BRITISH

[Campbell Dodgson, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.] Autograph Letter Signed to an unnamed male recipient, regarding a portrait of David Garrick.

Author: 
Campbell Dodgson (1867-1948), Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum and art historian [David Garrick]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Department of Prints and Drawings, British Museum, London. 21 June 1928.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with a small closed tear to one edge. He informs the recipient that his portrait of Garrick is 'the second state of the engraving: the first is before all letters. | The person who engraved the lettering evidently made a mistake.' He notes an inscription sometimes found on impressions of the second state of the engraving, and change made in the third state.

[Duplicated typescript of humorous poem, marked 'SECRET | Official Use only!'] The Air Ministry Who's Who.

Author: 
[The Air Ministry, Whitehall, London, government department dealing with the Royal Air Force between 1918 and 1964]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [The Air Ministry, Whitehall, London. 1940s?]
£80.00

2pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with small ink stains to two corners and short closed tears at the ends of a central vertical crease line. On paper with 'Ellams 22' watermark. Beneath the title: 'Note: All names guaranteed genuine, from the "London" section of the October telephone directory.' The poem consists of seven four-line verses and six different choruses.

[Printed item relating to the Wilfredian League of Gugnuncs children's club, an offshoot of the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred comic strip in the Daily Mirror and Sunday Pictorial.] Third Gugnunc Sing-Song. Souvenir Programme 1929.

Author: 
'Uncle Dick' [Bertram Lamb (1889-1938), author of the Pip, Squeak & Wilfred comic in the Daily Mirror, and patron of the Wilfredian League of Gugnuncs [Austin Bowen Payne (1876-1956), illustrator]
Publication details: 
Event at the Royal Albert Hall, London. 11 May 1929. 'Organised by "The Daily Mirror." Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London, E.C.4.'
£56.00

8pp., 12mo. Stapled. Printed in blue on shiny art paper, in cream card wraps, also printed in blue, and tied with blue and white ribbon. On aged and worn paper. With illustrations in text, including a half-page image of the 'Pip, Squeak & Wilfred Jig-Saw Puzzle'. The first page carries a message to 'My Dear Boys and Girls' from 'Uncle Bill', including: 'To-day's Gugnunc Party - our third - is particularly interesting as it is also a birthday party.

[Printed bookseller's catalogue with juvenile items and items relating to the Cato Street Conspiracy.] A Catalogue of Books & Fancy Articles, Publishd and Sold by R. Miller, 24, Old Fish Street, Doctors' Commons.

Author: 
R. Miller [Robert Miller], bookseller, 24 Old Fish Street, Doctors' Commons, London [children's books; juvenile; toys; the Cato Street Conspiracy, 1820]
Publication details: 
R. Miller, 24 Old Fish Street, Doctors' Commons, London. [Circa 1820.]
£120.00

11pp., 32mo. Stitched and unbound. In fair condition, on aged paper. The books include 'The Cabinet History of England', 'Miller's County Atlas of England & Wales' and 'The Princess Charlotte's Hymn Book'. There are also 'Thirteen Toy Books', 'Threepenny Toy Books', 'Conversation Cards', 'Children's Picture Cards', 'Portraits of the Royal Family', 'The Spelling Alphabet' and 'Engraved Music Cards'.

[Messrs Henry Southgate and Co., London auctioneers.] Attractive notice, on parchment paper, illuminated in colours, announcing the completion of 'the alterations of their extensive premises', now able to display a library of 20,000 books in one room

Author: 
Messrs Henry Southgate and Co., Auction Rooms, 22 Fleet Street, London [Vizetelly and Co. Printers and Engravers, 135 Fleet Street]
Publication details: 
Messrs Henry Southgate and Co., Auction Rooms, 22 Fleet Street, London. Vizetelly and Co. Printers and Engravers, 135 Fleet Street. [1843.]
£80.00

2pp., 4to. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-worn paper. An attractive production, printed on a leaf of parchment paper, with illuminations and decorative designs in red, blue, green and gold, in the Gothic style of the period. At the end of the second page, above the printer's slug, and illuminated: 'Auction Rooms 22 Fleet Street London | Established 1823'.

[Auction catalogue.] Library of Books which Jolly & Son, Ltd., Incorporated Auctioneers will sell by Auction on Friday, 5th May, 1939, commencing at two o'clock. [By direction of Mrs. Haynes-Smith, of Turleigh Mill House, Nr. Bath, and other Owners.]

Author: 
Jolly & Son, Ltd., Incorporated Auctioneers, The Auction Rooms, Charlotte Street, Bath
Publication details: 
Jolly & Son, Ltd., The Auction Rooms, Charlotte Street, Bath. [Harding & Curtis, Ltd., Bath.] 1939.
£120.00

7pp., 8vo. Stapled. In poor condition, on aged and worn paper. The prices, and in most cases the names of the purchasers, are untidily given in pencil, the buyers seeming to be mainly members of the West Country trade, and including George [of Bristol], Grey, Lowe, Colbeck, Cox Towes, Brown, Williams. A collection strongly biased towards the English novel, with Henry James particularly well represented. A small collection of 'Dutch Books' features at the end of the sale. A scarce item, with no copy traced either on COPAC or on WorldCat.

[Jessica Brett Young, widow of novelist Francis Brett Young.] Four Autograph Letters Signed to 'Mr Jackson', 'Manager, Heinemann & Cassell', discussing her husband's copyrights in an energetic style, with notes on the writing of 'My Brother Jonathan'

Author: 
Jessica Brett Young [née Hankinson], (1883-1970), wife of the English novelist Francis Brett Young (1884-1954)
Publication details: 
All four on letterheads of the Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town. Written in October and November 1967.
£100.00

The first three letters each 1p., 4to; and the fourth 2pp., 4to. In good condition, on aged and creased paper, with three of the four letters stapled together. Letter One: 13 October 1967. She writes 'for information about my position concerning my late husband's books, and my Biography of him which Heinemann's published in London in 1962'. The closing of the firm's Cape Town office has been a shock to her. Letter Two: 4 November 1967.

[book, inscribed by an authority on Blake] Catalogue of Loan Exhibition of Works by William Blake. October to December, 1913. [Second Edition.]

Author: 
[Archibald Russell; The National Gallery, British Art; William Blake]
Publication details: 
[The National Gallery, British Art.] London: Printed under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1913.
£38.00

4to, 75 pp. On aged paper, in original purple printed wraps, which are repaired at spine with tape. Inscribed at head of the front wrap to 'Mr. Tregaskis with Mr. Archibald Russell's compliments'. Russell was an authority on Blake's works, the recipient, Tregaskis, a distiguished bookseller.

[Publication Committee, Presbyterian Church of England, 18 Paternoster Square, London.] Engraved card announcing that the Committee have taken possession of the premises and made them into a shop and offices; with plan of premises on reverse.

Author: 
Publication Committee, Presbyterian Church of England, 18 Paternoster Square, London
Publication details: 
[Publication Committee, Presbyterian Church of England, 18 Paternoster Square, London.] [Circa 1882.]
£60.00

The text is engraved in copperplate on one side of a piece of card, with plan on reverse of the the premises at 18 Paternoster Square, with Newgate Street, Warwick Lane, Rose Street and Paternoster Row also shown. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with unobtrusive vertical crease. A nice piece of nineteenth-century London book trade ephemera. The text reads: 'Publication Committee | Presbyterian Church of England, | 18 Paternoster Square.

[Printed advertisement.] Prospectus of Bohn's Standard Library: A Series of the best English and foreign Authors, Printed in a new and elegant Form, Equally adapted to the Library and the Fireside, At the extremely low Price of 3s. 6d. per Volume.

Author: 
[Bohn's Standard Library; H. G. Bohn; Henry George Bohn (1796-1884), London bookseller and publisher]
Publication details: 
York Street, Covent Garden. [1848.]
£160.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. An interesting piece of ephemera relating to a ground-breaking series in the nineteenth-century extension of the market for serious literature. An initial 27-line prospectus in small print is followed by a list of the details of the 35 'Volumes already Published' and of 20 works 'in progress'. The final page carries details of items 'Uniform with his STANDARD LIBRARY, price 3s. 6d.', under the headings 'Bohn's Extra Volume', 'Bohn's Scientific Library, Vol. 1', 'Bohn's Antiquarian Library' and 'Bohn's Classical Library'.

[No. 41 of 65 copies, with original etching and lithograph, both signed by Brangwyn.] Prints & Drawings by Frank Brangwyn with some other Phases of his Art: By Walter Shaw Sparrow.

Author: 
Walter Shaw Sparrow [Frank Brangwyn]
Publication details: 
London: John Lane, The Bodley Head. New York: John Lane Company. 1919.
£1,200.00

[10] + 288pp., 4to. In original quarter-binding, with blue paper boards and cream buckram spine with gilt lettering. A handsome book, profusely illustrated, with 49 plates (some with guards) and the two signed 'Extra Plates', and numerous illustrations in text. Announcement on reverse of first page: 'THIS edition, with an original etching and an original lithograph by Frank Brangwyn, is limited to 65 copies, of which this is No. 41'. The etching, facing p.1, is titled 'A Back Street, Tours', and the lithograph, facing page 180, is titled 'Newcastle'. Both are signed by Brangwyn in pencil.

[Printed pamphlet.] Rules of the Compatriots' Club.

Author: 
The Compatriots' Club, London, unofficial grouping of Conservative politicians 'to advance the ideal of a United British Empire', 1904-1914
Publication details: 
[London. Circa 1904.]
£280.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper, with slight damage caused by removal from an album. The first leaf of the document carries fifteen numbered rules; and the second leaf carries a 'List of Members', with Joseph Chamberlain as President; Viscount Milner as Chairman of Executive Committee, and Honorary Treasurer Viscount Ridley, and including the Duke of Bedford, Bonar Law, and the publisher John Murray. At the foot of the final page is a list of 'Foundation Members' of the 'South African Branch Compatriots' Club'.

[Printed HMSO pamphlet.] Barometer Card and Storm-Warning Signals.

Author: 
Her Majesty's Stationery Office [HMSO; Victorian meteorology]
Publication details: 
London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty. For Her Majesty's Stationery Office. And sold by J. D. Potter, 31, Poultry, and 11, King Street, Tower Hill. 1861.
£135.00

5pp., 8vo. On two bifoliums, with four of the eight sides blank, with the reason for the arrangement stated at the head of the title: 'N.B. - The four pages following this Title may be separated, and pasted on a board.' In fair condition, on aged paper, with remains of the paper on which the two bifoliums were mounted on the blank reverses of the second leaves of both. Contemporary ownership inscription at head of title of William Dole Bushell of Taff Vale Railway.

[Satirical handbill obituary referring to the London Conference of 1864.] Lost, Stolen, or Strayed, The British Lion.

Author: 
[London Conference of 1864; Second Schleswig War; The Schleswig-Holstein Question; Denmark; Prussia]
Publication details: 
Without place or date [London, 1864.].
£60.00

Printed on one side of a piece of 17 x 12 cm paper. Aged and worn, and trimmed down. Reminiscent of another Victorian spoof obituary - that which led to the Ashes cricket series between England and Australia - the full text reads: 'LOST, STOLEN, OR STRAYED, | THE | BRITISH LION. | Whoever finds him is hereby requested to KEEP him, as he is no longer of any use. | N.B. - He was last seen with his Tail between his Legs. | Obituary. | On Monday, the 27th inst., of a severe attack of Non-intervention and Court intrigue, | THE | BRITISH LION, | His end was - Peace ! !

[Printed pamphlet.] Rules of the Compatriots' Club.

Author: 
The Compatriots' Club, London, unofficial grouping of Conservative politicians 'to advance the ideal of a United British Empire', 1904-1914
Publication details: 
[London. Circa 1904.]
£280.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper, with slight damage caused by removal from an album. The first leaf of the document carries fifteen numbered rules; and the second leaf carries a 'List of Members', with Joseph Chamberlain as President; Viscount Milner as Chairman of Executive Committee, and Honorary Treasurer Viscount Ridley, and including the Duke of Bedford, Bonar Law, and the publisher John Murray. At the foot of the final page is a list of 'Foundation Members' of the 'South African Branch Compatriots' Club'.

[Margaret, Lady Rhondda.] Autograph Card Signed ('M. R.') to 'Dear John', apologising for 'having been so rude to my fellow guest' at a lunch, and admitting that she is 'ridiculously [...] touchy' about her magazine 'Time and Tide'.

Author: 
Margaret, Lady Rhondda [Margaret Haig Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda] (1857-1958)], suffragette and founder of the magazine Time and Tide
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 'Time and Tide', 32 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1. 10 December 1952.
£50.00

Written over 13 lines on both sides of the 9 x 11 cm card. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. 'Dear John, | I do feel ashamed of having been so rude to my fellow guest yesterday - It was a dreadful thing to do! The fact is I am, I suppose, very touchy about Time & Tide - ridiculously so really - I don't think he had read it - but after all why should he, poor man - I really wasn't very fair - | Please forgive me - except for feeling that I had behaved abominab[ly], just at the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my most excellent luncheon'.

[Offprint.] Things and Sensations. [From the Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. II.]

Author: 
G. F. Stout [George Frederick Stout (1860-1944), philosopher and psychologist] [The British Academy]
Publication details: 
London: Published for the British Academy By Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press Warehouse, Amen Corner, E.C. [London. 1905.]
£75.00

13pp., 8vo. In grey printed wraps. In fair condition, with slight wear at spine from disbinding. Copies on COPAC at the British Library and five other locations.

[Chiswick Press.] Small collection of material by director F. J. Newbery, including a manuscript account of the press and a typewritten chronology by him, an address by him titled 'Picture Making' and a booklet of 'Interesting Facts' about the firm.

Author: 
F. J. Newbery [Francis James Newbery (b.1881)], director and manager of the Chiswick Press [Adam Maitland; Christopher Sandford; Charles Whittingham & Griggs Ltd; The Golden Cockerel Press]
Publication details: 
[Chiswick Press, London.] One of the printed items from 1930; part of the correspondence from 1953.
£600.00

The collection is in good condition, lightly aged and worn, apart from Item Seven. ONE: Autograph notes by Newberry on the firms of 'Chiswick Press Tooks Court' and 'Wm. Griggs & Sons Ltd. Peckham'. 4pp., 12mo. Closely written, with corrections. The first section concludes: 'Jacobi was certainly an experienced and successful printer of fine printed volumes and H.M. paper. William Morris drew inspiration from Chiswick Press that led to his founding the Kelmscott Press. His first experiments in the use of type designed at K. P. were carried out under Jacobi. C. P.

[Satirical handbill obituary referring to the London Conference of 1864.] Lost, Stolen, or Strayed, The British Lion.

Author: 
[London Conference of 1864; Second Schleswig War; The Schleswig-Holstein Question; Denmark; Prussia]
Publication details: 
Without place or date [London, 1864.].
£60.00

Printed on one side of a piece of 17 x 12 cm paper. Aged and worn, and trimmed down. Reminiscent of another Victorian spoof obituary - that which led to the Ashes cricket series between England and Australia - the full text reads: 'LOST, STOLEN, OR STRAYED, | THE | BRITISH LION. | Whoever finds him is hereby requested to KEEP him, as he is no longer of any use. | N.B. - He was last seen with his Tail between his Legs. | Obituary. | On Monday, the 27th inst., of a severe attack of Non-intervention and Court intrigue, | THE | BRITISH LION, | His end was - Peace ! !

[Frederick Lee Bridell.] Three pencil sketches of Elizabethan figures, including one of William Shakespeare.

Author: 
Frederick Lee Bridell (1830-1863), English painter and friend of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£300.00

On piece of 16 x 25.5cm paper. In fair condition, aged and spotted, with slight damp-staining to one corner, and remains of mount adhering to the reverse, on which is written in pencil: 'Sketches by Frederick Lee Bridell | born Southampton | died London 1864'. The three sketches are well finished, and placed alongside one another. The one on the left depicts a nobleman seated on a throne with a coronet on top of its backrest, his feet on a footstool, and left hand on an arm-rest, an animated look on his face.

[Sir Harry Calvert, Adjutant General of the Forces.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Henry Calvert') to 'Mr. Ridge', regarding the conveyance of the 'Clothing for M: General Wattevelle's [sic] Regiment' following the Siege of Cadiz.

Author: 
Sir Harry Calvert [Henry Calvert] (1763-1826), Adjutant General of the Forces [Major Generral Louis de Watteville (1776-1836); Watteville's Regiment; The Siege of Cadiz, and War of 1812]
Publication details: 
Horse Guards [London]. 17 October 1812.
£140.00

1p., 4to. In good condition, on aged paper, with slight wear to one edge. Regarding their previous correspondence, Calvert has 'directions to request' Ridge to inform him, 'if you are aware of any Steps having been taken, for conveying back the Clothing for M: General Wattevelle's [sic] Regiment, from Sicily to Cadiz - where that Corps is now stationed'. From Cadiz the Watteville's Regiment would be transferred to Upper Canada, where it would take part in the War of 1812.

[Samuel Cousins, engraver.] Autograph Note Signed ('Saml. Cousins'), inviting the unnamed recipient to a meeting of the Chalcographic Society.

Author: 
Samuel Cousins (1801-1887), English engraver [The Chalcographic Society]
Publication details: 
12 Regents Park Terrace. 1 November 1847.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of former mount on blank reverse. The message reads: 'Dear Sir | I shall have the pleasure to receive the Chalcographic Society on Friday evening next, when I hope to be favor'd with your Company'. For information about the Chalcographic Society, , founded in 1807, see Dennis M. Read's biography of 'R. H. Cromek' (2011). A society set up for the encouragement of interest in engravings, ridiculed in a Blake notebook.

[BBC TV International Balloon Race, May 1965.] BBC Press Service press pack with two maps (one of the 'Revised Route'), plan with text of 'The Free Balloon', biography of producer Brian Branston, 'Who's Who', 'Topographical Background' and 'History'.

Author: 
BBC TV International Balloon Race, May 1965 [Brian Branston (1914-1993); Jacques Demenint; Charles Dollfus; ballooning]
Publication details: 
One item on BBC Press Service (London) letterhead, dated 'May 1965 | CMG'
£80.00

Eight items, in good condition on aged paper, with the three photographic illustrations darkened. In blue card folder. ONE: Mimeographed typed biography of 'Ronald Victor Brian Branston'. On BBC Press Service letterhead; May 1965. 1p., 4to. TWO: Mimeographed typed 'Who's Who'. 2pp., foolscap 8vo. With entries on nine balloonists (from Albert van den Bemden to Anthony Smith, and including Charles Dollfus, 'curator of France's air museum') and two passengers. THREE: Mimeographed typed 'Topographical Background'. 2pp., foolscap 8vo.

Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Corps News.

Author: 
Royal Army Medical Corps, British Salonika Force, World War I
Publication details: 
February, 1917. ['British Salonika Force. General Headquarters, British Salonika Force, December 1, 1916.']
£100.00

8vo: 36 pp, paginated [17] to 52. Disbound and unbound. Grubby, but with text clear and entire. Outer bifolium in poor condition. Lacking stitching, so with each bifolium loose. Mainly consisting of lists of individuals receiving awards.

[Pattison family of farmers in the Bishop Auckland area of County Durham.] Manuscript diary and accounts, in 'The Newcastle Memorandum-book Or, a Methodical Pocket-journal.'

Author: 
[Pattison family of farmers in the Bishop Auckland area of County Durham] [Farming in Georgian England]
Publication details: 
Newcastle: Printed by and for S. Hodgson. 'For the Year M.XCCCI [1801]. The Forty-seventh edition.'
£560.00

The manuscript material is on 109pp. of the 12mo printed diary. On aged paper, with manuscript entirely legible, but some staining to printed matter, in original worn calf binding. The manuscript paints a vivid picture of the life of a prosperous Georgian agriculturalist in all its aspects, from itemised financial accounts to country pastimes and the weather. It is presumably in the hand of George Pattison, whose name is given prominence among those of other members of the Pattison family written out over two pages at the rear of the volume.

Anonymous manuscript First World War narrative poem titled 'The Message of the King', concerning a blinded soldier who asks a doctor to kill him.

Author: 
[First World War dramatic monologue; Royal Army Medical Corps, Delhi Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire]
Publication details: 
[RAMC Delhi Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire.] Circa 1918.
£80.00

Four pages, 4to. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged ruled paper, with watermark 'D. K & Co. | LONDON'. Sixty-four lines, arranged in eight eight-line stanzas. Apparently unpublished. Evocative of the sensibilities of a more naive age: sincerely meant, but coming across somewhat in the style of a Stanley Holloway monologue.

[Robert Byron, traveller.] Autograph Letter Signed to Mrs Strutt, discussing areas in Ceylon and South India that she should visit.

Author: 
Robert Byron (1905-1941), traveller and authority on Byzantine civilization, author of 'The Road to Oxiana'
Publication details: 
'as from 91 Bishopsgate | EC2 [London]'. 2 February 1938.
£1,200.00

2pp., 4to. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. In original envelope addressed to Mrs Strutt at the Galle Face Hotel, Columbo, Ceylon. He lists four locations in Ceylon, and six in South India, with brief comments including:'15 sq. miles of ruins - the oldest tree in the world'; 'lovely temple, Adams Houses, Flaxman monuments'. The regarding the last location he writes: 'Madras itself has charming classical buildings, & in the Old Durbar Hall is to be

[William Gawtress, Leeds printer.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm. Gawtress') to Rev. Thomas Greenwood, requesting contributions [to the Leeds Intelligencer] of 'Sketches' of 'Dawson and Newton', and discussing a book society and Greenwood's poetry.

Author: 
William Gawtress, printer and proprietor of the 'Leeds Intelligencer' [Rev. Thomas Greenwood, of Trinity College, Cambridge, Lecturer at Cripplegate Church]
Publication details: 
No place. 3 May 1825.
£280.00

2pp., 4to. On bifolium, with reverse of second leaf addressed to 'Rev. T. Greenwood, | Leeds.' In good condition, on aged paper, with slight discoloration to second leaf. BBTI lists Gawtree as active in Leeds between 1817 and 1822; he took over the Leeds Intelligencer in 1818. The first paragraph reads: 'An opportunity has very unexpectedly occurred this morning of sending a packet. - I inclose you Blackwood, wch. we recd. uncommonly late this month.

[John Pyke Hullah, composer.] Autograph Letter Signed ('John Hullah'), sending tickets to 'Laura'. With cutting of a few bars of manuscript sheet music by him.

Author: 
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla] (1812-1884), English composer for one of whose operas Charles Dickens wrote the libretto
Publication details: 
Letter: On letterhead of 11 Devonshire Place, [London] W. 'Tuesday night' [no date]. Cutting of sheet music with docketted date 1861.
£120.00

Both items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE (letter): 1p., 12mo. In a neat and elegant hand, it reads: 'Tuesday Night | Dear Laura | I send the tickets; as Goldsmith sent the portion of Lord Clare's haunch of venison to Sir Joshua - | "To paint it or eat it, whichever he pleased" | I am glad you like the Philharmonia | Your affecte. Friend | John Hullah'. TWO (cutting of sheet music): Written in pencil on one side of a 6.5 x 15 cm piece of paper, docketted 'Written by John Hullah 1861 | for

'. With a few words in Hullah's hand at head.

[John Bell of Lincoln's Inn.] Part of document giving his legal opinion in a cause, written out by a clerk, and signed and dated by him.

Author: 
John Bell (1764-1836) of Lincoln's Inn, English barrister
Publication details: 
Lincoln's Inn. 14 March 1828.
£120.00

Bell's entry in the Oxford DNB records that 'In conversation with the prince regent (later George IV), Lord Chancellor Eldon was said to have described Bell as the best lawyer then at the equity bar, though he could "neither read, write, walk, nor talk": Bell was lame, spoke with a broad Westmorland accent, the effect of which was heightened by a confirmed stammer, and wrote in a hand never more than barely legible.

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