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Author, Title, Summary Price
Mick Blake, Captain of the Barque Barbara, and another [Richard O'Gorman Jr, outlaw or Irish Nationalist]

[Richard O'Gorman, outlaw or Irish Nationalist; Rising in July 1848] [COPIES] Letter from Mick Blake, of the Barque Barbara, to the Captain of Police, about O'Gorman'smovements. WITH COPY (verso) Letter from Nath[anie]l Spiner to Earl of Bantry

Contemporary copies (all in same hand);original letters untraced. Good condition but rough edge on left indicates removed perhaps from a collection. [Mick Blake] one page as follows: We left Galway on Friday the 18th and when coming through the South Sound of [Enniskerr?] in the small Island of...

£250.00
Lord Hugh Cecil [Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil (1869-1956), 1st Baron Quickswood], Conservative politician, Provost of Eton [Sir David Ross, Provost of Oriel, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford]

[Lord Hugh Cecil [Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood], British Conservative politician.] Typed Letter Signed to ‘Mr. Provost’ [W. D. Ross, Provost of Oriel], sending a memorandum on ‘the recent crisis in Foreign Affairs’.

Cecil, who was the best man at Churchill’s wedding, was regarded as the finest orator of his generation. See his entry, and that of Ross, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr Provost’ and signed ‘Hugh Cecil’. He apologises for the late...

£45.00
Lord Birkett [William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett] (1883-1962), judge, a British representative at the Nuremberg Trials, Lord Justice of Appeal, Liberal Member of Parliament [Vere Henry Collins]

[‘the lover of words (as I am)’: Lord Birkett, judge, British representative at the Nuremberg Trials.] Two Typed Letters Signed, one with long Autograph Postscript, and Typed Note Signed, all to V. H. Collins, defending his use of language.

The third letter gives an excellent indication of Birkett’s pride in his use of language. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. All three signed ‘Norman Birkett’. In fair condition, lightly aged and little grubby....

£180.00
Lord Buxton, Governor-General of South Africa during the Great War [Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton (1853-1934), Liberal politician] [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), microscopist and entomologist]

[Lord Buxton, Governor-General of South Africa [Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton), Liberal politician].] Autograph Letter Signed, thanking Bernard Piffard for copies of the ‘West Herts Radical’, which he hopes will prove effective.

Buxton was a popular Governor-General who formed an effective partnership with Botha. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed to ‘B Piffard Esq’ and signed ‘Sydney Buxton’. He is obliged for the ‘copies of the “West Herts Radical”’, and is glad to...

£65.00
Lord David Cecil [Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil] (1902-1986), author, biographer and scholar [Vere Henry Collins, author]

[‘I take a great interest in the small points of style’: Lord David Cecil, author and scholar.] Typed Letter Signed, responding to linguistic ‘strictures’ by V. H. Collins, who annotates the letter.

An interesting letter, revealing some of Cecil's views on the art of writing. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler, and Cecil has clearly been on the receiving end of a ticking off. 2pp, 4to. On grey paper. In fair...

£90.00
Ken Dodd [Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd] (1927-2018), Liverpool comedian and singer, ‘the greatest theatrical comic of his age’

[‘the greatest theatrical comic of his age’: Ken Dodd, Liverpool comedian and singer.] Typed Letter Signed with biographical details, and signed publicity postcard with photographic portrait.

Dodd’s entry in the Oxford DNB by Michael Billington concludes with the assessment that he was ‘the greatest theatrical comic of his age and the last link with the hallowed days of music hall’. The two items are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: TLS, 9 October 1957. 1p, 4to. Good large...

£100.00 Ken Dodd
Janet Beveridge [born Janet Thomson Philip, later Janet Mair] (1876-1959), second cousin and wife of Sir William Beveridge (1879-1963), ‘Architect of the Welfare State’ [Vere Henry Collins, author]

[Janet Beverdige, wife of Sir William Beveridge, ‘Architect of the Welfare State’.] Typed Letter Signed to V. H. Collins, regarding her sister’s death, her book on the Beveridge Plan, Sir William’s punctiliousness and ‘the kilt’.

See Sir William Beveridge’s entry in the Oxford DNB: 'An overbearing and temperamental Scotswoman, Mrs Mair had come to the school [the LSE] with Beveridge in 1919 (having been his secretary and aide during the war) and was highly unpopular with many of the school's professors. Throughout the...

£120.00
Horne Tooke [John Horne Tooke, born John Horne] (1736-1812), radical clergyman and philologist, Member of Parliament and supporter of John Wilkes, tried for treason in 1794

[Horne Tooke [John Horne Tooke], radical and philologist, tried for treason in 1794.] Autograph Signature on receipt for ‘the third volume of EPEA PTEROENTA, or, The Diversions of Purley’.

See his long entry in the Oxford DNB. On one side of a 12.5 x 6.5 cm piece of laid paper, embossed with a tax stamp. In fair condition, lightly aged and discoloured. Very neatly written and set out: ‘Jan 31 . 1794 / No. 370. / Received of Wm. Phillips / fourteen shillings for the third volume of...

£120.00
Elizabeth Charles

[Elizabeth Charles] Autograph note signed, to her publisher

Author of The Schonberg-Cotta, etc. Note by publishers on reverse (1871/ Mrs Charles/ Jan 13). Dear Sir,/ I have received the Cheque for £30 & enclose the Contract signed. I am glad Baron Tauchnitz is not responsible for the former proposition. Presumably she has agreed to Tauchnitz...

£100.00
Ernest Bevin (1881-1961), Labour Party politician, Minister of Labour in Churchill’s wartime coalition [Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross] (1877-1971), Scottish philosopher, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford]

[Ernest Bevin, Labour Party politician, Minister of Labour in Churchill’s wartime coalition.] Typed Letter Signed to Sir David Ross

See the entries for Bevin and Ross in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Addressed to ‘Sir David Ross, K.B.E., LL.D.’ and signed ‘Ernest Bevin’. Begins: ‘Dear Sir David, / In connection with my general plans I wish as soon as possible to make definite...

£56.00
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