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Author, Title, Summary Price
William Blanchard Jerrold (1826-1884), journalist and author [Charles Manby, Secretary of the Institute of Civil Engineers; Sir John Rennie, engineer who built London Bridge]

[William Blanchard Jerrold, journalist and author.] Autograph Letter Signed, inviting Charles Manby of the Institute of Civil Engineers to work with him to erect a statue to Sir John Rennie, with cutting of letter by Jerrold on the subject.

Jerrold, Manby and Rennie all have entries in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On bifolium of grey paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with trace of tape from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. Folded twice. Jerrold has tipped in a newspaper cutting of a letter by him to the editor of...

£60.00
Watts Phillips (1825-1874), playwright and novelist whose play ?The Dead Heart? inspired Dickens? ?A Tale of Two Cities? [Frederick Vining, actor]

[Watts Phillips, playwright and novelist.] Autograph Letter Signed from Paris to the actor Frederick Vining, discussing plans for writing his play ?The Huguenot Captain?, which will be ?my best piece?, and in which their interests ?are identical'.

See his entry, and that of the Vining family, in the Oxford DNB, as well as well as his sister Emma?s memoir. 3pp, 12mo, with the last page written lengthwise. Bifolium. Text clear and entire, but in fair condition only, on aged and worn paper, with strip of tape from mount adhering to blank...

£56.00
Walter de Soysa, son of Sri Lankan tea planter and philanthropist Charles Henry de Soysa of Moratuwa and Alfred House, Colombo, Ceylon

[Walter de Soysa, son of Charles Henry de Soysa, Sri Lankan tea planter and philanthropist.] Autograph Letter Signed from his wife Maria Albo de Soysa to ?Mr. Powell?, attacking his character and their divorce settlement. With Sinhalese document.

James Samuel Walter de Soysa (b.1880) was one of the children of the vastly wealthy Ceylonese tea planter and philanthropist Charles Henry de Soysa (1836-1890) of Moratuwa and Alfred House, Colombo. An Anglican, he was educated at Cambridge, and was a bencher of the Inner Temple. In 1904 he...

£60.00
Suez Canal; Sir Emerson Tennent (1804-1869), Irish politician; Charles Manby, Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers; John Robinson McLean

[Suez Canal.] Autograph Letter Signed from Sir Emerson Tennent to Charles Manby, Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ?Asking for McClean?s Presidential Address & any other information about Suez Canal?.

See the three men?s entries in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with tape from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is docketted by Manby. Signed ?J Emerson Tennent?. Folded once. He explains that a friend of his, ?who is much interested...

£75.00
Robert Williams Buchanan (1841-1901), Scottish poet, novelist and dramatist [T. E. Woodrow of the London Library; Sir Leslie Stephen]

[Robert Williams Buchanan, Scottish poet, novelist and dramatist.] Autograph Letter Signed to T. E. Woodrow of the London Library, regarding a form sent on to Leslie Stephen and the catalogue.

See the entry for his father the Owenite Robert Buchanan in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. With mourning border. In good condition, lightly age. Folded once. Addressed to ?T. E. Woodrow Esq? and with good firm stylized signature ?R. Buchanan?. He has sent Woodrow?s form on to ?Mr Leslie Stephen,...

£80.00
Sir Henry Lucy (1842-1924), Victorian political journalist [A. M. Broadley (?Broadley Pasha?), journalist and autograph collector; Ismail, Khedive of Egypt, leading promoter of the Suez Canal]

[Sir Henry Lucy, political journalist.] Autograph Letter Signed to A. M. Broadley (?Broadley Pasha?), English agent to the former Khedive of Egypt, Ismail (leading promoter of the Suez Canal), boasting of his influence and offering his services.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient A. M. Broadley was widely-regarded as an expert on the middle east. The year before the present letter, he had represented Ahmed Urabi after an uprising in Egypt, earning himself 10,000 guineas and the nickname ?Broadley Pasha?. At the time of...

£120.00
Robert Cruikshank (1789-1856), caricaturist and illustrator, son of Isaac Cruikshank and brother of George Cruikshank

[Robert Cruikshank, caricaturist and illustrator.] Autograph Letter Signed, offering a specimen of proposed illustrations to J. R. Planch??s ?Jewess?, to be like his brother George Cruikshank?s illustrations of W. B. Rhodes?s ?Bombastes Furioso'.

See the entries for the Cruikshanks in the Oxford DNB. 1p, landscape 12mo. On 20 x 11.5 cm piece of paper. Somewhat aged and worn, with small pinhole at head, and postage folds; neatly inserted in trimmed windowpane mount. The recipient is not named, the text reading: ?Mr Ryan was suggesting an...

£90.00
Regency royal imposter: ?Princess Olive of Cumberland?, title claimed by Olivia Serres (1772-1834) [King William IV; Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland]

[Regency royal imposter: ?Princess Olive of Cumberland?, title claimed by Olivia Serres.] Manuscript ?Copy Letter to the King from the Princess Olive?, a lengthy appeal to William IV, complaining of 'desertion and neglect', ending with a petition.

Despite a recent book by Miles Macnair supporting Serre's claims, the case for her imposture is overwhelming, as her entry in the Oxford DNB demonstrates. See also the various reports of the matter (for example Ryves v. Duke of Wellington, Law Times, 31 October 1846). 23pp., foolscap 8vo. On six...

£420.00
Joseph Hatton (1837-1907), novelist and journalist, editor of the Sunday Times [his son Frank Hatton, geologist and explorer; Alexander Ireland, Scottish journalist and bibliophile]

[Joseph Hatton, novelist and journalist, editor of the Sunday Times.] Autograph Letter Signed to Alexander Ireland, describing his grief at the death of his son the explorer Frank Hatton, and the comfort he has found in Ralph Waldo Emerson's writing.

See the two men?s entries in the Oxford DNB. A long letter, covering all four sides of a 12mo bifolium with mourning border, with the first pages written conventionally on the recto of the first leaf, and the rest written lengthwise. Signed ?Joseph Hatton? and addressed to ?Alexander Ireland Esq...

£60.00
John Scott Russell (1808-1882), Scottish civil engineer, naval architect and shipbuilder who built the Great Eastern of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

[John Scott Russell, engineer and shipbuilder who built Brunel?s ?Great Eastern?.] Autograph Letter Signed to an invalid, responding to a request [for an autograph].

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with strip of tape from mount adhering to the blank second leaf of the bifolium. Folded once. The recipient (?Dear Sir?) is not named. Signed ?J. Scott. Russell?. Apparently responding to a request for an autograph from...

£45.00
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