Margaret Grose, artist [Samuel Pepys; Samuel Johnson; Cecil Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth; Francis Grose]
Publication details:
Letter: 2 June 1955; addressed from ' "Ye Pepys Journall", 37. St Martin's Court, W.C.2.' Journal: 'C. E. Gray, Kennington, London'
£56.00
Letter: 12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper, with small rust stain at head from paperclip. She is writing to Harmsworth ('President, Dr Johnson's House') to ask him to accept a copy of 'my Journal in which mention is made of my Portrait of Dr Samuel Johnson which hangs in the Garrett of Dr Samuel Johnson house this was presented by H. B. Wheatley whom I knew for many years.' On a visit to the curator of Johnson's house she was 'pleased to see the picture still hands in its original place'.
John Chaundy, printseller and picture dealer [Ye Olde Picture Shoppe, 49 Broad Street, Oxford]
Publication details:
[1860s?] On sale At Ye Olde Picture Shoppe (Opposite the Sheldonian Theatre), 49, Broad Street, Oxford, by John Chaundy, Carver, Gilder, Picture Framer and Herald Painter. [Dryden Press: J. Davy & Sons, 137, Long Acre, London, W.C.]
£300.00
12mo, 61 pp. In original brown printed wraps. Engraving of Sheldonian Theatre on front, otherwise the item is not illustrated. 2864 items, ranging from '1 AARON, Rev. born 1695, engraved by Vertue. 5s 6d' to '2864 Zonelli (Anton. Maria) after Joan. Anton. Faldoni, Man blowing Horn, with hounds. 5s'. Fair, on aged paper, with a few leaves dogeared, in worn wraps chipped at extremities, and with 4.5 cm closed tear at foot of spine. Presentation inscription at head of front wrap: 'R. G. Bartelot. from Fredk. Bennett'.
[1901?] Printed by Adlard and Son, Bartholomew Close, E.C.; 20, Hanover Square, W. and Dorking.
£28.00
8vo: 16 pp. Stapled pamphlet. Nothing other than the title printed on the first leaf. Text paginated [19] to 31, with publisher's slug on reverse of last leaf. On aged and creased paper, with 6 cm closed tear at central crease of outer bifolium. No copies of this title on COPAC or WorldCat.
8vo, 72 pp. Stapled and unbound. Complete. On aged paper. The outer leaves are worn and coming apart at the spine. Otherwise the item is sound and tight. 1976 items. Items 783 to 883 concern 'the Bacon-Shakespeare Controversy'. Items 888 to 893 are 'Books from the Library of the late Dame Ellen Terry.' ('Only a few Books from her Library were sold, and Association Books are very difficult to obtain.'). Items 894 to 982 are 'Books on the Drama and Shakespeare, from the library of Henry Arthur Jones'. Items 983 to 1976 are 'Books on the Drama'.
George Agar-Ellis [George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover] (1797-1833), politician and patron of the arts [William Jerdan (1782-1869), editor of the Literary Gazette; Sir Henry Halford]
Publication details:
22 May 1827; Spring Gardens [London].
£38.00
12mo, 1 p. In a bifolium, addressed and docketed on the reverse of the second leaf, to which the red wax seal adheres, in good condition with a clear impression of Agar-Ellis's monogram. Fair, on aged and grubby paper. If Jerdan has 'quite done' with Agar-Ellis's copy of 'G<?>'s improvements of London' asks if he will allow Agar-Ellis's 'messanger' to return it. 'If however you still wish to keep it, pray do.' Agar-Ellis has 'promised to lend it to Sir H Halford'.
[circa 1810] London: 'Sold by COLES, KNIGHT and DUNN, Stationers, No. 21, Fleet Street. Printed by W. SMITH, and Co. King Street, Seven Dials.
£26.00
A bifolium, with the text printed landscape on the recto of the two leaves, each of which are 21 x 33.5 cm. On laid Britannia paper watermarked 'G. PIKE | 1809'. The first two words in gothic script, nine-line marginal note in italic, and the rest in roman. Thirty-three lines of text, with spaces for manuscript insertions. Neither of the two parts (presumably one for the master and the other for the apprentice's family) has been filled in. Prepared for completion in the 1810s ('in the Year of our Lord 181[gap]').
William Maccall (1812-1888), Scottish writer and lecturer [W. S. Sonnenschein & Co.]
Publication details:
14 November 1882; Stanhope Cottages, Bexley Heath.
£85.00
4to, 1 page and 12mo, 2 pp (single 4to leaf, folded as to give two 12mo pp on one side). Thirty-seven lines of text. Maccall is 'willing to accept any proposal which is reasonable and just' concerning his 'Christian Legends' (published by Sonnenschein in 1882), and also 'to make sacrifices for the sake of obliging [...] As the one manuscript is about twice the length of the other - I speak from memory, - it might honestly claim better remuneration'.
David Storrar Meldrum (1864-1940), novelist and partner in the publishing house of Blackwood's
Publication details:
4 September 1897; on company letterhead '37, Paternoster Row, London, E.C.'
£56.00
8vo: 3 pp. On grubby, lightly creased paper. The recipient has made Meldrum a 'pretty present' of her edition of Burns (COPAC provides no clue as to her identity). He finds the volumes 'very dainty', and will read her notes 'with interest'. He has already read her 'Introductions' with 'great pleasure'. He comments on her assessment of a couple of poems and finds her 'standpoint' on 'the man & the poet' 'capital'. 'But you must allow me one criticism: you read into the poems a political significance which I'm sure wasn't there.
8vo, 1 p. Addressed by Combe on the reverse, to which his monogram seal in red wax (with his motto 'RES NON VERBA QUAESO') still adheres. In poor condition, on discoloured paper, with damage to a few words of text above the signature caused by clumsy removal from the mount, a part of which still adheres to the reverse. Repaired with archival tape. The letter presumably concerns 'Additional testimonials on behalf of George Combe, as a candidate for the chair of logic in the University of Edinburgh' (1836). It reads 'Gentlemen | Be so good as correct these proofs, make them up in 8vo.
17 October 1857, on his business letterhead, 8 Lovell's Court, Paternoster Row.
£56.00
8vo: 2 pp. The 'idea is worth Consideration', but Blackwood 'can hardly see how any large sale cann be depended upon, so as to repay the expense of printing advertising &c.' Asks that Morris send him 'one sermon, to indicate style, length & to estimate cost'. Asks what size of paper should be used. Notices that Morris's works are 'principally on natural history'. Likes the idea of 'the <?> natural history', and 'will take an early opportunity of looking at it'. This notable London publisher is a surprising omission from BBTI.
Alexander MacLehose & Co.; James MacLehose; publishers [John Gideon Wilson (1876-1963), Scottish bookseller, proprietor of the London firm of Bumpus]
Publication details:
Alexander MacLehose: 10 August 1931 and 23 June 1932; both on letterhead of Alexander MacLehose & Co., 58 Bloomsbury Street, London, W.C.1. James MacLehose: 20 November 1931; on letterhead of Saint Johns House, 30 Smith Square, Westminster, S.W.1.
£100.00
Alexander MacLehose: Letter One: 4to, 1 p. Good, on slightly aged and lightly creased paper. He is sending a copy of his catalogue, 'which has reached me from the printers to-day'. He has 'sent a copy also to the firm'. Would like Wilson's 'advice as to whether "Memories of the Months" should have a paper jacket. The binders have sent me a nice cellophane cover, which shows the rather handsome binding. Would there be any objection, from a selling point of view, to a cellophane cover in place of the ordinary paper jacket?' Letter Two: 12mo, 2 pp.
Kirkwall; date indecipherable, but docketed in pencil '1814'.
£75.00
Scottish historian (1762-1818), friend of Charles James Fox and Sir Walter Scott. 1 page, 8vo. Bifoliate, in very good condition, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr. John Mounsey | Furrier | Sunderland'. Difficult handwriting. 'Dear Sir. | <?> the beginning of March I sent to Lowth, by Mr Sir Joseph Banks, to be forwarded to you at Sunderland, Two matts or packages of Rabbit skins, containing 2127 Skins.
John Langham Dayrell [J. L. Dayrell] (1756-1832), Vicar of Stowe and Rector of Lillingston Dayrell, Buckinghamshire
Publication details:
24 September 1812; Leamington Spa.
£25.00
4to, 1 p. Bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged and stained paper. Addressed, with three postmarks, on the reverse of the second leaf, to 'Messrs. Brett & Clements Stat[ione]rs - | near the New Church | Strand | London'. Asks for his 'Sunday's Paper' to be sent to him 'at Buckingham as usual', as he is leaving Leamington the following Saturday. 'You have not explained to me the difference of the Charge of the Newspapers from the last years to the one I have lately paid for, by doing of which you will oblige | Sir, | Yr humble Servant'.
George Holbrook Jackson (1874-1948), author, wroter on books, etc
Publication details:
10 August 1912; on letterhead of the Crossways, Langley Park, Mill Hill, N.W.
£45.00
8vo: 1 p. Good on lightly-aged paper. Small closed tear at head, and traces of glue and grey paper from previous mounting on reverse. He is sorry to say that he will be 'away at the seaside' when Bennett is in London. If he is 'in town again shortly' Jackson will be glad to meet him. 'I am to be found most days at 29 Henrietta St, Covent Garden [the offices of 'T.P.'s Weekly', on which Jackson held an editorial position] - but it is safer to make an appointment.'
Four pamphlet, stitched as issued, dusted and foxed, ow condition, 35, 13, 9, 11pp. respectively, 8vo, reporting for the year 1896 on following regions: Northern Portugal, Portugal, Beira, Madeira. Four items.
Beatrice Harraden (1864-1936), British novelist and suffragette [George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.]
Publication details:
29 July [no year]; on letterhead 3, Fitzjohn's Mansions, Netherall Gardens, Hampstead, N.W. [London]
£100.00
Two pages, 12mo. Good, with minor effects of damp. Text clear and entire. Twenty-five lines. Harraden has found an old acquaintance, Mrs Charles Routledge ('the widow of the son of Colonel Robert Warne Routledge'), in 'very distressing circumstances; she had been very ill from blood poisoning in the leg, had been in hospital, & in the work house'. Mrs Routledge has 'done her very best [...] to fight an adverse fate', working hard 'as a house keeper, maid of all work, servant of lodging house'.
Edward Blyth, auctioneer, of Rose Cottage, Thorpe-le-Soken [Colchester, Essex; povincial printing; agriculture; auction catalogues]
Publication details:
1843. Colchester: Printed by G. Dennis, 40, High Street.
£95.00
12mo: 8 pp (a 43 x 27 cm leaf, printed on both sides and folded twice to make four unopened leaves). Pamphlet. Text clear and complete on lightly-aged and spotted paper. 'Conditions of Sale' on reverse of title. 170 lots, with lots 48 to 68 priced and named by the auctioneer, who gives the total as £4 9s 6d, with 'Commission & Exps.' of £0 8s 6d. Interesting manuscript note at head of title: 'Lot 65 not sold - is the Drawers & Dresser in the Storeroom in the Parlour which were not a part of the Tenants Fittings and belong to the Landlord - and were not taken by Mr.
J. S. Morriss, editor [Stationery and Bookselling; trade directory; British publishing; printing; bookselling]
Publication details:
April, 1890. London: Published by J. G. Smith & Co., 165, Queen Victoria St., E.C.
£56.00
4to (27.5 x 21.5 cm), 140 pp on shiny art paper. In original light-green red and black printed wraps. Tight, on lightly-aged paper, a little dog-eared at back. In worn and chipped wraps. Filled with striking and attractive engraved illustrations and advertisements. Illustrations include stock cabinets, book presses, printing presses, ledgers, notebooks, artists' materials, magnifying glasses. Long obituary of Edward Lloyd of Lloyd's News.
Puttick and Simpson, London auctioneers [auction catalogues; bookplates; ex-libris]
Publication details:
London, 1897. Sale the 28th, January, at two o'clock precisely, At the Rooms of PUTTICK & SIMPSON, 47, Leicester Square. [Printed by S. and J. Brawn, 13, Gate Street, High Holborn, W.C.]
£125.00
8vo: 21 pp. Stitched and unbound. Tastefully printed on good watermarked laid paper. Aged, and with the covers grubby. Priced and named to lot 113, and with a few of the other lots priced in pencil. A slip, dimensions 2.5 x 15.5 cm, has been cut away from the beginning of the sale (pp.3-4), resulting in the loss of the entries for three lots (12, 13 and 14). Scarce, with no copy listed on COPAC or WorldCat.
[Somerville, Massachusetts.] Kallistos Press. 1984. [Printed at Firefly Press in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by John Kristense.]
£150.00
Limited to 200 copies and signed by the printer John Kristense. 8vo: [13] + [1] pages. Stitched. In original blue printed wraps. Good, with minor wear at head. The colophon reads 'The London Booksellers - Etymology of the Term Yankey was hand set in English Monotype Baskerville and printed on Curtis Ragston paper in an edition of 200 copies at Firefly Press in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by [signed 'John Kristense'] who sends it as a 1983-84 holiday greeting to his friends. The Society of Printers in particular is thanked for honoring him in 1983 with membership.
Myers & Rogers, London booksellers, printseller and autograph dealers
Publication details:
Parts I to III (numbered 15 to 17) published in 1901; Part IV (no. 18, supplement) published in 1902. Parts I and II 'On Sale by Myers & Rogers, 44, Booksellers' Row, Strand, London, W.C.' Parts III and IV by the same firm from 59 High Holborn.
£300.00
8vo: continuously pagined 1-187, followed by three pages of publishers' advertisements. A tight copy, in good condition, with the four parts (each of which retains its original orange printed wraps) bound together in contemporary brown cloth gilt and floral endpapers. An invaluable reference work, containing a total of 14293 items, each priced and with a brief description. Example: '4428 Hobart (Mrs.) Lady Buckinghamshire, caricature by Newton, Mrs. H. (very corpulent) driving over the weighing machine in front of a Weigh House, sinks down in the pit, folio, 1797, 4s'.
R. B.' [i.e. 'Robert Burton', pseudonym of Nathaniel Crouch (c.1640-1725?), London printer and bookseller]
Publication details:
London: Printed for N. Crouch, at the Bell against Grocers-Alley, in the Poultry, near Cheapside. 1710.
£250.00
12mo: 159 + [9] pp. (Publisher's catalogue of 'Books Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell against Grocers-Alley in the Poultrey near Cheapside.' begins at foot of p.159 and continues for nine unpaginated pages, ending 'FINIS.') Lacks frontispiece. Woodcuts on pp.26, 61 and 121. In worn original calf binding. No endpapers. Aged and with worn fore-edge. Separate title to second part on p.89 ('The Secret History of the Lady Jane Gray', 'London: Printed for Nath. Crouch. 1710.') Scarce: COPAC only lists reproductions, with the note: 'R.B.
Alexander Henry Hallam Murray (1854-1934), son of the London publisher John Murray the third (1808-1892) [50 Albemarle Street; Murray's Guides]
Publication details:
28 January 1898; on letterhead of 50 Albemarle Street.
£28.00
12mo, 2 pp. 12 lines of text. Very good on lightly-aged paper. He has received Holdsworth's letter, and is 'sorry to hear that you found our description of the Royal Hotel not justified'. Note will be taken of Holdsworth's 'experiences' and 'whatever alterations are necessary' will be made, 'when next we reprint the Index & Directory of the Handbook'. 'Notes such as [Holdsworth's] are most acceptable.'