Book Trade History

12mo, 1 p. 7 lines of closely-written text. Clear and complete. On aged and slightly-grubby paper. He has received their letter regarding his 'Life of Thackeray', and appreciates 'the reason for your delay in deciding whether or no to issue a cheap edition. Undoubtedly the inclusion of my book in a series would benefit us both, & I hope Mr Lee may be able to make me an offer.'

12mo, 1 p. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Thanking them for the cheque, and returning the 'form of permission to reprint the four poems, signed' (not present).

12mo, 1 p. Twelve lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged and grubby paper. A formal letter in the third person. He has 'received with surprise the enclosed invoice. [not present] He has given no orders for any copies of the work & must therefore decline to accept the parcel, should it have been sent out to him in Australia.' If it is 'lying at his London house' he will forward it to the firm 'on his return home'.

Plain card, roughly 8.5 x 11 cm. Five lines of text. A little grubby, but good. Asking for his manuscript, so that he can 'correct the proof of the Introduction to Crashaw. It was written so many years ago that I can't always recall what I wrote'.

4to, 1 p. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper with minor rust stain from paperclip at head. Letterhead, in light and dark blue, featuring globe and the mottos 'BOOKSELLERS TO THE WORLD' and 'STOCK OF NEARLY THREE MILLION VOLUMES'. Thirteen lines of text. Bradshaw is clearly unhappy at the price asked for a copy of Cox's 'Memorials of Old Derbyshire'. 'The writer would point out that we received six reports regarding this book from various clients, but in no case at a price allowing us to quote below 15/-.

On one side of a piece of paper roughly 8 x 12.5 cm. Good, lightly aged. Reads ' Henry Colburn | 13 Gt Marlborough Street | Martin Arthur Shee | Peter North 22 Soho Square | Dominic Colnaghi'. Fragment of docketed manuscript record of the case on the reverse: '<...> 830 | <...>nes O'Connor | <...>ent Case | <...>y 12th. 1841'.

4to, 2 pp. Postscript ends abruptly ('I have read innumerable books on Italy, <...>'), suggesting a page lacking. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. An interesting letter shedding light on Gollancz's attitude to the practice of sending out advance copies of books for review. Addressed to 'My dear Daniel'. Further to a report he has received from 'Hilary' (his nephew Hilary Rubinstein) regarding a conversation with George 'at John Coates's party', Gollancz assures him that there is no 'personal reason' why he is no longer receiving 'a stream of advance copies'.

12mo, 1 p. Four lines of text. Good, on aged paper with watermarked date '<...>864'. 'If the "Macaulays" have not gone yet, would you send them here, directed to me.' Trevelyan was nephew of the historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, of whom he published a biography in 1880.

12mo, 2 pp. 13 lines of text. Good, on light-aged paper. He has been 'asked by many persons for copies of his speech at the Cambge. Union Socy.', and if 'Messrs. Macmillan cared to print it, he would revise it, no report having been correct'. He wonders 'whether the whole proceedings should not be added, with some of the newspaper letters which have been carried'. Milnes was created Baron Houghton in 1863. In 1866 Macmillan published 'The Cambridge Union Society, Inaugural Proceedings', edited by G. C. Whiteley.

12mo, 2 pp. 9 lines of text. With mourning border. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He is glad that Macmillan and 'Mr Doulton' are coming to dine with him, but sorry that they 'will be obliged to leave so soon; but it cannot be helped'.

Printed on one side of a piece of thick wove paper, 21 x 17.5 cm. At the head of the page is the engraving, enclosed in an oval 12.5 cm high and 15 cm wide. A clear impression of a scarce print, on grubby, spotted paper. Within the border is engraved in red 'Part of Christs Hospital taken from the Stewards Office 1765.' According to the six lines of copperplate text at the foot of the page 'It was 129 feet long and 31 feet in breadth, [...] It was furnished with Books at the expence of £556 . 10s of which £400 were given by the founder, and the remainder by Dr.

Literary Characters'. 12mo (leaf dimensions roughly 18 x 12.5 cm): 32 pp. Stitched with brown thread. Fore-edge and top-edge rough. Unbound as issued. Very good. Cartoon in red ink of man seated at typewriter on front cover, and another, in black ink, of a hatted-figure skulking away with a walking stick held behind his back on back cover. Initial note, with publisher's colophon, on p.2: 'This series of Literary Characters appeared in Now & Then numbers 77-87 and is here reprinted by Jonathan Cape Limited for their friends | Christmas 1954'.

Printed on one side of a piece of cream paper, roughly 33.5 x 25.5 cm. Laid down on card. Clear and complete, with a good impression of the plate (22.5 x 17.5 cm), on lightly-aged, grubby paper, with slight wear to extremities. Presumably produced for display in a shop window. The title ('THE LIFE AND WORK OF | W. HOLMAN HUNT. | BY ARCHDEACON FARRAR.') at head, and 'SPECIMEN PLATE.' at foot, in large orange letters; the rest printed in black. Beneath the plate: 'THE SHADOW OF DEATH. | BY PERMISSION OF MESSRS. T. AGNEW & SONS. | LONDON: J. S. VIRTUE & CO.

8vo: 1 p. Good, on lightly-creased paper, with a faint 4cm pink stain in the right-hand margin. Reads 'Many thanks for the copy of your interesting paper, and the kindly reference to my novel.'

4to: 1 page. Twenty-one lines of text. Good, on creased and lightly-aged paper. An impressively-considered letter, declining Mrs Steward's manuscript 'I had rather be a Doorkeeper'. 'As you point out, Christ Church, Newgate Street, is a near neighbour of Amen House, and its ruins are a pathetic sight.

On one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 23.5 x 19 cm. A delicate and scarce piece of ephemera, in a remarkably good state of repair. Possibly a proof, as a thin blank strip along one of the vertical edges, intended to be detached and discarded, still adheres. The menu itself is crisply printed in the centre, covering a space roughly 17 x 13.5 cm.

On one side of a piece of wove paper 19 x 14.5 cm, and with the image extending almost to the edges. Lightly aged and creased, but good overall. An usual design, with the coat of arms within a fleece held up by two figures of Hercules, both on pedestals, the one of the left marked 'HUMUS' and that on the right 'SUMUS'. The fleece folds over the left-hand Hercules's right shoulder and reads 'LE CULTE EN' with 'DIFFICULTE' over the left-hand Hercules's left shoulder. Topping the whole design, above a coronet, is a harpy, and at the foot of the paper is 'Hereson de Brecksel'.

Printed on one side of a piece of paper 13.5 x 16.5 cm. In good condition. Ruled in light blue, with letterhead in black: 'To James Thornton, New and Second-Hand Bookseller, Stationer, &c., 33, High Street, opposite University College Gateway. | Books bought or exchanged. | Binding in all its branches. | Interest Charged after Twelve Months' Credit. | The usual discount for cash.' Lists purchases made on four dates between November 1875 and January 1876, totalling £2 1s 10d, and marked as 'Subject to discount'. Beneath this, in purple ink is written 'Paid 17/3/76.

Paper dimensions 25.5 x 19 cm. Plate dimensions 22 x 16 cm. The head-and-shoulders portrait itself is oval, 7 cm high and 5.5 cm wide, contained in a square 11 x 9.5 cm, and with the caption beneath it. Printed on aged paper, with the image itself and the caption are clean and crisp, but the paper carries a crease to the margin, and there is light staining intruding into the surrounding square. Dibdin gives an account of Miller, whose son was the noted bookseller William Miller of Albemarle Street, in his 'Bibliomania' (1811 ed., pp.630-31).

On one side of a piece of paper 21 x 14 cm. Mourning border. Very good, on lightly aged and spotted paper. Twenty-four lines of text announcing the 'death of our esteemed partner [...] for so many years [...] our fellow-labourer in the field of literary enterprise'. Cassell is described as 'a man of vigorous intellect and untiring energy, whose constant aim it was to render effectual assistance towards moral, social, and religious elevation of the people'.

12mo. 32 pages. Unbound. On browned high-acidity paper. Loss to margins of first and last leaves, but text clear and complete, save for the dating in bottom left-hand corner of the title: <...> 8. 81. Cancelling all previous Editions of this Catalogue.' Line in blue pen around the words 'for Children' in the title, and pencil markings (by a child) to p.30. Circular engraving beneath title captioned 'Goldsmith introduced to Newbery by Dr.

Three pages, cr. 8vo, foxed and grubby, but text clear and complete. The subject is his book, Bidcombe Hill, with other rural poems published by William Miller whose Albemarle Street premises were taken over by John Murray I in 1812.

4to, 1 p. Four lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with slight staining from paperclip in top left-hand corner. He thanks him for his 'very interesting letter': 'The photograph shows an agreeable, and perhaps distinguished building. I return the picture thereof, and wish you every success therein.'

12mo: [ii] + 14 pp. Unpaginated. Frontispiece of Blake's celebrated print. Internally tight on lightly-aged and grubby paper, and with the reverse of the frontispiece slightly discoloured. Staples a little rusty. In grubby white wraps. A signed presentation copy. Boldly written on the front wrap: 'Lawrence Binyon C.H. with the compliments of [signed] H. Edward Newton'. A characteristic production by the boisterous author of 'The Amenities of Book-Collecting'. At end: 'A. EDWARD NEWTON | "Oak Knoll" | Daylesford, Berwyn P.O., | Pennsylvania'.

12mo: 8 pp. Dimensions of leaf roughly 13.5 x 11 cm. Lightly-spotted and creased, in creased and worn original purple wraps with title printed on front, and stitched with matching purple thread. An uncommon piece of Lucas and book trade ephemera, nicely printed. Beneath the title: 'President. W. J. Crawley. Principal Guests of the Evening. Sir Godfrey Collins, M.P. Edgar Wallace. E. V. Lucas. H. E.

4to: 1 p. Ten lines of text. Heavily stained, but a neat link between two giants of the twentieth-century British book trade. 'I give myself the pleasure of saluting you, I really believe for the first time'. He is happy for the opportunity of telling Secker how much he admired his 'flair and enterprise in earlier years'. He hopes he 'may write as firmly and with as lively a mind as you in six years' time'. 'Alas that we must disappoint you': the books Secker has requested are all out of print. 'Just possibly one or more may come into our hands secondhand.

On one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 10.5 x 17.5 cm. Good. Printed in top left-hand corner: 'To J. B. Nichols and Son. Printers and Booksellers. 25, Parliament Street, Westminster. ***Office, 10, King Street, Westminster.' Asks that the 'Subscription to Forby's Vocabulary 1 1 0' be paid to him or to 'Mr Wilkin, Bookseller, herewith'. Countsigned crosswise 'Received for S. Wilkin | [signed] Josiah Fletcher | Jan 25/30'. Docketed on reverse. BBTI has Wilkin as a bookseller in Norwich from before 1821 to 1830; and Fletcher as a binder and printer there from around 1820 to 1835.

8vo bifolium on good wove paper. Leaf dimensions roughly 22.5 x 14.5 cm. Good, on lightly creased paper. Illustration of horse, 7.5 x 9 cm, on recto of first leaf, with 'JANE BISSELL GRABHORN | 1911-1973'. Memorial, with same title, across inner pages, signed in type by Magee. The following on reverse of second leaf: 'This memorial is presented to the members of the Book Club of California by Andrew Hoyem, who composed the text in Friar, a type given to Jane by its designer, Frederic W. Goudy, and by Lawton & Alfred Kennedy, who did the press work, Nov. 1973.'

4to (leaf dimensions roughly 27 x 21.5 cm): 1 p. Fifteen lines of text. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium, with the address on the reverse of the second leaf. Text complete and legible, on aged paper, grubby, worn and creased paper. An unusual and interesting letter of introduction, pointing out the international links in the European booktrade of the early nineteenth century.

12mo: 1 p. Very good on lightly-aged paper. Reads: 'The Marquis of Lorne presents his compliments to Mr Wright and thanks him for the copy he has sent him of "The Spanish Armada." Wright's 'The Spanish Armada: a descriptive historical poem' was published in Plymouth by G. P. Friend in 1874.