Literature

[ 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.

[ John Masefield, Poet Laureate. ] Autograph Signature ('J. Masefield.').

Author: 
John Masefield (1878-1867), Poet Laureate from 1930 to his death
Publication details: 
Date and place not stated.
£20.00

On 7 x 11 cm slip of paper, torn from the end of a letter. In fair condition, lightly aged, with minor staining to one corner. Reads, with top line slightly cropped: 'I may have more leisure. | Yours sincerely, | J. Masefield.'

[ Bookseller's catalogue. ] Literary Ladies of the Nineteenth Century. A Catalogue of Books: Autograph Letters: Illustrations: etc.

Author: 
Ian Hodgkins & Co. Ltd, booksellers [ English nineteenth-century women writers; British Victorian female authors ]
Publication details: 
Ian Hodgkins & Co. Ltd., Upper Vatch Mill, The Vatch, Slad, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL6 7JY. Catalogue 81. Summer 1995.
£56.00

40pp., 8vo. Stapled in printed wraps with illustration on front cover. In fair condition, somewhat aged and worn. Hodgkin was known for his meticulous catalouging, and 500 items are described, by a range of authors, both prominent and obscure, ranging from Grace Aguilar to Mrs Mary Wood-Allen. There are sub-sections for Louisa May Alcott, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Fanny Burney, Jane Welsh Carlyle, Eliza Cook, Marie Corelli, Maria S. Cummins, Lady Elizabeth Eastlake, Maria Edgeworth, George Elliot, Mrs.

[ Cyrus Townsend Brady, American author. ] Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Cyrus Townsend Brady (1861-1920), American author, adventure writer and screenwriter, a bitter opponent to women's suffrage
Publication details: 
Brooklyn, New York. 23 October 1902.
£20.00

On 6.5 x 11.5 cm piece of card, laid down on a slightly larger piece of paper. In good condition, lightly aged. Neatly written out and apparently sent in response to a request for an autograph. Reads: 'Yours Sincerely | Cyrus Townsend Brady | Brooklyn N.Y., | October 23rd., 1902'.

[ Charles E. Robinson of the University of Delaware. ] Duplicated typed 'List of Charles Ollier Imprints (1817-23; 1846-49) and Works'.

Author: 
[ Charles Ollier (1788-1859), publisher, author and editor; Professor Charles E. Robinson; Percy Bysshe Shelley; John Keats ]
Publication details: 
Dated July 1985 by Robinson with his details: Prof. Charles E. Robinson, College of Arts and Science, Dept. of English, 204 Memorial Hall, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
£65.00

Robinson is the author of Ollier's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, in which he discusses the 'fifty titles' that Ollier and his brother James published between 1817 and 1823, and the others dating from his second stint as publisher between 1846 and 1849. The list is 10pp., 4to. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Subtitle: '(*Indicates that U. of Delaware Library has in original, microform, or photo rpt.)' Robinson has given the date and his details in autograph at the head, and has starred items in 'urgently need' in red ink.

[ Presentation copy. ] Dickens' London. A Lantern Lecture by Cumberland Clark. As delivered to The London Society, The London Hampshire Society, The Dickens Society, etc., etc. [ With newspaper article about the author. ]

Author: 
Cumberland Clark [ Charles Dickens and London ]
Publication details: 
Printed by Wass, Pritchard & Co., Ltd. 85, Fenchurch Street, London, E.C.3. 1923.
£50.00

103pp., 8vo. In brown cloth boards, with title in gilt on cover. In good condition internally, on lightly-aged paper, in worn cloth binding. Inscribed by the author on front free endpaper: 'Presentation copy with Author's compliments | Cumberland Clark'. Four copies only on COPAC, at the British Library, Oxford, Guildhall and Bishopsgate Institute. Now uncommon. Laid down on the front pastedown is a copy of an article 'From the Kensington News, Nov. 16, 1923', titled 'A Gifted Publicist and a Versatile Patriot'.

[ Printed item. ] Catalogue of Choice Books including a Collection of First & Rare Editions of the Works of Oscar Wilde. [ Including reproduction of caricature of Wilde by George Finch Mason. ]

Author: 
H. Gray & Co., London booksellers [ Oscar Wilde; George Finch Mason (1850-1915), English illustrator ]
Publication details: 
[Number Sixteen, New Series, 1930. ] H. Gray & Co. 188 Lewisham Road, London, S.E.13, and 8 Royal Parade, Blackheath, S.E.3.
£60.00

24pp., 8vo. Pagination includes the wraps, which carry the last two pages. With frontispiece plate: 'Oscar Wilde | Unpublished Caricature | By Finch Mason | [item 31]'. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, in worn and chipped wraps. Wilde's name has been underlined in red pencil on cover.

[ Herman Wouk and the making of the 'Winds of War' television series. ] Eighteen Typed Letters Signed and three Autograph Letters Signed from Wouk to screenwriter Jack Pulman, with copies of Pulman letters, and other material relating to the project.

Author: 
Herman Wouk (b.1915), American novelist [ Jack Pulman (1925-1979), British screenwriter; Stanley Kallis; Dan Curtis (1927-2006), director; Paramount Pictures ]
Publication details: 
Washington, Los Angeles and London. Most of Wouk's letters on his Washington letterhead. Between 2 December 1977 and 22 April 1979.
£1,800.00

From the Jack Pulman papers. Pulman's distinguished career is well described on the British Film Institute's website, which descibes the background to this material, although its author us clearly unaware of the increasing tension between Pulman and Wouk revealed by material in the present collection: 'In early 1978 Paramount TV producer Stanley Kallis and author Herman Wouk approached Pulman to write a treatment (to be followed by a screenplay) for Wouk's sweeping World War Two novel 'The Winds of War'.

[ R. H. Mottram, author of the 'Spanish Farm' trilogy. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('R. H. Mottram') to 'Mr Pettitt', regarding the autographing of books and his Rankin relations in Rochford.

Author: 
R. H. Mottram [ Ralph Hale Mottram ] (1883-1971), English novelist, author of the 'Spanish Farm' trilogy
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Poplar Avenue, Eaton, Norwich. 11 July 1928.
£30.00

1p., 8vo. Lightly aged, and with creasing and closed tear at head. He will be pleased to autograph any copies of his book which Pettitt would like to send, and concludes: 'Are there any Rankin's in Rochford now? They are related to me'.

[ Printed volume. ] Arnold Bennett (1867-1931), A Bibliography by Norman Emery, A.L.A. Chief Bibliographer.

Author: 
Norman Emery, A.L.A., Chief Bibliographer, Central Library, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent [ Arnold Bennett ]
Publication details: 
[ City Librarian's Office, Central Library, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. ] Horace Barks Reference Library, Bibliographical Series No.3. 1967.
£100.00

iii + 66pp., 4to. Duplicated typescript in printed card covers, with green tape spine. Internally in fair condition, slightly dogeared, in worn covers. Stamps of the London Borough of Southwark Reference Library. As Emery explains in the preface, the first bibliography of Bennett's works, produced to coincide with the centenary of his birth. Divided into 25 sections including 'Film Scenarios', 'Operas', 'Poems' and 'Bookseller's Catalogues', and ending with its own bibliography. An uncommon item.

Number of the South Atlantic Bulletin, inscribed by Fredson Bowers, author of the leading article 'Death in Victory'.

Author: 
Fredson Bowers [ Harry Levin; William Shakespeare ]
Publication details: 
[ Chapel Hill, North Carolina. ] South Atlantic Bulletin, South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Vol. XXX No. 2, March 1965.
£50.00

16pp., 4to. Stapled. In fair condition, on aged paper a little rolled at head and foot. Bowers' article, 'an attempt to understand the workings of Shakespeare's tragic effect', is on the first seven pages. He has inscribed the head of the first page: 'For Harry Levin - | With my compliments - | Fredson Bowers'. From the papers of the American critic Harry Levin (1912-1994). Now scarce.

[ Printed article, inscribed by the author. ] Edith Wharton's New York: Two Period Pieces. [ The Progress of a Social Indictment ]

Author: 
Louis Kronenberger [ Edith Wharton; University of Michigan ]
Publication details: 
Extracted from the Michigan Quarterly Review [ Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Vol. 4 No. 1, Winter 1965 ].
£25.00

11pp., 4to, paginated 3-13. On six leaves extracted from the magazine, stapled together at head. In fair condition, aged and a little worn. Inscribed at head of first page: 'Best as always. Hope to see you soon | Louis.' From the papers of the American critic Harry Levin (1912-1994).

[ Inscribed offprint. ] Establishing Shakespeare's Text: Notes on Short Lines and the Problem of Verse Division. By Fredson Bowers.

Author: 
Fredson Bowers [ Harry Levin; William Shakespeare ]
Publication details: 
'A reprint from Studies in Bibliography, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia.' Vol. 33, 1980.
£35.00

58pp., 8vo, paginated 73-130. Stapled in lavender card wraps with publication details printed on cover. Offprint itself in good condition, wraps heavily-worn at spine. The article is inscribed at the head of the first page: 'To Harry | with my very best - | Fredson'. From the papers of the American critic Harry Levin (1912-1994). Scarce: no copy of this offprint on COPAC.

[ Tolstoy in English. ] Printed advertising handbill by London publisher Walter Scott, beginning with the first collected edition of 'Count Tolstoi's Works', with the first volume 'A Russian Proprietor And other Stories. By Count Lyof N. Tolstoi'.

Author: 
Walter Scott, London publisher; Nathan Haskell Dole (1852-1935), American editor and translator; Count Leo Tolsoy [ 'Count Lyof N. Tolstoi' ], Russian novelist
Publication details: 
London: Walter Scott, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. Regarding the Tolstoy edition: 'Vol. I ready October 25th.' [ 1888 ].
£80.00

The handbill is 4pp., 8vo. on a bifolium. In good condition, on aged paper. The upper half of the first page carries the advertisement for 'Count Tolstoi's Works', headed 'Vol. I ready October 25th.' With coloured illustration of the book's design, captioned 'Reduced fac-simile of binding'. Regarding what is the earliest edition of Tolstoy's collected works in English (predating those of Wiener and Garnett by more than ten years), the publisher writes: 'Mr.

[ Katherine Thomson ('Grace Wharton'), Victorian novelist and historian. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('K. Thomson') to an unnamed man, regarding the publication of a novel after 'the storm of adverse criticism is over'.

Author: 
Katherine Thomson ('Grace Wharton') [ née Katherine Byerley; Mrs A. T. Thomson ] (1797-1862), Victorian novelist and historian
Publication details: 
37 <Sheffield?> Road, Derby. 4 December [ 1861 ].
£56.00

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly-aged. She assumes that her work ('Celebrated Friendships', 1861), 'published with Messrs Hogg', has attracted his attention. 'Now about my novel, about which you have been very kind. Till the storm of adverse criticism is over, I think it will be much better to delay the work. Any notice it may have, will be cursory, & slight.' She wishes to postpone publication: 'My name will not appear in any book next year, that I know of, at present.' She will be in Derby for a few days, and will be happy to hear from him.

[ Antoine Renou, French painter and playwright. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Renou'), 'Au Citoyen Monger', a secretary to the Institut National

Author: 
Antoine Renou (1731-1806), French painter and playwright [ Monger of the Institut National; Pierre Bénézech (1749-1802), French Minister of the Interior ]
Publication details: 
'ce 4 Thermidor. An 5e.' [ 23 July 1797 ]
£250.00

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Signed 'Salut et fraternité | Renou'. A long and interesting letter, regarding student unrest in the French revolution, and involving a descision taken by the 'Classe des Sciences et Artes de l'Institut, qui acorde un jour de prolongation aux Concurrens pour les prix de Peinture', and the attempts of the Institut National to impose discipline.

[ Émilie Broisat, actress with the Comédie-Française. ] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Monsieur Laval', declining an invitation.

Author: 
Émilie Broisat (1846-1929), French actress with the Comédie-Française
Publication details: 
'Dimanche soir' [ no place or date ].
£30.00

2pp., 12mo. On bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Gracefully declining an invitation.

[ Jane Porter, English novelist. ] Part of Autograph Letter from 'Miss Porter' to 'Monsr. Ventouillac'.

Author: 
Jane Porter (1776-1850), English novelist [ Louis Théodore Ventouillac (1798-1834), Professor of French Literature at King's College, London ]
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£30.00

On both sides of 7 x 11 cm. piece of paper, cut from a letter. On one side is the address: 'Monsr. Ventouillac | to the care of Master Morgan | From Miss Porter -'. And on the other a fragment of the letter: '<...> that the same volume will be so presented to him, by the Revd Mr. Pole and Mr. Ventouillac. Miss P - hopes Mr. V - <...> success in his <...>'.

[ Thomas Hughes, author of 'Tom Brown's Schooldays'. ] Autograph Signature on part of letter.

Author: 
Thomas Hughes (1822-1896), English lawyer and judge, author of 'Tom Brown's Schooldays'
Publication details: 
Place not stated. [ 1873. ]
£25.00

On 3.5 x 16.5 cm piece of paper, cut from the end of a letter. Ruckled and lightly stained, with small closed tear (not affecting signature). Good firm signature. Reads: 'Kindest regards to your wife | Ever most truly yours | Thos Hughes'. At bottom left: '1873'. Same year printed on reverse, which carries more autograph text by Hughes, written at right angles to the text on the other side.

[ Mapp and Lucia; Benson ] Autograph Letter Signed "Mary Benson" to a "Miss Chittenden" discussing partner Lucy Tait's illness etc.

Author: 
Mary Benson, lesbian wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, mother of E.F. Benson
Publication details: 
[ Headed notepaper ] Tremans, Horsted Keynes, Sussex, 8 May [no year].
£80.00

4 pages, 16mo, bifolium, black-bordered. She explains at length why she finds it difficult to arrange a visit to her correspondent, including the illnes of a Miss Tait (awaiting doctor's orders) [Lucy Tait was her partner], and her daughter who has just returned from Egypt. She hopes to be in London with her daughter on the 21st, and perhaps take a train to Broxbourne to see her. Note: "Her future husband was so impressed by her intellect at their first meeting that he vowed to marry her on the spot, despite her being only eight years old at the time.

[ Edward Lear, artist and writer of nonsense verse. ] Autograph Signature ('Edwd Lear.').

Author: 
Edward Lear (1812-1888), artist and author, famed for his nonsense verse
Lear
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£80.00
Lear

On 2 x 6cm strip of paper, cut from a letter. In good condition, lightly aged. A good firm signature, underlined, with the tiniest part of the head of the loop of the iniitial 'E' of 'Edwd' has been shaved off.

[ Thomas Colley Grattan, Irish writer and British consul at Boston. ] Autograph Signature ('T. C. Grattan') cut from letter.

Author: 
Thomas Grattan [ Thomas Colley Grattan; T. C. Grattan ] (1792-1864), Irish writer and British Consul at Boston
Grattan
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£28.00
Grattan

On 1 x 5.5 cm slip of paper cut from letter. In fair condition, aged, and with slight discoloration at one end. The signature is present in full, but the underlining flourish hs been truncated.

[ 'Mrs. Oliphant', novelist. ] Autograph Signature ('M. O. W. Oliphant').

Author: 
'Mrs. Oliphant' [ Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant (1828-1897) ], English novelist
Oliphant
Publication details: 
Place and date not stated.
£15.00
Oliphant

On 2.5 x 6.5 slip of paper cut from the end of a letter. Laid down on a small piece of black card. In good condition, lightly aged. In a small tight hand. Reads 'Very truly yours | M. O. W. Oliphant'. With cutting of part of an article. featurinng a photograph of the novelist.

[ James Spedding, editor of Sir Francis Bacon. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed to 'Mrs. Pollock' [ later Lady Juliet Pollock ], one listing the twenty-two 'greatest' English authors, the other concerning the 'Swedish nightingale' Jenny Lind.

Author: 
James Spedding (1808-1881), editor of Sir Francis Bacon, literary critic and Cambridge Apostle [ Lady Juliet Pollock [ née Creed ] (1819-1899), wife of Sir William Frederick Pollock (1815-1888) ]
Publication details: 
Both letters from '60 L. I. F.' [ i.e. 60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London ]. 3 June 1847 and 24 April 1854.
£1,210.00

Learned and witty, Spedding was a popular figure within the literary scene of Victorian London. As he lay dying following an accident, Tennyson rushed to the hospital and begged admission to his bedside. When approached by Delia Bacon, he dismissed the Baconian theory with contempt, and was the first to realise that the play 'Henry VIII' was a collaboration between Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Both of the present letters are signed 'Jas Spedding' and addressed to 'My dear Mrs. Pollock', and both in good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with minor traces of glue from mount.

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