Potts Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 27 November 1919.
£90.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper, with small rust hole to second leaf affecting two words of text. He begins in the hope that she is 'quite well & Plenty of Business'. He reports the death of his mother the previous may: 'she only lasted 5 Months after I left her'.

Five poems by Captain H. W. Windsor Aubrey, R.A.M.C.: two holographs (including 'The Yellow Peril. Dedicated to the German Emperor'), one with typed copy, two others typed and one mimeographed; four concerning Delhi Barracks, Tidworth.

Author: 
Captain Henry Wentworth Windsor Aubrey (c.1859-1934), M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. [R.A.M.C. Delhi Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire; Brimstone Bottom]
Publication details: 
One of the six items on R.A.M.C. letterhead, Delhi Barracks, Tidworth, Salisbury Plain [Wiltshire]; dated 20 February 1918. Four of the others also 1918, and the sixth 1904.
£180.00

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. The six items (including Item Four, a typescript of Item Three) are in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper.

Part of autograph 'Diary of the War' of Assistant Paymaster (later Rear-Admiral) Noel Wright, describing three months of his service with Jellicoe's Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, and reporting the Battle off Texel and sinking of HMS Audacious.

Author: 
Rear-Admiral Noel Wright (1890-1975), Royal Navy [Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Jellicoe, Commander of the Grand Fleet, Scapa Flow; Battle off Texel; sinking of HMS Audacious]
Publication details: 
Covering the period from 18 October 1914 to 4 January 1915.
£1,250.00

163pp., 12mo. In a sturdy notebook, with brass clasp, covered in grey paper. Wright has written '4 | N W' on the front board. On the recto of the first leaf he gives the addresses of 'T', 'C', 'J', 'Adml Campbell' and 'Young'; and on the verso he writes the title 'DIARY OF THE WAR | VOLUME II', above the oval stamp 'SUPPLIED FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE'. He signs 'Noel Wright' at head of the recto of the second leaf.

Typed Letter Signed from Major A. M. Urquhart, Royal Artillery, to Rev. William Henderson Begg, giving a summary (as President of the Committee of Adjustment) of what has been done regarding his brother Captain Robert Henderson Begg's estate in India

Author: 
Major A. M. Urquhart, Royal Artillery [Rev. William Henderson-Begg (1877-1934), Rector of St Paul's and Canon of Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh; Captain Robert Henderson Begg (d.1915); Siege of Kut
Publication details: 
The Arsenal, Ferozepore, India. 27 April 1916.
£56.00

2pp., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Captain Begg had died at the Siege of Kut Al Amara, Mesopotamia (now Iraq), and Urquhart begins by informing the Rev. Begg that the inventory which he sent of his brother's effects has 'gone astray'. 'In order to save any further delay I am forwarding you a complete list including some things recently recovered from Kirkee Arsenal. Would you kindly point out what you wish returned to you. The remaining items will be sold by auction here.' He continues with 'a summary of what has been done up to date'.

Three First World War documents by Sir Aylmer Haldane: mimeographed Armistice 'Special Order for the Day' to VI Corps; Autograph Letter Signed ('A. Haldane') to Brig.-Gen. H. C. Potter; manuscript copy of address to 3rd Division on Spring Offensive.

Author: 
General Sir Aylmer Haldane [General Sir James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane GCMG, KCB, DSO] (1862-1950), 6th Army Corps [Brigadier-General Herbert Cecil Potter (1875-1964), King's (Liverpool) Regiment]
Publication details: 
Autograph Letter to Potter: 'H[ea]d. Q[uarter]s. VIth. Corp. | 11th. August. 1916'. Copy of address to 3rd Division: [Head Quarters] 30 March 1918. Special Order of the Day: [Head Quarters] 14 November 1918.
£250.00

The three items are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE. Autograph Letter Signed from Haldane to Potter. Head Quarters, VI Corp; 11 August 1916. 1p., 4to. In a difficult hand. He apologises for having to 'depart so hurriedly'. 'I want to thank you for the very loyal way you helped me when I was in command of the 3 Division and express my thanks through you to Buchanan and Prideaux and of your staff.

Stamped South African Police permit, headed 'Martial Law Regulation', granting permission for the wife and family of the mining engineer J. J. R. Smythe to leave Klerksdorp by car in the early days of the First World War.

Author: 
[First World War South African Police permit, signed by T. W. Cooper; J. J. R. Smythe, mining engineer, of Warren Hill, Klerksdorp, North West Province, South Africa]
Publication details: 
Stamp of the South African Police, Klerksdorp. 9 November 1914.
£35.00

Mimeographed typed form, completed in manuscript, on one side of a slip of paper. In fair condition, heavily-inked on aged and worn paper. Oval stamp in blue in bottom left-hand corner: 'SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE | 9 - NOV. 1914 | KLERKSDORP.' The form reads (with manuscript additions in square brackets): 'MARTIAL LAW REGULATIONS | Permission is hereby granted to [Mrs. J. J. R. Smythe & family] of [Warren Hill] to leave Klerksdorp for [ - ] by [Motor] | [signed] [T W Cooper]'.

Seven manuscript First World War documents from the papers of Brigadier-General Herbert Cecil Potter, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, including copies of documents by Lieut.-General Sir T. L. N. Morland, Lt.-Col. R. H. Collins, Brig.-Gen. G. V. Horden.

Author: 
[Brigadier-General Herbert Cecil Potter (1875-1964), King's (Liverpool) Regiment; Gen. Sir T. L. N. Morland (1865-1925); Lt-Col. Hon. R. H. Collins (1873-1952); Brigadier-General G. V. Horden]
Publication details: 
Six of the seven dating from March and April 1918; the seventh from August 1918.
£350.00

The seven items are from the papers of Brig.-Gen. H. C. Potter, who served in the 3rd Division, whose conduct during the Spring Offensive of 1918 is the main subject. Of particular interest is Item Two, concerning a visit by King George V. The collection is in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, Item Five having a few closed tears to one edge. ONE. Manuscript copy (or original) dispatch headed '1/North L. Fus. 4/Royal Fus. | 13/ Kings. R./S.H.B. | The following messages have been received from 3rd Division for communication to all ranks'.

Mimeographed typed British Salonica Army concert party programme: '738 M.T. Company A.S.C. Programme. Slip Your Clutch. A Revue In Three Acts by 2nd Lt. J. A. Lincoln Reed.'

Author: 
2nd Lt J. A. Lincoln Reed [Captain George Malleson Butt (1880-1936) of the Army Service Corps; British Salonica Army; Balkans]
Publication details: 
[British Salonica Army; Balkans.] 1917.
£40.00

3pp., 4to. Bifolium. Mimeographed typescript in purple ink. In fair condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. Title page reads: '738 M. T. Company A. S. C. | 1917 | Programme. | Slip your Clutch. | A Revue | In Three Acts | by | 2nd Lt. J. A. Lincoln Reed.' The second page carries a 'Synopsis of Scenery': 'Act I A Village Green in Blightly | Act II Scene I - Mikra Bay | Scene II - Serres Road | Act III Interior of the Follies Bergeres Night Cafe Salonique (out of bounds)'. Also the announcement: 'The entire production by members of 738 MET.

Autograph Letter Signed ('J. H. Rose') from the English historian John Holland Rose, writing, while on active service in France with the British Expeditionary Force, to Alfred Tresidder Sheppard to commend his latest novel.

Author: 
J. H. Rose [John Holland Rose] (1855-1942), English historian best-known for his biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, Reader in Modern History, Cambridge University [Alfred Tresidder Sheppard (1871-1947)]
Publication details: 
On Y.M.C.A. letterhead, 'On Active Service | With the British Expeditionary Force', 15 September 1917.
£65.00

2pp., 4to. 53 lines. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of previous mounting at head, and a light and unobtrusive water stain. The letter is headed by Rose 'Y.M.C.A. B.A.P.O.2 B.E.F. France'. Regarding Sheppard's recently-published 'Quest of Ledgar Dunstan', Rose writes: 'You have a wonderfully keen mental eye which sees everything with extraordinary sharpness, & you have a literary hand which etches with just & delicate touch. The book is also one of singular intensity of feeling which carries the reader along fascinated & thrilled.

Three albums filled with English and German manuscript memoranda, newspaper cuttings and mimeographed reports, relating to the Great War and 1898-1909 periods, assembled by an Anglo-German stockbroker in the City of London.

Author: 
[an Anglo-German stockbroker in the City of London during the Great War and 1898-1909 periods]
Publication details: 
Manuscript album, in German, 1898 to 1909, with label of a Hamburg stationer. Two other albums from 1917, with labels of London stationers.
£1,500.00

The three items come from the papers of an Anglo-German City of London stockbroker, with Item One, below, indicating that he was based in Germany between 1898 and 1909, and that he had moved to England by 1917. A major point of interest is the fact that the material has been assembled by an educated, intelligent and well-informed individual with good knowledge of both German and English economic realities, at a time of high conflict between the two nations. ONE: 94pp., folio. In black cloth quarter-binding with brown marbled boards, and label of W. Harneit, Hamburg. Consisting of 88pp.

Printed programme of a performance by the First World War British Army 33rd Division Concert Party 'The Shrapnels', titled 'The First attempt at Pantomime in France | To avoid confusion we name it | The Babes in the W (censored)'.

Author: 
'Corporal James Flint, Glasgow Highlanders' ['The Shrapnels' Concert Party of the 33rd Division of the British Army in the First World War]
Publication details: 
Slug: 'Béthune. - Imprimerie H. DAVID.' 'Initial Performance Wednesday 22nd Dec. 1915 and every evening until further notice'.
£80.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. Fair, on aged and lightly-creased paper. An excessively scarce piece of First World War ephemera, with the only copy traced at the Imperial War Museum.

Autograph Letter Signed, in English, from a French interpreter ('M. Daller'?), informing Brig.-General Herbert Cecil Potter of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) that he has been ordered to join 'the Yankee Army'. With two initialled notes by Potter.

Author: 
[Brigadier-General Herbert Cecil Potter (1875-1964), CB, CMG, DSO, of the King's Regiment (Liverpool)]
Publication details: 
No place. 25 September 1917.
£65.00

2pp., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The letter is written in pencil, and begins: 'Sir, | I am awfully sorry to say that I have just been ordered to report tomorrow to G. H. Q. where I shall very probably receive the order to go to the Yankee Army. | I am really very sorry to leave you without having even been able to present to you my respects and my thanks for the kindness you have always shown to me during the time I have been attached to this brigade which is now exactly a year ago.

Printed First World War circular from the 'British Repatriation Committee Lucerne, Organisation for the Assistance and Return of British Subjects', with form filled in by 'Mr & Mrs R. Haward Ives', giving 'reasons for urgency'.

Author: 
British Repatriation Committee Lucerne, Organisation for the Assistance and Return of British Subjects [Richard Haward Ives, Assistant Secretary, Essex and Suffolk Equitable Fire Insurance Society]
Publication details: 
Circular dated 'Schweizerhof Hotel, Lucerne, 13th August 1914.'
£56.00

1p., 4to., with vertical perforation dividing the circular (upper part) from the form (lower part). Fair, on lightly-aged and creased paper. The fourteen-line circular begins: 'It is appreciated that every British Subject wishes to return at once, but all will not be able to get in the first train. | The British Committee will have to select the order of going by the various degrees of urgency. [...] Persons in Government service, men going to mobilisation, and persons in distress, have special claims to priority.' The form, completed in pencil by 'Mr & Mrs R.

Eleven issues of 'O.B.C. (Old Boys' Corps) Magazine'. With sheet music of the 'Double-Double Cold Platoon. A Dolorous Dittie' , written by 'Blank File', composed by 'Left Incline'. Also two loose plans of 'Wembley Camp' and north and south district.

Publication details: 
'Printed and Published (for the Old Boys' Corps) by JOHN PROCTOR, at 33, 34, & 35, Fish Street Hill in the City of London.' Between 1914 and 1916.
£450.00

The eleven issues are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15. Each issue is 32pp., small 4to, with a further 4pp. of plates on two leaves, and numerous illustrations in text. The last six issues, from no.7 (June 1915) to no. 15 (June to October 1916) are in fair condition, in their original worn printed wraps; the first five are in poorer condition, with issues 1 and 2 lacking wraps and with stained outer pages, and issue 3 with the covers loose and separated from one another; in addition, issue 2 has a jagged closed tear to the first leaf.

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