Book Trade History

Octavo: 28 pp. Stabbed. In original blue printed wraps. Advertisements on back. On browning high-acidity paper, in chipped and worn wraps with damp staining to edges at rear. 298 items. Items 95-141: 'Signers of the Declaration of Independence and Presidents of the United States.' Scarce: no copy on COPAC, which does record one copy of a catalogue of a sale of Morrell's books by the same firm in 1866, and two copies of a catalogue of a further sale in 1869.

(Letters) Total thirteen pages (13), 8vo; (List) Total five (5) pages, 4to.

One page. Dimensions of paper roughly six and a half inches by eight wide. Spotted, aged and creased, and with some closed tears. Addressed to Wreden at 'Box 56, Palo Alto, Cal., U.S.A.' For '3 reg'd bookpost parcels', and headed 'Hodgson's Sale 25th Nov. 1954'. Lots 204 and 205 purchased for a total of £27 9s 9d, including an apparent commission of 15% on an item under ten pounds, and 10% on one over that sum. Items ('French Documents & Autograph Letters' and 'Autograph Letters from Lord Brougham and contemporaries') described in nine lines.

Quarto: 40 pp. In original printed wraps, decorated with various facsimiles. Facsimiles in text, and portrait of Beethoven on rear inner wrap. Good, on browned paper. Sections on painters, writers, poets, architects, sculptors, musicians. Nods towards the American market, with some entries in English and Dollar conversions. Together with Nebehay's attractive bifoliate trade card, carrying a photograph of his premises.

Quarto: 50 + [2] pp. Fold-out frontispiece giving eighteen examples of handwriting from items in the catalogue. In original orange printed wraps. Good, though a tad dusty, and in worn and faded wraps with some glue staining to back and wear to spine. Well printed, with lengthy extracts from most items. A scrap of paper which acts as a bookmark has the words "Listed Walpole entries to W.S. Lewis || Nov 1953" in Winifeed Myers [?] hand (from her reference library). The first item is 'A Series of Pencil Sketches by George Cattermole, illustrating Dickens' Works' (£60).

[58]pp., 4to, printed wraps, three errata slips (one ascribing errors - mainly omission of prices - to Davey's illness during the catalogue's preparation), some prices absent from printed text and errata leaves added in pencil, spine damaged, edges of covers dusted, corners bumped, slight hinge strain, contents mainly good. Highlights include Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Chatterton, "A Unique Collection of Letters from Frederick the Great to Voltaire", and "a Collection of Distinguished American Names".

One page, 12mo. Very good with light creasing. She thanks him for the list of autographs, out of which she is interested in four: those of Macready, Gordon Craig, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. '[T]he signature you could not decipher is "Alma Tadema" '.

Printed postcard with manuscript additions, minor defects. The printed heading describes him as ""The Autograph King. Unchallenged. Owner of the largest collection of Modern Autographs in the World", lists the Exhibitions at which he has displayed his stock, and adds his address and a request to the recipient to write their autograph ("Request Register No. [17861]". The recipient of this was Philip Yale Drew who added "Young Buffalo" to his full clear signature on the reverse. In this same year, 1929, Drew had been arrested as a suspect in the the murder of tobacconist, Alfred Oliver.

135pp., printed wraps, soiled and chipped, contents good. It commences with "The Famous Manuscript Account of the Voyages of Columbus Written by Andres Bernaldez . . ."

12mo, 3 pp, 35 lines. Good, on lightly aged paper, and with a thin strip from mount adhering at head of blank verso of second leaf of bifolium. Discusses 'the restriction on the importation of paper and paper making materials', imposed 'with the object of securing more tonnage space in incoming vessels'.

The material is loosely sewn together and not bound, much marking and chipping but little textual loss. There is an interchange of information, the main drive being antiquarian material concerning Sir Michael Stanhope, however remote the connection, some elicited by a request for information in "Notes & Queries".Twenty-one autograph letters, most extensive, signed from antiquaries, many distinguished: Robert Lemon, archivist (DNB) (1), George R. Corner, antiquary (DNB) (9), "Mr Sage" (enclosed in letter from King - and TO H.W. King - but signature cut off: "E.J.

Invoice, one page, 4to, minor defects, seeks payment for "Sorting & arranging a Collection of Autographs & Letters, by an Expert, with very great care . . . [£8.8s] Mounting & Guarding nearly 400 Letters, as arranged, Paper for Mounting & carefully guarding the same | Binding the collection in 9 vols 4to. & impl. 4to. in large morocco lettered [£12.12]." Bernard Quaritch has signed the receipt. With a printed receipt completed in manuscript, signed "Bernard Quaritch" (printed), one page, 8vo, good condition, acknowledging the receipt of £5.9.0 from "Mrs Madeleine Dale.

Two pages, quarto. Very good. With traces of blue paper mount adhering to addressed verso of second leaf of bifolium. Dawson Turner having declined to buy a collection on the grounds that it is 'wholly out of his line of collecting', Russell now offers it to Thompson. They are 'not so interesting' as he anticipated when he 'bought them at an auction without looking at them till they were on the table'. Gives details of the purchase and describes the volumes, estimating their cost in binding.

One page, octavo. Good, on lightly creased and aged paper, with a little wear at foot. Purple ink. He thanks him 'for Cheque safely to hand for the Autograph Album. There is no question abot the Collection being a genuine one.' Details the provenance from the artist H. W. Pickersgill, to Charles Kingsley, to Kingsley's brother. 'I bought the Vol at the latters sale -'. He will send the two letters 'and the Kingslake in the morning'. He has been 'laid up ill for some days'.

12mo bifolium: 2 pp. On laid paper, with strip from previous mount in right-hand margin of recto of first leaf. Good, with a little wear at gutter, and slight damage (not affecting text) to second leaf from breaking open of red wax seal, parts of which still adhere. Twenty-two lines of text, clear and entire. Smith's uncle 'Mr ' is 'very glad to hear that you are well & desires to be remembered'. Asks if Smith has 'ever found me a portrait of Sr yet'.

12mo: 1 p. Good, with four fold lines. Helps held the post of Clerk of the Privy Council from 1860 until his death. In large letters beneath the oval blue Privy Council crest reads 'Life of | Las Casas | 2 copies for | [signature] A Helps'. The handwriting is bold and the signature is underlined with a flourish.

8vo: 1 p. Good, with creasing towards right-hand margin. 'Very many thanks, my dear Williams, for your most kind congratulations. I feel that my honour is some recognition of the publishing trade & I take it as such'. Murray was created KCVO in 1932, following his publication of the ninth and final volume of the letters of Queen Victoria.

12mo: 2 pp. Very good. Relates to the photographic series 'English Artists of the present day', published by Seeley with accompanying essays 'by J. B. Atkinson, S. Colvin, F. G. Stephens, T. Taylor, and J. L. Tupper'. He is sending 'a copy of No. 3. The other we count as a presentation copy.' 'The Woolner photo. will I hope not be thought so bad by those who have not seen Elliott & Fry's. I was glad to find this morning that it had not struck Mr.

vi, 126 p., 1 l : plates (partly fold.) facsim, covers worn and soiled, weat and tear to the deckle-edges, hinge strain, contents complete and clear. Printed by the Chiswick Press. From the Reference Library of (Albert) Winifred Myers, autograph-dealer, note by a company hand inserted with basic details of the catalogue and the price "15/-" crossed out. Note (introductory remarks): "...

12mo: 1 p. Good. Purple receipt stamp in top left-hand corner. 'Lord Salisbury requests Messrs. Williams & Norgate to send him Harnack's "Die Chronologie der Altchristlichen Literatur bis Eusebius". Also another volume he published 3 or 4 years ago on the same subject - the "Geschichte".' One presumes that the present British Prime Minister is equally cultured.

12mo: 1 p. On discoloured paper with wear at head and traces of previous mount adhering to blank reverse. He sent the publishers Chatto & Windus her novel the previous Monday, 'begging them to write to you on the matter, and giving your work my best recommendation'. He has not heard anything from them himself, but expects it will 'take a week or two, before they can give an opinion'. The recipient may be Edith Nesbit, although this is unlikely as Nesbit was her maiden name. She became Edith Bland in 1880. None of her works appear to have been published by Chatto & Windus.

12mo, 1 p, 17 lines. Very good. He has been 'from home visiting here & there', and has returned to 'a mass of correspondence which is perfectly appalling'. He is sorry she 'sent back the book', as he meant her 'to keep it in perpetuity'. 'The recent work which finds most favour with the public is Lord Cockburn's Memorials. It is entertaining but not in all respects accurate. It is however worth reading & will serve to beguile a winter's evening.

Both items quarto. On worn, discoloured paper, with a couple of closed tears to the folds. Pertwee was the author of numerous anthologies for recitation, and these letters presumably relate to his 'Reciter's treasury of prose and drama: serious and humorous' (Routledge, 1904). TLS: 'Provided, of course, that Messrs. Routledge have actually agreed with you to publish the book of humorous prose recitations, I shall be very willing to allow you to reprint any one of the stories the titles of which I give below.

3pp., 8vo, bifolium, grubby, creased, ink-smudge, part of second leaf cut off, cride repairs but text clear and complete, but in a difficult (hasty?) hand. As far as I can tell he says: "My dear Mr Palmer | I have been dining here with Mr [Sturd], I told him that I was writing a tale, which wd be a sequel to Mr Walker's "3 months" & something else besides, he said he thought you wd not object to print & publish it. I was afraid to ask you, thinking it wd do you harm, even if your kindness wd not let you refuse me.

12mo: 2 pp. Good, with thin strip of glue and grey paper from previous mounting adhering at foot of reverse (not affecting text). While it is possible that Howell may have given 'Mr. Gill' [tMichael Henry Gill, later of McLashan & Gill?] 'letters [of introduction]' when he 'went to New York ten or fifteen years ago', it is unlikely.

Letter One (12mo: 4 pp, to 'My dear Mr Nichols', good, on discoloured paper): Explains that he has given 'a note of introduction to a most particular friend of mine Mr Lawrence of Ipplepen near Totnes and Launceston Cornwall'. Lawrence 'was a great friend of the late Mr Arundel of Landulph' and is 'a great friend of Mr Bray of Tavistock'. He is 'a man of ancient Cornish descent & from its first families'. Spence thinks Nichol will find Lawrence 'a valuable West Country Correspondent, well up in County history and nothing loth in the pursuit of antiquarian lore[.

12mo: 1 p. On discoloured paper, ruckled and with traces of glue from previous mounting on reverse. He is returning 'the account of the Burns Volume' which accompanied his correspondent's letter of 8 October. 'It does not suit me to purchase it, as I have already other & more important memorials of Burns.'

12mo: 1 p. On discoloured paper slightly damaged in one corner (not affecting text) by breaking of wafer. Second leaf of bifolium carrying address and postmarks. He received Fuller's letter containing a bill of twenty pounds from his brother. 'All here join in best love to you and believe me Ever Yrs.' Addressed to 'John Fuller Esqr. Junr. | Clement Lane | Lombard St. | London | [signed] Hans Sloane'. Circular frank in red ink, 'FREE'. Postmarked in black 'SOUTH | AMPTON'. Third circular postmark in black in two parts.

8vo: 2 pp. Good, on lightly-aged laid paper with slight chipping and glue stain at head (not affecting text). A formal letter written in English in the third person. He asks them to send 'another form [for him to write his entry in 'Who's Who'] to be filled up [...] The first one sent was mislaid on leaving London'. Deichman was the subject of a 'Spy' cartoon ('Vanity Fair', 14 May 1903: 'He wears curious hats'), in which he is shown driving a coach.

8vo: 4 pp. Good. Difficult handwriting. He wants him to keep the cheque, which he considers 'only a compromise between our different expectations'. 'I know that you deserve the larger sum that you spoke of - but it is a tight squeeze to make the & expenses for the year of the New Englander come out even, and I do the best I can.' With seven-line postscript.