Literature

[Andreas Andersen Feldborg, Danish author.] Three Autograph Letters Signed, in English, to Rev. Edward Duke, regarding his English and continental travels,friends (Sir Richard Colt Hoare and Walter Scott), works. With two printed subscription lists.

Author: 
Andreas Andersen Feldborg (1782-1838), Danish author in England, friend of Robert Southey, teacher of English at University of Göttingen [Edward Duke (1779-1852), antiquary]
Publication details: 
The three letters from Germany. 'Frankfort on the Main'; 18 January 1826. Göttingen; 30 December 1826 and 12 March 1827.
£500.00

Feldborg is mentioned several times in Southey's correspondence, and at one point contemplated translating Southey's life of Nelson into Danish. See Duke's entry in the Oxford DNB. The three letters are in fair condition, a little brittle and lightly aged and worn, with a closed tears along fold lines. The third letter has loss to second leaf from breaking of seal. Excellent energetic letters, giving a good indication of Feldborg's character and the circle he moved in while resident in England.

[Charles Causley, Cornish poet.] Three Typed Letters Signed (all 'Charles Causley') to Ian McPherson, discussing proposed readings, and the difficulty of fitting in 'teaching and writing comitments with other activities'.

Author: 
Charles Causley [Charles Stanley Causley] (1917-2003), Cornish poet [Ian McPherson]
Publication details: 
All three on Causley's letterhead, 2 Cyprus Well, Launceston, Cornwall. 9 December 1974; 20 July 1975; 2 December 1976.
£80.00

All three 1p, landscape 12mo. All in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: 9 December 1974. He thanks him for 'the invitation […] But as I'm teaching full-time here now, this would be very difficult to arrange as far as schools visits would be concerned. (I asked the Arts Council to take my name off the schools list, but they don't seem to have done so).' He suggests a 'reading during the holiday break, perhaps. One aimed principally at adults, I mean.' The 'London Poetry Secretariat/Arts Council link-up' might 'provide some kind of subsidy'.

[Hester Lynch Piozzi, 'Dr. Johnson's Mrs. Thrale'.] Autograph Note in the third person to Dr. Perney, inviting him to visit 'to hear Mr. Yaniewitsh [i.e. Felix Janewicz] play on the Violin'.

Author: 
Mrs Piozzi (born Hester Lynch Salusbury, then Hester Lynch Thrale, then Hester Lynch Piozzi] (1741-1821), diarist and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson [Rev. Dr John Anthony Perney (1781-1827)]
Piozzi
Publication details: 
'Steatham Park | Fryday [sic] 24.' [No year.]
£450.00
Piozzi

Autograph Note in the third person. On one of 11 x 20 cm slip of paper. In good condition, lightly aged, with stub from mount adhering to reverse. Reads: 'Mrs. Piozzi's Coms. And if Dr. Perney is disengaged this Eveng & would like to hear Mr. Yaniewitsh play on the Violin She should be happy in his Company to Tea - - - and it would be very obliging in him to bring the Viol D'Amore with him. | Streatham Park | Friday 24.' Perney was domestic chaplain to the Earl of Coventry.

[Hannah More and her sisters Sally and Patty.] Parts of Autograph Letters from the three sisters, each with signature ('H More', 'S More' and 'Martha More').

Author: 
Hannah More (1745-1833), bluestocking, poet and playwright; her sisters Sarah More ('Sally', 1743-1819), and Martha More ('Patty', 1747-1819)
More
Publication details: 
None of the three with place or date.
£220.00
More

Three slips of paper cut from letters. All in good condition, lightly aged, and each with minor evidence of previous mounting. ONE: Hannah More. On both sides of 4 x 15.5 cm slip. On one side: '[…] I am this moment come from Charlotte she is vastly well only her eyes have some remaining weknesses | Adieu my dear Madam believe me with all possible regard your ever obliged and affectionate | Servant | H More'. Other side: '[…] the good People here enough to be all concerned any of their judgment or their Actions where Taste has any thing to do.

[ Reginald Hill, crime writer ] Five Autograph Postcards and Cards Signed (all pictorial) "Reg" to Hunter Davies, author and journalist, and friend since childhood

Author: 
Reginald Hill, crime writer (1936-2012)
Publication details: 
'Oakbank'. Broad Oak, Ravenglass, Cumbria, 3 dated (1994, 2000, 2011).
£150.00

Three Postcards Signed, and two (folding) cards) with between 6-21 lines of writing. Good-humoured tone, with references to a novel published by "Margaret" [Forster, Davies's wife] which has given him an idea for a detective novel, a self-deprecating comment ("insecure jumped up northern grammer school lad"), reflection on how well he and friends have dome (no "jail-bait failures"), news of a death, a White Christmas, a plan for a "double-act at Keswick", treatment for illness (2011), etc.

[ Lady Byron ] Autograph Letter Signed "A I Noel Byron" to unnamed male correspondent (George Armstrong of Clifton Vale) about her view of "free and tolerant Protestant Churches".

Author: 
Anne Isabella Noel Byron, Lady Byron, sometime wife of Lord Byron.
Byron
Publication details: 
Brighton, 17 March 1851.
£350.00
Byron

A substantial letter in length and quality. Three pages, 12mo, bifolium, very good condition.

[George Augustus Sala: 1881 Christmas Day menu by 'Sala & Co | Refreshment Contractors'.] Hand-written menu on decorative card.

Author: 
George Augustus Sala (1828-1895), journalist, author and bon viveur, associated with the Illustrated London News (as G. A. S.) and the Daily Telegraph, founder of the Savage Club,
Publication details: 
'Sala & Co | Refreshment Contractors | 46 Mecklenburgh Sq. | W.C.' 1881.
£100.00

An attractive item, neatly written out in black ink on one side of a 13 x 8.5 cm piece of shiny card, with printed decorative border of flowers in gold and blue. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with traces of mount adhering to reverse. As a joke, at the foot, in block capitals, the menu is attributed to 'Sala & Co | Refreshment Contractors', at Sala's address. An interesting artefact of the Victorian Christmas. The menu reads:'[fleuron] Menu. | CHRISTMAS DAY | 1881 | oysters on the half shell.

[Hall Caine's brother Ralph threatens Lord Northcliffe's Amalgamated Press with legal action for 'stealing my idea' on popular publishing.] Two Typed Letters Signed from 'Ralph' to his 'Papa & mama', with his Typed 'complete [solicitors'] statement'.

Author: 
Ralph Hall Caine (1865-1939), Isle of Man author and journalist; brother of novelist Hall Caine [Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe; Sir Harold Harmsworth; Amalgamated Press]
Publication details: 
Letters on letterhead of 2 Tudor Street, London E.C. [Amalgamated Press Ltd offices] 15 March and 18 April 1907. Statement without place or date.
£120.00

The three items are in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: TLS, 15 March 1907. 4pp., 4to. He is sending a copy (i.e. Item Three below) of 'a complete statement of what has taken place up to date. In fact it is the actual statement I placed before my Solicitor this afternoon […] Of course this is what we might have expected from these people, and it does not come as a very great surprise. | It is a direct attempt to get out of their obligations, as they have done before, as they can get this new man, and have got him – at something like £500 a year without an interest'.

[Enid Bagnold, author and playwright, to celebrity wig-maker Stanley Hall.] Nine Autograph Letter Signed, written in ebullient tones to 'Dear Stanley', discussing dramatic failures, Lady Diana Cooper, Harold Pinter, Dame Sybil Thorndyke, and others.

Author: 
Enid Bagnold [Enid Algerine Jones, Lady Jones] (1889-1981), author and playwright [Stanley Hall (1917-1994), celebrity wig-maker]
Publication details: 
On letterheads of North End House, Rottingdean, Sussex. Two from 1965, the others from 1967, 1968 and 1969..
£300.00

The nine letters are in good condition, lightly aged. They total nineteen pages, on a mixture of 4to and 12mo leaves, and cards. A chatty and gossipy correspondence, written in a flowing loose hand, going well beyond business matters. The first letter, 9 May 1965, is signed 'Enid B.', the others being signed 'Enid'. It is the only letter in its envelope, which is marked 'Private' by EB and addressed by her to 'Stanley Hall Esq | Wig Creations | 25 Portman Close | Baker Street | London W.1'. The tone of the first letter is representative.

[Lithographed Victorian satire on the Royal Academy.] The Dolefulle Ballade of Arthur Scumble, Now First Imprinted From Ye Originalle M.S. Embellished with Drawynges after Ye Quicke. [Drophead title: 'Arthur Scumble or The yonge Probationere.']

Author: 
'I S' [The Royal Academy, London, in the nineteenth century]
Royal Academy
Publication details: 
London: Ford & West, Imp. 54, Hatton Garden. 1852.
£280.00
Royal Academy

6pp., small 4to. Stitched into brown wraps with lithographed title on cover, in pastiche of Gothic design, including monogrammed initials 'IS' in shield, with the letters picked out in red. In fair condition, aged and worn. An extremely scarce item (no copies found on OCLC WorldCat or COPAC), whose text and illustrations cast light on the practices at the Royal Academy in the mid-Victorian period.

[ Conan Doyle; Edalji Case ] Autograph Letter Signed "Maud E. Edalji" to Collin Brooks, journalist (Wikipedia) reflecting on the role of the periodical "Truth" had in the cases of Adolf Beck and George Edalji.

Author: 
[ George Edalji; Arthur Conan Doyle ] Maud E. Edalji, sister of George Edalji (died 1953), falsely accused of animal mutilation.
Publication details: 
9 Brockett Close, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, 11 July 1955.
£320.00

Two pages, cr. 8vo, fold mark, one punch- hole text good and complete. She has been listening to "Any Questions" (on the wireless) where "the publicity given to the recent murder trials" was discussed.

[ Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet who scandalised Victorian England. ] Signed Autograph presentation inscription to his sister Isabel, on fly-leaf of William Clarke Russell's book 'Nelson's Words and Deeds'.

Author: 
Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909), English poet who scandalised the Victorians with his decadent verse [ William Clarke Russell; Isabel Swinburne ]
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Publication details: 
Dated in autograph 'November 1890'.
£350.00
Algernon Charles Swinburne

On a single 8vo half-title leaf removed from the William Clarke Russell's 'Nelson's Words and Deeds: A Selection from the Dispatches and Correspondence of Horatio Nelson' (London: Sampson Low, 1890). In fair condition, lightly aged and with a central horizontal crease. Printed at the centre of the page are the words 'NELSON'S WORDS AND DEEDS', and at the head Swinburne writes: 'Isabel Swinburne | from her affectionate brother | Algernon Charles Swinburne | November 1890'.

[ Vita Sackville-West ] Small Printed Card Signed in her hand "Vita. | For Diana and Nigel"

Author: 
Vita Sackville-West, author and gardener
Vita
Publication details: 
No place or date
£180.00
Vita

White Card, 6 x 4.5cm, a little grubby but otherwise good condition. Printed text as follows: "I am going abroad so am not sending Christmas cards this year, but I should not like you to think I had forgotten you." Followed by her signature etc (as detailed above.

[ Graham Greene, major English novelist. ] Autograph Signature ('Graham Greene') to typed valediction to letter to 'The Lord Iddesleigh'.

Author: 
Graham Greene (1904-1991), major English novelist
Greene
Publication details: 
Date and place not stated.
£120.00
Greene

On 6.5 x 12 cm slip of thin laid paper, cut from the end of a typed letter. Signature in blue ink. In fair condition, lightly aged, with tissue labels from mount adhering to the blank reverse. Reads: '[...] | Yours sincerely, | [Graham Greene] | Graham Greene. | The Lord Iddesleigh, | Pynes, | Exeter.'

[ Beulah Patterson (née Busha), kinswoman of Ezra Pound. ] Two long Typed Letters Signed (both 'aunt Beulah') to her nephew 'Tommy'

Author: 
Beulah Patterson [ née Beulah Elizabeth Busha ] (1886-1979) of Big Timber, Montana, kinswoman of the American poet Ezra Pound [ Olivia Shakespear; Dorothy Pound; Omar Shakespear Pound ]
Publication details: 
Both on her letterhead, as 'Clerk of District Court', of 'County of Sweet Grass | Big Timber, Montana'. 18 May 1945 and 19 August 1947.
£220.00

Pound was related to the Busha family through the marriage of his first cousin once removed Ida Lillian Pound (1858-1949) to Charles Thomas Busha (see 'Ezra and Dorothy Pound: Letters in Captivity, 1945-1946, ed. Omar Pound and Robert Spoo, 1999). The two letters are each 2pp., 4to. Both in fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Both closely typed on both sides, with a few autograph emendations; the second letter with an autograph postscript. 'Tommy', who at the time of the first letter is serving with the United States armed forces, is also referred to by his nickname 'Toppie'.

[ Robert Southey, Poet Laureate and friend of Wordsworth and Coleridge. ] Autograph Note Signed to the author Andrew Picken agreeing to subscribe 'willingly' to his 'volumes' ('The Black Watch'?).

Author: 
Robert Southey (1774-1843), Romantic poet, friend of Wordsworth and Coleridge, one of the Lake Poets, Poet Laureate [ Andrew Picken (1788-1833), author ]
Southey
Publication details: 
Keswick. 13 March 1833.
£250.00
Southey

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Addressed by Southey on the reverse of the second leaf, which has been overlaid top and bottom with grey paper, 'To | Andrew Picken Esqre | Gothic Cottage | Regents Park East.' The note reads: 'Keswick. 13 March 1833 [year possibly altered in pencil to '1835'] | Sir | I subscribe willingly to your volumes & wish you success with them | I remain Sir | Yr obedt servt | Robert Southey'. Southey is presumably referring to his last work, The Black Watch (1833), which appeared just as he died of a stroke. Suitable for framing.

[ The Shakespeare Memorial Endowment Fund. ] Five items: circular, signed by H. C. Lacey, Organising Secretary, publicity booklet, notice,'Donation & Subscription Form', 'Associate's Card' of C. W. Townsend.

Author: 
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Endowment Fund; H. C. Lacey, Organising Secretary [ Stratford-upon-Avon; Cecil William Townsend, Shakespearian actor ]
Publication details: 
Memorial Endowment Fund [ Shakespeare Memorial Theatre], Stratford-upon-Avon. 1923.
£80.00

Five items, in good condition, lightly aged and worn. From the papers of C. W. Townsend, who acted in six productions at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1922. No other copies of any of the items located, either at the Folger, on COPAC, or on OCLC WorldCat. ONE: Typed Circular Letter, with genuine signature of 'H C Lacey'. on letterhead, in red and black ink with Shakespeare's , of 'Shakespeare Memorial Theatre | Stratford-upon-Avon | Endowment Fund.' 1 November 1923. 1p., 8vo. Addressed to 'Dear Madam'. 32 lines of text.

[ Leon Gautier ] Autograph Letter Signed " Leon Gautier" to M. l'abbe Misset, scholar and collector, about the correction of errors for a new edition of his (Gautier's) "Adam de St Victor"

Author: 
Leon Gautier, [Émile Théodore Léon Gautier (1832–1897), French literary historian.]
Publication details: 
8 rue Varin, [Paris], 10 Nov. 1893. In French.
£60.00

One page, 12mo, good condition. In his best hand. He asks for a "petit service". "Je fais une nouvelle edition de mon Adam de St Victor et je viens vous demander de m'indiquer les corrections que vour jugeriez a propos de faire dans mon 2e edition." He holds his corrections in high regard, outlining further what help he is asking for. Note: Gautier thanks the Abbe Mittet in his Preface.

[ John Camden Hotten, London bookseller. ] Signed Autograph inscription ('Jno Camden Hotten') to Charles Welford., on hf title of his 'Literary Copyright'.

Author: 
John Camden Hotten (1832-1873), London bookseller [ Charles Welford ]
Hotten
Publication details: 
No place. 24 October 1871.
£65.00
Hotten

On the half-title of his self-published anonymous 'Literary copyright: seven Letters addressed by Permission to the Right Hon. the Earl Stanhope' (1871), now a loose leaf in 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Printed in the centre of the page are the words 'Literary Copyright.' Above this Hotten has written, in his stylised hand: 'To Charles Welford | with the respects of | Jno Camden Hotten | 24 Oct. 1871.'

[ Charles Robert Maturin, author of 'Melmoth the Wanderer'. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('C. R. Maturin') to William Spooner, writh reference to a 'friendly letter' by Sir Walter Scott, and his family's 'romantic' history.

Author: 
Charles Robert Maturin [ C. R. Maturin ], Irish writer of gothic novels and plays, best-known for 'Melmoth the Wanderer'
Publication details: 
No place [ Dublin, Ireland ]. 15 August [ no year ].
£220.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, aged and worn. The breaking open of the wafer has resulted in slight loss at the beginning of Maturin's signature. Addressed on reverse to 'William Spooner Esqre | at Mr Millikin's | Grafton Street'. (His not writing of 'Dublin' implies that he is writing from the same place.) Maturin was the great-uncle of Oscar Wilde, who adopted the name 'Sebastian Melmoth' during his self-exile on the continent.

[ Frances Power Cobbe, social reformer, anti-vivisectionist and women's suffrage campaigner. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Francis P Cobbe') to Lady Bowring, inviting her and her friends ('Huxleys, Lyells & others') to meet Julia Ward Howe and husband.

Author: 
Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904), Irish writer, social reformer, anti-vivisection activist, and women's suffrage campaigner [ Sir John Bowring; Julia Ward Howe ]
Publication details: 
Without place or date [ before 1872 ].
£180.00

2pp., 12mo. On lightly-aged paper with a number of vertical fold lines. The reference to Sir John Bowring dates the letter to before his death in 1872. With reference to Julia Ward Howe (author of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic') and her husband Samuel Gridley Howe she writes: 'Dr. & Mrs.

[ Victor Plarr, nineties poet. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Victor G. Plarr') to H. T. Scott, author of "A Guide to the Collector of Historical Documents, etc", describing a selection of autographs he has just purchased for resale.

Author: 
Victor Plarr [ Victor Gustave Plarr; Victor G. Plarr ] (1863-1929), nineties poet, librarian of the Royal College of Surgeons, member of the Rhymers' Club
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 7 Eldon Road, Kensington, W. [ London ] 17 November 1900.
£220.00

3pp., 12mo. In good condition. Plarr's entry in the Oxford English Dictionary does not note that he dealt in autographs, but the present item suggests that he was more than just a collector who dabbled. At the time of writing, and until his death, he was Librarian of the Royal College of Surgeons. The letter is addressed to 'H. T. Scott Esqre., M.D.' and begins: 'Dear Sir | It is long since you have heard from me. | I have just bought several autographs which you may care to know of -'.

[ Beatrice Irene Magraw, children's author as "B.I. Magraw". ] Collection of personal papers, including autobiographical account, an article, newspaper cuttings, portrait photograph, publicity material, letters from Richard Church and Norman Fulton.

Author: 
Beatrice Irene Magraw [ B. I. Magraw, born Beatrice Irene May ] (c.1888-1970), author, wife of Charles Magraw (d.1973), deputy headmaster, Bishop Cotton School, Simla [ Richard Church; Norman Fulton ]
Publication details: 
London and Bristol. Between the 1930s and 1960.
£350.00

Eleven items, in good overall condition. ONE: Autograph biographical account, on form headed 'National Service'. 4pp., folio. Bifolium. Includes personal and academic details, details of publications and political views. As her 'Literary Pseudonym she gives '(occasionally) "MARY PADESON". She has, she states, no academic qualifications, 'But read economics in youth (Society of Oxford Home Students) Ill-health prevented continuance of studies & examination'.

[ Augustus Hare, author. ] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir Richard Harington, with copies of two others, apologising for publishing an anecdote regarding Harington's relation Dean Smith of Christ Church. With autograph drafts of two Harington letters.

Author: 
Augustus Hare [ Augustus John Cuthbert Hare ] (1834-1903), English author; Sir Richard Harington (1835-1911) of Ridlington, 11th Baronet [ Samuel Smith (1765-1841), Dean of Christ Church, Oxford ]
Publication details: 
Hare autograph letter: The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, S.W. [ London ]; 9 February 1897. Hare copy letters: Holmhurst, St. Leonard's on Sea; 10 and 11 December 1896. Harington's two draft letters: Whitbourne Court, Worcester; 8 and 12 February 1897.
£150.00

Four items, in good condition, lightly aged and worn. An interesting correspondence, casting light on the proprieties of Victorian biographical writing. Hare's 'The Story of my Life' was published in six volumes between 1896 and 1900, and was described by the original DNB as ‘a long, tedious, and indiscreet autobiography’. The Oxford DNB remarks that 'By the late twentieth century, however, Hare was undergoing something of a revival. A society of enthusiasts and collectors of his works was formed: a one-volume condensed edition of his autobiography was edited by A. Miller and J.

[ 'John Gawsworth', poet and 'King of Redonda'. ] Corrected Autograph Drafts of ten poems from his collection 'Marlow Hill', including the title poem and the 'suppressed' poem 'Was'. With presentation inscription as 'Abdicated' monarch 'Juan R'..

Author: 
John Gawsworth [ pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong (1912-1970) ], poet and 'King Juan I' of Redonda [ Jean Fanchette (1932-1992), editor of the Paris magazine 'Two Cities' ]
Publication details: 
[ London. ] The poems published in 1941. The presentation inscription dated 16 February 1967.
£250.00

On nine loose 12mo leaves torn from an album. In fair condition, on aged and browned paper. Wrapped by Gawsworth in a larger piece of paper, on the front of which he has written in pencil the presentation inscription: 'Kenilworth | love | from | His King | J R | 16 Feb. 1967', with the following in blue ink over the 'J R': 'Abdicated | Juan R'. 'Marlow Hill' was Gawsworth's fourth collection, self-published by his Richards Press in 1941. Three of the nine leaves carry layouts of the book's title-page and prelims, with pencil notes 'Pubd 15 Oct 1941' and '33 lines to page'.

[ 'John Gawsworth', poet and 'King Juan I' of Redonda. ] Typescript of long poem 'The Passions of Juan | (Missives and Missiles)', with autograph emendations and signed note.

Author: 
John Gawsworth [ pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong (1912-1970) ], poet and 'King Juan I' of Redonda [ Jean Fanchette (1932-1992), editor of the Paris magazine 'Two Cities' ]
Publication details: 
No place or date. [ London, circa 1961. ]
£220.00

9pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on nine leaves of worn and creased paper, the first leaf white, the others green. Minor emendations throughout. The poem is in five sections: 'The Exhortation' (beginning: 'In the crook of my arm | Rest again, nest again.

[ John Moffatt, Lancashire poet. ] Nine unpublished Autograph Poems (six signed 'J. M.'), including abolitionist poem titled 'Lords and Slaves'. Eight contained in two Autograph Letters Signed to Elijah Ridings, the ninth annotated by Ridings.

Author: 
John Moffatt (d.1830) of Failsworth [ now in Oldham ], Lancashire poet, Jacobin and tailor [ Elijah Ridings (1802-1872), poet and reformer; Henry 'Orator' Hunt (1773-1835), radical politician ]
Publication details: 
One of the letters from Failsworth, Lancashire. The other without place, dated 7 April 1825. 'Poems dating from 1824, 1825 and 1826.
£450.00

Moffatt is an interesting minor figure. In a 1924 piece titled 'Brief History of the Failsworth Pole', Rev. James Smith writes: 'The Jacobins' Club Library was kept in a room next to that in which Ben Brierley was born, and old John Moffatt, tailor, of "Crockey Hall," opposite the Pole, had charge of the Library'. Smith quotes lines which he considers 'remarkable for their patriotism', noting: 'He must have been a mild sort of Jacobin.' A total of sixteen pages, on eight leaves.

[ L. A. G. Strong, British author. ] 24 Signed Letters (5 of them in Autograph and 19 Typed) to Margaret Greenwood, mainly regarding her efforts to adapt his books for film. With copies of 26 letters from her to him.

Author: 
L. A. G. Strong [ Leonard Alfred George Strong ] (1896-1958), author, poet and publisher (Methuen & Co., London) [ Margaret Greenwood ]
Publication details: 
Strong's 24 letters between 1946 and 1952, on letterheads of Shortfield House, Frensham, Surrey (21); Salterns, Eashing, Godalming, Surrey (1); Methuen & Co. Ltd, London (1). Greenwood writing from Bexley Heath, Kent.
£450.00

A total of 50 items, all but the three earliest of Strong's letters held together with a brass stud. The collection in good overall condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Strong's 24 letters total 37pp., with the early letters signed 'L A G Strong' and the later ones 'Leonard', and occasional variant signatures in between ('Leonard Strong', 'LAGS'). The copies of Greenwood's 26 letters (two in autograph, the rest typed) total 32pp. An interesting correspondence, in which Strong responds with tact and patience to his inexperienced correspondent's proposals and actions.

[Masefield; Autograph Signature of Stopes in copy of ] The Collected Poems of John Masefield (London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1935).

Author: 
John Masefield [ Marie Stopes ]
Publication details: 
1935; Norbury Park.
£85.00

Marie Carmichael Stopes (1880-1958), British paleobotanist and eugenicist, influential advocate of birth control. Clean neat inscription on recto of front free endpaper reads 'Marie C. Stopes | Norbury Park | 1935'. The volume is in good condition, in a grubby dustwrapper worn at the head and tail of the spine. Pages 324-5 and 339 have been marked up in soft pencil.

[ Pauline Niven, wife of novelist Frederick Niven. ] Autograph Letter Signed to the poet Sylvia Lynd, discussing her husband's ill health, his work and other matters.

Author: 
Pauline Niven [ born Mary Pauline Thorne-Quelch (d.1968) ], wife of the Scots-Canadian novelist Frederick Niven [ Frederick John Niven ] (1878-1944) [ Sylvia Lynd [ née Dryhurst ] (1888-1952), poet ]
Publication details: 
202B Victoria Street, Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. 23 September 1943.
£80.00

8pp., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. An interesting letter, written four months before the death of her husband. She begins: 'Dearest Sylvia - | I meant to write to you last month because I am one of those tiresome people who remember anniversaries & it was in August that you both came down to the Windermere to see us.

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