HISTORY

Correspondence and Proceedings in the Negociation for a Renewal of the East-India Company's Charter. [John Fane's copy]

Author: 
[John Fane (1751-1824), Tory politician] [the East India Company]
Correspondence and Proceedings . . .Renewal of the East-India Company Charter
Publication details: 
London: Printed for Black, Parry, and Co. Leadenhall Street. 1812. [London: - Printed by Cox and Baylis, 75, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields.]
£56.00
Correspondence and Proceedings . . .Renewal of the East-India Company Charter

8vo, [viii] + 92 + [iv] pp. The last four pages comprise a publisher's catalogue. Unbound. Stitched as issued. First leaf discoloured and stained, last five leaves creased: otherwise a very good tight copy. Ownership inscription at head of first leaf, reading 'J. Fane Esq MP | 8 Great George St.'

Speech of Sergeant Talfourd on Literary Property delivered in the House of Commons, on the 18th of May, 1837.

Author: 
Sergeant Talfourd [Thomas Noon Talfourd] (1795-1854), English judge and writer [Copyright Bill, 1837]
Speech of Sergeant Talfourd on Literary Property
Publication details: 
[1837.] London: Published by Sherwood and Co., Paternoster-row. [Bradford , Red lion-ct. Fleet-st.]
£185.00
Speech of Sergeant Talfourd on Literary Property

8vo, 16 pp Disbound. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with the final page a little discoloured. Ownership inscriptions of 'Charles Hall Hemphill' and 'James | May 1837'. A significant work: a milestone in the history of copyright law. According to the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, this speech introducing Talfourd's Copyright Bill 'was considered the most telling made in the House during that session'. No copy listed on COPAC, and WorldCat lists three copies (all foreign).

Autograph Letter Signed ('W L George') from the novelist Walter Lionel George to the writer Ralph Straus, regarding payment and literary work.

Author: 
W. L. George [Walter Lionel George] (1882-1926), English novelist brought up in Paris [Ralph Straus (1882-1950), English novelist and biographer]
Autograph Letter Signed ('W L George') ,  novelist
Publication details: 
23 January 1919; on letterhead of the Savile Club, Piccadilly.
£65.00
Autograph Letter Signed ('W L George') ,  novelist

12mo, 1 p. Twelve lines of text. Clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged and creased paper. 'No cheque from the Bystander, [...] my new novel will be out in two months or so. I intend to shock you with that.' Perhaps referring to George's 'Blind Alley', or 'Eddies of the Day', both published in 1919.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Onslow' [Earl of Onslow]) to an unnamed male recipient on servants

Author: 
William Hillier Onslow (1853-1911), 4th Earl of Onslow, British Conservative politician and Governor of New Zealand, 1889-1892.
Autograph Letter Signed ('Onslow' [Earl of Onslow]) to an unnamed male recipient
Publication details: 
23 June [no year]; 'by Richmond to Whitehall', on cancelled Clandon Park letterhead.
£38.00
Autograph Letter Signed ('Onslow' [Earl of Onslow]) to an unnamed male recipient

12mo, 2 pp. Twenty-two lines. Text clear and complete. Regarding his footman Alfred McCloud, who has obtained with the recipient 'as Messenger'. I have taken no steps to fill his place till now & in the middle of the London Season it may be very inconvenient to be without a footman'. His butler is 'taking immediate steps to secure a man', but he would 'be glad to know how far you could meet my convenience in waiting for A. McCloud until I am suited'.

Manuscript document headed 'City of Worcester - An Account of Leases and Licenses from the Corporation already sealed'.

Author: 
Richard Cocks [City of Worcester]
Richard Cocks [City of Worcester], manuscript
Publication details: 
5 October 1790.
£95.00
Richard Cocks [City of Worcester], manuscript

8vo, 4 pp. Bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with slight wear to extremities. First three pages, with forty entries, beginning with 'To Thomas Ford 2l. 12s. 6d. and petition 2gs'. All entries with 'Stamps & parchms.' in left-hand column and 'Licenses from' in right-hand column. Subheading after nine entries reads 'Leases and Licenses ordered prior to 28th. January 1787 but not drawn the Fines not being returned as po. for Pr. Chamberlain'. All columns totalled at end. Docketed on last pager, with signature of 'Richd.

Manuscript Letter, signed 'Spotttiswoode & Co., to Hudson, regarding copies of his 'The Second War of Independence in America'.

Author: 
Spottiswoode and Co., Printers & Lithographers, New-Street Square, London [Eduard Maco Hudson, American historian]
Spottiswoode and Co., Printers & Lithographers, Letter
Publication details: 
28 November 1867; on Spottiswoode and Co. letterhead.
£56.00
Spottiswoode and Co., Printers & Lithographers, Letter

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Nineteen lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. They have '300 Bound Copies' of the book 'on hand', 'the remainder have been sold, producing £3. 1 6'. States the cost of shipping the books to Hudson.

Typed Letter Signed ('G. R. Hall Caine') to Sir Thomas Moore of Hatchards bookshop, regarding 'the rehabilitation of this business'.

Author: 
Gordon Ralph Hall Caine [G.R. Hall Caine](1884-1962), Chairman and Managing Director, Argosy & Sundial Libraries Limited, of London and Liverpool [son of the novelist Hall Caine (1853-1931)]
Publication details: 
23 June 1947; on Argosy & Sundial letterhead.
£95.00

8vo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. On creased and lightly-aged paper. He is glad that Sir Thomas appreciates 'the seriousness of our position', and the reasons for asking Hatchards 'to release Mr. Edgeley to us for approximately six months in order to enable him to concentrate mainly upon the rehabilitation of this business'. Not a minor matter; according to one source the firm had '2,217 branches and 1.3 million books in circulation by 1934'.

Manuscript transcript of 'the entry of the Hunting Journal of 1816. [18]17', addressed to Triphook, giving costs for printing '20 Copies of Belvoir Hunt'.

Author: 
[Robert Triphook, London bookseller (d.1868); Belvoir Hunt; hunting; printing]
Publication details: 
Undated [1818?].
£56.00

Landscape 8vo, 1 p. On aged and discoloured paper, with four spike holes. Neatly written out, in a contemporary hand. Addressed on reverse to 'Mr. R. Triphook'. Pencil annotations on both sides. Headed 'The following is the entry of the Hunting Journal of 1816. 17 -'. First item (of six): 'Setting Press & Printing 20 Copies of Belvoir Hunt 1816.17 13 Sheets & 1/2 Demy, Pica & long Primmer with Tables fine ink. @ 83/. Pr Sheet } 56. 0. 6'. At foot of page: '1817-18 - furnished by R.

Typed Letter Signed to "Sydney Gutman. The Bermondsey Book[shop]".

Author: 
Frank Harris, author
Publication details: 
C/o The American Express Company, 2 rue du Congres, Nice. A.M. December 15, 1925.
£235.00

One page, 4to, punchholes, edges discoloured, mainly good condition. Two small additons in his hand. He thanks Gutman for his cheque and order for "three sets of Oscar Wilde" of which he can immediately supply two, the other to come from storage. One copy sent is the "Brentano's edition of New York" and he wonders if Gutman would prefer "my German editon. He has written to "Heath" [bookseller, partner of Gutman's] about copies of James Thomson's poems on his hands.

Autograph Note Signed "RBL" to [Frederick or his son, William?] Shoberl

Author: 
Rosina Bulwer-Lytton, novelist
Publication details: 
No place or date.
£280.00

One page, 12mo, chipped, discoloured andf oxed but text clear and complete, if eccentrically presented: "My Dear Sir | Not at all the same idea - Roses and Thorns are very Namby Pamby and I meant keep the Tares and the wheat. [Space with "To Lady Lytton" written in large and different hand - recycling?] and will answer for its being a better because a higher - and more sensible title | In Great Haste | Yours very Truly | RBL". She has written the address on the reverse ("Mr | Shoberl Esq | 20 Great Marlboro'".

Autograph Letter Signed to "Dr [John?] Bowring". 5 Millman Street, London.

Author: 
Thomas Dick Lauder.
Publication details: 
Relugas, 15 June 1830.
£250.00

Author (see DNB). Six pages, 4to, with hole and chip causing small loss of text, some staining, pahes attached at margin, obscuring a word or two, text clear. Profuse thanks for his "kind letter from the canal" and a later note and present. He enjoyed his short visit, regretting the loss of a day when he attended "the wrangling of a dull county meeting". More on his enjoyment of his company, and hope that he'll fulfil his promise to visit again. He goes on: "A change . . .

[MS] Articles of Agreement signed by Draper and Richmond concerning "a large quantity of ice now stowed in [Draper's] houses at Horn Pond".

Author: 
Daniel Draper and W.C. Richmond, both of Boston, Mass., peddlers of ice.
Publication details: 
05/03/51
£325.00

Two pages, folio, bifolium (second leaf blank apart from a summary of the document), small closed tears on fold marks, mainly good condition. Witness signature indecipherable. Richmond wishes to peddle ice in Woburn, Mass. and surrounding towns.

Autograph Letter Signed ('G Denman') to his cousin Elphinstone, giving details of family history.

Author: 
George Denman (1819-1896), judge and politician [Sir Howard Craufurd Elphinstone (1829-1890), army officer]
Publication details: 
Undated. On letterhead of Stony Middleton, Sheffield.
£45.00

4to, 4 pp. Text clear and complete. On aged and grubby paper. Begins 'Our Uncle i.e. my uncle & yr gt uncle Thomas Elphinstone was born at Higher Efford, 3 miles from Plymouth he died on the 13th. of March 1821 at the age of 57'. Includes information told him by Milly Holloway. Describes a couple of the 'pranks' of 'Uncle Tom'. The connection between the two individuals and their families is not noted in their entries in the Oxford DNB.

Handbill headed 'Funeral Reform Conference. July 23, 1884. The Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., Presiding.', reporting Haden's views on 'the desirablilty of greater simplicity in the conduct of funerals'.

Author: 
Funeral Reform Conference, 1884 [London Necropolis Company; Seymour Haden]
Publication details: 
1884. Printer not stated.
£56.00

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with one dog-eared corner. Quoting Haden's views, which appear distinctly progressive. He finds the 'retention in a dwelling-house for as long as possible of a body, which ought to be committed to the earth as soon as possible', and the need for a 'strong coffin' great evils.

An Address on Temperance Societies.

Author: 
A FRIEND.' [Joseph Livesey, printer, Church-street, Preston, Lancashire; provincial printing; temperance societies]
Publication details: 
Undated [1850?]. Printed and Sold by J. Livesey, Church-street, Preston.
£65.00

12mo, 4 pp. Disbound bifolium. Text clear and complete. On aged and foxed paper, with some wear and chipping. 'The distillers, merchants, and dealers; the landlords, the brewers, and the owners of licensed houses - not to say the government itself - actuated by interested motives, have all done honour at the shrine of Bacchus; and when it is understood that about a million of persons are enriched or supported by this nefarious traffic, no wonder that the happy soil of England should be deluged with this liquid fire.' Following slug: '(1s. 4d.

Autograph Note in the third person, with signature ('Wrothsley') on frank.

Author: 
Sir John Wrothsley [Wrottesley; James Ridgeway, bookseller, Piccadilly, London]
Publication details: 
9 September 1835 [Doncaster].
£28.00

12mo, 1 p. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with thin strip of stub adhering to the reverse of the second leaf. Reads 'Sir John Wrothsley requests Mr. Ridgway will direct his Newspapers [corrected from 'Letters'] Post Office Scarborough. The frank reads 'Doncaster September ten 1835 | Mr. Ridgway | Piccadilly | London | [signed] Wrothsley'. Divided circular Doncaster postmark in black, and frank ('FREE | 11SEP11| 1835') in red.

"Description of a new Species of Agama, brought from the Columbia River by Mr. Douglass

Author: 
Thomas Bell
Publication details: 
From Trans.Linn. Soc.
£50.00

(Dentist and natural historian).Vol.xvi, pp.105-107, plate, sm. fol., sewn in blue wraps. INSCRIBED by the author: "J.G. Children Esqre [see DNB] with the Author's king regards". Perhaps never bound in to its volume. (Bell has also written the name of Children on the fr. cover.)

Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Madras.') to 'My dear Venables'.

Author: 
Frederick Gell (1820-1902), Anglican Bishop of Madras, India
Publication details: 
14 April 1871; 56 Friar Gate, Derby.
£85.00

12mo, 2 pp. 24 lines of text. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Laid down on a leaf from an album, in such a way as the first line of the second page can only be read in mirror image by holding the item up to the light. Marvellously indicative of the patronising attitude of the governing British classes to their Indian subjects. On visiting Venables he will 'venture to bring with me my native servant' who 'does not require much in the way of accommodation'. If Venables 'has no corner for him' in his house, asks if he can recommend 'a little room somewhere near'.

Autograph Note Signed ('Fred Slade') to 'My dear Bee'.

Author: 
Lt-Gen. Frederick George Slade (1851-1910), Royal Artillery, Assistant Adjutant-General, Woolwich Arsenal
Publication details: 
24 February 1899; on letterhead of the Chief Staff Office, Woolwich.
£38.00

12mo, 1 p. 6 lines. Clear and complete. Fair, on aged and slightly grubby paper, with strip of glue from mount on blank reverse, which has laid down on it a ten-line biographical newspaper cutting referring to Slade ('[...] one of the youngest major-generals on the Staff in the Army [...] His most recent appointment was that of Assistant Adjutant-General at Woolwich'). He is sending 'a missed lot of Soldiers autographs. Some that you already have may be useful in exchanging for others'.

Poems

Author: 
I. M. C.' [i.e. Isabella M. Cronyn] (Lady Couchman)
Publication details: 
Privately printed: The Westminster Press, 1942.
£25.00

Wife of railway engineer and administrator in India and Burma. Stitched 8vo pamphlet, in printed card wraps. In good condition. 16 pages.

Autograph Letter Signed by Wood to unnamed recipient, recalling the Manchester treason trial of Thomas Walker and five others, 1794.

Author: 
Ottiwell Wood, radical Manchester fustian manufacturer [Thomas Walker (1749-1817), Manchester radical; Treason Trial of 1794; Luddites; Luddism]
Publication details: 
8 January 1844; Edge hill.
£150.00

12mo, 3 pp. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged and creased paper. Wood begins by recalling 'the savage bigotry and infuriate hostility of the Manchestr. Tories at the time you mention towards the liberals'. He does not think an attempt was made to put the Oath of Allegiance to those on the recipient's list. 'The lives of 6-8 men of high Character and standing in the Town were placed in jeopardy by the perjury of two Villains and they were tried at Lancaster for either Treason or Sedition. I think for the former.

Manuscript notebook, listing the infantry regiments of the British army, with brief descriptions of their mottos, uniforms, and periods of service.

Author: 
[British Army Regiments of Foot; Infantry; military]
Publication details: 
Undated [1840s?]. [English.]
£125.00

12mo (leaf dimensions 16 x 11 cm), 60 pp. Stitched notebook of thirty leaves, without covers. In fair condition, aged and with wear to extremities of outer leaves. On laid Italian paper, with the watermark of the Italian firm G. & C. Cini. Neatly written, with the body of the writing in one hand, and the mottos in another. Text clear and apparently complete. Begins: '1st. Regiment of Life Guards. | Peninsular Waterloo. | Scarlet, Facings Blue. | Returned from France, January 1816.' A typical entry reads '58th. (the Rutlandshire) Regt. of Foot. | Gibraltar, with the Castle and Key.

Humorous pamphlet entitled 'Display of Knights in Tourney. Programme. 1. Jousting. 2. The two-handed Sword. 3. Melee with Battleaxes and Maces.'

Author: 
Ferozepore Brigade, Punjab [British Army in India; Firozpur; the Raj]
Publication details: 
Undated [early twentieth century]. Muir Press Brigade Printers, Ferozepore Area.
£45.00

4to (leaf dimensions 21.5 x 17.5 cm), 3 pp. Bifolium. On green paper. The central two pages carry a 'arms', 'motto' and 'biography' of each of the 'Dramatis Personae': 'Sir Attaboy de Walloper', 'Sir Kolynos Dent', 'Sir Bottholm Duster' and 'Sir Guinness Comme-Boisson'. The targets of this lighthearted satire are lost. Beside each character is an Indian name (the last being 'L/Def. Mohmed Sultan Khan'). There are also nine Indians named as playing herald, pages and varlets. No copy on COPAC.

Printed Voting Paper on behalf of the parliamentary candidate Alexander Beresford Hope, in the 'Cambridge University Election, 1868'. Complete with the perforated stub.

Author: 
[Cambridge University, General Election, 1868; Sir Alexander James Beresford Beresford Hope (1820-1887)]
Publication details: 
[Cambridge, 1868.]
£45.00

Printed on one side of a piece of green paper, 28 x 21.5 cm, with vertical perforated line 6.5 cm in from the left-hand margin, dividing the paper into stub (28 x 6.5 cm) and paper (28 x 15 cm). Clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged and creased paper, with slight wear to extremities. Part of blank reverse laid down on leaf removed from album. From the collection of William Done Bushell (1838-1917), who received his B.A. from St John's in 1861 (later assistant master and honorary chaplain at Harrow School).

Printed pamphlet issued by the General Post Office, London, titled 'AIR MAIL', with table giving details of postal rates and services to various countries.

Author: 
General Post Office, London; Air Mail ,1927 [airmail; British postal history]
Publication details: 
P.635. Issued, June, 1927.' ['B. & F., Ltd.']
£125.00

Large 8vo (33 x 21 cm), 6 pp. Four-leaf pamphlet, with the final leaf blank. Clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged and worn paper, with minor rust marks from removed staples. On the first page are twelve sections under the headings 'Letter Air Mails' and 'Parcel Air Mails'. The following four pages carry the table of 'Letter Air Mails', in columns with headings including Route, Air Fee, and Observations. The final page contains a table of 'Parcel Air Mails' and further observations.

Autograph Signature ('W E Gladstone') on frank, addressed to Guillemard at 11 Downing Street.

Author: 
William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), British Liberal Prime Minister [Sir Laurence Nunns Guillemard (1862-1951)]
Publication details: 
Without date.
£25.00

The front cover of the envelope, 9.5 x 12 cm, cut away and laid down on a ruled piece of paper cut from an autograph album. A little grubby, but good. Reads 'L N Guillemard Esq | 11 Downing St. | [signed] W E Gladstone'. Signature approximately 4.5 cm long, and underlined.

Autograph Letter Signed ('H. O. Coxe') to <Innes?>.

Author: 
Henry Octavious Coxe [H. O. Coxe] (1811-1881), Bodley's Librarian, 1860-1881 [The Bodleian Library, Oxford]
Publication details: 
16 January 1879; Bodleian Library.
£65.00

16mo, 3 pp. Bifolium. Thirteen lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged paper with heavy staining to outer pages. Clarifying the position regarding 'new editions with additions'. The Bodleian is entitled to copies of these, 'unless the additions are separate - then we can only claim the new matter'. Explains that the Library's 'agent in London', Eccles of Great Russell Street, 'receives for us, or collects, as it may be the of the Publishers'. Docketed in pencil in a contemporary hand on the blank reverse of the second leaf.

Le Bon Anglais Text de Roger Boutet de Monvel. Images de Guy Arnoux.

Author: 
Roger Boutet de Monvel; Guy Arnoux (1886-1951), French illustrator
Publication details: 
Chez Devambez 43 boulevard Malesherbes à Paris.
£165.00

Landscape 12mo (leaf dimensions 12 x 16 cm): 27 pp. Stitched with no jacket as issued. Covers a little grubby, but a good copy of a scarce item. Title page and twelve delightful full-page pochoir illustrations by Arnoux, all hand-coloured: 'En temps de Paix', 'Premier contact', 'Le sous-lieutenant', 'Les Indiens', 'Black-Watch', 'Le capitaine et l'infirmiere', 'Les Irlandais', 'Le Major', 'La Mascotte', 'Ship ahoy!!', 'Le bon Ecossais' and 'God save the King'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Stanley Buckmaster') to [F.] Meade[, Secretary, Official Press Bureau].

Author: 
Stanley Owen Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster (1861-1934), Liberal politician and Lord Chancellor [the Official Press Bureau; Great War; censorship]
Publication details: 
12 April 1915; on embossed government letterhead of the Official Press Bureau, Whitehall.
£35.00

12mo, 3 pp, 26 lines. Good, with tiny pin holes at head and foot of both leaves of the bifolium, and one corner roughened by removal of mount. Buckmaster has learnt that Meade is 'contemplating leaving [his] work in this Office', and would 'greatly regret any such step' as Meade's work is 'of great assistance and is much appreciated by all of us in this room'. While Buckmaster realises that there is little opportunity for advancement, he feels that 'we all do render considerable service to the state'.

Miscellaneous collection of drafts and notes, in manuscript and typescript, including short articles of reminiscences of his teachers and medical acquaintances.

Author: 
Nehemiah Asherson (1897-1989), English otorhinolaryngologist and Librarian of the Medical Society of London
Publication details: 
[Written between the 1960s and the 1980s?]
£180.00

Around 100 loose, disordered leaves, mostly A4, with autograph notes or typescript on one side only. In good condition. Includes jumbled sections of a monograph (unpublished?) on Sir William Macewen. Also a few notes on Morell Mackenzie, and complete short articles containing reminiscences of teachers and medical acquaintances, including Charles Coley Choyce, Hamilton Bailey, Girling Ball, Cuthbert Wallace. With Asherson's card, noting his 'Change of Address from 24th December, 1945' to 21 Harley Street.

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