CENTURY

[Victorian handbill satirising Lord Randolph Churchill, Gladstone and other members of the House of Commons, headed 'HOUSE OF COMMONS. | PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT'.

Author: 
[Victorian satirical handbill; Lord Randolph Churchill; William Ewart Gladstone; Charle Stewart Parnell; Prorogation of Parliament, 1881]
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but accompanied by annotation in contemporary hand dating it to 1881.
£180.00

Printed in black on piece of purple paper, 27 x 14 cm. In good condition, laid down on a leaf removed from a contemporary album, with the date '1881' written beside it. The first paragraph sets the tone: 'LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL rose to ask Her Majesty's Government a question as to the state of Public Business, and the probable date of the Prorogation of Parliament.

['McGlennon's Cromlech Series': two printed pamphlets.] 'Irish Songs Old and New' and 'Songs of the Gael'.

Author: 
[McGlennon's Cromlech Series; Felix McGlennon, Irish publisher in London]
Publication details: 
McGlennon's Cromlech Series, Felix McGlennon Ltd., Printers and Publishers, City Garden Row, City Rd, London, N1. Both undated.
£130.00

The two uniform stapled pamphlets, both 32pp., 12mo, in illustrated wraps printed in green, and both printed on newsprint. Both items uncommon, with no copies of either on COPAC. ONE: 'Irish Songs Old and New.' In fair condition, on worn and toned paper, with crease to front cover. Contains the lyrics to 34 songs, from 'Angels Whisper' and 'Ballinamona Oro' to 'Young Kate of Kilcummer'. TWO: 'Songs of the Gael'. In good condition, toned and lightly worn. Contains the lyrics of 28 songs from 'Awake and Lie Dreaming No More' to 'Where is the Slave so Lowly?'

[William Strang, Scottish painter and etcher.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm Strang') to 'Daffarn', regarding an engagement with him and his 'friend Watson'.

Author: 
William Strang (1859-1921), Scottish painter and etcher, President of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 7 Hamilton Terrace, NW [London]. 2 April 1907.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper. The letter reads: 'Dear Daffarn | I will be in any time in the afternoon after 2.30 on Friday, & will be pleased to see you and your friend Watson. | The work goes on slowly but I think I will finish in time.'

[Thomas Webster, RA.] Autograph Note in the third person to 'Mr. Gotta'.

Author: 
Thomas Webster (1800-1886), RA, English genre painter and etcher [Royal Academy of Arts, London]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Cranbrook, Staplehurst. 10 May 1877.
£35.00

1p., 16mo. On bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-spotted paper. The note reads: 'Mr. Webster in reply to Mr. Gotta's note desires to say, with his compliments, that his Picture, in the Royal Academy, is engaged.'

[Niccolò Schiavonetti, printmaker.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Nichs. Schiavonetti') to 'Mr. Scott', sending '4 sorts of french paper', and giving instructions on how it is to be prepared.

Author: 
Niccolò Schiavonetti [Nicholas Schiavonetti] (c.1771-1813), printmaker, brother of Luigi Schiavonetti (1765-1810)
Publication details: 
Brompton; 15 April 1811.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper with damp stain along one edge. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr. Scott'. He is sending 'by Bearer 4 sorts of french paper, 2 sheets of each, which you will be so good as to see that it is properly prepared before it is used - The grand Eagle with the watermarks will require a great deal of brushing with a hard brush as I think that many of the specks will brush off they being chiefly superficial'.

[Major Herman Armour Webster, American engraver.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H. A. Webster') to 'Mr. Barry'.

Author: 
Major Herman Armour Webster (1878-1970), American etcher, draughtsman and lithographer
Publication details: 
Paris. 28 October [no year].
£40.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. He apologises for the 'very short letter' and 'long delay in answering'. He reports that 'the rings came in your order but I have not had a chance to use them and will not have now until next Spring or Summer'. He is sending money as requested. 'My three plates of the trees came very nicely - one has just gone to the "Studio" so you may see it there later on.' He will write again when he has time for 'a rational note'.

[William Pengree Sherlock, watercolour artist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('W P Sherlock') to an unnamed recipient, sending his 'last little Effort' in engraving, as proof of his abilities.

Author: 
William Pengree Sherlock (b.1775), watercolour artist and engraver, son of the artist and engraver William Sherlock (1738-1806)
Publication details: 
Cumberland Place, Shepherd's Bush. 21 July 1817.
£120.00

1p., 4to. Good, on aged paper. The letter begins: 'Sir | I shew to you my last little effort which is a Copy from Vertues large Print after the Picture by Holbein now hanging in the Council Chamber of Bridewell Hospital'.( A note at the foot of the page reads: 'The above was engraved for the Purpose of Illustrating Pennant Walpole &c'. He notes that the print (not present) was 'engraved as the companion to the last Print I sent you.

[Sir Frank Brangwyn, artist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Frank Brangwyn.') to an unnamed lady, regarding his efforts to get her 'a print of my etching "The Storm"'.

Author: 
Sir Frank Brangwyn [Sir Frank William Brangwyn] (1867-1956), artist
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Temple Lodge, Queen Street, Hammersmith, W. [London] 21 February 1905.
£90.00

1p., 4to. On blue-grey paper. In good condition, lightly-aged. He has been trying to get her a acopy of the print, but will not be able to until the following Tuesday. He hopes that this is not too late, and it will give him 'much pleasure in sending it up'.

[Sir Charles Holroyd, English engraver, first Keeper of the Tate Gallery.] Autograph Letter Signed to 'Mr Kitton' [the author Frederic George Kitton], accepting the congratulations of the Hertfordshire Arts Society on his knighthood.

Author: 
Sir Charles Holroyd (1861-1917), English engraver, first Keeper of the Tate Gallery, and Director of the National Gallery [Frederic Geoge Kitton (1856-1904), author; Hertfordshire Arts Society]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the National Gallery, London. 11 November 1913.
£120.00

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. 'Allow me to thank you and through you the members of the Hertfordshire Arts Society for your kind congratulations upon the honour the King confers upon me and upon the Gallery in the work of which I am privileged to assist'.

[Sir Francis Seymour Haden, etcher and surgeon.] Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Seymour Haden') to 'B. Gibbs', explaining his reasons for declining an invitation, and a 'lantern man' at 'Gipsy [sic] Hall'.

Author: 
Sir Francis Seymour Haden [pseud. H. Dean] (1818-1910), etcher and surgeon
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Woodcote Manor, Alresford, Hampshire.
£65.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. On aged paper, with a patch of damp staining across both leaves. He should be happy to accept the 'kind invitation', 'if it were not that I believe I am to be the Guest of your Honorary Secretary Dr. Rice Oxley on this occasion'. He hopes that 'Gipsy Hall will be the proper to come to in either case'. He requires 'certain particulars', and will be writing to Oxley regarding 'the ability of the lantern man to obtain fine definition - linear definition I mean'.

[George Marshall Ward, artist and engraver.] Autograph Letter Signed ('G R Ward') to H. Magford, offering to lend two works by his father James Ward to the Crystal Palace, and the exhibition of another one among Manchester 'merchant Princes'.

Author: 
George Marshall Ward (1798-1879), artist and engraver, son of the artist James Ward (1769-1859) [The Crystal Palace; Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester, 1857]
Publication details: 
31 Fitzroy Square W. [London] 27 April 1857.
£65.00

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In very good condition, neatly placed by the second leaf in a windowpane mount. He has 'received an intimation' that his picture is in Bond Street ('from whence I must fetch it'), and is writing to say that he has 'two Pictures by my Father (one very small but a beautiful little bit) the other the Peak in Derbyshire; a Landscape by Smith of Chichester & a copy of mine after Liverseege all of which I would lend to the Crystal Palace if you would like to have them'. He can deliver these to Bond St on collecting the other.

[Benjamin Phelps Gibbon, engraver.]

Author: 
Benjamin Phelps Gibbon (1802-1851), Wesh engraver
Publication details: 
89 Albany Street, Regents Park [London]. 17 November 1841.
Upon request

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He reports that he shared the 'bounty' of the recipient's 'delicious present' with his brother, who has been 'confined to the house for a month'. He reports that 'Mr Watts and family are well', and hopes that 'Mr Stack is so'.

[Abraham John Mason, wood engraver.] Autograph Letter Signed ('A. J. Mason') to 'J. Mayer Esqre', discussing a commission for an advertisement to be placed in the Art Union Monthly, mentioning individuals (Hall, Fairholt, Clements) and processes.

Author: 
Abraham John Mason, wood engraver [Samuel Carter Hall, editor of the Art Union Monthly]
Publication details: 
28 Liverpool Street, King's Cross. 27 January [no year].
Upon request

4pp., 12mo. 55 lines of text, written in a neat, clear hand. On bifolium, with second leaf neatly placed in paper windowpane mount. The letter begins: 'I herewith send the electrotype of the Trowel, [not present] which is I think a beautiful specimen of the peculiar but slow process.

[Sir Robert Howard, restoration playwright.] Autograph Treasury receipt, signed 'Ro: Howard'.

Author: 
Sir Robert Howard (1626-1698), English playwright and politician and Secretary to the Treasury
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£180.00

On one side of slip of 6 x 18 cm paper. In fair condition, aged, and with traces of mount adhering to reverse. Apparently concerning an enormous sum of money, the receipt reads: 'Registered upon the Register appointed to be kept by the Act within mentioned & payable there upon of

[Sir Henry Irving.] Eight collotype proof sepia engravings, seven showing him - five of them in character - and the other a scene of a dilapidated building.

Author: 
Sir Henry Irving [John Henry Brodribb] (1838-1905), English stage actor and actor-manager
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£120.00

The eight images are arranged in four pairs, each on the central pages of an 8vo bifolium. Dimensions of page: 24.5 x 16cm. Dimensions of image: 9 x 14cm. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Irving is shown in five roles, including Lear, Shylock, and Becket. Also present are two portraits of Irving out of character, and a picture of the exterior of a dilapidated building. Presumably intended for an early twentieth-century biography.

[James West and Nathaniel Hardinge, Joint Secretaries to the Treasury.] Eight itemised manuscript Treasury money orders, each signed by one of them and made out to Paymaster of Pensions Charles Compton.

Author: 
Nicholas Hardinge (1699-1758) and James West (1703-1772), Joint Secretaries of the Treasury [Charles Compton (1698-1755), Paymaster of Pensions and Member of Parliament]
Publication details: 
The eight all from Treasury Chambers [Whitehall, London]. Dating from between June 1753 and April 1754.
£500.00

The eight items show signs of damp damage, with flaking and some loss of text. Four of the eight are made out for specific individuals, and four for groups of persons, are each foolscap 8vo, with five of them 1p. long, and three of them 2pp. long. Each written on the first leaf of a bifolium, and each addressed on the reverse of the second leaf 'To the Honble: Charles Compton Esqr. Paymaster of His Majts: Pensions'. Seven of the receipts are signed (all from Treasury Chambers) by either 'J.

[Two printed works bound together.] Hamilton's 'An Inquiry into the Genuineness of the Manuscript Corrections in Mr. J. Payne Collier's Annotated Shakspere' and 'Mr. J. Payne Collier's reply to Mr. N. E. S. Hamilton's "Inquiry"'.

Author: 
N. E. S. A. Hamilton [Nicholas Esterhazy Stephen Armytage Hamilton (d.1915)] of the Manuscript Department of the British Museum; John Payne Collier (1789-1883), Shakespearian critic and forger
Publication details: 
Hamilton: London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 1860. Payne Collier: London: Bell and Daldy, 186 Fleet Street. 1860.
£200.00

Both works first editions, and both in good condition, on aged paper. Bound together in late nineteenth-century red cloth half-binding, with marbled boards. Title on spine: 'COLLIER CONTROVERSY | H.R.H. | 1919'. Hamilton title in full: 'An Inquiry into the Genuineness of the Manuscript Corrections in Mr. J. Payne Collier's Annotated Shakspere, Folio, 1632; and of certain Shaksperian Documents likewise published by Mr. Collier'. [4] + 155pp., 4to. With frontispiece and two plates, one of them double-page. Collier title in full: 'Mr. J. Payne Collier's reply to Mr. N. E. S.

[Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Ed: Sandys'), to an unnamed bookseller, asking a number of questions on published accounts of voyages to the Amazon.

Author: 
Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797), successively Member of Parliament for Droitwich, Bossiney and Westminster
Publication details: 
Ombersley [Worcestershire]. 14 September 1758.
£120.00

2pp., small 4to. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight loss to one edge. He begins: 'Sr! | I wrote to you a Post or two ago to desire you to send me Voyage de M. Condamine sur la Riviere des Amazons impr. a Paris en 1745. If you have it not in your Shop Pray enquire for it, & send it to me at Ombersley near Worcester: and I wish you would inform me if M. Condamine or any of his company that went with him to Peru, have publish'd any other account of any part of their Expedition? I have read Don Ant.

[William Strang, Scottish painter and etcher.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm Strang') to 'Daffarn', regarding an engagement with him and his 'friend Watson'.

Author: 
William Strang (1859-1921), Scottish painter and etcher, President of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 7 Hamilton Terrace, NW [London]. 2 April 1907.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper. The letter reads: 'Dear Daffarn | I will be in any time in the afternoon after 2.30 on Friday, & will be pleased to see you and your friend Watson. | The work goes on slowly but I think I will finish in time.'

[Thomas Webster, RA.] Autograph Note in the third person to 'Mr. Gotta'.

Author: 
Thomas Webster (1800-1886), RA, English genre painter and etcher [Royal Academy of Arts, London]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Cranbrook, Staplehurst. 10 May 1877.
£35.00

1p., 16mo. On bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-spotted paper. The note reads: 'Mr. Webster in reply to Mr. Gotta's note desires to say, with his compliments, that his Picture, in the Royal Academy, is engaged.'

[Niccolò Schiavonetti, printmaker.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Nichs. Schiavonetti') to 'Mr. Scott', sending '4 sorts of french paper', and giving instructions on how it is to be prepared.

Author: 
Niccolò Schiavonetti [Nicholas Schiavonetti] (c.1771-1813), printmaker, brother of Luigi Schiavonetti (1765-1810)
Publication details: 
Brompton; 15 April 1811.
£80.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper with damp stain along one edge. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr. Scott'. He is sending 'by Bearer 4 sorts of french paper, 2 sheets of each, which you will be so good as to see that it is properly prepared before it is used - The grand Eagle with the watermarks will require a great deal of brushing with a hard brush as I think that many of the specks will brush off they being chiefly superficial'.

[Major Herman Armour Webster, American engraver.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H. A. Webster') to 'Mr. Barry'.

Author: 
Major Herman Armour Webster (1878-1970), American etcher, draughtsman and lithographer
Publication details: 
Paris. 28 October [no year].
£40.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. He apologises for the 'very short letter' and 'long delay in answering'. He reports that 'the rings came in your order but I have not had a chance to use them and will not have now until next Spring or Summer'. He is sending money as requested. 'My three plates of the trees came very nicely - one has just gone to the "Studio" so you may see it there later on.' He will write again when he has time for 'a rational note'.

[Dr Pierre Magnin, French physician.] Inscribed copy of his printed thesis, 'De l'Action de la Quinine sur les Fibres Musculaires Lisses. Thèse présentée et publiquement soutenue a la Faculté de Médecine de Montpellier le 13 août 1873.'

Author: 
Pierre Magnin, 'Né a Laboisse (Ain) Docteur en Médecine | ancien Interne des Hopitaux de Lyon' [Frantz Glénard (1848-1920)]
Publication details: 
Montpellier: Imprimerie L. Cristin et Ce., rue Vieille Intendance, 5. 1875.
£130.00

66 + [3] + [1] pp., 4to. The item has been disbound from a volume, and the title leaf is longer than the rest, in order to retain the ownership inscription in the top left-hand corner of the title-page, which carries a signed presentation inscription from Magnin to his colleague Frantz Glénard. The title leaf is creased and has a long vertical closed tear near the spine, which has been unobtrusively repaired with archival tape. Pp.53/54 and 61/62 have had text trimmed away by the binder.

[Lieutenant General Archibald Robertson of Lawers.] Manuscript 'Extract from Decree Arbitral by Adam Rolland Esq | In the Submission between Mrs. Catherine Austen or Robertson and The Trustee of Lieut General Archd. Robertson of Lawer'.

Author: 
Lieutenant-General Archibald Robertson (1745-1813) of Lawers, Perthshire [Adam Rolland]
Publication details: 
[Scotland.] Made 19 December 1814; recorded 1833.
£35.00

2pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Docketted on reverse of second leaf, including the information that this is the second recording (the first being made at the time of the document in 1814). The extract ('Sexto') concerns the payment of an 'Annuity of Eleven hundred pounds Sterling bequeathed to he said Mrs. Catherine Robertson by the said Lieut. General Archibald Robertson'. Robertson is the subject of a portrait by George Romney, now in the Museum of Fine Art, St Petersburg, Florida.

[James Williamson, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Jas. Williamson') to his brother Alexander Williamson, Laird of Balgray, discussing financial matters and his son George's choice of career.

Author: 
James Williamson (d. 1795), Professor of Mathematics at the Universtiy of Glasgow, 1761-1795 [Alexander Williamson, Laird of Balgray (fl. 1802)]
Publication details: 
'College Glasgow'. 1 June 1792.
£90.00

2pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. The breaking of the seal has resulted in slight loss at the foot of the gutter, affecting two words of text. Verso of second leaf addressed, with two postmarks and red wax seal, to 'Alexander Williamson Esqr | Alisons Square | Edinburgh'.

[Charles Daly, London bookseller.] Autograph Letter Signed to Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, complaining of a fraud practised on him by the Birmingham bookbinder Thomas Male, by 'representing himself as patronized by' Wiseman.

Author: 
Charles Daly, London bookseller (fl.1832-1855) [Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman (1802-1865), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster; Thomas Male, bookbinder of Duke Street, Birmingham; Bickers & Darling]
Publication details: 
17 Greville Street, Hatton Garden, London. 2 March 1844.
£80.00

1p., 8vo. On bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper with a few small closed tears to edges. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with broken red wax seal, Penny Red stamp and postmarks, to: 'Revd. Dr. Wiseman, | St. Mary's College | Oscott | Nr. Birmingham'. 22 lines of text, closely and neatly written. Daly begins: 'I am sorry to trouble you by laying before you the Letters [not present] of a man of the name of Thomas Male - Bookseller & Bookbinder residing at St. Mary's, who has by representing himself as patronized by you got Credit from me to the Amount of £11 . 9 .

[Abel Heywood & Son Ltd., Manchester booksellers.] Large printed order sheet for the supply of newspapers and periodicals to distributors.

Author: 
Abel Heywood & Son Ltd., Manchester booksellers [newspaper distribution; twentieth-century book trade]
Publication details: 
[Abel Heywood & Son Ltd., Manchester.] 'WEEK - OCT. 31st to NOV. 5th, 1966'.
£125.00

2pp., on a folio sheet (63 x 36cm). In fair condition, on aged and lightly-worn paper. Not filled in. Stamped '577' in red. One side listing the newspapers available from the Monday to the Friday of the week, and the other giving those on the Saturday, 'Odd Papers', 'BRANCHES' and 'TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SUPPLIES'. A range of periodicals is listed, including local and national newspapers, 'Continental Publications', comics ('Sparky', 'Wham' and 'Smash'), specialist ('Architect and Building News') and hobby ('Philatelic Mag.') magazines, 'Bolton Journal Series'

[Queen Victoria's FIRST visit to Scotland, 1842.] Three MS.receipts, two of them regarding 'erecting triumphall Arches', the other a 'Note of Men Employed in the Village of Comrie [...] to join the Lawers Company for hir [sic] Majesty the Queen'.

Author: 
[Queen Victoria's FIRST visit to Scotland, 1842; Mrs. R. Williamson of Lawers; Comrie, Strathearn, Perthshire]
Publication details: 
[Lawers, Strathearn, Scotland.] All three paid on 26 December 1842.
£195.00

The three documents in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: 'Note of Men employed in the Village of Comrie by Orders of Mrs. R. Williamson of Lavers - to join the Lavers Company for hir [sic] Majesty the Queen'. [on reverse] 'Lawers | Thos Biccarton for Men attending during the Queens Visit | £1 .. 19/- | paid 26 Decr. 1842'. Beneath this in pencil in a later hand: 'Queen Victoria visit to Strathearn | Sept 10 1842'. 1p., 4to. With some words in red ink. Mainly comprising a table of 29 names, days, wages due, of men 'Attending the Lawers Company'.

[George J. Stodart, engraver.] Signed engraving, from a photograph, of Dr Evan Buchanan Baxter, Professor of Materia Medica at King's College, London.

Author: 
George J. Stodard, British engraver [Dr Evan Buchanan Baxter (1844-1885), Dr. Evan Buchanan Baxter, Professor of Materia Medica at King's College, London]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [1880s.]
£50.00

On piece of 21 x 13 cm India paper, laid down on a piece of thick paper, 33 x 24cm. The engraving is small in comparison, measuring around 8 x 6 cm, and showing a formally dressed and bearded Baxter's head and shoulders, facing to his right. Aged and dusty, with crease line to the mount at the foot. Stodart has signed in pencil in the bottom right-hand corner of the engraving paper, and the crease line bissects the signature and its underlining. At bottom right of mount, in pencil: 'Dr Baxter | Kings College'.

[Printed pamphlet.] Tom Cladpole's Jurney To Lunnun; Shewing the many Difficulties he met with, and How he got safe Home at Last. Told by himself and written in pure Wessex Doggerel, By his Uncle Tim.

Author: 
'Uncle Tim' [Richard Lower (1782-1865)] ['Pure Wessex Doggerel'; Sussex dialect; Lewes]
Publication details: 
New Edition. Lewes: Printed and Published by Farncombe & Co., "East Sussex News." [Farncombe & Co., Printers, Lewes.]
£60.00

34 + [1]pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, a little ruckled. Advertisement for 'Jan Cladpole's Trip to Merricur' ('Just published') on last page. A three-page preface is followed by the poem, in 152 four-line stanzas, with pp.33-34 carrying another poem titled 'Tom Cladpole's Return'. Surprisingly uncommon.

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