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George Canning (1770-1827), English Tory politician. The frank consists of only the central part of the front of the envelope, without stamp or postmarks, dimensions approximately 2 1/2 inches by 4 inches. Reads 'To D. O'Brien Esqre | 21 Craven Street | Geo: Canning'. Affixed at the foot of the recto of a letter written by his cousin Stratford Canning (1786-1880) in the third person (2 pages, 16mo, in good condition), reading 'Lord Canning begs that in the Votes distributed tomorrow morning the 2d. Reading of the Oxford University Bill may be fixed for Thursday the 6th. July.

Politician (1776-1858; DNB), later Speaker of the Commons, later 1st Baron Dunfermline. The Committee investigated the riot which took place behind Cold Bath Fields Prison in London on 15 May 1833, during which three policemen were stabbed, one of them fatally. 1 page, 8vo. Not in the best of condition: grubby, worn and creased with several closed tears. Rear repaired with archival tape. Reads 'House of Commons. | Select Committee on Cold Bath Fields Meeting | Veneris, 26o die Julij, 1833. | Right Honble Jas. Abercromby in the Chair | Ordered, | That Mr.

English Conservative politician (1799-1880). 4 pages, 16mo. Creased and somewhat grubby, with minor damage at head of one leaf caused by previous mounting, but in good condition overall. He has received his correspondent's note and will 'be glad to aid the objects of the conference in any manner in my power'. He cannot however 'comply with the request of the Committee that I will preside over Section B. on Tuesday next'. He has to 'present the prizes at the Society of Arts on that morning'. There is also 'important evidence in a Committee of the H. of Coms.

Norman Mattoon Thomas (1884-1968), six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party. 1 page, 8vo. Not in good condition: fraying at all four edges, with loss to the last two letters of the author's surname. Letter addressed to 'Dear Comrade Snelling'. He explains in great detail the need 'to enlist support for an expansion program which has just been decided on by the National Committee of the Socialist Party [...] we have no funds to meet it [...] The program provides for a membership drive for 10,000 new members in 1933.

Whig politician (1782-1845). 2 pages, 16mo. Dusty but in good condition. 'Dear Sir, | I have stated to Mr. Grant your desire for a for your son. But I could not express myself to him so as to make the appointment a favour to myself because I had before applied to him to give such an appointment to a friend of mine for his son, & I could not in justice withdraw this application. I stated however to him that I considered that the service you did in the Boundary Commission gave you a claim upon the Government, which my friend had not.' Signed 'Althorp'.

Aristocratic Tory politician (1780-1855). Frank on front of envelope, dimensions approximately 3 inches by 5 inches. In good condition with remains of blue paper mounts on blank reverse. No postmarks. Reads 'To | The Lord Downes. K.C.B. | &c &c &c | Ordnance Office | Pall Mall. | Strangford'.

Soldier and Tory politician (1893-1996), at 6 ft 7 inches the tallest ever Member of Parliament. 1 page, 16mo. Dusty but in good condition. He asks Landa to forgive him for not having thanked him earlier for assisting him with his lecture 'The Jew in Parliament'. He is grateful for 'the extremely valuable notes which you allowed Mrs. Knollys to take, and I feel that I can face my audience with equanimity and confidence.' Pencil notes on reverse giving addresses of W. A. Rutkowski, Samuel Lipman and Aaron Samuels.

Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1889-1965), daughter of the Earl of Minto and wife of newspaper proprietor John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever. 1 page, 8vo. Large coffee stain to one corner not affecting signature. She thanks her correspondent for a 'nice letter with regard to my year of office as President of the Women's Journalist Association', regretting that she was, 'in reality, so inactive a President.

An Album, 55pp. with newspaper cuttings laid down, 4to, coves worn and sunned but contents intact and in good condition. Headings mainly "Press", presumably short for a local paper (Western Daily Press prob.), and "T & M", "Daily Press", "Mercury", "Express", etc. Subjects:duties of the Newhaven Master of Bristol, Britol Docks Commitrtee, Custom of thePort, The Destruction of the Avon Bank, The Dock Toll, The Canals Problem, The Alien Pilotage, Highest Bridge in the World, Appointment, The Housing Question at Avonmouth, etc, etc.

Politician, publisher and one of the greatest crooks of the twentieth century (1923-91). The recipient, Mary Delane, is described as 'sometime woman's editor for The Times'. A collection of drafts and letters mainly relating to negotiations for the publication by Maxwell's Pergamon Press of a series of cookery books. A fine example of his Maxwell's questionable business practices. Mainly consisting of typed correspondence and draft replies, mostly in 8vo, some creased and torn but generally in good condition.

4to. 36 leaves and 18 engravings. Bound in plain and worn black cloth, with remains of two ribbon strips on back board. Some of the plates are heavily foxed, but otherwise the volume is in very good condition. Examples of the two attractive alternative decorated bindings are attached to the front and rear endpapers. Over the front pastedown is laid an example of the front board of the dark blue cloth binding of the six-volume edition, heavily decorated in gilt with masonic insignia (all-seeing eye, chain of office, dividers, etc.) inside a decorative gilt border containing other insignia.

8vo. Pages: xi + 87. One of only a hundred copies, according to the British Library catalogue. In original red cloth binding with short title in gilt on front board (somewhat grubby and stained with stained manuscript title on spine). Tight copy but with front hinge cracked. Bookplate of Howard H. Cotterell of Walsall, and with his ownership inscription on title-page, which is neatly blindstamped with his address in top right-hand corner.

English whig politician (1802-69). 1 page, 12mo. Not in good condition: ruckled, discoloured, with one closed tear and with the remains of brown card mount adhering to the reverse. Magnificently curt. 'Sir | I beg to return your letter and remain | Yr Obednt. Servt | E J Stanley | To prevent any mistake however I may inform you that I have changed my name and am now | Yr Obt Sert | Eddisbury'.

British Labour politician (1865-1944), leader of the Labour Party in the House of Lords, 1935-40. 1 page, 16mo. In good condition, although creased and a little worn at head. 'I am sorry that you found it difficult to reach me. I leave here fairly early on the days that the House is in session & I must be there practically all the time.

Prominent Czechoslovak diplomat, one of the founders of free Czechoslovakia (1889-1973). Slip of paper, 1 inch by 4½ inches, creased and grubby and glued to a piece of neatly-docketed blue card. Signed in blue ink beneath typewritten 'I remain, dear Doctor Esdaile, | Yours sincerely.'

Educationalist and biographer of Kitchener and Edward VII. All items are in good condition, but bear traces of rust from paper clips. The card is 1 page, 12mo, with printed letterhead, and carries two stamps and postmark on reverse. He is going to London the next day and will stay till Thursday. He will be happy to see Grinling on Sunday or Monday if convenient and he will try to be at home. The letter is 1 page, 8vo. In it he thanks his correspondent for the 'interesting papers which I will return'.

For Hamilton (1777-1859), Treasurer of the Royal Institution and one of the Trustees of the British Museum, see Boase's 'Modern English Biography'. He was secretary to Lord Elgin in Constantinople, recovered the Rosetta Stone from the French and aided in collecting and removing the Elgin Marbles from Athens. 3 pages, 16mo. Creased but in good condition. Begins by saying that a few years ago Stuart introduced Charles Rothschild to him, 'but it was probably at the request of his brother, as he has now asked me to introduce him to you'.

English historian and biographer of Pepys (1899-1985). All six letters are 1 page, 8vo. In poor condition: creased, frayed and discoloured, with ruststains from a paperclip. All six are signed 'Arthur Bryant' and three are addressed to Mrs Cecil Roscoe, presumably the recipient's husband's name. Two of the letters are addressed to Roscoe at the Society of Women Journalists, Stationers' Hall. In the first letter Bryant says he would be pleased to address the Society. He might however be forced to cancel, 'owing to my absence from the country on Service duty'.

Captain Charles Dickson Inglis, R.N. (born c.1835; fl. 1898), is best known for his offer in 1887 to buy South Georgia in the Falkland Islands for the purposes of sheep-farming. This collection of his correspondence is neatly bound in a crude octavo volume, and is preceded by a manuscript index by him. Items in good condition overall, with minor discoloration and spotting, mainly caused by the glue used in mounting the photographs. All the letters are 8vo and smaller, several of them being cropped at the head, but with the cropped strips loosely inserted.

English historian and archivist (1776-1854; DNB) who superintended the publication of the 'State Papers of Henry VIII'. Fragment of letter, 2 inches by four, in good condition, on laid paper signed 'H. Hobhouse' beneath part of salutation 'Yr obed. Sert.' with 'Basseterre | Guadaloupe' beneath.

Sarah, late heiress of Sir Thomas Cave, Bart., of Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, and then wife of Henry Otway, became Baroness Braye in her own right in 1839. She died in 1862, aged ninety. 3 pages, 8vo, the first page with a mourning border. In good condition with the reverse of the second leaf attached to a docketted piece of paper.

Victorian chemist and politician who presided over a government enquiry into the working of the civil service known as the Playfair Scheme. 2 pages, 8vo, in good condition though creased, and with remains of blank conjugate leaf adhering to large sheet of blank paper. 'My dear Dr Dewar | Many thanks for your kind congratulations. I am not yet in Office [of Postmaster General, to which he was elected in this year] - not I believe for ten days more, so I am unable to do more than send your letter to the Secy. The former P[ost]. M[aster]. G[eneral]. still rules.'

English statesman (DNB), father of Sir Winston Churchill. One page, 16mo, front of envelope, glued to blank reverse of printed vellum fragment of Royal Humane Society document dated 17 August 1896. In good condition though grubby. Addressed to Bagenal at St Stephens Club Westminster.

British Tory Prime Minister (DNB). One page, 16mo, on mourning paper, creased but in good condition. The foot of the leaf, which would have borne the recipient's name, has been neatly torn away. 'My dear Sir, | We shall be very glad to see you on Monday, & the Three oclock Train will bring you here in good Time | Yrs Faithfully | Palmerston'.

In the first letter Eccles thanks Mackenzie for his congratulations on Eccles' 'scheme for forming a national collection of works of art'. Any help the EAC can give will be welcome, 'as the need for pictures and works of art for Government buildings, both at home and overseas, is really great'. In the second letter he thanks him for his telegram of congratulations 'on the Coronation decorations. Everyone in the Ministry of Works has tried hard to produce something worthy of the Queen and of our contemporary art'. Two items,

Is not sure whether he can find a ground plan of the Abbey before his alterations, but provides a detailed description of them, e.g. 'I took down some parts which were not old but added by Sir Godfrey Webster, built very badly of brick & cemented over to look like stone, and have rebuilt it of stone with a slight alteration so as to render it more in character'. He refers in detail to the rebuilding of the library 'which is 76 feet long is substantially the same building as the former one erected by Sir Anthony Brown after the dissolution of the monastery and its cession to him'.

Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, British statesman who made Canada a confederation but failed to create a federation of South Africa; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Interesting matter relating to South African affairs. He encloses (not present) a passage of Lanyon's from the Government Gazette.

She 'cannot apologise enough for having left his letter of May 29th so long unanswered'. It was supposed to be answered 'on her return from Italy' but was mislaid. She hopes Slocombe will 'forgive the unintentional rudeness'.

One page, 8vo. Giving licence to his tenant Richard Finlow of Liverpool to transfer the freehold of a property in Bootle to John Plumbe of Bootle, painter. The property is "on the marsh at Bootle [...] adjoining the new Road leading from Sand Hills to Bootle afsd. called Derby Road". Signed "Derby". Slight discolouration and with holes from pinning, but in good condition overall.

Politician and essayist (1780-1857). One page, 8vo, good condition, saying "My carriage will meet you at the Gosport Station tomorrow, Saturday, a 1/4 past 3.