APOSTLE

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Signed ‘J Fletcher Moulton’. Begins: ‘Dear Mrs Earle / Just at the worst moment of the fight your inspiring letter came to cheer me.’ He hopes he will be deserving of the ‘kind things’ she writes: ‘I could truthfully say things at least as kind in return but I fear my epistolary style does not lend itself thereto so I shall trust that you will take these as said.’ He ends by saying that he will retain the letter ‘as one of those which has [sic] given me most pleasure in my life’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with strip of sunning, and evidence of mounting on reverse, which also bears contemporary pencil annotation: ‘Honble Roden Noel / Son of Earl of Gainsborough / A considerable writer & Poet / Author of “A little Child’s Monument” & other Poetry’. Folded twice. The signature is large and firm, but rest of his handwriting is appalling. The page carries the letter’s valediction, with date and address, and a seven-line postscript: ‘[...] Kind regards [...] How sad is the [...] London!

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with small piece cut away from one corner, and traces of mount adhering to the blank reverse, which also carries a few marks in ink, with a couple of minor marks in the margin at the foot of the recto. At the head of the page is the engraving, roughly 12.5 x 12 cm, attractively done, and showing Gough in cutaway jacket and waistcoat, standing behind a table, with a seated audience behind him, holding aloft a glass of water.