Book Trade History

The collection is in good condition, with items on lightly aged and creased paper. Letter One (12 September 1951, Onslow Gardens; 12mo, 1 p, in envelope): As Kyrle Fletcher 'may have seen', Speaight is engaged in a biography of William Poel, and is 'anxious to trace the letters he received from Shaw & which were sold about 1930'. Kyrle Fletcher has docketed the envelope with a precis of his reply. Card (postmarked 14 September 1951): Thanking Kyrle Fletcher for his 'letter & most useful suggestions'.

Two pages, 4to,, creasing, minor damage and staining not affecting text. He sympathises with Pitcairn over a "loss" (his wife?) sympathising as "a husband and a father". The last time he was in Edinburgh he had little time at his disposal and didn't call on him. And "The moment my business is done I have no desire to stay." But he is visiting Edinburgh soon and will call, preferring that to writing. "In the meantime allow me to say that your charge for packing etc is a thing unheard of.

One page, 8vo, corners frayed, one spot, text clear and complete. "I feared the objection you mentioned in your note, but I was willing to try 'The Spanish Page' [Velasco [or memoirs of a page, 3 vols, 1846?], as has been sometimes done, piecemeal, for it will be a long time before I shall be able to complete the three volumes. / I send you a small light article purely my own.

12mo bifolium: 1 p, on recto of first leaf, with address on verso of second leaf. Grubby, and with spike hole and tear to outer edge through both leaves, that on the first neatly repaired on the reverse with archival tape. Text complete and entirely legible. 'Mr. Howell will be obliged to Mr. Lee if in addition to the Douglass case Lot 708, He will purchase Lot 213 'Discovery Witches' [...]'. A further seven bids follow. The note ends 'Mr Howell will thank Mr Lee will [sic] bear in mind, that these purchases will be upon condition of the books being in good order and perfect'.

4to, 1 p. On aged, creased apper, but with text clear and entire. A small piece of paper from a bottom corner has been torn away in opening the letter, and is still present on the reverse, under a red wax seal bearing a clear impression of a lyre and the words 'Addolcire ed Maturare'. Brief communication apologising for the fact that the Literary Souvenir has not reached him sooner. 'The omission is the sin of my booksellers and not mine'. He is sending a copy with the letter, and asks him to accept his thanks, 'for your courtesy'.

Both letters good, on lightly aged paper. Both items concern Canning's article on 'International Relations' in the October 1877 issue of 'The Nineteenth Century'. Letter One (12mo, 4 pages, bifolium with mourning border). Knowles hopes Canning has received the proof of the article from the publishers Spottiswoodes. A judicious bit of sycophancy follows.

Dimensions of card roughly 8.5 x 11 cm. Good, with slight creasing. Twenty lines of text. Congratulating Hammerton on his appointment as editor of the 'London Magazine'.

12mo, 1 p, 12 lines of text. Good, on lightly aged paper. The second leaf of the bifolium is docketed in a contemporary hand. Le Blanc has received Weigel's twenty-second catalogue, and it has given him pleasure. Like the others it is full of curious details, and is extremely useful to Le Blanc, being full of curious details. He orders several items (crossed through by the firm), the last of which he desires 'vivement' to own.

8vo, 2 pp. Good, though a little grubby on the reverse. Printed down the left hand margin of the recto is a long list headed 'Printers and Publishers of Illustrated Guides to'. Printed in large letters at the centre of the letterhead is 'Shropshire: Historical and Biographical', but there is no record of this title being published, or of any volume on Shropshire by Mates & Sons. From the context it appears that Lumley had a hand in Frederick John Snell's 'Devonshire, historical, descriptive, biographical', published by Mate & Sons in 1907.

12mo, 1 p, 11 lines. Good, with thin strip of discoloration along the outer edge. He is grateful to Hodgson 'for thinking of me'. Nothing would give Clarendon greater pleasure 'than to meet the Members of the Booksellers Provid[en]t Institution at Abbot's Langley', but unfortunately he has to go to London that Friday morning 'in order to keep some engagements that I have made on Saturday'.

12mo, 3 pp. Very good. Nichols regrets not seeing the recipient 'again before I left the Institution on Tuesday, to thank you for your kind attention' [Upcott was sub-librarian at the London Institution]. He is sending him a proof (presumably of an article in the Gentleman's Magazine), 'that you may see what I have said about your Album, and also what about modern collectors, and make any emendation you think fit in either place'. Discussion of 'the earliest Album in the Museum', about the date of which the recipient has been misled by a misprint.

12mo, 1 p, 10 lines. On worn, discoloured paper, with slight loss due to the breaking of two seals. Text clear and entire. The letter has been readdressed in another hand (hence the two seals) to 'Mr Price, Crease & Sons, Smithfield'. Harrison quotes his 'friend of the L. G. [i.e. the Literary Gazette]' as follows: 'Your D'Israeli paper may be useful as there is a new Edition. May I do as I like with its matter?' He asks for 'an answer as soon as possible'.

Two pages, c. 7 x 5", good condition. He discusses his correspondent's request (via his publishers, Constable) to include five of his poems in an anthology. "One of these, 'Tartary', is taken from a collection entitled 'Songs of Childhood, which is published by Messrs Longman Green & Co." He asks him to write to them directly, and for the name of the publishers of the anthology. His fee is usually £3 gns. "Perhaps you will let me know what the published price of your anthology will be".

Good condition. "Dear Kenneth / Many thanks for your congratulations - greatly appreciated. I hope all goes well with you & send best wishes for 1968." Day-Lewis had recently been appointed Poet Laureate.

12mo (18 x 11 cm): 1 p. 15 lines of text. On aged paper with one light stain at centre. Corner on reverse tipped in onto card mount. No signature. Introducing 'Miss Napier who has just returned from the Cape of Good Hope - She has one or two M.SS which she wishes to submit to your notice [...] you will kindly assist the lady in her literary efforts'. Miss Napier's address is given as '4 Beech View Villas, South Penge Park | Penge Surrey SE.' It is perhaps significant that Sir George Thomas Napier (1784-1855) was Governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 1837 to 1843.

On one side of piece of laid paper roughly 16 x 19.5 cm. Good, though lightly aged, and with a few small pin holes in one corner (not affecting text). 12 lines. Headed 'imprime pour le Citoyen Duprat, par Crapelet, 9 Nivose an 9e'. The first of four entries reads 'Memoire sur la reunion de l'artillerie & du Genie [published in Paris in 1800 by Duprat], contenant cinq feuilles & demie in-8o. Cicero, tirees a 500 exempl. a raison de 24th la feuille'. Second entry gives cost of 'Remaniement de toutes les feuilles & corrections extraordinaires'.

Two pages, 12mo, good condition, blank bifolium sl. damaged. "I have got out to day for the first time, and hope soon to be more fit for work. I see no objection to the advertisment - but it might be as well to leave the subsequent editions - without all - as you cannot wish to appear to make my allusion to [Pitts?] Ed | Though I send you only scraps, I read Spencer Anecdotes by Singer in a day - not choosing to trust to the Index, though Allan Cunningham had assistance from his son, and writes well as to style he has made many random [assertions?].

Catalogue nos. 248, 267 and 268, printed wraps, one chipped and partially detached, but all in good condition otherwise, 32; 28; 24 pp. respectively (including wraps), 8vo. Manuscript material occupies a few pages of each catalogue, and might be described as interesting rather than "extraordinarily important" (as Michelmore below)..

Quarto: 50 + [2] pp. Fold-out frontispiece giving eighteen examples of handwriting from items in the catalogue. In original orange printed wraps. Good, though a tad dusty, and in worn and faded wraps with some glue staining to back and wear to spine. Well printed, with lengthy extracts from most items. A scrap of paper which acts as a bookmark has the words "Listed Walpole entries to W.S. Lewis || Nov 1953" in Winifeed Myers [?] hand (from her reference library). The first item is 'A Series of Pencil Sketches by George Cattermole, illustrating Dickens' Works' (£60).

[58]pp., 4to, printed wraps, three errata slips (one ascribing errors - mainly omission of prices - to Davey's illness during the catalogue's preparation), some prices absent from printed text and errata leaves added in pencil, spine damaged, edges of covers dusted, corners bumped, slight hinge strain, contents mainly good. Highlights include Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Chatterton, "A Unique Collection of Letters from Frederick the Great to Voltaire", and "a Collection of Distinguished American Names".

Octavo: 52 pp. Stitched and unbound. Good, if a tad grubby. In alphabetical order from Queen Adelaide to the Duchess of York, but lotted 236 to 553. Tastefully printed, and including letters of Charles I, Coleridge, Dr Johnson, Samuel Richardson, Rossini, Sir Walter Scott, Laurence Sterne and Horace Walpole.

64pp., 8vo, grey printed wraps, title in red and black, edges of wraps sunned, mainly good condition. Highlights include: Aretino, Goldsmith, Handel, Keats, and so on.

154pp., 4to, folding plates (facsimiles), grey printed wraps, slightly chipped and worn, title in red and black, some foxing, contents mainly good. Note inserted: war-time paper restrictions compel "very brief descriptions" but typewritten full descriptions may be requested.

[viii] 237 pp., fol.m, original grey and red printed wraps, numerous plates and illustrations in text, some staining of cover around spine, a few pencil markings, top of spine damaged, mainly good condition. It includes Cortes, "Carta de Relacion" (1522), other important Americana, and the first edition of "Don Quixote".

One page, 12mo. Very good with light creasing. She thanks him for the list of autographs, out of which she is interested in four: those of Macready, Gordon Craig, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. '[T]he signature you could not decipher is "Alma Tadema" '.

Quarto: 40 pp. In original printed wraps, decorated with various facsimiles. Facsimiles in text, and portrait of Beethoven on rear inner wrap. Good, on browned paper. Sections on painters, writers, poets, architects, sculptors, musicians. Nods towards the American market, with some entries in English and Dollar conversions. Together with Nebehay's attractive bifoliate trade card, carrying a photograph of his premises.

Quarto: 65 pp. Numerous plates. In original grey printed wraps. Internally good, with a little spotting and creasing to the ruckled edges; wraps worn and stained. A beautifully printed item, on thick laid paper. Among the printed matter are books of hours, breviaries, psalters, and letters (with facsimile plates) by Byron, Keats, Johnson and Sterne; and manuscripts of Fielding and Horace Walpole.

Folio: iv + 237 pp. In original grey and red printed wraps. Numerous plates and illustrations in text. Grubby and spotted, in heavily-worn wraps. One plate slit along fold and repaired with tape. Presentation copy, inscribed 'With Compliments from E U Maggs'. Covetable items, accurately described, from a complete set of Addison and Steele's 'Spectator' (£105) to the first edition of both volumes of Wordsworth's 'Lyrical Ballads' (£185). Contains 'twenty-four autograph letters signed [by Charles Dickens] on "The Village Coquettes" to John P. Hullah, the musical composer' (£650).

135pp., printed wraps, soiled and chipped, contents good. It commences with "The Famous Manuscript Account of the Voyages of Columbus Written by Andres Bernaldez . . ."

Printed postcard with manuscript additions, minor defects. The printed heading describes him as ""The Autograph King. Unchallenged. Owner of the largest collection of Modern Autographs in the World", lists the Exhibitions at which he has displayed his stock, and adds his address and a request to the recipient to write their autograph ("Request Register No. [17861]". The recipient of this was Philip Yale Drew who added "Young Buffalo" to his full clear signature on the reverse. In this same year, 1929, Drew had been arrested as a suspect in the the murder of tobacconist, Alfred Oliver.