WILLIAM

[W. G. Wills [William Gorman Wills], Irish playwright and painter.] Autograph Letter Signed to Tom Taylor, fellow-playwright and ‘Punch’ editor, recommending Walter John Knewstub, Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s assistant.

Author: 
W. G. Wills [William Gorman Wills (1828-1891)], Irish playwright and painter [Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright, Punch editor; Walter John Knewstub (1831-1906), assistant to Dante Gabriel Rossetti]
Publication details: 
‘76 Fulham Rd / Brompton [London] / May 4 - 77 [1877]’.
£56.00

See his entry and Taylor’s in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. Sixteen lines of closely-written text. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Begins: ‘My dear Mr. Taylor / Would you allow me to introduce a friend of mine Mr. Knewstube to you.

[Lord Ullswater [James William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater], Speaker of the House of Commons during the First World War.] Autograph Card Signed to ‘Walter', regarding a misdirected item of correspondence, with reference to Lady Ilbert.

Author: 
Lord Ullswater [James William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater (1855-1949), British Conservative politician, Speaker of the House of Commons between 1905 and 1921
Publication details: 
26 May 1915. On letterhead of the Speaker’s House, S.W. [Westminster]. Embossed with government crest of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The identity of the recipient is unclear. Written on one side of a small (12 x 9.5 cm) plain card. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with one vertical crease. Reads: ‘Dear Walter / Enclosed is, as you may see, addressed to Speaker Court. I opened it & think it may be for Miss Erskine. If not, will you send it on to Lady Ilbert. Nothing is known of it here. / Yours sincerely / James W Lowther’. Lady Ilbert was wife of the Clerk of the Commons, Sir Courtenay Ilbert, from whose papers the item derives.

[Lord Londonderry [Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquis of Londonderry], Anglo-Irish soldier and politician.] Autograph Letter Signed to cabinet minister Lord Fitzgerald, discussing Lord Brougham, General Cass, Afghanistan and other topics.

Author: 
Lord Londonderry [Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquis of Londonderry (1778-1854)], Anglo-Irish soldier and politician [Lord Fitzgerald [William Vesey-FitzGerald] (1783-1843), Tory politician]
Publication details: 
‘Hotel Beaune / Paris April 11 / 1843’.
£80.00

An unusually forthright communication for the period. See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. At the time of writing, Fitzgerald was President of the Board of Control under Sir Robert Peel. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and ruckled. Signed ‘Vane Londonderry’. Begins: ‘My Dear Ftizgerald / I had not an opportunity to thank you as I would in the H of Lords for all your kind attention to my wishes.

[Philip Cunliffe Owen [Sir Francis Philip Cunliffe-Owen], Director of the South Kensington Museum.] Autograph Letter Signed to the zoologist W. S. Dallas, about a forthcoming event from which women will be barred, Dr Bredermann and German translation

Author: 
Philip Cunliffe Owen [Sir Francis Philip Cunliffe-Owen] (1828–1894), Director of the South Kensington Museum [William Sweetland Dallas (1824-1890), zoologist]
Publication details: 
2 May 1876. On embossed letterhead of the Council on Education, Kensington Museum.
£56.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Addressed to ‘W. S. Dallas Esq’ and signed ‘P. Cunliffe Owen’ [sic, no hyphen]. Begins: ‘There will be no Ladies on the 13th. Inst & the card I will send you will be personal. I am sorry, that this rule exists, but it affects my own family as well as all the Gentler Sex.’ He concludes with brief details of the plans for the evening. In a postscript which he has initalled he asks Dallas to ‘do some more translation from German’.

[Lord FitzHardinge, admiral and Member of Parliament.] Autograph Letter Signed to W. G. Romaine of the Admiralty, with regard to a petition brought by the shipbuilder John Clare.

Author: 
Lord FitzHardinge [Maurice Frederick FitzHardinge Berkeley] (1788-1867), Royal Navy admiral, and Whig Member of Parliament [William Govett Romaine (1815-93) of the Admiralty; John Clare, shipbuilder]
Publication details: 
17 January [no year, on paper watermarked ‘JOYNSON | 1860’]; on Berkeley Castle letterhead.
£120.00

See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. For the context, see the 1863 pamphlet ‘Clare versus the Queen’, in the slug to which John Clare (1820-1885) is described as ‘THE KING OF METAL SHIP BUILDERS’. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with folds. Docketed ‘Fitzhardinge / Lord -’. Signed ‘Fitzhardinge’ (sic). In a difficult hand.

[C. M. Ingleby, Shakespeare scholar who unmasked John Payne Collier.] Autograph Letter Signed, ordering a work he doesn’t ‘actually want’ from a bookseller’s catalogue.

Author: 
C. M. Ingleby [Clement Mansfield Ingleby (1823-1886), Shakespeare scholar who unmasked John Payne Collier as a forger
Publication details: 
‘Valentines / Ilford. / Novr. 19. ’73 [1873] Essex’.
£45.00

See his entry, and that of Collier, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, on worn and spotted paper. Folded twice for postage. The recipient is not named. Addressed to ‘Dear Sir’ and signed ‘C. M. Ingleby’. He offers ten pounds for ‘yr. copy of the Encycl: Metropolitana’, and will pay the carriage if he sends it. ‘I don’t actually want it: but its a good book, & I’ll give that as an investment.’ He will send a cheque, once he receives ‘a Post Card: with “yes” on it’. Ends: ‘Other matters in yr. excellent Catalogue I postpone.’

[William IV, King of the United Kingdom.] Autograph Signature (as Duke of Clarence) on frank addressed by him to Dr Carmichael Smith.

Author: 
William IV (1765-1837), King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1830-1837 (previously Duke of Clarence)
Publication details: 
4 December [no year]; London.
£45.00

See the entry for the ‘Sailor King’ in the Oxford DNB. On 12 x 7 cm piece of paper, cut from the cover of a frank. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight smudging and a small patch of light discoloration at centre (away from signature). Set out in customary fashion, and addressed by the future king (with the year cropped): ‘London. December fourth [...] / Dr: Carmichael Smith / M. D. / Upper [?] / Near Staines / Middlesex’. Firm signature at bottom left, with slight smudging to loops of the initial ‘C’: ‘Clarence’. See Image.

[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).

[Sir Thomas Fairbairn, Manchester industrialist and patron of the Pre-Raphaelites.] Autograph Note Signed, inviting ?Yonge? to bring his rod and 'try the river'.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Fairbairn (1823-1891), industrialist with engineers William Fairbairn & Sons, and patron of the Pre-Raphaelites, leading figure in the foundation of the Manchester City Art Gallery
Publication details: 
?Saturday? [no date or place].
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Reads: ?Dear Yonge / Will you bring your rod & try the river this morning / Yours always / Thomas Fairbairn / Saturday?.

['You would do well to realise': Sir William James Ingram, Managing Director of the Illustrated London News.] Autograph Letter Signed, negotiating the purchase of newspapers from another proprietor.

Author: 
Sir William James Ingram (1847-1924), Managing Director of the Illustrated London News, and Liberal politician
Publication details: 
3 November 1899; 198 Strand, W.C. [London], on cancelled letterhead of The Bungalow, Westgate-on-Sea.
£90.00

A significant figure, unaccountably unrepresented in the Oxford DNB. An interesting item, casting light on the way business was conducted in the world of nineteenth-century newspaper proprietorship. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded for postage. The recipient, evidently a fellow newspaper proprietor, is not named, and the letter is signed ?William Ingram?.

[William Walker Stephens, Edinburgh merchant and inventor.] Autograph Letter Signed to Frederic Harrison, presenting a copy of his book ‘Higher Life for Working People’, intended to counter ‘revolutionary “Socialism”’ and ‘Social mal-adjustments’.

Author: 
William Walker Stephens of Leith and Einburgh, Scottish merchant, mechanic and inventor
Publication details: 
22 May 1899; on letterhead of Rosehall Lodge, Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh.
£60.00

See Harrison's entry in the Oxford DNB. Previous to the appearance in 1899 of ‘Higher Life for Working People’ Stephens had published a life of Turgot in 1895. Both appeared with the long-established London publishers Longmans. He was sole trustee of the soap manufacturers William Taylor & Co when it failed in 1883. He was also an inventor: in 1853 the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts noticed his patent relating to ‘retorts in gas-ovens’. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Twenty-five lines of text. In fair condition, lightly aged.

[William Smith O'Brien, Irish nationalist, a leader of the Young Ireland movement, deported to Van Diemen's Land by the British.] Autograph Signature and valediction on part of a letter.

Author: 
William Smith O'Brien [Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain] (1803-64), Irish nationalist Member of British Parliament, a leader of Young Ireland movement, convicted of sedition and deported to Van Diemen's Land
William S OBrien
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£30.00
William S OBrien

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Slip of paper, roughly 8 x 4.5 cm, cut from a letter. In fair condition, on lightly aged and discoloured paper, with several vertical postage folds. On one side good clear signature and valediction: ‘I remain, dear Sir / Faithfully Yours / William S OBrien’. On the other side, tantalizingly: ‘[...] part of England what [...] | [...] not her all to obtai[n] [...] | [...] sense of justice - [...]’

[The Lord Mayor of London plans a ‘cockney expedition’: William Thompson, Lord Mayor of London, 1828-9.] Autograph Letter Signed to Theodore Hook, describing the itinerary of the three-day ‘excursion to the Medway’.

Author: 
William Thompson (1793-1854), Lord Mayor of London, 1828-9, ironmaster, financier and Member of Parliament [Theodore Hook (1788-1841), writer and hoaxer; John Wilson Croker; Sir Henry Blackwood]
Publication details: 
‘Mansion House [London] / 20 July 1829’.
£90.00

An excellent slice of Georgian London history. See his entry, and Hook’s, in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Fifty-five lines of text. On bifolium. In fair condition, on discoloured and lightly-worn paper, with closed tear at foot of gutter. Also present is a typed transcript. The letter concerns a proposed three-day ‘excursion to the Medway’. Hook has engagements that will interefere, but Thompson undertakes to land him ‘safe at the Tower by seven o’clock on Saturday’.

[Sir Robert Liston, Scottish diplomat, British Envoy Extraordinary (Ambassador) to the United States.] Autograph Note Signed to William Jerdan ('My Dear old Boy'), editor of the Literary Gazette, agreeing to come to 'the free masons'.

Author: 
Sir Robert Liston (1742-1836), Scottish diplomat, British Envoy Extraordinary (Ambassador) to the United States [William Jerdan (1782-1869), editor of ‘The Literary Gazette’; Freemasonry]
Publication details: 
30 January [no year]. No place.
£45.00

See the two men's entries in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Reads: ‘Jany 30. / My Dear old Boy / Ill come on Thursday with great pleasure to the free masons / Yrs faithfully / Robt Liston / W. Jerdan Esq’.

[Princess Sophia of Gloucester, niece of King George III.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Sophia Matilda’) [to Sir Herbert Taylor, Private Secretary to George IV], regarding ‘the kind Legacy from the late Queen at Wirtemberg’.

Author: 
Princess Sophia of Gloucester [Sophia Matilda] (1773-1844), daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, niece of King George III [Lieut-Gen. Sir Herbert Taylor (1775-1839), Private Secretary to the Sovereign]
Publication details: 
‘Bagshot Park / Septr. 16th. [1829]’.
£90.00

See Taylor’s entry, and that of Princess Sophia’s brother William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1834), in the Oxford DNB. Bagshot Park was the residence of her brother the duke (Silly Billy’), to whom she was very much attached. The siblings were not entirely accepted by the Royal Family due to the unequal nature of their parents’ marriage. 3pp, 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. Taylor, who is not named but is clearly the recipient, has marked the letter as ‘Private’. Good firm signature ‘Sophia Matilda’.

'[Robin Humphrey Legge (pen-name ‘Musicus’), chief music critic of the Daily Telegraph.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Richards’, declaring a desire to meet Hornung (author of the ‘Raffles’ books), discussing his brother’s ‘cruel death’.

Author: 
Robin Humphrey Legge (pen-name ‘Musicus’) (1862-1933), chief music critic of Daily Telegraph, early champion of Elgar and Puccini [Ernest William Hornung (1866-1921), author of the 'Raffles' books]
Publication details: 
5 January or 1 May 1901.
£45.00

See his obituary in The Times, 7 April 1933, and Hornung's entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. With mourning border. In fair condition on discoloured paper. Folded for postage. Begins: ‘My dear Richards, / Greetings! / I should like very much to meet Hornung - practically any day would suit me. I admire his book immensely, not only for the excellence of its workmanship but the remarkable manner of the characterization. It struck me as being intensely sincere.’ He hopes that the Richards clan are well (‘all of you’): ‘We are molto moderato so to speak - My brother’s cruel death in S.

[Mr. Serjeant Ballantine [William Ballantine, Serjeant-at-Law], lawyer and author.] Substantial Autograph Letter Signed, praising 'a new family paper called The English Resident', with regard to 'English sojourners' in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Author: 
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine [William Ballantine, Serjeant-at-Law] (1812-1887), lawyer and author ['The English Resident', journal; Boulogne-sur-Mer]
Serjeant Ballantine
Publication details: 
'Boulogne s/m June 18 1883'.
£250.00
Serjeant Ballantine

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. On first leaf of bifolium. Forty-three lines of neat text. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with a few small closed tears. The author ('Sir') is unnamed, but is presumably the 'Editor' referred to in the text. Signed 'Wm Ballantine'. By recipient, at head of first page: 'Letter from Mr Sergeant [sic] Ballantine / United Club -'.

[Victorian fraud: Philip Bliss, Registrar of the University of Oxford; William Okill, agent for Thomas Hudson, claimant to the Dukedom of Devonshire.] Unsigned Autograph notes by Bliss, on Autograph Letter Signed to him by Okill.

Author: 
Philip Bliss (1787-1857), Registrar of the University of Oxford and Principal of St Mary Hall, antiquary; William Okill of Liverpool, agent for Thomas Hudson, claimant to the Dukedom of Devonshire
Philip Bliss
Publication details: 
ONE (Okill's ALS): '2 Duke Street / Liverpool 30th. June 1848'. TWO (Bliss's Unsigned Autograph notes): Without date or place.
£200.00
Philip Bliss

This forgotten case of identity fraud predates the celebrated Titchborne case by more than a decade.

[G. W. Foote [George William Foote] (1850-1915), radical journalist and secularist, twice prosecuted for blasphemy.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding his forthcoming plans.

Author: 
G. W. Foote [George William Foote] (1850-1915), radical journalist and secularist, editor of ‘The Freethinker’, twice prosecuted for blasphemy
Publication details: 
‘14 Clerkenwell Green / E. C. / Feby. 14/’88’. [14 February 1888; London]
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. On creased and worn paper with postage folds. The recipient is not named. Large firm signature: ‘G. W. Foote’. He will be in Plymouth on 8 April, but is in London on 1 April. ‘Mr. Burrows is down for that date on your list, but as he is nearly always in London I dare say he could easily make an exchange.’ Should Burrows do so, Foote will be glad to comply with the recipient’s request.

[Sir William Smith, classical and biblical scholar and lexicographer, editor of the Quarterly Review.] Autograph Letter Signed, thanking his daughter Annie for the birthday present of a pair of slippers.

Author: 
Sir William Smith (1813-1893), classical and biblical scholar and lexicographer, editor of the Quarterly Review
Publication details: 
20 May 1881. On letterhead of 94 Westbourne Terrace, W. [London]
£45.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, and with slight discoloration to corners of second leaf from previous mounting. Folded once for postage. With large firm signature. Begins: ‘My dear Annie, / Please accept my best thanks for your kind present of a pair of slippers on the anniversary fo my birthday, & especially for your kindness of thinking of me.’ He comments on his improved health since the previous year, the long time since their last meeting, and his anticipation of their next.

[Richard Holt Hutton, journalist and theologian.] Two Autograph Letters Signed, from the Spectator office, to Rev. F. Daustini Cremer, justifying a statement made by him about a rumour regarding Sir William Harcourt.

Author: 
Richard Holt Hutton (1826-1897), journalist and theologian, joint-editor of the Spectator and National Review [Rev. Frederic Daustini Cremer (1848-1927) of Hirstpierpoint, Sussex]
Publication details: 
9 and 16 March 1875; both on letterheads of ‘ “The Spectator” Office’, 1 Wellington Street, Strand, London, W.C.
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both letters closely written. Both folded for postage. The letters concern the following statement in the Spectator, 6 February 1875: ‘Rumour says that Sir William Harcourt has ascertained from his friend, Mr. Disraeli, that while he will treat the Marquis of Hartington with all the respect due to the leader of a great party, he could not have accorded that deference to Mr. Forster. If rumour does not speak falsely, we could wish that the meeting of the Reform Club had received that very significant message.’ ONE (9 March 1875): 4pp, 12mo. Fifty-seven lines.

[Lord Longford [General William Lygon Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford]. Autograph Signature, as Under-Secretary of State for War, to document in secretarial hand, regarding the Army Chaplains' Bill.

Author: 
Lord Longford [General William Lygon Pakenham (1819-1887), 4th Earl of Longford], Anglo-Irish soldier and Conservative politician, Under-Secretary of State for War [Army Chaplain's Bill]
Lord Longford
Publication details: 
'War Office [Whitehall] 29 June 1868'. On embossed letterhead of the War Office [Whitehall].
£80.00
Lord Longford

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, foolscap 8vo, on recto of first leaf of bifolium. Docketted in customary style, lengthwise on reverse of second leaf: ‘Earl of Longford / War Office 29 June 68 / Army Chaplain’s Bill’. Addressed to ‘John Graham Esq / &c &c / 3 Westminster Chambers’. Small tight signature 'Longford', good and uncrowded, on creased and worn paper. Folded into packet. The rest of the document is written hurriedly in the under-secretary’s hand.

[F. W. Fairholt [Frederick William Fairholt], artist and wood-engraver.] Autograph Letter Signed to fellow-antiquary Edwin Keet, postponing a meeting, on reverse of Autograph Letter Signed from Keet to ‘Dr. Bell F.R.S. F.S.A.’, postponing the meeting

Author: 
F. W. Fairholt [Frederick William Fairholt] (c.1813-1866), artist, wood-engraver and antiquary [Edwin Keet]
Publication details: 
Neither item dated or with place (Fairholt’s is headed ‘Wednesday’). On paper with 1850s watermark.
£80.00

See Fairholt’s entry in the Oxford DNB. The letters on either side of a 12mo leaf. In good condition, neatly placed in windowpane mount. On one side is the response: ‘Wednesday / Dear Mr Keet / I find I must not go out at night for a week to come. I ventured last night & am worse to day in consequence / You must excuse me with many thanks for your intentions / Yours very try / F. W. Fairholt’. On the reverse is a hurried and smudged ALS signed ‘Edwin Keet’ and addressed to ‘Dr. Bell F R. S. / F. S.

[Frederick William Robertson, celebrated Victorian preacher and theologian, admired by Dickens.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Miss Smith’, playfully offering to assist her in her ‘atheistical’ and her sister in her’demonological investigations’.

Author: 
Frederick William Robertson (1816-1853), Anglican preacher and theologian, Oxford friend of Ruskin, admired by Dickens, patronized by Lord Shaftesbury and the Marquis of Lansdowne
Publication details: 
8 November [no year]; 60 Montpellier Road [Brighton].
£60.00

An amusing and entertaining letter from a man destined for ‘une triste vie et une triste ministère’ (see his entry in the Oxford DNB). 3pp, 16mo. Bifolium. Thirty-seven lines of text, neatly and closely written. In fair condition, worn and grubby. Folded twice for postage. Signed ‘Fred: W: Robertson’. Begins: ‘My dear Miss Smith / Could you but see the piles of books & papers that are as yet only partially disinterred from their temporary coffins you would conceive my dismay and despair at your question. I will become a disciple of Comte to please you.

[F. W. Fairholt [Frederick William Fairholt], artist and wood-engraver.] Autograph Receipt Signed for payment from 'Mr Clements' for 'a drawing in wood of a Candelabra'. With IOU to Fairfholt signed by 'C. Rimbault'.

Author: 
F. W. Fairholt [Frederick William Fairholt] (c.1813-1866), artist, wood-engraver and antiquary
Fairholt
Publication details: 
Fairholt's receipt with neither date nor place. Rimbault's IOU dated 20 October 1883.
£120.00
Fairholt

See Fairholt’s entry in the Oxford DNB. ONE: Receipt by Fairholt. 1p, landscape 12mo. In good condition, in windowpane mount. Good firm signature. Reads: 'Received of Mr Clements the sum of fifteen shillings for a drawing in wood of a Candelabra. / F. W. Fairholt / £- 15s . 0d'. TWO: IOU by Rimbault. 1p, 16mo. In good condition, in windowpane mount. Reads: 'I. O. U. / Thirty pounds / Oct 20 . 1883 / C. Rimbault / to F. W. Fairholt'. Rimbault's identity (a relation of the musicologist Edward Francis Rimbault?) has not been established. See Image.

[Dean Stanley’s ‘execrable handwriting’.] Autograph Letter Signed from Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Dean of Westminster, to 'My dear Dictionary ' [i.e. Sir William Smith, editor of the Quarterly Review and lexicographer], about a friend of Duckworth's.

Author: 
Dean Stanley [Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1815-1881), Dean of Westminster, theologian [Sir William Smith (1813-1893), classical and biblical scholar and lexicographer, editor of the Quarterly Review]
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£45.00

See the entries for Stanley and Smith in the Oxford DNB, the former drawing attention to Stanley’s ‘execrable handwriting’. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Nineteen lines of text. Addressed to ‘My dear “Dictionary” ’, and signed ‘A P Stanley’, but with much of what comes in between only deciperable with effort: ‘[...] salutation [...] addressing [...] Could you do anything for the enclosed? I know nothing beyond what the writer says of himself - & Duckworth’s recommendation of him which I also enclose.

[William John Courthope, Professor of Poetry at Oxford.] Autograph Letter providing an autobiographical account for a reference work.

Author: 
William John Courthope (1842-1917), English author and historian of poetry, Professor of Poetry at Oxford
Publication details: 
9 December 1881. On embossed letterhead of the Education Department, Whitehall.
£80.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 32 lines, neatly written, including interpolations. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Folded for postage. No signature and with recipient not named. Begins: ‘Sir / On my return from the Continent I find your letter which I should have of course acknowledged at once if I had been at home. / If the following particulars about myself are of any use for the purpose of your book they are quite at your service’. A thumbnail autobiographical account follows, beginning: ‘I am the eldest son of the late Revd.

[Thomas Binney, Congregational minister known as the ‘Archbishop of Nonconformity’.] The first part only of an Autograph Letter, discussing his writing a preface for a work by ‘the blind eloquent American’ [William Henry Milburn].

Author: 
Thomas Binney [Thomas Benney] (1798-1874), Congregational minister known as the ‘Archbishop of Nonconformity’ [William Henry Milburn (1823-1903), ‘the blind preacher’]
Publication details: 
‘Walworth [London] / Octr 31. 1856’.
£40.00

See Binney’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. The present item is only the first part of the letter, and hence unsigned, but the author is undoubtedly Binney (the text ends with a reference to ‘my preface to Dr Cheever’s “Incidents & Memories of the Christian Life,” published by Collins of Glasgow’). In good condition, lightly aged. Folded for postage. The recipient is not named, but the subject of the letter is a proposal for Binney to prepare for English publication a work by ‘the blind eloquent American’ (i.e. William Henry Milburn).

[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’.

[Ebenezer Prout, English musicologist and music theorist.] Signed conclusion of Autograph Letter to Dr William Hayman Cumming appealing for assistance on behalf of a 'most deserving young man'.

Author: 
Ebenezer Prout (1835-1909), English musicologist, music theorist and critic [William Hayman Cummings (1831-1915), singer and musicologist]
Publication details: 
No date or place.
£20.00

See the entries for Prout and Cummings in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The second leaf of a bifolum, the first presumably carrying the commencement of the letter. The present fragment, in a good firm hand, reads: 'in the way he desires but if you can do so, you will not only be assisting a most deserving young man, but I shall regard it as a personal kindness. / I am, my dear Cummings, / Yours very cordially, / Ebenezer Prout. / Dr. W. H. Cummings.'

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