THE

A noted beau, described by Pitt the Younger as ‘the counterpart of the statue of Antinous’. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On the first leaf of a bifolium, the second leaf, within a trimmed windowpane mount, docketed in a contemporary hand on the reverse: ‘The Earl Granville / Ambassador to the Court of the Tuileries’. In good condition, folded, on gilt-edged paper. ‘Lord Granville presents his Compliments to Mr.

'There are three rules for writing plays', Oscar Wilde is said to have declared. ‘The first rule is not to write like Henry Arthur Jones; the second and third rules are the same.’ See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, slightly trimmed at the edges, and in a windowpane mount. With two folds for postage. Addressed to ‘J E Woodrow Esqre / London Library’, and signed ‘Henry A Jones’.

The phrase ‘Box and Cox’ has entered the English language. See the OED, and the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, landscape 12mo. Neatly inserted in a trimmed windowpane mount. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Signed ‘John M Morton’. Begins: ‘Dear Webster. / As Mr Anson informs me that you are “on the forward course to regenerated health” I hope I need not apologise for writing again.

2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of grey-paper bifolium, the blank second leaf carrying a thin strip of tape from the mount. In good condition, folded once. Signed ‘John W. Calcraft’. The recipient is not named. Thirty-four lines of text, in a somewhat difficult hand. After a reference to ‘Mrs. Cook’s letter’ he gives the details of a forthcoming production, including the dates, ending with the benefit. ‘Terms as understood 10£ per night & [?] halfbenefit. I do not usually play on the Friday Night at this time of the year as they are uniformly bad nights’.

1p, 12mo. On thin paper. In good condition, lightly aged, in trimmed and spotted windowpane mount. Good bold signature ‘Fanny Brough.’ Addressed to ‘Revd. J. C. [Westly?]’. She has ‘much pleasure’ in sending him ‘the autograph’, and will do her best to get him ‘a few others which may be interesting to send out to you’.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. The Swanboroughs were a significant Victorian theatrical dynasty, and the absence of any member of the family from the same work is puzzling. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and lightly worn paper, with traces of glue and strip of tape from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. Addressed to ‘Mr. Swanborough’ and signed ‘Fanny Stirling’.

See his entry and Blewitt’s in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged laid paper, with thin strip of tape from mount on reverse of second leaf. Thirty-seven lines of text. Addressed to ‘Octavian Blewitt Esq.’ and signed ‘G. L. M. Strauss’. He begins by describing his situation: ‘I venture to solicit your kind friendly advice.

2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Thirty-nine lines, closely written. Signed ‘Gilbert Thomas’. He begins by thanking him ‘most warmly for your letter and the most kind and generous review to hand this morning.

See his entry, and that of his father Charles and wife Madame Vestris, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 8vo. Bifolium with mourning border. In fair condition, on lightly aged paper, with slight damage at head of second leaf, the blank reverse of which carries traces of glue from mount. Folded once. Madame Vestris had died two and a half months before the writing of this letter, which evinces a surprising intimacy. Begins: ‘My dear Mrs Williams / Here’s a pretty business! Was there ever such disappointment.

See his entry, and those of his father, wife and Kenney, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of a bifolium, the blank second leaf of which carries a thin strip of tape from the mount. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Good bold signature ‘C. Kean’. Begins: ‘My dear Kenney / Would you like a P[rivate]. Box or stalls next Friday, being the opening night of our season - I should like you to give a kind of notice of my past season and of my intended retirement from management next July, to which I shall refer in the parting words I purpose delivering according to the custom’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with strip of tape from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf and small pin holes to one corner. With two folds. Thirty-nine lines of text. The handwriting is a paradox; neat but difficult to decipher. Addressed to ‘My dear Mlle de [Schmidt?]’ and signed ‘Charles Lever’. He begins by claiming that the speed with which he accepted her ‘most kind & cordial invitation’ for her daughter is the best proof he can give of the value he attaches to it ‘& the sincere satisfaction it affords me’.

See his entry, and that of his son, in the Oxford DNB. The topic of this letter is referred to in the second volume of Dickens's edition of the son's life, 1879. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with strip of tape from mount adhering at edge of blank second leaf and two folds for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Harley’ and signed ‘C Mathews.’ He begins by thanking him for his ‘kind enquiries’, and (with regard to his son the actor Charles James Mathews) writes that ‘Our dear good Charles thank God! is recovered, and writes in excellent spirits from Florence.

See his entry in Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of discoloration at edge, and traces of glue from mount on blank reverse. Two folds. Addressed to ‘Sigr. Ministro del Brasile presso la S. Sede’ and signed ‘G Card Antonelli’. The signature is in Antonelli’s autograph, the rest is written out by a secretary, and laid out in the customary fashion, with the block of seventeen lines of text on the right side of the page.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. ONE: ALS to Bagnall. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Reads: ‘Dear Mr. Bagnall. / How very kind of you to write me such a charming letter. I did appreciate all you said – thank you very much / Sincerely yrs / Sybil Thorndike’. TWO: ACS addressed to ‘Victor Jones Esq. / 83. Ravenhurst Road. / Harborne. / Birmingham.’ Signed ‘Sybil Thorndike.’ Aged and discoloured, with address side lightly stained. She is not sure whether she thanked him for his ‘sweet letter & card for Xmas -it was such a very kind thought & I must seem ungracious!

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11 x 7 cm piece of grey paper, presumably cut from an album. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of glue from mount on reverse. Reads: ‘Try & trust will move mountains - / J. M. de Robeck / 1919’. See Image.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse (Hoggart addresses him as Dosse) was the proprietor of Hansom Books, which operated a stable of seven London arts magazines, including ‘Books and Bookmen’ and ‘Plays and Players’. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, slightly aged, worn and creased. Folded twice. Signed ‘Richard Hoggart’ (‘Assistant Director-General (Social Sciences, Human Sciences and Culture)’. He presumes that the letter with the copies of ‘Books and Bookmen’ was delayed by the French customs.

The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and ‘Plays and Players’. 2pp, small 4to. Addressed to ‘Dear Philip Dossé’ [sic] and signed ‘Richard Ingrams’. He is enclosing ‘a rather rude review of the Clive James book for the June B & B’, and sends renewed apologies for missing the May issue. He will ‘do Thurber next’ and reminds Dosse that he still has ‘the biography of Thurber which you sent me many moons ago’: ‘Would it be too late to embrace that as well?’ He thanks him for ‘continuing to print the P.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The two items in good condition, lightly discoloured, and each folded twice. Both addressed to ‘Doyne . C . Bell’. ONE (17 December 1886): 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium. Signed ‘J. Callcott Horsley. He explains the reason for not writing sooner: ‘I waited to see how our wants were likely to be as to small pictures’. The picture that Bell describes ‘must be a very interesting one’, and Horsley would ‘much like to see it’.

See her entry and his in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, on aged and lightly creased paper. Folded for postage. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Robey’ and signed ‘E Londonderry.’ Begins: ‘We are holding a gigantic Jumble Sale on the 10th. of July – to help the Legion funds – We are calling it the Jazz Jumble Sale as there is a the dansant as well – A kind of fair we intend to make it & a member of the Royal family is going to open it in the afternoon. Will you be very kind and come and auction some of the things for us at four oclock.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. On 15.5 x 5.5 cm slip of paper, cut from an autograph album. In good condition, lightly aged, with some show-through from the writing on the reverse. Reads ‘To Minna May / With my love / “Auntie” Gladys / Gladys Cooper / 1935’. See Image.The writing rises slightly across the page, and a small section at the bottom of the initial ‘G’ and the ‘y’ of ‘Gladys’ have been trimmed away. On the reverse is the following, in an unidentified hand: ‘Philatelic Minna May / Came to lunch with me today: / took my box of stamps away, / Says she’ll bring ’em back – some day!

From the Henry Williamson papers. The present text does not feature in Williamson’s 1941 memoir of Lawrence ‘Genius of Friendship’, and appears to be unpublished. (According to Williamson’s entry in the Oxford DNB, the publication in 1927 of ‘Tarka the Otter’ ‘attracted the attention of T. E. Lawrence, whose letter of praise started a correspondence and friendship between the two.

See the entry on his son Horatio Ross (1801-1886) – named after his father’s friend Lord Nelson who was the boys godfather and died the year after the writing of this letter - in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. Twenty-two lines of closely and neatly written text. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with strip of paper from mount to one edge. With fold lines. The recipient is addressed as ‘My dear Sir’ and not named, and the letter signed ‘H. Ross’. Written in a spirited style.

It was around the time of this autograph that Donovan travelled with the Beatles to India to see the Maharishi, during which he gave Lennon and McCartney tips on guitar playing. A couple of months later he would release one of his biggest hits, ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’. On 14 x 10.5 cm piece of grey paper, extracted from an album. In good condition, lightly aged. Large flowing inscription in red ink, diagonally down from top left: ‘love / To Clare / from / Donovan’. Also in red ink, in another hand at top left: ‘ROYAL ALBERT / HALL / MARCH ’68’.

Sprawling but not unattractive signature, with curled flourish, on piece of wove paper which has been cut into an irregular 9.5 x 6 cm oval to match the curve of the signature. In good condition, lightly aged. The recipient has noted the singer's name on the reverse, which carries traces of glue and brown paper from mount. See Image.

See her entry, and her husband’s, in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including ‘Books and Bookmen’ and ‘Plays and Players’. Postcard of 14 x 9 cm, with letterhead and no illustration. Monogram signature ‘RK’. In good condition, lightly aged, with slight smudging to a couple of words in one corner. Addressed to ‘Mr Philip Dossé. [sic] / Hansom Books. / Artillery Mansions. / 75, Victoria Street. / LONDON.

Humphris wrote a number of books, including biographies of Fred Archer, Mathew Dawson, Adam Lindsay Gordon. See Power’s entry in the Oxford DNB. From Power’s library. The material is in good condition, lightly aged, in good tight green cloth binding made for Power, with ‘BOB POTT’ in gilt on spine. The printed article is 36pp, 4to, paginated 69-104, with two plates: black and white photographs of George Romney’s portraits of Pott and his wife Emily. A couple of minor manuscript emendations by the author at the start, and a few pencil annotations by Power.

Despite criticism for his supposedly sexist humour, Hill’s work was admired by men from the novelist Anthony Burgess to Michael Jackson and Burt Reynolds. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged, with light traces of glue from mount on reverse. An 8.5 x 14 cm photographic print, carrying an 8.5 x 10.5 cm black and white head and shoulders shot of a smirking Hill, staring fixedly at the viewer in black top. Inscribed in light ink in the blank patch beneath the image: ‘To Eric / Cheers! / Benny Hill’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. Both items 1p, 4to. ONE (11 July 1972): Signed 'A. Wesker'. In good condition, with short closed tear at one edge of central postage fold. He begins by explaining how to apply for permission to print his play 'The Old Ones', adding: 'But as for writing an introduction to it, I am afraid I would prefer not to. It is a very simple, straight-forward play and doesn't need a great deal said about it.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and Plays and Players. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. She thanks him for his note, adding 'Would this do?', and stating 'I will write my piece definitely by March 15th.' Signed 'Nora Beloff / NORA BELOFF'.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. With regard to the subject of the letter, the 'penny banks' that were established in mid-Victorian England to encourage thrift among the working classes, see J. W. Dirring's thesis 'The Organization and Practice of Banking in Cornwall, 1771-1922', which states that ' the Penryn Penny Bank (founded in 1861), [...] was forced to stop payment in February [1879] with its funds inaccessible in the failed Cornish Bank'. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with postage folds, one of which has as short closed tear at edge.