Autograph Letters

All three items 8vo. The first of two pages, and the other two of one page each. Texts clear and complete. Fair on aged, creased and slightly-discoloured paper. Discussing his disagreement with the architect of a building over the width of two proposed uprights. Walker considers that these 'would handicap the fullest expression'. The first letter carries a simple pencil diagram of the window. He feels 'we shall all have forgotten this point' when the window is seen 'in all its glory'.

One page, c.19 x 18cm, some staining and minor damage (mainly a few pinholes) but text clear, trimmed (with loss only to MS figures), part-printed, filled in in MS. Receipt for £12.10s from the Exchequer, three months annuity, granted under An Act for continuing one half part of the Subsidies of Tonnage and Poundage, and other Durties upon Wines, Goods, and Merchandizes imported . . .

Fragment, c.11 x 3cm, glue rings on back have penetrated and stained the front but the text is clear as follows: "with great respect | Your obedt Servt | John Abernethy." A scarce signature.

One page, chipped, punch-holes, fold marks, text clear and complete. He gives their reference and the title of his forthcoming book, saying "I sent the revises F & G of my book,last Monday, July 10. | If Iam not too late, please make the additional correction, which is shown in red ink on the attached proof sheet, p.67." Clarendon Press round stamp at top of page.

Dimensions c.7.5 x 2, with small hinges (as with stamps) on both sides (from appearance in album), signature clear on dingy background, "Yours very truly | R. M. Ballantyne [underlined]".

One page, 4to, dingy paper, fold marks, text clear and complete. Mr Phillips sent a few days since an enrgaving [sic] to Mr Bentley relative to 'Man as he is Vol 4 [Robert Bage, Man As He Is (1792)- he now wants Mr Bentley's reply, as he wishes to [?] out what is become of the Volume. Bentley adds WB never Saw Man as he is, nor Woman as She Should be.---. The note added in a different hand, Note from Richard Phillips afterwards Sir Richard to Mr. W. Bentley & Mr. Bentley's reply written by himself.

12mo, 2 pp.Twenty-six lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with strip of paper mount still adhering at head of second page (not affecting text). Presumably addressed to one of the contributors to 'Cambridge Essays on Education' (1917), which Benson edited, although none of the contributors corresponds to 'Sir John'. Benson is grateful for the essay, which will make 'a most useful & interesting contribution to our book'.

4to, 1 p. Fifteen lines of typewritten text and seven-line autograph postscript. Text clear and complete. Good on lightly aged and creased paper. Concerning Southerland's involvement in the Spanish-American War, in which he commanded the gunboat Eagle in the blockade of Cuban ports. He is glad Chapman is pleased with the report. He will send 'the photograph of the ARGONAUTA and one of the SANTO DOMINGO'. He asks for them to be returned, as they are 'amongst the few small mementos I have of the war'. In the postscript he writes that he has 'an 8'' by 10'' photo.

Strip of paper cut from letter, roughly 19 x 9 cm. Poor, on lightly-stained paper, with small section lacking from the breaking open of the seal, resulting in loss of one word. Postmark and fragment of address on reverse: '<...>d Twining Esqr | <...> Strand | London'. Reads 'Yrs very truly | [signed] Tho Hughes | 15 Sepr 1823 | I was glad to hear so tolerable an account of your father: while life continues <...> him, I hope it will please God to render it tolerable'. From the Twining archives.

Both letters are tipped in on a captioned sheet removed from an autograph album. Both items lightly-aged, but good. Item One: 12mo, 1 p. Inviting him to 'a small dance for Hubie' at a location 'lent by Miss Constable'. 'You need not dance!' Item two: 12mo, 1 p. Asking him to 'come fairly early' the next day, and to 'stay on after the children have gone & have supper - of a sort'. Refers to 'H's party'.

4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Sixty-one lines of text. Clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged and worn paper. Docketed 'William Burrit [sic] & Hawes | Charles Palmer | Mar 15 & May 52 Recd'. Reminding Barret (or Burrit) of a letter written by Palmer from America two or three years previously, which he answered on behalf of the Heir at Law Society.

With printed pamphlet. Letter is one page, 12mo, tipped on to page extracted from personal album of Arthur Poyser, trimmed to fit a plastci envelope, with a small nick not affecting text, illustrating his career with the City of London Boy Scouts and the Boy Players (album offered separately). Buchan is only free for luncheon on the Wednesday but would be happy to discuss "the book" [the first "Scouts' Song Book" published in 1912) with him then.

12mo, 1 p. Aged, grubby and creased, with slight loss to bottom left-hand corner, and closed tear to one margin. Requesting 'one or two choicest leather trout-fly books with plenty of pages, but not those with printed descriptions of flies'.

16mo, 1 p. Bifolium. Eight lines. Text clear and complete. On stained, aged paper. An uncommon autograph, written in a distinctive stylised hand in purple ink. Reluctantly announcing his inability to go on 'the Barge trip', which he had looked upon 'as the pleasantest excursion of the year, & alas & alas (not that a lass has any thing to do with my engagement) I shall be unable to be with you'.

8vo, 1 p. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with a couple of punch holes to the left margin (one through a word of text). Thanking him for his 'kd letter of appreciation of my work as chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution'. He now has 'another public duty concerned with the same field'.

4to, 1 p. Ten lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with some creasing at head. The delay in replying is due to 'a rather severe attack of influenza'. She has no photograph to send ('I have been meaning to have some new ones taken, but never seem to get time'), but is 'so glad that my books give you pleasure, & I hope that I shall be able to continue to entertain you with them'.

4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Twenty-two lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with minor damage repaired with archival tape. Franked, with broken red wax seal and two postmarks, to 'Captain Saml Brown R.N.', at Inverleith House, Edinburgh. Despite the fact that Martin has 'given the Credit of every improvement in the Service', Napier happens to know 'that other people are deserving of more credit than him', and he wishes to 'bring forward some great names like yours' to 'the Lords & the Country' at the second reading of the Navy Officer Bill.

4to, 2 pp. Bifolium. Twenty-eight lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged and stained paper. Docketed by the recipient on the reverse of the second leaf. The recipient drew up her will in 1819, but 'the many changes from Deaths &c which have since taken place' mean that it 'no longer expresses my wishes in several particulars'. Asks a number of questions. States that she is 'aware that as a married woman I have no right to make a Will but as in the former distribution of my property Sir George Scott authorized my doing so (as you many remember) so he will now any alteration'.

12mo, 1 p. Bifolium. On aged and foxed grey paper. Reads 'June 20th | Dear Barnes | Selection Committee will be pleased if you will play for England v The Rest at Lords 29th. | Yours faithfull | [signed] Hawke'. Hawke was an England selector between 1899 and 1909, and Barnes, one of the finest bowlers in English history, made his international debut in 1901. I'm sure someone will tell me if this was Barnes's first game for England.

Both good, on aged paper. Letter One: 12mo, 1 p. With stamped envelope. Thanking Noon for the 'notes & very instructive X-ray of your case of syringomyelia', about which 'Shattock', who is 'pulling up the W. O. Collection', is 'very keen'. Letter Two: 12mo, 2 pp. Thanking him for 'two very welcome additions to the W. O. Collection': 'You have no idea of how much an X-ray enhances the value of a specimen - we get an opportunity of comparing the shaddow [sic] with the real thing'.

4to, 1 p. Nine lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged and creased paper, with punch hole to top left-hand corner. Explaining why it is impossible for him to accept the invitation of the Norwich Medico-Chirurgical Society.

12mo, 2 pp. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with two punch-holes to the top left-hand corner. Noon 'won't regret' employing Michael Harmer. 'Please give me news of yourself; I hear nothing but vague, disturbing rumours'.

Typed Letter: 4to, 1 p. Good, on aged paper, with dog-eared and punch-holed top left-hand corner. He is pleased that 'Hill' got the post as Noon's house surgeon, and that they found 'another Barts. man for Mr. Britain, a student who I know very well, named Palmer'. Autograph Letter: 12mo, 2 pp. Good, on aged paper. Hoping that both Noon and his wife are in better health.

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with slight smudging in a couple of places. Thanking Noon for his 'generous gift to the Restoration Fund'. Describing the 'response' and urging Noon to 'interest patients & friends, particularly grateful medicos'.

Five of the nine items in 4to, and the rest 12mo. All texts clear and complete. Collection in good condition on lightly-aged paper. Occasional minor traces of brown-paper mounts, and most items with punch-holes to top left-hand corners. A cordial correspondence between two colleagues. Several letters relate to Noon's soon Charles, training under Ross to be a surgeon. On 26 June 1952 (12mo, 3 pp) Ross writes discussing the son's failure in an examination..

4to, 1 p. Nineteen lines. Text clear and complete. On aged paper with slight staining, and punch hole to top left-hand corner. Pressing the claims of his son Michael ('also a Bart's man') for a post at Noon's hospital. 'He has done very well at Bart's, is a Fellow of the College, missed M.Ch. (Cambridge) by a few marks just before the war, was Harold Wilson's Assistant for the first two years and has been Squadron Leader in the Air Force in charge of the surgical wards at a big hospital at Hoylake since.'

4to, 1 p. Seventeen lines of text, clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with small area lacking in top left-hand corner. Concerning Hedley Atkins, who, '[a]s a Guy's man', Ogilvie is keen to have replace him on the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, from which he is retiring after sixteen years. The condition with which Ogilvie is related, Ogilvie's Syndrome, was first reported by him in 1948.

4to, 1 p. Good, aged paper, with traces of previous mount adhering to reverse. Reads 'The Duke of Northumberland presents his Compliments to Mr. Twining, & shall be glad to see him on Wednesday next at three o'clock. | Northd. House | Decr. 2d. 1799.' From the Twining family archive.

12mo, 2 pp. Twenty-one lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with punch-hole to the top left-hand corner. As a colleague of Horder's father (senior surgeon and the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital) Noon has offered a 'collection of aphorisms', which Horder feels will be 'of the greatest value, indeed it is exactly what I want'. He asks for Noon's memories of 'personal dealings': 'These are especially useful in the early days, when of course my own memory does not serve.' Concludes: 'We all thought he'd have another 10 years ahead, so it has been a sad shock.'

The three items are good, on aged paper. Letter One: Undated. Signed 'B Pollock'. 4to, 1 p. In pencil. Headed 'please forgive stationery'. On reverse is a cancelled carbon page of autobiographical typescript. He is travelling to London and asks for the addresses of a couple of doctors. 'I have had very slight bleeding from the prostate, but this has become much greater in the last 24 hours. Pulse and temperature quite normal, some constipation, no pain. I dont know whether my walks should be reduced'. Letter Two: Dated 26 August 1943.