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Author, Title, Summary	Price
Duke of Devonshire: Victor Cavendish (1868-1938), 9th Duke of Devonshire, Governor-General of Canada [Sir Courtenay Ilbert (1841-1924), Clerk of the House of Commons who drafted Indian ‘Ilbert Bill’] [The Duke of Devonshire: Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke.] Typed Letter Signed, inviting Sir Courtenay Ilbert to join a 'group of gentlemen' meeting 'to consider the future of the Law School at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield'. See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. In good condition, lightly aged and discoloured. Folded twice. The salutation ‘Dear Sir Courtenay’ and valediction ‘Yours v. truly / Devonshire’ in his autograph, the rest type. Addressed to ‘Sir Courtenay Ilbert, G.C.B.’ He is ‘hoping to arrange a...	£65.00
James Taylor (1788-1863), banker and writer on finance, senior partner in the banking firm James Taylor & Co, brother of John Taylor (1781-1864), London publisher with firm Taylor & Hessey [James Taylor, banker and writer on finance.] Autograph Letter Signed to R. S. MacKenzie of Chesterfield, regarding a magazine article, a report, plans for his return to London, and pamphlets he is sending. Taylor is noticed in his brother’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. On first leaf of bifolium, the second leaf carrying the address (‘R. S. MacKenzie Esqr / Chesterfield’), and a seal in black wax, beneath which is a corner of the leaf, cut away in opening the letter, the leaf also being...	£65.00
Adam Black (1784-1824), Scottish bookseller, publisher and Whig politician, partner with his nephew Charles in the Edinburgh firm A. & C. Black [Adam Black, Scottish bookseller, publisher and Whig politician.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Maurice’, i.e. his brother-in-law Maurice Lothian, regarding a document, 'proprietors', 'Mr Bruce' and 'Dymock'. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 16mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and ruckled. Addressed to ‘Dear Maurice’ and signed ‘A Black’. For Lothian see ‘Memoirs of Adam Black’ (1885). He asks him to ‘glance at the inclosed’: ‘The description appears to me abundantly broad. And I hope to get...	£80.00
[Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854), Irish antiquary] [Thomas Moore (1779-1852), Irish poet and friend of Lord Byron] Thomas Crofton Croker, Irish antiquary.] The long first part of an Autograph Letter to ‘Mr. Croker’ [unidentified], regarding the life of the poet Thomas Moore, whom he claims exhibits a ‘love for falsification upon all matters’. An interesting letter regarding the man who was regarded as Ireland's national poet before the appearance of William Butler Yeats. See Croker’s entry, and that of Thomas Moore, in the Oxford DNB. The former contains a paragraph discussing the association between the two men, the conclusion of...	£280.00
Alfred Perceval Graves (1846-1931), Anglo-Irish poet, songwriter and folklorist, father of poet and critic Robert Graves [Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright, editor of Punch; Shirley Brooks] [Alfred Perceval Graves, Anglo-Irish poet, father of Robert Graves.] Autograph Letter Signed to Tom Taylor, with news of parliament, an Irish humorous story, a 'treble anagram' and in hopes of meeting with Shirley Brooks, editor of Punch. See his entry, those of his sons Philip and Robert, and that of Taylor, in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on discoloured and lightly-worn paper. Addressed to ‘My Dear Mr Taylor’ and signed ‘Alfred P. Graves’. He begins by enquiring after the state of the recipient’s...	£180.00
[Charlotte Bronte; John Alexander Symington (1887-1961), literary editor; E. F. Benson [Edward Frederic Benson] (1867-1940); Thomas James Wise (1859-1837), book collector and forger; C. W. Hatfield] [Charlotte Bronte ‘did not always tell the truth’ and guilty of ‘deceit’.] Copy of Typed Letter to E. F. Benson [from her editor John Alexander Symington], criticising her, with reference to C. W. Hatfield and T. J. Wise. See the various entries in the Oxford DNB. Typed carbon copy. 1p, foolscap 8vo. Text complete, on aged piece of carbon paper, worn and chipped at edges. No signature. Addressed at foot to ‘E. F. Benson Esq.’ Thirty-one lines of text. He begins by stating that Benson, in his ‘work on Charlotte...	£450.00
Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright, editor of Punch, Times art critic; Kate Josephine Crowe (1842-1917), actress, daughter of American-born actress Sidney Bateman (1823-1881), lessee of Sadler's Wells [Tom Taylor and Sadler’s Wells.] Autograph Letter Signed to Taylor from Kate Crowe ('Miss Kate Bateman'), regarding the address he has written for her to recite at the reopening of Sadler's Wells, with pencil notes on Lord Burleigh by Taylor. The present item is on a 12mo bifolium of light gray paper, with Kate Crowe’s letter on the two outer pages, and Tom Taylor’s unrelated pencil notes on the two inner pages. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. There is an engraved portrait of ‘Miss Kate Bateman’, with a long biographical...	£180.00
The Abdication Crisis, 1936: Sir Osbert Sitwell [Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet] (1892-1969) [King Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson; Abdication, 1936; Cavalcade] [The Abdication Crisis, 1936: Sir Osbert Sitwell.] Mimeographed copy, marked ‘Private’, of the unexpurgated version of the satirical poem ‘RAT WEEK. / by Osbert Sitwell’, the cause of a legal action with ‘Cavalcade’. See Sitwell’s entry in the Oxford DNB. In his 1999 biography Philip Ziegler describes how the ‘doggerel polemic Rat Week’ ‘excoriated’ the supporters of the Edward VII and Mrs Simpson: ‘Osbert realised that this diatribe, if published, might land him in a flurry of libel actions, but he could...	£180.00
St John Ervine [pseudonym of John Greer Irvine (1883-1971)], Ulster playwright and novelist [St John Ervine [pseudonym of John Greer Irvine], Ulster playwright and novelist.] Typed Letter Signed to Miss Esther Boyer, declining to respond to a 'cub reporter'. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. On worn and aged paper, with L-shaped closed tear at left-hand edge. Folded for postage. Addressed to her at Bebington in the Wirral. Loose, smudged signature ‘St John Ervine’. He thanks her for her ‘letter and its enclosure, which I return. If I were...	£56.00
Sir Edward Grey [Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon] (1862-1933), First World War Foreign Secretary [Lady Jessie Ilbert [née Bradley] (1850-1924), wife of Sir Courtenay Ilbert (1841-1924)] [Sir Edward Grey [Viscount Grey of Fallodon, First World War Foreign Secretary.] Autograph Note Signed to Lady Ilbert, wife of the Clerk of the Commons. See the entries on Grey and Lady Ilbert's husband (who was Clerk of the Commons) in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. In an elegant hand. Reads: '15. 2. 15 / Dear Lady Ilbert / Many thanks: I shall be very glad to dine on Wednesday / Yours sincerely / E Grey...	£35.00

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