STAR

[Sir Courtenay Ilbert, Clerk of the House of Commons and Viceroy of India’s Council.] Autograph Letter Signed to his daughter Joyce, written from SS Cedric, White Star Line, describing the holiday.

Author: 
Sir Courtenay Ilbert [Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert] (1841-1924), Clerk of the House of Commons, 1902-1921; drafter of the ‘Ilbert Bill’ as Viceroy of India's Council
Publication details: 
25 November 1913. On letterhead of SS Cedric, White Star Line.
£35.00

Written while Clerk of the Commons. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Joyce Violet Ilbert (1890-1957) was the youngest of his five daughters. 8pp, 12mo. Two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed to ‘My Dear Joyce’ and signed ‘Yr. loving father | C. P. I.’ Begins: ‘I wish for my sake that you were on board the Cedric - for I miss my [?]-valet-secretary very much. If you were here, you would be hoping that the voyage would never come to an end’. They have had ‘almost perpetual sunshine since we left New York’. ‘The ship is extremely comfortable.

[The Cambridge Apostles, 1871.] Autograph Letter Signed from Frederic Ferrar, proprietor of the Star and Garter, Richmond, to Tom Taylor regarding arrangements for a dinner of the ‘Cambridge Conversazione Soc[iet]y’ [Apostles].

Author: 
The Cambridge Apostles, 1871; the Cambridge Conversazione Society; Frederic Ferrar, proprietor of the Star and Garter, Richmond; Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright and comic writer
Publication details: 
11 June 1871. On letterhead of the Star and Garter, Richmond Hill.
£200.00

A nice item relating to a famously secretive and influential society. See Taylor’s entry in the Oxford DNB (Ferrar is not to be confused with the Dean of Canterbury Frederic Farrar, who was an Apostle). 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. Sixteen lines, very neatly written. On aged and creased paper, with part of the leaf torn away at top left (not affecting text). Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Tom Taylor Esqre. / 8 Richmond Terrace / Whitehall / S.W.’ and signed ‘Fredc: Ferrar. / Genl.

[Deanna Durbin, Hollywood star.] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Deanna Durbin (1921-2013), Canadian film actress and Hollywood star
Deanna Durbin
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£30.00
Deanna Durbin

Clearly given in response to a request for an autograph. Neatly written and centred on one side of a 12 x 7.5 cm piece of pink paper. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with vertical crease close to the left-hand edge. Reads: ‘Best wishes - / Deanna Durbin’. See Image.

[Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Hollywood star.] Publicity Photograph with Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. [Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr.] (1909-2000), Hollywood star and film producer
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Publication details: 
No date or place, but during the latter part of his life.
£65.00
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

A 7.5 x 10 cm photograph on 8.5 x 13 cm piece of shiny Kodac paper. Black and white head and shoulders shot of an old Fairbanks, nattily attired in jacket and tie, smiling at the camera towards his right shoulder. Signed ‘Douglas Fairbanks’ beneath the photograph in blue felt-tip pen. In very good condition. See Image.

['The Rockville Rocket': Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter, international pop star big in the 60s.] Signed Autograph Inscription.

Author: 
Gene Pitney [Gene Francis Alan Pitney] (1940-2006), 'The Rockville Rocket', American singer-songwriter, international pop star big in the 60s
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£25.00

See his obituary in the Guardian, 5 April 2006. On irregularly-shaped trapezoid of ruled paper, roughly 8 cm wide at top, with one vertical side also 8cm, and the other 4cm, giving it a guillotine shape. Lightly aged and ruckled. Blank on the reverse. Reads: ?Best / always / Gene Pitney?.

[Sir Cliff Richard, popular British singer and film actor.] Autograph Signature to black and white print of publicity photograph of him in swimming trunks, seated on a beach between two girls in bikinis.

Author: 
Sir Cliff Richard (born 1940 as Harry Rodger Webb), popular British singer and film actor, the top-selling artist in the English singles chart, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley
Cliff Richard
Publication details: 
No date or place. [Early 1960s.]
£90.00
Cliff Richard

Lightly-written signature (?Cliff Richard?) in blue ink at bottom left of 21 x 16 cm photographic print on glossy paper of black and white publicity photograph of a tanned Richard sitting in swimming trunks with his hands on his knees, looking at the viewer between two rather plain brunettes in bikinis. The print is somewhat creased and worn, with minor discoloration to white border at the top edge. See Image.

[Deborah Kerr, Hollywood film star from Scotland, six-time Oscar nominee.] Autograph Inscription Signed, beneath pencil sketch portrait of her by Kenneth Sephton, with a second portrait overleaf.

Author: 
Deborah Kerr, stage name of Deborah Jane Trimmer (1921-2007), Hollywood film star from Scotland, nominated six times for the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Actress [Kenneth Sephton]
Kerr
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£100.00
Kerr

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. The inscription, firmly-written in pencil, reads, ‘With best wishes / Deborah Kerr.’, and is written beneath a pencil portrait of a smiling Kerr’s face and shoulders, competently-executed in typical fifties style. On recto of 10 x 12.5 cm leaf of a tracing paper bifolium, the verso of the second leaf carrying, upside-down, an outline sketch of Kerr. The paper is somewhat creased and worn.

[Evelyn Laye, English actress and singer, star of stage and screen.] Autograph Signature added at foot of pencil sketch of her by Kenneth Sephton.

Author: 
Evelyn Laye [née Elsie Evelyn Lay] (1900-1996), English actress and singer, star of stage and screen, associated with Noel Coward [Kenneth Sephton]
Laye
Publication details: 
No date or place. [1950s]
£90.00
Laye

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. After a stint as one of George Edwardes’ Gaiety Girls, she made her name in a number of revues, her performance in the lead role of the 1929 Broadway production of ‘Bitter Sweet’ prompting Coward to praise her grace and charm and assurance, which he said provoked one of the most prolonged outbursts of cheering I have ever heard in the theatre. She was less successful in Hollywood, starring in the Romberg/Hammerstein musical ‘One Heavenly Night’ (1931), a failure for Samuel Goldwyn.

['The Rockville Rocket': Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter, international pop star big in the 60s.] Signed Autograph Inscription.

Author: 
Gene Pitney [Gene Francis Alan Pitney] (1940-2006), 'The Rockville Rocket', American singer-songwriter, international pop star big in the 60s
Pitney
Publication details: 
No place or date.
Upon request
Pitney

See his obituary in the Guardian, 5 April 2006. On irregularly-shaped trapezoid of ruled paper, roughly 8 cm wide at top, with one vertical side also 8cm, and the other 4cm, giving it a guillotine shape. Lightly aged and ruckled. Blank on the reverse. Reads: ‘Best / always / Gene Pitney’.

[Dame Judi Dench, star of stage and screen.] Typed Letter Signed to Neil Hurst, responding to his expression of appreciation for her work.

Author: 
Dame Judi Dench [Judith Olivia Dench] (b.1934), star of stage and screen, widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest actresses
Publication details: 
11 January 2000. No address, on paper headed ‘JUDI DENCH’.
£56.00

See her entry in Encyclopedia Britannica. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with some grubbiness around the top-left corner. The text of the letter and the stylish and assured signature are unaffected. Reads: ‘Dear Neil Hurst, / Thank you very much for your letter. I’m delighted to know that you have enjoyed my work, and it was kind of you to write. / I have pleasure in sending you a signed photograph, with my best wishes. / Yours sincerely, / Judi Dench’. Dench terminates the signature with a diagonal dash through a widely-spaced colon.

[Ivor Novello, popular Welsh composer, actor, playwright and movie star.] Autograph Signature for autograph hunter.

Author: 
Ivor Novello [born David Ivor Davies] (1893-1951), Welsh composer, actor, playwright and movie star, one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the twentieth century
Publication details: 
Without place or date (circa 1943?).
£25.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 17.5 x 11 cm leaf of pink paper, extracted from an autograph album. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. In a large sprawling hand: ‘All good wishes / Ivor Novello’. On the reverse: ‘The “Cock-lodger” July 1943 / Don. Dobson / (Dobbie)’.

[Geoffrey Jenkins, South African journalist and novelist, friend of Ian Fleming and author of an unpublished James Bond novel.] Typed Letter Signed to the autograph hunter Eileen Cond, regarding his next novel ‘A Grue of Ice’.

Author: 
Geoffrey Jenkins [Geoffrey Ernest Jenkins] (1920-2001), South African writer, husband of Eve Palmer, friend of Ian Fleming, author of an unpublished James Bond novel [Eileen Cond, autograph hunter]
Publication details: 
10 February 1961; on letterhead of The Star (‘Pretoria Office’).
£120.00

Jenkins’s Bond book ‘Per Fine Ounce’, which he claimed was based on a diamond-smuggling storyline he had developed with Fleming in 1957, was rejected by Fleming’s production company Glidrose in 1966. The recipient Eileen Margaret Cond (1911-1984) of Honiton was an enthusiastic collector of autographs, with the ability of drawing a more than perfunctory response from her targets. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Signed 'Geoffrey Jenkins'.

[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’.

[‘Britain's original “It” girl’: Chili Boucher, movie star.] Autograph Letter Signed and Typed Letter Signed to Eileen Cond, including references to touring Egypt with ENSA, her protest against theatre closure, and writing about her ‘peculiar’ life.

Author: 
Chili Bouchier [Dorothy Irene Boucher] (1909-1999), English movie star [Eileen Margaret Cond]
Publication details: 
ALS: 17 August 1944; 27 Oakington Manor Drive, Wembley. TLS: 31 October 1962; 807 Howard House, Dolphin Square, London SW1.
£165.00

See her Guardian obituary by Ronald Bergan, ‘Britain's original “It” girl, who rose from shop assistant to movie star’, 13 September 1999. Both items in good condition, lightly aged and folded for postage. Both letters with good content. Eileen Margaret Cond (1911-1984) of Honiton was an enthusiastic autograph collector, and she had an ability to draw a more than perfunctory response from her targets. ONE (1944 ALS): 2pp, 8vo. Addressed to ‘Dear Miss Cond’ and signed ‘Chili Bouchier’. Begins: ‘Just a wee line to thank you so much for your nice Xmas card which was forwarded to me in Egypt.

[Dame Anna Neagle [Florence Marjorie Wilcox], English star of stage and film.] Typed Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Lazenby’ concerning photographs and a party.

Author: 
Anna Neagle, stage name of Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox [née Robertson] (1904-1986), English star of stage and film
Publication details: 
22 January 1938; from the London Palladium.
£38.00

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On grey paper. In fair condition, with a few light creases and two punch-holes to inner margin. Good large signature (‘Anna Neagle.’) in black ink. She thanks him for his letter and kindness in sending the photographs: ‘I think they are excellent.’ She is glad that she was ‘able to get along to the Party’, and thanks him ‘and the Committee’ for making her visit so pleasant.

[Lilian Gish, greatest Hollywood actress of the silent era.] Typed Letter Signed to ‘Miss Murchison’, on a visit to England, praising ‘the courage and uncomplaining patience’ of its ‘brave’ people during the ‘long and dreadful’ years of war.

Author: 
Lillian Gish (1883-1993), greatest Hollywood actress of the silent era, ‘The First Lady of American Cinema’
Publication details: 
6 August 1946; on letterhead of the Savoy Hotel, London.
£100.00

2pp, 12mo. Twenty-one lines of text. In good condition, lightly aged. Signed ‘Lilian Gish’. Begins: ‘Dear Miss Murchison, | I was so touched by your very sweet letter which was handed to me by the BBC just before we went on the air. / It is heartwarming to come back to England after these long and dreadful years and find that our film friends have not forgotten us.

[‘I like to call her, simply, “Greta Garbo”.’] Carbon Typescript of spoof article ‘GRETA GARBO - a Personal Memoir’ by Anthony Haden-Guest, with TLS from John Anstey, editor of Daily Telegraph Magazine, expressing ‘misgivings about it’.

Author: 
[Greta Garbo, Hollywood icon] Anthony Haden-Guest (b.1937), American journalist; John Anstey, editor of the Daily Telegraph Magazine, London]
Publication details: 
Anstey's TLS on his Daily Telegraph Magazine letterhead, and dated 20 March 1970. Hayden-Guest's article evidently written shortly before that date.
£220.00

A curious artefact, indicating Garbo’s iconic status, and an early example of a journalistic trend which has gained ground since the late 1960s. Hayden-Guest, still active as a writer, is the son of the diplomat Peter Haden-Guest, 4th Baron Haden-Guest, and brother of the 5th Baron, Christopher, who is won fame as ‘Nigel’ in the film ‘Spinal Tap’.

[Dame Anna Neagle [Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox], star of stage and screen.] Typed Note Signed ('Anna') to 'Popey' [theatre historian W. J. MacQueen-Pope], regarding the first night [of 'The Glorious Days'].

Author: 
Dame Anna Neagle [Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox] (1904-1986), star of stage and screen [W. J. MacQueen-Pope [Walter James MacQueen-Pope] (1888-1960), theatre historian]
Publication details: 
On her letterhead, from 128 Mount Street, London, W.1. 6 March 1953.
£35.00

1p, 8vo. In good condition, on lightly aged paper. Folded once. Salutation ('My dear Popey -') and valediction ('My love to you both - | Anna.') in her autograph; the rest typed. Good bold signature. Reads: 'It was so very kind of you to think of me on Saturday.

[Mary Martin, Broadway star.] Two Typed Letters Signed (both 'Mary') to 'Popie', i.e. the English theatre historian MacQueen-Pope, discussing her family's plans and the projected production of 'South Pacific' at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Author: 
Mary Martin [Mary Virginia Martin[ (1913-1990), American actress, singer, and Broadway star associated with Rodgers and Hammerstein [W. J. MacQueen-Pope; Larry Hagman]
Publication details: 
One 28 May [1950], the other undated, but from 1951. Both on her letterhead.
£120.00

Each letter 1p, 8vo. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and creased. On signing one of the letters she has slightly smudged it. ONE: 28 May [1950]. She thanks him for his 'fascinating-looking book, THE MELODIES LINGER ON', and for his 'most generous inscription'. She and her husband 'Richard' (the drama critic Richard Halliday) have 'read bits and pieces and have looked at every photograph, and can't wait to really sit down and read the book from cover to cover!' She continues: 'And that will be soon.

[Robert Hawker, Devon clergyman called the 'Star of the West'.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rob Hawker') to London bookseller Ebenezer Palmer, regarding the marketing of the tracts of the Village Sermon Society.

Author: 
Robert Hawker (1753-1827), Devon clergyman and hymnologist; vicar of Charles Church, Plymouth, called the 'Star of the West' for his popular preaching [Ebenezer Palmer, London theological bookseller]
Publication details: 
[Plymouth?]; 22 November 1824.
£150.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and spotted, with loss at foot of reverse of last leaf, the verso of which is addressed to 'Mr Palmer | Bookseller | 18 Paternoster Row'. The recipient is the theological bookseller Ebenezer Palmer the elder (c.1782-1866). Twenty-two lines of text in a difficult hand. The stridently pious tone perhaps hints at some degree of mental instability. The letter opens: 'My dear Sir & friend in the LORD | I greet you in Him'.

[ Fred Astaire ] Signature on detached leaf of an autograph album.

Author: 
Fred Astaire, dancing film star
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£35.00

Detached leaf of an autograph album, 12 x 9.5cm, beige, one edge roughened, good condition.

[Jeanne de Casalis, film and stage actress, writes to 'Mr. Knot' (E. V. Knox) of 'Punch'.] Autograph Card in the third person, informing him when she will be doing a BBC radio broadcast of his 'Reparation'.

Author: 
Jeanne de Casalis [born Jeanne Casalis de Pury in Basutoland] (1897-1966), Anglo-French stage and screen actress [E. V. Knox [Edmund George Valpy Knox, pseud. 'Evoe'] (1881-1971), editor of Punch]
Publication details: 
On her letterhead, Hunger Hatch, Little Chart, Kent. Postmarked 28 June 1941.
£35.00

Card with stamp and postmark. Of the two addresses in her letterhead, she has deleted the London one (105 Hallam Street, W1). In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Addressed to 'Secretary to | E. V. Knot [sic] Eq. | Offices of “Punch”'. The card reads: 'Miss de Casalis hopes to broadcast Mr. Knot's “Reparation” at the end of her turn on Friday 27th 9.35 to 10.15 (Forces programme) & again on Sunday to Forces abroad.'

[ Gracie Fields, movie star, singer and music hall comedian. ] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Gracie Fields (1898-1979), English movie star, singer and music hall comedian
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£20.00

On one side of 7 x 10 cm piece of pink paper cut from an autograph album. In fair condition, lightly aged. In a bold, large hand, simply reads: 'Gracie Fields'.

[ Sir John Bernard Burke, the pre-eminent genealogist of the Victorian age. ] Collection of material, from his papers, including around 350 proofs of coats of arms for his 'Dormant and Extinct Peerages', drawings, a tracing.

Author: 
Sir John Bernard Burke (1814-1892), the pre-eminent genealogist of the Victorian age, and Ulster King of Arms
Publication details: 
[ London. ] 1865 and thereabouts.
£600.00

The work for which these proofs were prepared, Burke's 'Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire', was published in London by Harrison in 1866, and was a revision of his father John Burke's 'General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages [...] extinct, dormant, and in abeyance', first published in 1831, with a third edition in 1846. The present collection is largely in fair condition, on aged and worn paper, but with some of the items damaged.

[ Ginger Rogers, Hollywood star. ] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Ginger Rogers [ born Virginia Katherine McMath ] (1911-1995), Hollywood actress, dancer and singer, famed for her partnership with Fred Astaire
Ginger
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£20.00
Ginger

Good, firm signature in blue ink, 7cm. long, on a piece of paper laid down on a 16 x 25cm. piece of card, beside a magazine cutting of a photograph of Rogers, the two protected by a loose plastic sheet. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper.

[ Sophie Tucker, American entertainer. ] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Sophie Tucker [ born Sonya Kalish ] (1887-1966), 'The Last of the Red Hot Mamas', Ukrainian-born American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality
Publication details: 
No place. 1936.
£23.00

On 6.5 x 12 piece of ruled paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads 'With Compliments Sophie Tucker 1936'.

[ Sabu, Indian film actor. ] Autograph Note Signed, given during the shooting of the film for which he is best known, 'The Thief of Baghdad'.

Author: 
Sabu [ Sabu Dastagir; Selar Shaik Sabu; Sabu Francis ] (1924-1963), Indian film actor working in England and Hollywood
Publication details: 
No place [ Twickenham Film Studios ]. 1939.
£65.00

Good firm inscription on 18 x 16 cm leaf of blue paper removed from album. Reads: 'To Ann | with very Best wishes | from | Sabu | THE THIEF OF | BAGHDAD | 1939'. The recipient was the daughter of a cameraman at Twickenham Film Studios.

Copy of Autograph Letter Signed ('Frank H. Evans') from the banker and Liberal politician Sir Francis Henry Evans to the proprietor of the White Star Line Thomas Henry Ismay, complaining of the treatment of his sister-in-law on a transatlantic voyage

Author: 
Sir Francis Henry Evans (1840-1907) of Tubbendens, Orpington, Kent, banker and Liberal politician [Thomas Henry Ismay (1837-1899), founder of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company [White Star Line]]
Publication details: 
5 August [189]4.
£60.00

3pp., 12mo. An early sort of carbon copy. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'Thomas H Ismay Esq | Liverpool'.

Circulars 900 to 938 from the Marine Superintendent's Office, Cunard White Star Limited, to 'The Captain, Chief Officer All Ships'. With tables acknowledging receipt by each ship's chief officer.

Author: 
[Marine Superintendent's Office, Cunard White Star Limited]
Cunard White Star Line
Publication details: 
7 July 1937 to 14 September 1938 to Circulars addressed from 'Marine Superintendent's Office, Cunard White Star Limited, Cunard Building, Liverpool 3'.
£220.00
Cunard White Star Line

Laid down on 62 folio pages (paginated 106 to 167), disbound from a log book. All texts clear and complete. Fair, on worn, aged paper, with light staining (not affecting text) to first leaf. The circulars are mimeographed and typed, with facsimile signatures. Beneath each circular is a box table giving the date the circular was sent to each ship, with name of ship and chief officer, and the date the circular was acknowledged.

Faux-metallic embossed German [Prussian] military decoration with ribbon, consisting of black Imperial eagle (Reichsadler) with Landwehrkreuz motto, over silver and gold eight-pointed star.

Author: 
German (Prussian) military decoration [Reichsadler; Landwehrkreuz; World War; Germany army]
Publication details: 
[First World War or earlier.]
£120.00

An attractive and delicate piece of ephemera, dusty and slightly tarnished, but in very good condition overall. Skilfully manufactured and giving a convincing metallic appearance. 15 cm wide from opposing points of the star, which is of gold card overlaid with silver silver card, both types embossed in a pattern of pearls of different sizes radiating out from the centre, over which sits the Reichsadler, of embossed black card, 6 cm high by 7 cm wide, crowned, with wings outstretched, orb and sceptre in its talons.

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