MANUSCRIPT

The letter announces the transfer to Berlin of 'Monsieur de Wagner', London Chargé d'Affaires of the the Kingdom of Württemberg, resident at 42 Alpha Place, Regent's Park. The recipient Sir John Coxe Hippisley, whom George III had described as a 'busy man' and 'grand intriguer', had retired from public life two years previously, but was clearly still involved in diplomatic affairs. 2pp, 4to. Bifolium. Forty-one lines of neatly-written text, addressed to 'Sir J C Hippisley Bart. | Lower Grosvenor Street.' On aged and worn paper, with short closed tears at edges of folds.

1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. He thanks him for his letter of the previous day, and looks forward to seeing him on the Monday 'at the “Shakespeare Head Press” about 11.20 (and afterwards to the pleasure of your company at lunch)'. With the envelope, addressed to 'F. A. H. Eyles, Esq. | “The Observer” Office, | Newton Street, | High Holborn, W.C'.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Aged and grubby; folded several times. Reads: 'I am sorry to say I do not know Mr Alexander or would have been very pleased to give your friend an introduction to him. | Hoping you are well – with kind regards. | Yours sincerely | Decima Moore'.

A total of 12pp, 12mo. On bifoliums. All addressed to 'Dear Shuttleworth'. In good condition, lightly aged. A curious feature of the four letters is that the handwriting of each differs from the others. ONE: 7 April 1880. Trevelyan condoles with Shuttleworth, who has lost his Hastings seat in the General Election. He states that he is 'so heartily disgusted' with Shuttleworth's constituents, adding 'The loss, most temporary I feel sure, to the House will be very sensible, and I shall sorely miss you as a friend.

14 + [1]pp, 8vo. Stapled eight-leaf pamphlet. Publishers' slug on reverse of final leaf. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Scarce: no copy at the British Library, and the only copy located on OCLC WorldCat at Princeton. A pleasing memento of a grand affair, attended by a host of dignitaries, including Princess Margaret, the Prince of Wales (who read the first lesson) and Betjeman's publisher John Murray (who read the second lesson).

Total of 7pp, 12mo. All in good condition, lightly aged and worn. Each folded once. All signed 'Percy Anderson'. ONE: 12 March 1912. Begins: 'Your properties are quite splendid.' He thanks Clarkson and his assistant for the trouble they have taken 'over the “M[?]”'. Ends: 'I thought everything as good as it cd be – I refer to yr work of course'. TWO: 31 December [1912]. He thanks him for his 'delightful' card, and for 'yr. good wishes & for the tickets you so kindly send me for The Miracle.

Despite the four years (1840-1844) Howitt spent in the colony with his brother the entomologist Godfrey Howitt (1800-1873), the present letter has nothing to do with Australia. The letter is addressed to the editors of 'The Aurora Borealis: A Literary Annual edited by Members of the Society of Friends'. This periodical was the work of a group of Quakers in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with George Atley Brumell (1800-1877) one of the founding editors. Another of those involved was Joseph Watson (1807-1874), named in the letter's address.

See Sams's entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. On a bifolium, the second leaf of which has had a rectangle, almost amounting to half, cut away from the bottom. The text of the letter is complete, but the priced list of the prints and drawings on the last page, lacks the lower half. A long letter, closely written. Signed 'J. Sams.' Aged, worn and lightly stained, but nevertheless in passable condition. The recipient, saluted as 'Esteemed Friend', is not named.

On one side of 4.5 x 10.5 cm piece of paper, cut from end of letter for autograph hunter. In good condition, lightly aged. Reads: 'Believe me, dear Mr Browne | Yours very sincerely | Katharine Tynan Hinkson | Robert Browne Esq.'

2pp, 12mo; and 1p, 8vo. On a bifolium, with the 8vo page written lengthwise across the central pages. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Signed 'Percy Anderson.' According to a pencil note Broadhurst was Beerbohm Tree's 'press agent'. He has received Broadhurst's letter late the same night, and begins by informing him that he cannot go to Covent Garden the following day as he will be with a sitter.

3pp, 4to. Bifolium, addressed, with postmarks, on reverse of second leaf, 'to | Mr Johnson | Zoological Gardens | Regents Park | or Wellington Cottage | Wellington Place | Camden Town'. In good condition, lightly aged, with paper repairs last leaf. Folded several times.

See the appreciative entry on Buckstone by Donald Roy in the Dictionary of National Biography. Interesting and informative letters, shedding vivid light on the day-to-day workings of early-Victorian theatre, written by a leading London actor-manager and dramatist and sent to a provincial actor-manager, regarding the arrangement of engagements, benefits, and plays. Of particular interest is the fourth letter, which refers to Mrs Fitzwilliam [Fanny [Frances Elizabeth] Fitzwilliam, née Copeland] (1801-1854), with whom Buckstone toured New Orleans and the South, c. 1840-1841. Five items.

See Sams's entry in the Oxford DNB. Two letters providing an interesting glimpse of the practicalities of Victorian antiquarian bookselling. Both letters 3pp, 12mo, and bifoliums addressed on reverse of second leaf, with broken seals and postmarks, to 'Godfrey Meynell Esqre | at Mr Stamp's, | Surgeon, | Seaton Carew, | nr Hartlepool.' Both addressed to 'Respected Frd.' In fair condition, aged and worn. ONE: 15 August 1847. He begins by explaining that he was 'from home in the city of Durham' when Meynell's letter came.

The Earl's wife was a mistress of Lord Byron. Her infidelities let to her children being jokingly referred to as 'The Harleian Miscellany'. 1p, 4to. Heavily aged and worn, with spike hole at centre. Folded several times. 'Sir | As Naples is now open for the English I beg you will send the Carriage to Naples for me by the first Ship that Sails from England for that Country. We are going there immediately. & shall [the]refore want it. I hope therefore you will lose no time in sending it. I will thank you to call on Wh.

1p, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, with negligible traces from mount adhering to corners on blank reverse. A nice piece of Cambridge University ephemera. A crisply-printed circular, addressed to 'SIR', evidently sent to the electors for the University of Cambridge. Seventeen lines of text. He explains that when he first 'heard of the death of our late Representative, Mr.

The full title reads: 'Can Hiraethlon | David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr,) | Pan yn Garcharor yng Nghaerfyrddin, am y Terfysg yn amser Becca. | Cenir ar y dôn “Roslin Castle.'” The title may be translated as 'A nostalgic song, written when a prisoner in Carmarthen, for the riot in Becca's time. | Sung to the tune of 'Roslin Castle'. 4pp, 12mo (15.5 x 9 cm). Paginated [1]-4. Disbound. A frail survival: aged and worn, with damp-stain along one edge. Beneath the title is a small vignette of a sailing ship, and at the end of the final page is another of a crown. Poem in four sixteen-line stanzas.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Lee and his wife held regular festivals of 'Peace and Temperance' in the grounds at Hartwell, and he writes that he hopes Ransome has received the prospectus of the festival which he sent him. He and his wife would be pleased were Ransome to attend, and he offers him 'a Bed in our house, or to secure one for you in Aylesbury'. In a postscript he states: 'If you cannot come or your Brother; I hope that you will send some delegate, or MP. to represent Ipswich at our peaceful Congress'.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Neatly and closely written. At the end of the letter Lee names the recipient as 'Miss May | Carr Street | Ipswich'. (She was the daughter of Quaker astronomer Charles May, a partner in the firm of civil engineers Ransomes and May.) Lee begins by stating that he and his wife 'are anxious to come to Ipswich on tuesday the first of July in order to attend the meeting of the British Association of Science'.

1p, 12mo. Aged and creased, with closed tears and chipping repaired on reverse with archival tape. Reads: 'Dear Dr Hodgson. | Could you kindly send me your paper & speech on Edn. of Girls. We are waiting for it now & very anxious to finish up. | Yours sincerely | Isa Craig.'

Campbell was Librarian of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, and Chief Director of the Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. Neatly and closely written. In good condition, lightly aged. The recipient ('Cher Monsieur') is not named, but the context of the letter identifies him the London publisher and bookseller Basil Montagu Pickering, who in 1874 published 'Calcoen, A Dutch narrative of the Second Voyage of Vasco da Gama to Calicut, Printed at Antwerp circa 1504', edited by Jean Philibert Berjeau (1809-1891).

For Brodrick's distinguished and eventful career, see his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, folio. In fair condition, aged and worn, with chipping to one edge carrying traces of grey paper mount, and closed tear at foot repaired on reverse with archival tape. Addressed at bottom left 'To the Honle: Board of Ordnance'. Reads: 'Gentlemen | I wrote you the 7th Inst: to desire that you would please to appoint an Armorer for his Majestys Ship the Phoenix under my Command and now that I am going to Longreach and my Smallarms Coming on Board I beg you Will appoint for me'. Endorsed: 'answer'd 26 August'.

The signatures feature with no other text on a single page, on one side of a 15 x 18 cm leaf of thickish cream paper removed from an album. In fair condition, aged, and dusty, with slight pinkish-red staining on edges, and not near any of the signatures. The signatories are: 'Hugh Walpole', 'Dunsany' [Lord Dunsany], 'Alec Waugh/', 'V S Pritchett', 'Lionel Hale.', 'Norman Collins', 'Philip Jordan' [Philip Furneaux Jordan (1902-1951), journalist and author], 'A. G. Macdonell.', 'Ivor Brown', 'J. B. Priestley', 'C. S. Forester'.

2pp, 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. At the time of writing Arnaud was delighting audiences at the Lyric in her first leading role, that of 'Suzanne' in the musical 'The Girl in the Taxi'. Good firm signature. She writes: 'Cher Monsieur | Thanks [sic] you very much for your nice letter. Certainly I will go to Mess. Foulsham and Banfield for a picture, perhaps next week, and then, when they will be ready I give you one with great pleasure. | Mes bien sincères salutations.

On one side of an 8 x 10 cm piece of paper. Aged and worn, with light offsetting from another document. The two signatures (both 'A. E. Cockburn') are at the right hand corners. The verdict and sentence ('Guilty | 6 Mo. Imprisonment') are written between two lines centred at the left-hand margin. The purport of the document is unclear: it may be that the judge was required to record the verdict and sentence in this way for the clerk of the court.

The four-line Latin poem in this letter by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe (better known as Sir Stratford Canning and cousin of Prime Minister George Canning) is apparently unknown, and certainly unpublished. The letter is 3pp, 16mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice.

1p, 16mo. On 14 x 11 cm piece of paper, with margins apparently cut down. Aged, and with slight damage to two words of text caused by removal from mount.At the time of writing Faucit's successful career had been interrupted by the recurrence of a lung condition, necessitating recuperation at a seaside resort. She has evidently asked Talfourd to contribute to an autograph album, soliciting the following response: 'Mr.

Four closely-written pages, 12mo, bifolium, good+ condition. He is about to leave England after a long and arduous stay, and reviews the current situation as he finds it - antagonism of the Anti-Slavery Society, support of Thomas Clarkson, favourable statistics, his principles and credo, new colony, etc etc.

1p, 12mo. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'J. M. Muller Esq'. In fair condition, lightly aged, with closed tear along one of the two folds and slight creasing at foot, with a panel lacking from the second leaf. The recipient Johann Martin Muller published a few piece of music in Edinburgh in the 1840s.

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with remains of stub adhering to edge on reverse. Folded twice. He begins by apologising that his 'occupations during the winter' have prevented him from seeing the unnamed recipient. If he is 'disengaged next Friday', Napier will be happy to see him 'at dinner at six o'clock, to meet a small party'. Laid down at the foot of the last page is a newspaper cutting of an article titled 'Death of Professor Napier'.

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. She writes that she will be 'happy to sing the following songs on the 16th inst', and lists pieces by Meyerbeer, Linley and Mendelsohn, as well as 'Scotch song “Bonnie Dundee”'. In a postscript she writes: 'After tomorrow may I trouble you to address me at Dilstone [i.e. Dilston, Northumberland]'. Endorsed on second leaf: 'Sans date | Miss Charlotte H. Dolby | Will be happy to sing the within mentioned songs &c'.