ST

[Florence Nightingale and her charity the Nightingale Fund, established in 1855.] Printed Circular of facsimile of an ALS by Samuel Carter Hall, on the proposed dissolution of the Fund, with manuscript letter announcing a meeting of the trustees.

Author: 
[Florence Nightingale and her charity the Nightingale Fund, established in 1855.] S. C. Hall [Samuel Carter Hall] (1800-1889), editor of Art Journal; Lord Herbert of Lea [Sidney Herbert] (1810-1861)]
Publication details: 
Facsimile letter as a circular from 'Office of the Nightingale Fund. / 5 Parliament Street / May 19. 1857.' Actual manuscript letter: 22 March 1858; on letterhead of Lord Herbert's town house, 49 Belgrave Square [London].
£120.00

See the entries on Nightingale, Hall and Herbert in the Oxford DNB. The Nightingale Fund was established in the Crimea on 29 November 1855, to raise money for the training of nurses. As a result of discussions held at the time of this circular the money from the Fund was used to set up the first nursing school, the Nightingale Training School, at St Thomas’s Hospital in 1860. ONE: Printed circular in form of a facsimile ALS from ‘S. C. Hall / Hon. Sec.’ 1p, 8vo. On first leaf of a bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Twenty-four lines of text.

[Frank Richards, pseudonym of the children’s author Charles Hamilton, creator of Billy Bunter and Greyfriars School.] Autograph Signature 'Frank Richards' to Typescript of his Latin translation of ‘Won’t you come home, Bill Bailey?’

Author: 
Frank Richards, pseudonym of Charles Hamilton (1876-1961), children's author, creator of Billy Bunter and Greyfriars School
Publication details: 
24 November 1959.
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Hamilton was a keen Latinist, even translating one of his Greyfriars stories into the language. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with two corners dogeared. Folded for postage. Good firm signature at bottom left: ‘Frank Richards’.

[Alfred Waterhouse, RA, Victorian Gothic Revival architect who designed Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum, London.] Autograph Letter Signed to his son's headmaster Rev. H. W. Sneyd-Kynnersley, regarding the boy's deficiencies.

Author: 
Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905), RA, Victorian Gothic Revival architect of Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum,[Rev. Herbert William Sneyd-Kynnersley, headmaster of St George's, Ascot]
Publication details: 
28 July 1874; on letterhead of Fox Hill, Reading.
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Sneyd-Kinnersley is the headmaster who is alleged to have subjected a naked seven-year-old Winston Churchill to repeated beatings. 3pp, 12mo. With mourning border. Letterhead (no doubt designed by Waterhouse himself) in characteristic style. On grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Good expansive signature ‘A Waterhouse’, and the letter written in a stylish hand. Addressed to ‘The Rev: H. W Sneyd Kinnersley’.

[Private Press: ‘The first (and only) title set, printed and published by the Janus Press at Bickley in Kent.] Printed play by Charles Duff: ‘An Irish Idyll’ (previously broadcast on the Home Service of the BBC).

Author: 
Charles Duff [Charles St Lawrence Duff] (1894-1966); The Janus Press, Bickley, Kent [British Broadcasting Corporation]
Publication details: 
‘THE FIRST BOOKLET set, printed and published by the Janus Press at Bickley in Kent 1933’. [The Janus Press, Albyfield, Bickley, Kent, England.
£120.00

See his entry in the Dictionary of National Biography. From the papers of Sylvia and Robert Lynd. Scarce: only three copies on JISC (Oxford, NLS and BL). 24pp, 12mo. Stapled. In blue printed wraps with flaps. Colophon on first page, with small indistinguishable device: ‘THE FIRST BOOKLET / set, printed and published by the / Janus Press at Bickley in Kent / 1933’. Title-page: ‘AN IRISH IDYLL / CHARLES DUFF / [crude vignette of shamrock] / Janus Press’. Information on reverse of title includes: ‘An Irish Idyll was first used by / The British Broadcasting Corporation / on the 12th.

[King William IV as Duke of Clarence.] Signature on [attempted] frank addressed to Mrs Skelton of St Albans.

Author: 
King William IV (1765-1837), from 1789 Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, ascended the throne in 1830
William IV
Publication details: 
23 December 1837; Bushy.
£35.00
William IV

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11 x 7 cm panel cut from the cover of the envelope. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on brown paper cut from album. The intial ‘C’ of the Duke’s name curls under the rest of the signature with a loop, and with end of flourish possibly trimmed in cutting the panel. (Comparison with other examples of the future king’s signature as Duke of Clarence indicate that whatever loss there may be would be minimal.) Laid out in the customary fashion. Reads: ‘Bushy. December twenty third 1827 / Mrs: Skelton / Sandridge Lodge / St: Alban’s / Street’.

‘Lease of the Dock Yard at Plymouth’: Manuscript draft by lawyers Wimburn, Colletts & Dyson, of indenture between Sir John St Aubyn and ‘The Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty’s Navy’.

Author: 
[Plymouth Royal Navy Dock Yard] Sir John St Aubyn (1758-1839), 5th Baronet, landowner, politician and fossil collector
Publication details: 
Draft indenture dated 1 November 1830.
£180.00

St Aubyn’s entry in the Oxford DNB makes no mention of Plymouth or the Royal Navy. 9pp, foolscap 8vo, on nine leaves of laid paper with fleur-de-lys watermark. In poor condition: an attempt has been made to burn the document, and the left-hand side of each leaf has been badly damaged, with much of it crumbled away in burnt flakes, and the surviving text badly marked on that side. The description on the outside of the packet states that the draft is ‘For the perusal of Mr. Jones’ (presumably St Aubin’s lawyer).

[British coastal defence in the Napoleonic Wars.] Manuscript document giving itemised daily and yearly expenditure at twelve coastal military establishments (forts and castles).

Author: 
[British coastal defence in the Napoleonic Wars] Landguard Fort; St. Maws; Pendennis Castle; Plymouth and St Nicholas Island; Portland Castle; Hull and the Blockhouse; Hurst Castle; Holy Island
British coastal defence
Publication details: 
Undated. Annotated in another hand ‘Winchelsea / 1805’.
£320.00
British coastal defence

An interesting document, neatly laid out in black with red underlining on both sides of 29 x 42 cm leaf. Painted in black lengthwise near one edge is ‘Winchelsea / 1805’, and 1805 would be a good year for the document’s composition, with Britain fighting the Napoleonic Wars and in the midst of invasion fears around the time of the Battle of Trafalgar. 2pp, large folio. On thick laid paper watermarked either ‘VI’ or ‘IV’ (depending on which side you look from). In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with closed tears and one nick (not affecting text) along central horizontal fold.

[Lord St Helens [Alleyne Fitzherbert, Baron St Helens], diplomat, Ambassador to Russia and Chief Secretary for Ireland.] Autograph Letter Signed from St Petersburgh to General Bentham, introducing 'Mr. Vaxel', who is coming to study in England..

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 [General Bentham]
Publication details: 
'St. Petersburgh 26th. Jany. 1802.'
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. For the context see Irina and Dmitri Gouzevitch, ‘Travelling interchanges between the Russian Empire and Western Europe / The Travels of Engineers during the First Half of the Nineteenth Century’, in Simões, Carneiro and Diogo eds, ‘Travels of Learning / A Geography of Science in Europe’ (Boston, 2003). 1p, 8vo. Nineteen lines of closely-written text. On aged and worn paper. The item has been torn away from a mount, resulting in damage to the two outer corners, with the area immediately to the right of the signature ‘St Helens’ lacking.

[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.

[St John Ervine [pseudonym of John Greer Irvine], Ulster playwright and novelist.] Typed Letter Signed to Miss Esther Boyer, declining to respond to a 'cub reporter'.

Author: 
St John Ervine [pseudonym of John Greer Irvine (1883-1971)], Ulster playwright and novelist
Publication details: 
21 December 1938. On letterhead of Honey Ditches, Seaton, Devon.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On worn and aged paper, with L-shaped closed tear at left-hand edge. Folded for postage. Addressed to her at Bebington in the Wirral. Loose, smudged signature ‘St John Ervine’. He thanks her for her ‘letter and its enclosure, which I return. If I were to rebuke every cub reporter who wrote so stupidly as the young man to whom you refer, I should fill The Observer with my reproofs, apart altogether from the fact, that I should be giving the young man an exaggerated sense of his importance.

[Walter H. Pollock, poet and author.] Autograph Letter Signed to ?Thomas?, regarding ?Dr Waldstein? and the ?Ajax business?.

Author: 
Walter H. Pollock [Walter Herries Pollock] (1850-1926), poet, author and editor of the London ?Saturday Review?, son of Sir William Frederick Pollock (1815-1888), 2nd Baronet
Publication details: 
18 November 1882. On letterhead of the Savile Club, 107 Piccadilly, W. [London]
£45.00

See his father?s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 16mo. On first leaf of bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. The recipient?s full name is not give. Signed ?Walter H Pollock?. The ?Ajax business? referred to in the letter is the performance of the first of the Cambridge Greek plays, organised by the archaeologist Sir Charles Walston [formerly Waldstein] (1856-1927).

St John Hankin [St. John Emile Clavering Hankin, Edwardian ?New Drama? playwright.] Two Autograph Letter Signed to actor-manager Otho Stuart, one asking to read him a ?new play?, the other asking for the return of a script.

Author: 
St John Hankin [St. John Emile Clavering Hankin (1869-1909)], Edwardian playwright and essayist, follower of Bernard Shaw and exponent of the ?New Drama? [Otho Stuart (1863-1930), actor-manage]
Publication details: 
ONE: 2 November 1906; on letterhead of the Savile Club, 107 Piccadilly, W. [London] TWO: 2 February 1908; 30 Brechin Place, S.W. [London]
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Stuart was at the time actor-manager of the Adelphi Theatre, London. Both items in good condition, lightly aged, and folded for postage. ONE: 3pp, 12mo (the third page carrying a postscript written lengthwise). Bifolium. Begins: ?Dear Sir / I have a new play which I should like to read to you if you would care to hear it.

St John Hankin [St. John Emile Clavering Hankin, Edwardian ?New Drama? playwright.] Autograph Letter Signed to Alexander Louis Teixeira de Mattos

Author: 
St John Hankin [St. John Emile Clavering Hankin (1869-1909)], Edwardian playwright, follower of Bernard Shaw and exponent of ?New Drama? [Alexander Louis Teixeira de Mattos (1865-1921). See Wikipedia]
Publication details: 
10 June [1897]; from Stratford-on-Avon, on cancelled letterhead of 11 Addison Road, Bedford Park [London].
£75.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with rusting from a paperclip to both leaves. Addressed to 'Mr Texeira [sic] de Mattos' and signed 'S John E. C. Hankin'. He thanks him for the cheque and is sorry to hear that the recipient's 'great project has come to nought - at least for the moment'. He expects that de Mattos saw 'the Bankruptcy of the New Saturday duly chronicled? You were a true prophet. I gather it will pay nothing in the ?'. The New Saturday was a short-lived newspaper, going to the wall after a few issues in 1897.

[Katharine Bruce Glasier [née Katharine St John Conway], socialist and suffragist, wife of Scottish politician John Bruce Glasier.] Signed Autograph Inscription (as ‘Katherine o’ the Bruce’) on postcard with photographic of ‘The Waterfall, Earby’.

Author: 
Katharine Bruce Glasier [née Katharine St John Conway] (1867-1950), socialist and suffragist, wife of Scottish politician John Bruce Glasier (1859-1920) [Clough & Wells, Skipton photographers]
Katharine Bruce Glasier
Publication details: 
Undated [post 1922]. 'Real Photo Post Card | Printed in Great Britain', by 'Clough & Well's / Nile Series / Skipton'.
£90.00
Katharine Bruce Glasier

See her entry, and that of her husband, in the Oxford DNB. Black and white print postcard, on shiny paper stock. In good condition, lightly aged. Showing image of waterfall in thick foliage, with caption at foot ‘The Waterfall, Earby.’ Photographers’ details at bottom right.

[General Sir Robert Gardiner of the Royal Artillery, Master Gunner, St James’s Park.] Autograph Letter in the third person to ‘Mr Pettigrew’, i.e. Thomas Joseph Pettigrew, doctor and Egyptologist, regarding ‘General Anderson'.

Author: 
General Sir Robert Gardiner (1781-1864) of the Royal Artillery, Master Gunner, St James’s Park [Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (1791-1865), doctor, antiquary and Egyptologist]
Publication details: 
No date. ‘The Gun House / Parade / St James’s Park’.
£45.00

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’.

[Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, son of George III.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Augustus Frederick') [to Earl St Vincent], attacking the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool while discussing his election as President of the Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), sixth son of George III, bibliophile [John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (1735-1823), naval hero; Ellis Cornelia Knight (1757-1837); Lord Liverpool]
Publication details: 
Kensington Palace; 3 February 1816.
£350.00

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.

[Sir John Gilbert, RA, painter and illustrator.] Autograph Letter Signed to the composer and antiquary Doyne Courtenay Bell, providing information regarding a painting of 'the Queen holding a drawing Room at St James's Palace'.

Author: 
Sir John Gilbert (1817-1897), RA, painter and illustrator [Doyne Courtenay Bell (c.1830-1888), court official, omposer and antiquary]
Sir John Gilbert
Publication details: 
'Blackheath 4th April' [no year].
£85.00
Sir John Gilbert

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.

[Henry Hart Milman, historian, Dean of St Paul’s and Professor of Poetry at Oxford.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir George Cornewall Lewis, regarding his desire to build a church.

Author: 
Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868), historian, Dean of St Paul’s and Professor of Poetry at Oxford [Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-1863), Chancellor of the Exchequer]
Publication details: 
‘Cloisters West[minste]r. Abbey / March 20th’ [no year].
£45.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. 2pp, 12mo. Signed ‘H H Milman’ and addressed to ‘G. C. Lewis Esq’. Written in a crabbed hand. Begins: ‘My dear Lewis / I think that I mentioned to you my great wish to build a Church for the [?] of St Margarets.

[Henry Hart Milman, historian, Dean of St Paul’s and Professor of Poetry at Oxford.] Autograph Letter Signed to the novelist Thomas Henry Lister.

Author: 
Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868), historian, Dean of St Paul’s and Professor of Poetry at Oxford [Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), novelist]
Publication details: 
‘Cloisters [Westminster Abbey] / Decr 31st. 1841 -’.
£45.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. 2pp, 16mo. Signed ‘H H Milman’ and addressed to ‘My dear Mr Lister’ (the item is from the papers of Lister’s wife Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-1865; ODNB). He begins by congratulating Lister on the birth of his daughter ‘and the safety of Lady Theresa’.

[Edward Grenfell [Edward Charles Grenfell, 1st Baron St Just], banker and politician.] Autograph Letter Signed, praising ‘Mr Ross’ for the extra work he has undertaken during ‘this unhappy year’, in an attempt to ‘aid your country’s interest'.

Author: 
Edward Grenfell [Edward Charles Grenfell, 1st Baron St Just] (1870-1941), banker and politician [Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross] (1877-1971), Scottish philosopher]
Publication details: 
31 December 1915; on letterhead of 22 Old Broad Street, London, E.C.
£50.00

See the entries for Grenfell and Ross in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium of light-grey paper. In fair condition, aged and spotted. Folded once for postage. The identity of the recipient is unclear, but the item derives from the papers of Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross], Scottish philosopher and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (see the Oxford DNB).

[Alan Bullock [Lord Bullock], historian and biographer of Adolf Hitler.] Typed Letter Signed to Philip Dosse, proprietor of ‘Books and Bookmen’, explaining that he has already agreed to review Toland’s biography of Hitler for another publication.

Author: 
Alan Bullock [Alan Louis Charles Bullock; Lord Bullock] (1914-2004), historian and biographer of Hitler, Master of St Catherine’s College and Oxford Vice-Chancellor [Philip Dosse (c.1924-1980)]
Publication details: 
22 February 1977. On letterhead 'From the Master . St. Catherine's College . Oxford'.
£45.00

See Bullock's entry in the Oxford DNB. From the archives of Philip Dosse, proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of the ‘Seven Arts’ group of magazines, including ‘Books and Bookmen’ and ‘Plays and Players’. See ‘Death of a Bookman’ by the novelist Sally Emerson (editor of ‘Books and Bookmen’ at the time of Dosse’s suicide), in Standpoint magazine, October 2018. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly creased. Folded twice for postage.

[Martin Shaw, composer associated with ‘English pastoralism’, conductor and organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields.] Autograph Card Signed, with autograph musical notation of the beginning of his ‘Romance’.

Author: 
Martin Shaw [Martin Edward Fallas Shaw] (1875-1958), composer associated with ‘English pastoralism’, conductor and organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields
Publication details: 
Dated by Shaw to May 1921. No place.
£65.00

An attractive item by a leading exponent of ‘English pastoralism’. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Bass and treble notation of opening bars, headed ‘Romance / Andante ma non molto’. On one side of 9 x 11 cm card with rounded edges. Firm signature at bottom right: ‘Martin Shaw / May 1921’. In good condition, lightly aged. See Image.

[St Thomas Lunatic Asylum near Exeter, founded in 1795.] Printed bill, filled out in manuscript, for sum due by ‘Mr. Penny’ for ‘Board and Maintenance’, with Signed Autograph Note of receipt by treasurer John Mackintosh, and note on annual accounts.

Author: 
St Thomas Lunatic Asylum, near Exeter, founded in 1795 [John Mackintosh, Treasurer; James Penny, Exeter bookseller; William Seacombe]
Asylum
Publication details: 
‘Lunatic Asylum, near Exeter.’ Made out for the period between 6 May and 1 July 1811. Slug: ‘Trewmans, Printers, Exeter.’
£80.00
Asylum

An interesting piece of Exeter ephemera. See ‘Besley’s Exeter Directory for 1835’: ‘LUNATIC ASYLUM, St. Thomas. Founded in 1795. The expenses are defrayed by the board of patients whose friends can afford to pay for their maintenance, and by benefactions, legacies, &c.’ (In the entry ‘John Mackintosh’ is still listed as treasurer.) 1p, landscape 12mo. Addressed by Mackintosh on reverse to ‘Mr. James Penny / Bookseller / Fore St. / Exeter’. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper, with slight staining and damage from breaking open wafer.

`[HMS Beacon, HMS Britannia and HMS St Vincent.] Three separate returns of armaments for three Royal Navy ships, each in manuscript, two on printed forms.

Author: 
HMS Beacon, HMS Britannia, HMS St Vincent [Royal Navy ships in the nineteenth century; the Admiralty, Whitehall]
Publication details: 
Return for HMS St Vincent dated 31 July 1833; the other two from the 1830s. [to the Admiralty, Whitehall]
£280.00

HMS Beacon (launched in 1820 as HMS Meteor and renamed in 1832) was a survey ship (having been under her previous name a Hecla-class bomb vessel), sold in 1846. HMS Britannia, the third of the name, was launched in 1820. She took part in the Siege of Sebastopol, and later in 1854 was driven ashore on the Russian coast, thereafter serving as a training ship until being sold for breaking in 1869.

[Francis Newbery & Sons, London medicine proprietors.] Manuscript Letter to the Dean of Carlisle [Francis Close), providing a translation of a letter on the best way of taking a medicine.

Author: 
Francis Newbery & Sons, the medical arm of the London publishers founded at St Paul’s Churchyard by John Newbery [Francis Close (1797-1882), Dean of Carlisle]
Publication details: 
1 February 1876. On letterhead of ‘37, Newgate Street, / (Established 125 Years in St. Paul’s Church Yard,) / London’.
£220.00

The history of the business is convoluted. See the entries in the Oxford DNB of the founder of the firm John Newbery (c.1713-1767) of St Paul’s Churchyard, his son Francis Newbery (1743-1818), and Elizabeth Newbery, née Bryant (c.1746-1821, widow of Francis Newbery (c.1740-1780), cousin of the aforementioned Francis, who, according to Oxford DNB, ‘had studied chemistry and medicine but on the death of his father in 1767 he was urged by Samuel Johnson and Robert James to continue the business of publishing and selling patent medicines which he had inherited as the only surviving son. ...

[Margaret Leighton, English actress.] Autograph Letter Signed, thanking Kenneth Sephton for his letter concerning ‘Separate Tables’ and other work.

Author: 
Margaret Leighton (1922-1976), English actress
Publication details: 
29 March [1956]. St James’s Theatre [London].
£50.00

Leighton’s entry in the Oxford DNB explains that ‘In 1954 she began a long run (nearly four years in London and New York) as Anne Shankland and Sybil Railton-Bell in the double bill of Terence Rattigan's Separate Tables, co-starring with Eric Portman and winning a Tony award as best actress.’ 2pp, 4to. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Sephton’, with good bold signature, ‘Margaret Leighton.’ In good condition, lightly aged, folded for postage.

[Edgar Jacob, Bishop of St Albans; Colenso.] Autograph Letter Signed to Rev. R. Wilkins appealing for English Church Union subscribers to ?help towards undoing the mischief? caused by Bishop Colenso?s ?defection? in Natal.

Author: 
Edgar Jacob (1844-1920), Bishop of St Albans [John William Colenso (1814-1883), controversial Anglican Bishop of Natal; English Church Union]
Publication details: 
No date [circa 1865].
£56.00

See Jacob?s entry, and Colenso?s, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Addressed to ?The / Revd. R. Wilkins?.

[Ernst Philipp Graf von Brunnow, longtime Russian Ambassador to the Court of St James [Great Britain].] Autograph Signature and valediction of letter in English.

Author: 
Ernst Philipp Graf von Brunnow (1797-1875), Baltic German diplomat who served in the Russian Empire, for thirty years (1840-1854, 1858-1874) Russian Ambassador to the Court of St James [Great Britain]
Brunnow
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£56.00
Brunnow

A close, controlled hand, on a slip of paper 10 x 1 cm. See Image. In good condition, lightly aged with a little light red spotting. Reads: ?Believe me / faithfully yours / Brunnow?.

[Alastair Sims, much-loved Scottish character actor, star of the St Trinian’s films.] Typed Letter Signed to Adza Vincent, secretary to the playwright Christopher Fry, regarding ‘Christopher’s Bedford talk’.

Author: 
Alastair Sim [Alastair George Bell Sim] (1900-1976), much-loved Scottish character actor, star of the St Trinian’s films [Adza Vincent (1917-1995), secretary to playwright Christopher Fry]
Publication details: 
20 January 1956; on letterhead of Forrigan, Newnham Hill, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
£50.00

A good firm signature, and not a common one. While hugely popular (see his entry in the Oxford DNB), Sims was an intensely private man, who refused to give autographs. 1p, landscape 12mo. In fair condition lightly aged and with slight rust spotting from paperclip; folded for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Adza Vincent, / My wife and I both thank you for sending Christopher’s Bedford talk. I have taken the liberty of typing a copy for own archives, and can now return the one you sent. / With renewed thanks, / Yours sincerely, / Alastair Sim’.

[A Lancashire slaver and his coach.] Two itemised manuscript receipts for work on a coach from the London coachmaker Thomas Thorpe to the Lancashire slave trader William Atherton of Prescot Hall, one signed by Thorpe.

Author: 
Thomas Thorpe, London coachmaker [William Atherton (1742-1803) of Prescot Hall, St Helens, Lancashire, slave trader and owner of plantations in Jamaica]
Publication details: 
1799 and 1801. [Thorpe & Co., Coachmakers, 210 Holborn, London.]
£280.00

An indication of how slavers spent the fruits of their slaves’ labours. With the advent of slavery studies William Atherton has been the subject of a deal of interest, reflected on his Wikipedia page. Thorpe and Lee are listed as coachmakers at 210 Holborn in 1791; in 1803 the firm is named as Thorpe and Co at the same address. The two items are written out in a secretarial hand, each on a long strip made by cutting a folio leaf in half vertically. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Each with slight damage from the breaking open of the wafer.

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