POETS

1p, foolscap 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Paul Furness’ and signed ‘Roger McGough’. On the subject of Furness’s ‘fascinating pub study’, he names ‘the ones I was associated with during those poetry-reading days’: ‘O’Connors Tavern in Hardman Street (Liverpool all), The Philharmonic (corner of Hope St. & Hardman Street), The Grapes, Pilgrim Street’. In addition there were ‘clubs which we took over on quiet nights i.e. Monday at Chauffeurs Club, Hope Street’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, foolscap 8vo. Forty-three lines. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Signed in red ink ‘Adrian Mitchell’, and with red ink underlining and one manuscript addition. Addressed to ‘Mr Furness’ (One of a number of letters from British poets in response to enquiries from Paul Furness with regard to their pub memories.) Begins: ‘Pub I think of with the Merseylads is the Phil.

For the background to this letter see D’Arch Smith’s memoir ‘The Times Deceas’d: The Rare Book Department of The Times Bookshop in the 1960s’ (2003). The obituary of the recipient Andrew Block (1892-1987) in ‘The Private Library’ was subtitled ‘the doyen of booksellers’; his business was established in 1911. 1p, 4to. Aged and lightly creased. Signed ‘Tim’, with Block writing ‘D’ARCH SMITH’ beside this. Begins: ‘My dear Andrew: / Thanks so much for looking after me so well on Saturday.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. At the time of writing he was Professor of English Language and Literature at Leeds. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Reads: ‘Mr Lascelles Abercrombie regrets his inability to attend the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Bodleian in the Divinity School on June 22nd. / June 10th. 1926’.

Piece of paper irregularly cut, c.11 x 6cm, tipped onto very slightly larger piece of paper. Docketed Southey the Poet in another hand. Sl stained, mainly good condition. See image. Sidney was apparently an autograph collector (see Googled entry Edwin Sidney of Acle on iCollector).

Two Pages, 12mo, very good condition. In original envelope, Free [signed] Edith K. Roosevelt and stamped Received Unsealed at Beverly, Mass, then address in letter writer's hand. Text of letter: After looking thro' the book about Coleridge's daughter I found I did not like it as much as I thought, - and I am sure you would not care for it. Those Lake Poets wrote some [underlined] beautiful poetry | but a quantity has come to us which is just dull [...] Brentanos sends you a short life of [?De] Quincey, which is all that it should be , & I hope you will feel as I do.

One page, 4to, fold marks, good condition. Text: Mr. Churchill desires me to thank you for the copy of your book on University Reform in London, which you have been good enough to send him.

One page, 12mo, bifolium, good condition.

Three items (letter, photographic card, and pamphlet), all in good condition. ONE: ALS. 31 December 1954. 1p, 8vo. Signed '(Mrs.) Rita Spurr.' and addressed to 'Dear Mr. Christopher Fry'. She begins by thanking him 'for the very great pleasure & stimulus' which she derived 'during the year that is passed' from his play 'The Dark is Light Enough'.

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed by Southey on the reverse of the second leaf, which has been overlaid top and bottom with grey paper, 'To | Andrew Picken Esqre | Gothic Cottage | Regents Park East.' The note reads: 'Keswick. 13 March 1833 [year possibly altered in pencil to '1835'] | Sir | I subscribe willingly to your volumes & wish you success with them | I remain Sir | Yr obedt servt | Robert Southey'. Southey is presumably referring to his last work, The Black Watch (1833), which appeared just as he died of a stroke. Suitable for framing.

Ford's first book of verse was 'Sung by the Way', published in Blackburn in 1905. She published several volumes of patriotic poetry: 'Poems of War and Peace' (1915), 'A Crown of Amaranth' (with Erskine Macdonald, 1915), 'Our Heroes' (1916); 'A Fight to a Finish' (1917). Other volumes include 'Lyric Leaves' (1912) and 'The England of my Dream' (1928). She edited the series of 'Little Books of Georgian Verse', 1915-1916. Her 'Lessons in Verse-Craft' was published in 1919 with a second edition in 1923. Her song 'In the Twilight' (1923) was set to music by Harry Brookes.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, on creased and aged paper, with one edge adhering to a mount from an album. The letter reads: 'Dear Sir | The Two Volumes of Coleridge's Memoirs were returned with the Life of Wordsworth. If they are send [sic] by to morrow any time - I will do my best - tho' to say the truth I would as soon write the History of the Devil. Inter nos. | Yrs truly | J Watkins | Monday Evg'. Docketted on reverse 'J. Watkins'. The letter may relate to a proposed review in the 'Monthly Review'. As his entry in the Oxford DNB states, surprisingly little is known about Watkins.

50pp., 12mo. In light-blue boards, with white label on front board carrying title and illustration of sickle with sheaves of lavender. Internally good, on lightly-aged paper, in worn and aged boards. Uncommon: only three copies on COPAC (British Library, Oxford and National Library of Scotland), with a further four in American institutions on WorldCat. Farmar's only other book appears to have been 'Castles in Spain' (1907). She also produced the lyrics to a song titled 'Bluebell-time', with music by Ruby Holland.

4pp., 12mo. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter is addressed to 'My dear Father'. He begins by thanking him for his letter: 'I can picture the long-nailed Neb. sitting down to answer your request for an autograph. Strange, that you should have been hearing of Vaughan Williams just at that time!' He reports that he has been 'doing many poems for The British Weekly. The Editor saw something of mine & asked me to send whatever I liked. And his nonconformist readers do not seem to jib.

The two leaves were evidently disbound from a copy of an edition of Dryden's Plutarch, in which the grey 4to leaf of writing paper following the 12mo printed leaf was one of those that interleaved the volume. In fair conditon, on lightly-aged paper. The two leaves are tipped in onto a larger leaf removed from an album. The printed leaf is 12mo, from volume 5 of Dryden's translation, with the pages numbered 511 and 612 [sic]. The two sides of the leaf carry a total of approximately 25 emendations and deletions.

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. 21 lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of mount adhering to corners of verso of second leaf. Addressed, with red wax seal and postmark, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Mr Frazer [sic] | 215 Regent Street | London'. A significant letter, which shows Hare in conflict with Fraser over the publication his 'Vindication of Coleridge' a full year before the article appeared in the British Magazine (January 1835). The letter begins: 'I am very much annoyed at finding that you have put off my article for another month.

1p., landscape 12mo. Good, on aged paper. Garrison's name and address are typed in the top left-hand corner. Her signature is written boldly beneath the poem, which is eight lines long, in two stanzas. It reads 'Because I snatched a pebble from the way, | And thought it priceless till that day my eyes | Filled with a clearer light, and knew my prize | Was worthless, poorer than the common clay; | Because of this shall I go clamouring, | "Behold, there are no diamonds!" and say, | "Look as ye will, ye find but pebbles"? Nay!

Parts I & II (of 12 = Series 1), pp.40[6 advts]; 76[6 advts], original blue wraps, frayed and spotted, one wrap dulled, one corner of pages turned, pencil annotation on front covers (inc. library no.), library stamps (withdrawn from Newcastle University Library),

64 pages, 16mo. In original printed wraps. In poor condition. Ownership inscription at head of front wrap. The two binding staples rusted, and the wraps in particular grubby, torn and worn. Photograph of 'Private JENKIN THOMAS' in what appears to be World War I uniform on front wrap. Illustration of the 'SINKING OF THE "TITANIC." ' on page 9; photograph of 'WILLIAM HERBERT HARRIS, A.L.C.M.' on page 47.

Text of all three items clear and complete. All three on lightly aged paper, creased and with some wear to extremities. Letter One (8vo, 1 p; 20 lines of text): She thanks Bonham Carter for her 'kind and appreciative letter' and 'will see that through the English Embassy' she receives 'a copy of my short story: "I due prigionieri", of which your son is the protagonist'. (An officer in the Grenadier Guards, during the war Mark Bonham Carter had escaped from a prison camp in northern Italy.) Describes material she is sending relating to her 'literary career'.

12mo: iv + 164 pp. In original green cloth, with the title in gilt on the front cover. All edges gilt. Slightly foxed. Good and tight, in lightly worn cloth. A curious collection, with the index of first lines containing such entries as 'Sweet Edgbaston bells' [this poem dated 1844], 'Dear Varinka', ' 'Twas a boy in a cut-off jacket' and 'They call me little Trottie'. All three series are excessively scarce. The only copy of this third series on COPAC is in the British Library, and the only copy on WorldCat in California.

8vo: 1 p. 7 lines. Good, but with some foxing, and with a corner of the blank reverse tipped in onto a card mount on which the envelope is laid down. He thanks him 'for the catalogue containing the Moore item'. Would be 'very glad' if Hodgson 'could call here on Thursday next & join us in a meal at 7 o'clock [...] I suggest Thursday because then we shall not be alone, nor dull'. Hodgson was the author, in 1927, of 'Brief notes on the history of the hamlet of Penge with Anerley'.

Octavo: 8 pp. Unbound, stapled pamphlet of six leaves. Dogeared, with rusted staples and with horizontal band of discoloration and two vertical closed tears (2 cm and 1 cm) at head.

Association founded in England in 1921 to promote the interests of writers worldwide. First item, two pages, 12mo; next four, one page, 12mo; last item, one page, octavo. All good, though lightly creased and on discoloured paper. All have two punch holes. Item one with staple marks in top left-hand corner. The collection consists of instructions to the printer of the association's journal 'P.E.N. News'.

Wife (1799-1888) of the English poet Bryan Waller Procter ('Barry Cornwall', 1787-1874), and stepdaughter of the noted jurist Basil Montagu. One page, 12mo. Very good on slightly paper, and with closed tear to blank second leaf of bifoliate. Written on behalf of her husband during his final illness. 'Mr Procter desires me to say that you have his ready permission to print The Old Arm Chair | I regret to say that my husband is now too feeble to write to you.' Signed 'Anne B. Procter'.

Anglo-French journalist (1801-81) and friend of Mallarme. Letter: two pages, octavo. Good, though on creased, discoloured and spotted paper. The verso of the second leaf of the bifoliate is ruckled and with glue stains showing through from the verso, which is attached to a piece of ruled paper. Reads 'Mon cher voisin | I enclose an order for the Westminster Play for to night, which may perhaps interest you or your son. If either of you are able to go, you should be there early.

Poet and literary critic (1856-1930). One page, 12mo. Discoloured but very good. Folded once. One might almost think he was being sarcastic. 'The unflawed pleasure of my short visit to the Archdeaconry will never be effaced from my memory. Heartily I thank you all very much. | Most sincerely yrs | Mackenzie Bell | [autograph]'. Last word and square brackets Bell's.

British Poet Laureate (1904-72). Day-Lewis's letter, 1 page, 8vo. On grey paper. Good, but lightly creased and with a few staple holes. Thanks Mercer for the 'kind invitation'. 'I am afraid I could not manage to prepare the paper you suggest for January 24, since I have to be busy till near the end of this year on a play.' Suggests deferment to February or March. Signed 'C. Day Lewis'. Docketed by '' on 24 July 1961, 'We can offer other times, I think, in March.' and with 'Mar 21 | 2.30' beneath this in pencil.

Possibly the Henry R. Potter, of the Office of Works, who corresponded with Gladstone in 1885 and 1894. 4 pages, 16mo. In good condition: neatly folded twice, with traces of stub along one edge of verso of second leaf of bifoliate. Apologises for 'the numerous omissions of which I have been guilty' in his lecture. His only excuse is that he 'submitted the lists to two or three persons resident in Nott[ingha]m and consequently, as I concluded, conversant with its "Notables" '.

Irish actor (1916-2001). 2 pages, 8vo. In good condition though creased along one edge. Accompanying this item are a typescript (1 page, 8vo, in good condition, annotated in ink) headed 'MASEFIELD READINGS', listing 13 items alternatively allocated to 'O'Conor' and 'Day Lewis', and two typewritten slips of paper listing some of the officers of the Royal Society of Literature, one of which has corrected details of the Don Carlos Coloma Memorial Lecture on the reverse. In the letter O'Conor complains that [Masefield's Collected Poems 'seem riddled with misprints'.