STATES

For information on Lester see his obituary in the Independent, 4 July 1993, which states that with his band he 'cheered up England during the blacked-out Forties'. 12pp., 4to. Stapled. In good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Cover text printed in red, with black and white 14.5 x 19 cm photograph of 'Harry Lester and his Hayseeds'. P.3 carries an article on 'Harry Lester', with photograph.

Lower half of a letter only, 13 x 8cm, fold marks, sl. remnants of having been laid down in album, two edges sl. roughened, mainly good condition. Surviving Text, "time. Will you give my kindest regards to Mrs [Chausey?], Harry & Lucy | & believe me [??] friend | Geo B McClellan"

4pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Headed with the date of the sale 'December 4th 1835'. At end: 'The State of Alabama | Wilcox County | Came into open Court Green A. Fisher one of the Executors of the last will & testament of William Fisher decd. who being duly sworn deposeth & saith that the forgoing is a correct account of the sales of said decedents Estate so far as the same have come to his hands | Sworn to & Subscribed in Open Court this 21st Decr. 1835'. Received, with illegible signature, on same date.

[40]pp., small 4to. Stapled in brown printed wraps. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Title from cover, where it is printed in blue, enclosed in a border of US flags, with clutch of four flags (UK Red Ensign, Cuban, French, US) in blue and red at head. Filled with advertisements, including an illustrated full-page one inside the front cover for 'Dodge Brothers | Convertible Car'.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, with closed tear at foot of fold line. The recipient is not named. Hale begins by stating that he has both of the recipient's telegrams, and thanking him for his 'promptness and readiness to forward my wishes'. In the meantime he had 'determined that the simplest solution to my troubles was to give up my Topeka appointment, as I was at liberty to do.

30pp., 12mo, paginated 3-32 on wove paper. With additional fold-out table on laid paper, headed 'Statement of the several Banks in which the public money is deposited, shewing the greatest amount in each Bank at any one period since the 4th March, 1811, and also the amount deposited in each Bank on the 30th September, 1811.' Lacking the title-leaf. Disbound. Worn, lightly damp-stained and loose. With 1851 blind-stamps of the Manchester Free Library. The volume consists of correspondence by Albert Gallatin, Secretary to the Treasury, with letters to him from representatives of banks.

[32]pp., 16mo. Not paginated. Stapled in brown wraps, with text on front and back covers in gold and dark brown, with closed tear at foot of spine. Contains one full-page engraving: 'Testimonial Presentation to Mme. Camilla Urso in the Town Hall, Melbourne.' Cheaply printed on browned high-acidity paper, in aged and worn wraps. The wraps are attractively designed, with the violinist's name printed in large decorative type diagonally across the centre of the front cover. The back cover gives details of Urso's 'Transcontinental Tour.

1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. She apologises for the late reply to her 'nice letter', and has 'autographed the bookplate as you requested'. She ends with the question: 'Have you read my latest book, "A Prologue to Love"?' Note: Eileen Cond was an autograph collector who used to send her bookplate for sigining to significant contemporaries.

2pp., 8vo. 2pp., 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged. She begins, after stating that she is returning her bookplate (which she has signed), with details of a forthcoming visit to England, involving a drive 'up North to my father's birthplace', where she will 'stay in Northumberland a fortnight at least, and investigate some of the masses of cousins I have there'. Later she may 'be down your way' (Devon): 'Do you still run the Deer Park?

On 15 x 11 cm photographic portrait of Menuhin, neatly cut from an English newspaper. In good condition, lightly aged, with label from mount adhering to reverse. Menuhin has appended his signature and the date ('Yehudi | Menuhin | Nov. 6, 1939') in blue ink at the head of a pleasing portrait of his head, looking over at the viewer with the tip ov his violin at his chin.

Both items in good condition, lightly aged, with the card loosely inserted in the book with a paper clip. ONE: Autograph Card Signed. A Christmas card, in which Booth writes: 'Dear Margaret Forster, So sorry I added more confusion to your busy day of welcoming the new baby and congratulations to all. | Virginia S Booth | P.S. Hope to meet you one day - | I like the edition in spite of some errors and hope you do to [sic] ! | V S'. TWO: Book titled 'Six Plays'. [8] + 327pp., 8vo.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. He is sending a copy of a note his secretary has 'just sent about an opera box for the next season. | The box we were able to get this year contrasted so poorly with my old "loge entre les colonnes" in Paris that I am afraid my personal tastes would be about as well satisfied without one!' He feels sure that 'with this long notice and with a friendly word' from Higgins, 'something better can be done'. One of the grandest residences in London, Dorchester House was rented by Reid as the American Embassy from 1905.

1p., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, aged and lightly creased, with some wear to extremities. Healy begins by thanking Duff for his letter, and 'for your generosity in sending me copies of the two letters of Daniel Defoe'. He explains that he has 'searched for their whereabouts for about ten years', and had finally become convinced 'that unless they were in your family they were lost'.

PLAY: 81pp., 8vo. On one side each of 81 leaves of yellow paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with the first leaf a little dogeared. No cast list or other prelims, but the complete play, and with each page paginated from 1-81. First page headed: 'CHAMPOEG: THE STORY OF OLD OREGON | by Charles Deemer'. An unpublished two-act historical drama, in 35 scenes, covering a thirty-year period, with the first scene titled 'The Return of the Brigade (1829)', and the last 'Statehood (1859)'.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of glue on reverse of blank second leaf. He thanks him for his 'kind remembrance', and undertakes to 'come with much pleasure to Clarence House, a little before the time of Inspection and bring two friends'. The letter concludes: 'Meantime we must not forget that you and I are going to set apart some afternoon to make a sentimental pilgrimage into the Past in some corner of old London!'

Signature on page extracted from an autograph album, 16 x 12 cm, good condition. On reverse, signature of Livio Borghese, Italian diplomat (1874-1939)

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. He explains that if he had 'a favorite recipe' he would 'with pleasure impart it', but that he has none. He prefers to 'follow St Paul's advice and eat what is set before me asking no questions. I may say that I believe that I get better results in this way than if I were to interfere.'

1p., 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Docketed on reverse: 'Acct. | Capt W. Cooke | £51.2.9.' A bill for wages, in Cooke's autograph, headed 'Ship Queen of France | To William Cooke . . . Dr.' Listing monies due with dates and details. For example: '7 Jan [1789] wages . . .@ 18 dollars p. mo[nth]  30.9.7' (Other sums also on 7 Jan. and 12 April.) At the foot Cooke has written "Rec[eive]d Wilmington 12th April 1789 from Francis Peyrimant the above bal[anc]e. in full. | Wm Cooke.' The year of this transaction was also the year of the French Revolution.

On one side of an 11.5 x 17 cm leaf extracted from an album. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Large bold signature, slightly smudged by Menuhin, written diagonally and upwards at the centre of the page. Reads: 'Yehudi Menuhin | Nov. 65, 1934'. On the reverse have been lightly tipped-in two cuttings from magazines.

Pamphlet, 58pp. 8vo, original printed wraps, with crude reinforcement of spine. wraps chipped, and partially stained, minor staining and foxing in contents. Front wrap inscribed "J. Bartlett, M.D." John Bartlett of "Quotations" fame married into the Willard clan but, although the signature resembles his, I've found no evidence for the M.D. THe volume concerns a Civil War soldier who perished in the Fredericksburg campaign.

2pp., 12mo. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly aged. When Twiss 'suggested the circumstance', Sir R. Palmer 'had some doubts about the United States Courts having limited the criminal consequences of violating neutrality to the cruise [last word underlined]'. There was also 'some doubt about the effect of a sale by a <?> of a Prize Court to a third party. Twiss thinks 'it might be desirable to print & circulate the enclosed observations bearing upon those two points'.

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. A presentation copy of the 'Scientific Roll' has 'just come to hand, as I have been snowed in at this point for a long time': 'if my purse were only as willing as my spirit I would put the shoulder to the wheel with you. It is a splendid work, and I look for the remaining parts with great interest.' He ends by asking to be put down as a subscriber. Ramsay's 'Scientific Roll: A Bibliography, Guide and Index to Climate' appeared between 1880 and 1884, and 'Scientific Roll and Magazine of Systematized Notes' appeared between 1890 and 1900.

1p., 8vo. Aged and worn. Bigelow was educated at a preparatory school in Potsdam, and was a childhood playmate of the Kaiser and his younger brother, and maintained a friendship with them throughout their lives. On his death at the age of 98 he was the oldest Yale alumnus, and the oldest member of the Athenaeum club in London.

Twenty-one items, in fair condition, aged and worn. The eleven reports of the proceedings at the ordinary general meetings are stapled 12mo booklets of around 8pp. each, giving a verbatim account of the varioius contributions to the meetings, all but the last of which are chaired by Balfour. The nine reports of the directors are of 6pp. each, with the report on the first two pages and the accounts on another two, and the reverse of the last leaf carrying a 'Notice of Meeting'.

On 5.5 x 12.5 cm strip torn from the foot of a letter. In good condition, lightly aged. Beneath the typed words 'Sincerely yours,' is the firm bold signature 'Sinclair Lewis'.

[20]pp., 8vo. In grey printed wraps. Disbound. In good condition, but with stitching cut away and leaves loose. A collection of poems, flashily printed in gold, red and green, on shiny art paper. Covers printed in gold, red and blue. Frontispiece illustration of the subject of the collection. Scarce: only one copy on OCLC WorldCat.

18pp., 8vo. Disbound. In fair condition, on aged and brittle paper. 404 items in double column. First page headed 'IX. LXXX. XVII.' An interesting collection of Americana. First entry: 'ABBOT, LIEUT. JOEL. Naval Court Martial. Scandalous Conduct. Printed from Official Record on file in Navy Department. 8vo, pp. 152. Washington, 1822. 75 [cents] | Another, Reported by F. W. Waldo, to which is added an Appendix, containing Sundry Documents in Relation to Management of Affairs on Boston Station. 8vo, pp. 237, boards, uncut. Boston, 1822. 1 00 [i.e. one dollar]'. Last entry: 'ZANE, SARAH.

On two leaves. The illustrations on both are undamaged, but both leages are aged and worn, with chipping and closed tears to extremities. Fragile. ONE: Steel engraving: 'Photo. by Beniczky. | Engd by R. O'Brien.' Captioned with a facsimile of Cutter's signature, with 'THE LONG ISLAND FARMER POET' beneath it. 30 x 24 cm. On thickish wove paper. Head and shoulders image of a middle-aged Cutter, with goatee beard, smartly dressed with bow tie, waistcoat and jacket. TWO: Two small wood engravings on a 31 x 24 cm leaf of wove paper (thinner stock than Item One).

The author Bruce Dudley Ryder was a second-cousin of the present Queen – his father Peter Hugh Dudley Ryder (1913-1993; see Who Was Who) having married the Queen's cousin Sarah Susannah Bowes-Lyon – and a great-grandson of the Earl of Harrowby. Ryder had family experience in the fields of business and transport, his father having been for many years head of the transport conglomerate Thomas Tilling Ltd.

96 black and white photographic prints, each cloth-backed and with the landscape dimensions 20 x 25 cm. In black leather loose leaf album by Wilson Jones Co., Kansas City. Stamped in gilt in bottom right-hand corner of first leaf, 'HAROLD C. HARVEY'. The prints are in good condition, curling a little at the fore-edge, and with slight creasing at right-hand margin of the first two. The binding is somewhat worn, but still tight, with the three original metal screws holding the album together.