ROYAL

See Taylor’s entry, and that of Princess Sophia’s brother William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1834), in the Oxford DNB. Bagshot Park was the residence of her brother the duke (Silly Billy’), to whom she was very much attached. The siblings were not entirely accepted by the Royal Family due to the unequal nature of their parents’ marriage. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Taylor, who is not named but is clearly the recipient, has marked the letter as ‘Private’. Good firm signature ‘Sophia Matilda’.

1p, 12mo. On blue-grey paper with matching stamped, postmarked envelope with typed address to ‘Mr. James Butt / 23 Hartop Rd. / St. Marychurch / TORQUAY’. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Good large signature: ‘Isobel Baillie’. In response to his enquiry, she reports that she has ‘several good pupils who could make satisfactory Sacred Records’, but she would like him to hear them first.

See his entry, and that of his son, in the Oxford DNB. Hornby served as Superintendent of the Royal Naval Hospital and Victualling Yard at Plymouth between 1832 and 1838. This item is 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium with thin mourning border. Fifty lines, neatly and closely written. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight damage and a few closed tears around gutter. Folded for postage. Signed ‘Phipps Hornby’, and with recipient (‘My dear Sir’) unnamed. Pencil note giving note by recipient at head of first page, giving prices for butter and cheese ‘for the Year 1834’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Menu printed in blue on one side of 4to leaf, folded into 16 x 15 cm bifolium-style card. Front cover with patches of discoloration, and back cover bearing evidence of previous mounting (layer of dried out glue), otherwise in good condition. Front cover reads: ‘Scottish Music Merchants’ Association / Festival Luncheon / Royal British Hotel, Edinburgh / Wednesday, 30th August 1950 / Chairman: / R. W. Cresswell’. In space between ‘1950’ and ‘Chaiman:’ is large clear signature ‘Betty Beecham.’ At foot of page is large signature ‘Thomas Beecham’.

See the two men's entries in the Oxford DNB. Each of the two letters is 1p, 4to, with the Prince’s letter on the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium, and the Earl’s signed autograph copy of his reply on the recto of the second leaf of the same bifolium. Both leaves are discoloured and damaged, with wear and loss from infestation, but the two signatures and the area around them are good and clear. The document has been folded twice for postage. Strip of white tape along gutter of blank reverse of second leaf from mount. ONE (Frederick’s ALS): Fifteen lines.

She is noticed in her the entry for her father Derwent Coleridge in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium of grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed to ‘My dear Mr. Pearson’ and signed ‘Christabel R. Coleridge’. Her journey was comfortable and she found ‘all well’ on her return. She does not believe her cold ‘will be of any consequence and the weather is quite fine’. Her ‘two head lady school teachers are laid up with colds’. She ends: ‘I think more things are alive in the garden than I expected to see’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, with pinholes to one corner. Signed ‘Julius Harrison’. Begins ‘Dear Boosey, / From the recent batch sent, I return the enclosed which I fancy may all be useful in the English market. / I am struck with the “Flowers in the Valley” as a possible Alto lead number. Please see my remarks thereon.’ He explains that he is ‘trying to find an Alto lead piece for Cleethorpes Festival next July’, and could include the ‘Flowers’ if it were ‘published in C as soon as possible’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both items in good condition, lightly aged. The first on thinner paper and lightly creased. Both folded for postage. Each addressed to 'My dear Francis' and signed 'Julius Harrision' ONE (27 May 1935): 2pp, 4to. He is supervising examinations at Worcester, and discusses arrangements. 'My people left Stourport for Worcester many years ago, but I rather fancy that Worcester will be too far from Birmingham to stay there. I shall, I think, stay in Birmingham itself.' He will be 'away down the Mediterranean until the 14th.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB, with Pettigrew’s. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of a bifolium. Reads: ‘Sir Robert Gardiner presents his compliments to Mr Pettigrew - / He begs Mr Pettigrew will forgive his taking the liberty of asking whether he is acquainted with General Anderson, and if so, he begs Mr. Pettigrew will do him the favor of calling here as soon as convenient in his round of Professional calls this morning’.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB, and that of the recipient’s husband, the judge Sir Edward Hall Alderson (1787-1857). 4pp, 16mo. Bifolium with thick mourning border. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. Begins: ‘Dear Lady Alderson / Fresh, & very heavy sorrow has befallen us, or I wd. sooner have answered yr ot of last Saturday. The death of Captn.

An excellent document, providing an invaluable view of the practicalities of commissioning and executing public monuments in the Georgian period. See Chantrey's entry in the Oxford DNB, and Cunningham's, which states: 'In 1814 he was engaged by Chantrey as superintendent of his establishment, and gave up writing for newspapers. He lived afterwards at 27 Lower Belgrave Place, Pimlico. He acted as Chantrey's secretary, conducted his correspondence, represented him during his absence, and occasionally offered artistic assistance. He became a favourite of Chantrey's sitters and visitors.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Laid down by the four corners to piece of paper neatly cut down from a leaf of an album. Reads: 'Sir J. Barrow will thank Mr. Clowes to let him have the Art. on Egypt, as soon as set up, as he will have considerable alterations to make towards the

John Stanton Ward was a noted portrait painter, who resigned his membership of the Royal Academy in protest at the ‘Sensation’ show of 1997. See his obituaries in the Telegraph, Times, Guardian and Indpendent. Patric Dickinson has not received his due. A self-styled ‘poet and impresario of poetry’, Dickinson occupied a central position in the cultural landscape of post-war Britain.

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and worn paper. Folded once for postage. Addressed to ‘Mr. Cummings’ and with large bold signature ‘Algernon Ashton.’ He writes: ‘I venture to express a hope that whenever there should be a vacancy for a Pianoforte Professorship at the Guildhall School of Music, of which you are now the honoured Principal, that you may kindly think of me.’

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Written in the year in which Smith made his one return to America after becoming a British citizen in 1913. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. On grey paper. Reads: ‘Mr. L. Pearsall Smith regrets that he will be away from London on July 6th & will not be able to attend the Dinner of the Royal Literary Fund on that date.’

See is noticed in her the entry for her father Derwent Coleridge in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, on grey paper. Folded once. In a vigorous and youthful hand, considering the fact that she would be dead in a few months. Reads: ‘Miss Christabel Coleridge presents her compliments to the Secretary of the Royal Literature [sic] Fund, but is compelled to decline the honor they have done her, as she is unable to travel to London. She will endeavour to send a small subscription later on’.

An interesting letter, attacking the serving Tory Prime Minister Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770-1828), who had stood against the Duke of Sussex (noted for his liberal sympathies) in the election for President of the Royal Society of Arts. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. The recipient is not named, but is identified in an endorsement on the reverse of the second leaf as 'Earl St Vincent'. Written in a hurried, untidy hand.

Dimensions six inches by eight. Four of the photographs very good, the other good, but with staining in one corner (capable of professional cleaning). Good, clear, professional images against a black background. The goblet was commissioned by Bonham Carter from Whistler as a wedding present to the present queen of England on her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh. The body is etched with intricate images and the words 'Elizabeth | so be it ever, joy and peace. | And mutual love give you increase, | That your posterity may grow | In fame, as long as seas do flow.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded once for postage. Clearly responding to a request for an autograph. Boldly written, with the merest smudging to the surname: 'with compliments / of Stanhope A. Forbes / 5th March 1935'.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, and folded once for postage. The male recipient is not named, and the letter is signed ‘Stanhope A. Forbes’, with slight smudging to the ‘o’ of ‘Forbes’. As he is obliged to him for his letter ‘& the kind things you are good enough to say about my work’, he is happy ‘to accede to your request to append my signature’.

On one side of an irregular piece of paper, roughly 18 x 9 cm, torn from the foot of a document. Heavily discoloured, but neatly laid down on a 19 x 13.5 cm piece of grey paper, with the typed caption: ‘Signture [sic] of: / Sir Robert HOWARD (1626-1698) P.C. / Auditor of the Excheq: and Dramatist / (part-author, with Dryden, of ‘The Indian Queen’ etc.)’. At the head: ‘pray pay this Order out of Customes’; and beneath this the Latin draft, with date and sum (but not the name of the payee). Howard’s signature, written large and bold, is at bottom left: ‘Exam[inatus] P[er]. Howard’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. A protege of Prince Albert, Bell worked for the Privy Purse from the time of the Great Exhibition, and served as Permanent Secretary to the Keeper of the Privy Purse from 1876 to his death. Signed ‘John Gilbert’ and addressed to ‘Doyne C. Bell Esquire / &c &c.’ 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Sir, / I remember the small picture painted in 1851. H M The Queen holding a drawing Room at St James’s Palace. / I did not intend to paint a larger picture and never did’. See Image.

See his entry, and Swan's, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Seventeen stylish lines with bold signature. On first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed to 'Dear Mrs Swan' and signed 'Frank Dicksee'. Her letter gave him great pleasure and he has just had the opportunity of placing her 'very kind offer before the Council [of the Royal Academy]'. 'I need hardly tell you they are delighted to accept this valuable gift.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Beecham’s signature (‘Thomas Beecham’) on an otherwise-blank 12.5 x 5.5 cm piece of paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of mount adhering to the reverse. The signature, which has no flourish, is tighter than usual, and rising slightly. See Image.

1p, folio. On recto of the first leaf of a bifolium of watermarked laid paper. In fair condition, lightly aged, with slight wear and spotting to the extremities. With ‘(L.S.)’ at top right and at the foot the slug ‘Printed by G. Roberts, Admiralty Office.’ Headed: ‘At the Court at St. James’s, / The 28th of May, 1800. / PRESENT, / The King’s Most Excellent Majesty / in Council.’ Thirty-four lines of text, including a twenty-three line transcription of an Admiralty memorandum, in smaller type.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient is presumably the Captain Charles Napier (d.1849) of the Royal Artillery who ‘received eight wounds from the bursting of a shrapnel shell’ at Waterloo (see Dalton’s ‘Waterloo Roll Call’, p.194). 8pp, 4to. Closely and neatly written on two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged, but folded three times into a packet, and with some closed tears to the creases. Addressed ‘To Colonel Napier / Royal Artillery’ and with the valediction ‘I will now bid you adieu & subscribe myself / Yr very faithful Kinsman / Napier’.

The third letter gives an excellent indication of Birkett’s pride in his use of language. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. All three signed ‘Norman Birkett’. In fair condition, lightly aged and little grubby. The first letter with a small hole to one corner, and the two leaves of the last letter held together with a pin. ONE: ALS, 9 July 1953. 1pp, 4to. He is adding Collins’s book to his ‘select library on “words”’.

He receives the briefest of obituaries in the Gentleman's Magazine, July 1840: 'May 10. At Exeter, aged 81, Col. Thomas Abernethie, K.H. on the retired list of the Royal Marines.' 3pp, 4to. Bifolium. On aged and discoloured paper, with the usual damage to the second leaf from the breaking of the seal. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with postmark, to ‘Messrs Cox & Son / 20 Bartletts Buildings / Holborn / London’. Signed ‘Thos. Abernethie’ and docketed ‘Maj: Abernethie / 16 March 1811’. Begins: ‘Gentlemen / I have requested a Cap.

See the entries for Dicksee and Lady Orchardson’s husband Sir William Quiller Orchardson (1832-1910), RA, in the Oxford DNB. Lady Orchardson (1853-1917) was the daughter of the London publisher Charles Moxon. The Orchardsons married in 1873. Among their four children was the painter Charles Moxon Quiller Orchardson (1873-1917), who studied in the Royal Academy Schools and was killed in action during World War One. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘Frank Dicksee’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The letter is 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight discoloration to margin at head and light rust spot. Reads: ‘Dear Mr. Haynes King, / It was extremely kind of you to write & congratulate me on my election as R.A. & I appreciate the attention very much.