ROYAL

[Braham Sydney Murray, theatre director: his first-ever production, for the Oxford University Dramatic Society.] Typescript of Brendan Behan's 'The Hostage', with extra pages covered with autograph directorial notes and stage directions.

Author: 
Braham Sydney Murray [born Braham Goldstein] (1943-2018), director, one of five founding Artistic Directors, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester [Brendan Behan; Oxford University Dramatic Society]
Publication details: 
[Oxford University Dramatic Society, 1961.]
£600.00

For the background see Murray's 2014 autobiography 'The Worst It Can Be Is A Disaster', where he describes the production as 'a big production with its quasi-musical form. In such a large cast some of the actors were rather basic but some were superb. Michael Elwyn brought the house down as Monsewer [...] Michael York was very touching as the innocent Cockney soldier and the brother owners were expertly played by Ian Davidson, who later became a successful comedy scriptwriter, and the beautiful Canadian Nancy Lane, who is now a distinguished professor at Cambridge.

[Vaughan Nash, writing as Private Secretary to Prime Minister H. H. Asquith.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Vaughan Nash') to 'Sir William', conveying the prime minister's regret at a misunderstanding over a royal commission.

Author: 
Vaughan Nash (1861-1932), Private Secretary to Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, economist, journalist, husband of Rosalind Nash, correspondent of Florence Nightingale
Publication details: 
1 March 1909. 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, SW [London].
£50.00

1p, 12mo. On aged paper, with closed tear repaired on reverse with brown paper. Folded twice. Addressed to 'Dear Sir William'. The prime minister (Asquith) has asked him to say that he is 'quite at a loss to understand how he came to be so misinformed as to the progress of the negotiations connected with the appointment of the Royal Commission'. All the prime minister can do is 'express his regret at the misunderstanding'.

[Sir Robert Mayer, musical patron, writing in his hundredth year.] Autograph Letter Signed ('R M.') to 'Russell', boasting of being 'young & venturesome', describing plans for an American lecture tour, asking if he could use Lady Drogheda as pianist.

Author: 
Sir Robert Mayer (1879-1985), German-born British musical patron and philanthropist
Publication details: 
10 September 1979. On letterhead of 2 Mansfield Street, London W1.
£60.00

2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. The content is remarkably sprightly and the handwriting firm. The letter begins: 'My dear Russell, | Telephone: no good. So I guess that you are holiday-making. | Lord Drogheda is my close friend & collaborator. His wife Joan is a pianist[.] I have heard her only when she gave her services. But she appears to practice daily, like a professional trooper.' He has advised her to 'play chamber music.

[Sir Henry Keppel, Admiral of the Fleet.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Harry Keppel') to 'Willis' about his autobiography and the 'neuralgic pains' which he fears may kill him.

Author: 
Sir Henry Keppel ['Harry Keppel'] (1809-1904), Admiral of the Fleet who served in Opium Wars and Crimean War
Publication details: 
7 February [1900]. On letterhead of the Grand Hotel, Cannes.
£80.00

1p, 8vo. On aged and worn paper. Attractive letterhead of the hotel and its surroundings. Addressed to 'My dear Willis'. Written in a shaky hand. Clearly writing in reference to his 1899 autobiography 'A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns', he states that he is glad that Willis is 'pleased with the book', and explains that he was 'suddenly driven' to Cannes 'by neuralgic pains'. He concludes: 'If I live to get back I should like to insert the Authors name in your Copy! Your sincere old friend | Harry Keppel'.

[Frederick Yates, actor-manager of the Adelphi Theatre.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Fred. H. Yates.'), accusing actor Thomas Cooke of breaking his word by mounting a production of Fitzball's 'Red Rover', whose copyright he owns, outside Edinburgh.

Author: 
Frederick Yates [Frederick Henry Yates] (1797-1842), actor and proprietor with Charles Mathews of the Adelphi Theatre, London, husband of Elizabeth Brunton [Thomas Potter Cooke (1786-1864), actor]
Publication details: 
18 January 1830. 'Theatre Royal | Adelphi' [London].
£120.00

3pp, 4to. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn, with closed tears and thin vertical strip of paper on reverse of second leaf, which carries a seal in black wax and Yates's address to 'T. P. Cooke Esqre. | 28 Manchester Street | Manchester Square'. An interesting letter regarding a Victorian stage dispute. In an understated style, Yates makes a serious accusation: Cooke has broken his word over the manuscript of Fitzball's play 'The Red Rover' (Yates had produced the piece with himself in the title role in 1828, and would do so again in 1831).

['John William Calcraft' (stage name of John William Cole), actor and lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin.] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'J. W. Calcraft'), regarding debts and plans for productions.

Author: 
'John William Calcraft' [stage name of John William Cole (c.1793-1870)], actor, dramatist and lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin
Publication details: 
4 March 1847 and 31 January 1848. Both from the Theatre Royal, Dublin.
£45.00

Both letters 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Cole's handwriting is difficult. The recipient is not named. The first letter, 34 lines long, concerns a bill which Cole has drawn on the recipient of the letter. It is coming due, and he is uncertain whether it is for £90 or £100. He asks him to withhold payment for a while, as 'Lent is always a dead time with me'. He is 'going to try the experiment of Mr Butter for 6 nights', and has 'good hopes of the result'. The second letter begins: 'My dear Sir | I have made most liberal offers to Farren, Mrs. Nesbitt & Mr.

[Vaughan Nash, writing as Private Secretary to Prime Minister H. H. Asquith.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Vaughan Nash') to 'Sir William', conveying the prime minister's regret at a misunderstanding over a royal commission.

Author: 
Vaughan Nash (1861-1932), Private Secretary to Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, economist, journalist, husband of Rosalind Nash, correspondent of Florence Nightingale
Publication details: 
1 March 1909. 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, SW [London].
£50.00

1p, 12mo. On aged paper, with closed tear repaired on reverse with brown paper. Folded twice. Addressed to 'Dear Sir William'. The prime minister (Asquith) has asked him to say that he is 'quite at a loss to understand how he came to be so misinformed as to the progress of the negotiations connected with the appointment of the Royal Commission'. All the prime minister can do is 'express his regret at the misunderstanding'.

[Sir Henry Keppel, Admiral of the Fleet.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Harry Keppel') to 'Willis' about his autobiography and the 'neuralgic pains' which he fears may kill him.

Author: 
Sir Henry Keppel ['Harry Keppel'] (1809-1904), Admiral of the Fleet who served in Opium Wars and Crimean War
Publication details: 
7 February [1900]. On letterhead of the Grand Hotel, Cannes.
£80.00

1p, 8vo. On aged and worn paper. Attractive letterhead of the hotel and its surroundings. Addressed to 'My dear Willis'. Written in a shaky hand. Clearly writing in reference to his 1899 autobiography 'A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns', he states that he is glad that Willis is 'pleased with the book', and explains that he was 'suddenly driven' to Cannes 'by neuralgic pains'. He concludes: 'If I live to get back I should like to insert the Authors name in your Copy! Your sincere old friend | Harry Keppel'.

[Sir Robert Mayer, musical patron, writing in his hundredth year.] Autograph Letter Signed ('R M.') to 'Russell', boasting of being 'young & venturesome', describing plans for an American lecture tour, asking if he could use Lady Drogheda as pianist.

Author: 
Sir Robert Mayer (1879-1985), German-born British musical patron and philanthropist
Publication details: 
10 September 1979. On letterhead of 2 Mansfield Street, London W1.
£60.00

2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. The content is remarkably sprightly and the handwriting firm. The letter begins: 'My dear Russell, | Telephone: no good. So I guess that you are holiday-making. | Lord Drogheda is my close friend & collaborator. His wife Joan is a pianist[.] I have heard her only when she gave her services. But she appears to practice daily, like a professional trooper.' He has advised her to 'play chamber music.

['John William Calcraft' (stage name of John William Cole), actor and lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin.] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'J. W. Calcraft'), regarding debts and plans for productions.

Author: 
'John William Calcraft' [stage name of John William Cole (c.1793-1870)], actor, dramatist and lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin
Publication details: 
4 March 1847 and 31 January 1848. Both from the Theatre Royal, Dublin.
£45.00

Both letters 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Cole's handwriting is difficult. The recipient is not named. The first letter, 34 lines long, concerns a bill which Cole has drawn on the recipient of the letter. It is coming due, and he is uncertain whether it is for £90 or £100. He asks him to withhold payment for a while, as 'Lent is always a dead time with me'. He is 'going to try the experiment of Mr Butter for 6 nights', and has 'good hopes of the result'. The second letter begins: 'My dear Sir | I have made most liberal offers to Farren, Mrs. Nesbitt & Mr.

[Oxford University Act, 1854.] Autograph Draft Memorandum by Rev. Dr Richard Harington, Principal of Brasenose College, stating his opposition to 'Oxford University Commission. | Proposals for remodelling the Constitution of the University'.

Author: 
Rev. Dr Richard Harington (1800-1853), Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford [Oxford University Act 1854; Report of Royal Commission, 1852; Hebdomadal Council]
Publication details: 
[Brasenose College, University of Oxford] Undated, but written in response to the Royal Commission Report of 1852.
£850.00

A significant document by an Oxford college head, responding negatively to the 1852 Report of the Royal Commission appointed in 1850 by Lord John Russell to enquire 'Into the State, Discipline, Studies, and Revenues of the University and Colleges of Oxford'.

[Oxford University Act, 1854.] Autograph Draft Memorandum on 'Oxford University Commission' by Rev. Dr Richard Harington , Principal of Brasenose College, stating his opposition to 'those who propose to strip the favoured classes of the privileges'.

Author: 
Rev. Dr Richard Harington (1800-1853), Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford [Oxford University Act 1854; Report of Royal Commission, 1852; Hebdomadal Council]
Publication details: 
[Brasenose College, University of Oxford] 8 April 1852.
£850.00

A highly-interesting document, written by a college head on the verge of the reforms resulting from the passing of the Oxford University Act of 1854 and setting up of the Hebdomadal Council, in which Harington states - in detail, at length and with great emphasis - his opposition to 'those who propose to strip the favoured classes of the privileges which Founders of Colleges have thought proper to confer on them', arguing that this will not 'necessarily ensure the election of the most distinguished candidates'.

[Sir Clements Markham, explorer in Peru, Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society.] Autograph Signature ('Clements Markham') on part of letter.

Author: 
Sir Clements Markham [Sir Clements Robert Markham] (1830-1916), geographer, explorer in Peru and writer, Secretary to Royal Geographical Society, organiser of British National Antarctic Expediition
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£23.00

On 3.5 x 9.5 cm slip of paper cut from letter. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. On one side, from the conclusion of the letter: 'Yours very truly | Clements Markham'. On the other: '[...] have failed me: so no[...] | [...] you mind my putting [...]'.

[Cloudesley Brereton, educationalist and poet.] Three Autograph Letters Signed to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, Secretary, Society of Arts, topics including a proposed lecture and America. With inscribed printed prospectus for 'Roger Bacon Commemoration'.

Author: 
Cloudesley Brereton [Cloudesley Shovell Henry Brereton] (1863-1937), educationalist and poet [Sir Henry Trueman Wood (1845-1929), Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, London; Roger Bacon]
Publication details: 
Letters: 4 January 1900, on letterhead of Briningham House, Melton Constable; 2 July 1901, on letterhead of Westminster Hotel, New York; 12 July [1913], on letterhead of 7 Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead, N.W. [London] Prospectus: July 1913.
£160.00

Four items, in good condition, lightly aged. The three letters with date stamps of the Society of Arts, and two with pencil annotations. All three signed 'Cloudesley Brereton'. ONE: ALS of 4 January 1900. 2pp, 12mo. He thanks him for his 'kindly intervention with the Board of Education', which he believes 'will in time bear good fruit'. He has been 'thinking over' Wood's 'suggestion of giving a lecture on the Rural Schools of France', and would 'much like to take it up if you have still a vacant date & you do not want it too soon - as I am just now overwhelmed with work'.

[Henry Betty, actor.] Autograph Letter Signed [to Madame Celeste, lessee of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, London], announcing his father's recovery from illness, and requesting 'the favour of an Order' [to a performance of 'A Tale of Two Cities'].

Author: 
Henry Betty [Henry Thomas Betty] (1819-1897), actor and founder of Betty's Fund for Poor Actors and Actresses, son of actor William Betty (1791-1874) [Madame Celeste, lessee, Royal Lyceum Theatre]
Publication details: 
'Thursday Morning. | Feb 16/60. [16 February 1860] | 37. Ampthill Square. | Hampstead Road. | Regents Park.' [London]
£90.00

The Times, 16 February 1860, announces 'the new drama, called A TALE OF TWO CITIES', at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, 'Sole Lessee and Directress, Madame Celeste'. ('Madame Céleste' [Céline Céleste-Elliott] (c.1815-1882) was a French dancer and actress.) 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded three times. The recipient is not named. The letter has a large signature ('Henry Betty.') with florid underlining.

[Charles Kean, actor.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Charles Kean') [to the actor Leigh Murray], regarding the securing of a Drury Lane theatre box from the doorkeeper 'Mr. Massingham'.With biographical item

Author: 
Charles Kean [Charles John Kean] (1811-1868), English actor born in Ireland, son of the celebrated Edmund Kean (1787-1833) [Henry Leigh Murray (1820-1870); 'Mr. Massingham', Drury Lane doorkeeper]
Publication details: 
'Thursday' [no date or place, but written from London, while performing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane].
£75.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of grey-paper mount on blank reverse, and minor discolouration at one edge from glue used. The actor Henry Leigh Murray (1820-1870) is identified in pencil as the recipient. The letter begins: 'My dear Sir, | You are quite welcome to a P[rivate]. Box if there is one to spare'. He asks him to 'call or send to Mr. Massingham at the Box Office at 1/2 past 4 o'clock who has received instructions to attend to your wishes, if all the Boxes are not let by that time'.

[Drinkwater Meadows, actor.] Autograph Letter Signed [to the actor Henry Leigh Murray], regarding the receipt of a card for a private box at Drury Lane from Charles Kean, and his serving 'on the Grand Jury at Clerkenwell Sessions House'.

Author: 
Drinkwater Meadows (c.1799-1869), actor at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London [Henry Leigh Murray and Charles Kean, actors]
Publication details: 
'Monday' [no date or place, but written on 18 August (no year) from London].
£35.00

See Meadows' entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient of the letter is not named, but it comes from the album of the actor Henry Leigh Murray, which also contained a letter regarding a theatre box from Charles Kean (offered separately). 1p, 12mo. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of grey paper mount on reverse, and slight discolouration at corners from glue. Written with mock-pomposity, and beginning: 'My dear Sir | I hereby give you notice that Mr C. Kean has delivered unto me a Card for a Private Box for to-morrow Augt. 19th.

[Sir Arthur Schuster of the University of Manchester, physicist who first described the concept of antimatter.] Typed Letter Signed ('Arthur Schuster') to Sir H. T. Wood, explaining his reason for declining to join council of Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir Arthur Schuster [Sir Franz Arthur Friedrich Schuster] (1851-1934), German-born physicist at the University of Manchester who first described the concept of antimatter
Publication details: 
30 June 1917. On letterhead of Yeldall, Twyford, Berks.
£120.00

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. With date stamp of the RSA. In response to a letter from Wood, he writes that he is 'highly honoured by the election to the membership of the Council of your Society', but that he is 'obliged to communicate to you my inability to accept it'. He explains: 'My work at the Royal Society has, in consequence of the War, increased to such an extent that I do not feel justified in undertaking any additional duties'.

[Edward Hull, geologist, Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Edward Hull') to Sir H. T. Wood, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, suggesting the reading of a paper by relative on the German use of fat in explosives.

Author: 
Edward Hull (1829-1917), Irish geologist, Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland and Professor of Geology in the Royal College of Science, Dublin [Royal Society of Arts, London]
Publication details: 
Undated, but with date stamp of the Royal Society of Arts, London, 24 March 1916. On letterhead of 14 Stanley Gardens, W. [London]
£50.00

3pp., 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. With date stamp of the RSA, and endorsement in blue pencil. He is writing to inform Wood that 'a relative of mine has written a paper on a subject of importance regarding the connection of fat [containing glycerin] with manufacture of explosives in Germany - and showing how that Country is approaching a crisis - when her supply of fat will be approaching exhaustion'.

[Suttons Seeds, Reading.] Typed Letter Signed from Martin H. J. Sutton of the Royal Seed Establishment to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, regarding his experiments with 'radio-active fertilizers'.

Author: 
[Suttons Seeds] Martin Hubert Foquet Sutton (1875-1930) of the Royal Seed Establishment, Reading, grandson of Martin Hope Sutton (1815-1901), seed merchant
Publication details: 
18 September 1915. On letterhead, with Royal Warrant, of The Royal Seed Establishment, Reading, England.
£120.00

See the entry for Martin Hope Sutton in the Oxford DNB, and that for his grandson Martin Hubert Fouquet Sutton in Who Was Who. 2pp, 4to. I good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times. With RSA date stamp. Signed 'Martin H F Sutton'. In reply to a letter from Menzies, Sutton expresses regret that 'it will be impossible for you to attend the Demonstration here on the 24th inst.' Sutton will be 'publishing certain particulars for the benefit of those present' and will be glad to send Menzies a copy.

[Royal Mail; General Post Office.] Six items in Postal History: subscription form for Post Office Relief Fund, 1914; circular from E. W. Walker of National Federation of Sub-Postmasters; article on 'A Postal Anniversary'; three Glasgow District items

Author: 
[Royal Mail; General Post Office; postal history; Post Office Relief Fund, 1914; National Federation of Sub-Postmasters; Glasgow District Manager; George Ritchie of Linlithgow]
Publication details: 
[Royal Mail; General Post Office; Glasgow District Manager] 1914, 1916 and 1940.
£220.00

Six items. The collection in fair condition, apart from Item Two. ONE: Printed form, a 'List of Subscribers' for the 'Post Office Relief Fund. | Second Appeal.' Dated '11/14T', i.e. November 1914. (In 1914 the Post Office set up a relief fund to help relatives of GPO staff who had gone off to fight.) 1p, folio. Eleven lines of text are followed by the 'List of Subscribers', in three columns headed: 'Name', 'Rate for every complete 10/-' and 'I hereby authorise the deduction of my Subscription from my salary', the last subdivided into 'Signature' and 'Rank'.

[James Robertson Anderson, Scottish actor.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J R Anderson') to 'Lloyds', explaining that he can no longer pay for his son's 'Board & lodging', suggesting that they live apart, getting the boy's sister 'to reason with him'.

Author: 
James Robertson Anderson (1811-1895), Scottish actor and dramatist [F. Lloyds of the Liverpool Theatre?]
Publication details: 
18 April 1871. 9 Clements Inn, Strand [London]. With his armorial letterhead.
£35.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. The letter begins: 'My dear Lloyds, | However I may grieve at any misunderstanding between you and James - I cannot interfere.

[James Robertson Anderson, Scottish actor and dramatist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J R Anderson') to Charles Perkins, Bath stage manager, sending news of the actress Helena Faucit, and giving 'a list of plays to select from' (half by Shakespeare).

Author: 
James Robertson Anderson (1811-1895), Scottish actor and dramatist [Charles Perkins [Christopher John Perkins], 'comedian', of the English Opera House, stage manager in Bath; Helena Faucit, actress]
Publication details: 
6 August 1843. Elm Cottage, Wellington Road, Bristol Road, Birmingham.
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 12mo bifolium, with the two-page letter on both sides the first leaf, and the list of plays on recto of second leaf. In fair condition, aged and worn, with closed tear. Folded three times. Addressed: 'To/ | Chas. Perkins Esqr. | 2 North Place | Hampstead.' The letter begins: 'My dear Perkins, | I have not been able to reply to your last earlier - having been confined to my bed-room ever since the 31st. of July by a most severe attack of inflammation.' He has been obliged to postpone his 'Cork engagement on account of this unseen misfortune'.

[Charles Bestland (Cantelowe Bestland), Royal Academy Schools artist.] Twelve Regency pencil portraits (for engraving?), middle-class sitters including James Millar, Encyclopaedia Britannica editor; Col. Serle; members of Trenchard family of Dorset.

Author: 
Charles Bestland (Cantelowe or Cantlo Bestland) of the Royal Academy Schools [Col. Serle; James Millar, Encyclopaedia Britannica editor; John Trenchard Pickard of Dorset]
Bestland
Publication details: 
English. The twelve dated in pencil between 1811 and 1829.
£950.00
Bestland

Twelve pencil portraits executed in the same extremely capable style, probably for the purposes of engraving. Each on a separate piece of 4to paper. All in good condition, with light signs of age and wear, a couple with minor flecking with red paint. All dated in pencil (between 1811 and 1829), and all but two captioned. (Several of the items with watermark date supporting the pencil dating.) Three of the portraits have the tiny signature at bottom left of 'Bestland', and all would appear to be the work of the same artist, although the last appears to be signed with the initials 'C H'.

[King Hussein of Jordan.] Six original unpublished photographs [taken on his State Visit to the United Kingdom?], showing outside an English country house [his own, in Ascot?], posing with staff, security and police.

Author: 
King Hussein of Jordan [Hussein bin Talal] (1935-1999)
Publication details: 
[Ascot, England?] 1970s? Or during his 1966 state visit to the United Kingdom?
£180.00

Six colour photographic prints, each 8.5 x 12.5 cm, four matt and two glossy. The indicates that these photographs were not the work of a professional, and the relaxed attitude of all present suggests that they were meant as a souvenir. Highly unlikely to have been published.

[Sir Norton Knatchbull, parliamentarian and biblical scholar.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Norton Knatchbull') [to Sir Anthony St Leger?], repeating financial undertakings made regarding 'a covenant for securing of the land from Sr William Parkhurst'.

Author: 
Sir Norton Knatchbull (1602-1685) of Mersham Hatch, Kent, parliamentarian, Hebraist and biblical scholar [Sir William Parkhurst (d.1667), Warden of the Royal Mint; Sir Anthony St Leger (c.1605-1680)]
Publication details: 
'Munday night | Dec. 12. 1659'.
£220.00

This item appears to relate to the efforts of Sir William Parkhurst to raise money in order to pay fines and other demands made on him as a royalist by the Commonwealth. Parkhurst had served as Warden of the Royal Mint from 1623 until its seizure by Parliament in 1642, being deprived of his post the following year. By the time of the present letter his circumstances become so straitened that he was obliged to sell his family’s Kent estates, to which he had retired after the fall of Oxford in 1646.

[British Army Regimental Colonels during the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne.] Contemporary Manuscript of Regimental Colonels in Britain, South Britain, North Britain [Scotland], Ireland, Gibraltar and Port Mahon (Minorca), with emendations

Author: 
British Army Regimental Colonels during the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne
Publication details: 
No date but circa 1715, and amended until the mid-1720s. No place [War Office, London?]
£280.00

The present early eighteenth-century document lists the heads of British Army regiments from the period of the Glorious Revolution to the accession of George I. Internal evidence suggests that it was compiled around 1715, and that it was amended until the mid-1720s. The care with which it was compiled, over a decade and in a number of hands, would appear to suggest some sort of official standing. It is on nineteen 18 x 7.5 cm leaves of laid paper, formed in ten bifoliums, now loose but originally bound together, and with traces of thread still present.

[Royal Navy Ophthalmic Department, Second World War.] Letterbook of Surgeon-Commander Edward John Littledale, Ophthalmic Specialist, of HMHS [Hospital Ship] Maine, containing two hundred AFOs [Admiralty Fleet Orders], circulars, correspondence.

Author: 
[Royal Navy Ophthalmic Department, Second World War] Surgeon-Commander Edward John Littledale (1906-2001), Ophthalmic Specialist, of HMHS [Hospital Ship] Maine
Publication details: 
[Admiralty, Whitehall, London.] Dating from between 1924 and 1946, with the greater number issued during the Second World War.
£450.00

Laid down on 138pp of a quarto volume. The contents are in good overall condition, lightly aged and worn, but the binding of the volume is in poor condition, heavily worn, with the leather spine split and damaged and the front board becoming detached. Meticulously arranged, with autograph thumb-index and list of AFOs at front, and autograph emendations in red ink to various orders, many of which are marked 'Cancelled'. Ownership signature and title on flyleaf: 'E. J. Littledale. | A. F. Os etc dealing with Ophthalmic Department'.

[Rudyard Kipling: rare pamphlet, American first printing preceding English publication.] A Naval Mutiny.

Author: 
Rudyard Kipling
Publication details: 
Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. 1931. ['Printed in the United States at the Country Life Press | Garden City, N. Y.'
£180.00

[2] + 18pp, 8vo. In cream printed wraps, with duplication in green on cover of title-page, but without year. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with crease running next to the spine, slightly at an angle. This American Copyright printing - said to have been limited to 75 privately-distributed copies - was published 13 November 1931, and preceded the English publication (in The Story-Teller magazine, December 1931) by around a month. Stewart 596; Livingston 569. The rare American Copyright issue. Richards A399, Livingston 569, Stewart 596. Reprinted in 1932 in Limits and Renewals.

[Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J R Jellicoe') congratulating 'Cecil', i.e. future Admiral Sir Stanley Colville, on the birth of a son, discussing his 'joining' the ship as guest.

Author: 
Admiral Jellicoe [Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe] (1859-1935), commander of Grand Fleet at Battle of Jutland [Admiral Sir Stanley Cecil James Colville (1861-1939)]
Publication details: 
30 September 1907. On letterhead of HMS Albemarle, Atlantic Fleet.
£150.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with a few light stains from mount. Folded once. Having seen the Times announcement of the birth of Cecil's son the previous Saturday, Jellicoe sends his 'Most hearty congratulations' on the birth of Cecil's son, and is 'so delighted that all is going so satisfactorily & that you can come to see us on the 14th.

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