AUTOGRAPH

4 pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 73 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. Hood returned to England from Ostend in 1840, moving into Devonshire Lodge after trying other lodgings. A fine letter, informative, energetic and moving. Jane begins by thanking Mrs Elliot for the 'kind present to my Tom [the couple's son Thomas Hood the younger (1835-1874)]': 'I only wish you could have seen the happy boy - how proud he was - and indeed is, of his new appearance - he sends his love & best thanks. I am sorry to say he does not yet write a readable letter'.

2 pp, 4to. Forty lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of mount adhering to blank areas of the reverse of the leaf. A playful, jaunty letter containing valuable personal and family information. He was pleased to learn from 'Mr Shaw of Lees (who desires his complimts)' that the recipient is 'not only in the land of the living, but in the business of the Excise, and still raps at the ends of Barrels, and takes dimensions of bungs & diameters as usual'. Asks after his wife, and 'how long you had been a Cheshire man'.

2 pp, 4to. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with slight wear to extremities. On one leaf, with both sides ruled with red borders. In Payne's neat and distinctive hand, and attributed to him in pencil at head.

On one side of piece of paper approximately 18 x 8.5 cm. Neatly placed in a windowpane mount of laid paper, 25 x 20 cm. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Written in a clear, firm hand: 'John Hunter LL.D. | Profr. of Humanity | St. Andrews. | Fife.' Beneath this, along the foot of the page, in a small hand (identified in note on mount as 'The writing of Dr Dick, author of "The Christian Philosopher &c'): 'Dr Hunter is about 90 years of age, and still retains his bodily & mental vigour | This Autograph was written in Feby. 1834. T. D.'

[iv] + 39 + 7 pp, with a further 17 pp loosely inserted at back (making a total of 67 pp), 4to. Good, in maroon plastic folder. Preface followed by list of 'Past Officers, Roster of Members, etc.', 'Chronology of The Old Book Table [1931-1970]' and 'Alphabetical List of Guests 1933-1970'. The loose leaves mainly consist of 'Extracts from the Minutes: 1931-1954'. The preface begins: 'Five members of the antiquarian booktrade in New York City met for a friendly dinner on the night of 9 January 1931. They were: Ernest R. Gee, a leading specialist in sporting and color plate books; E.

All three items are on stubs, within a card wallet. All good, on aged paper. Letter One: 'Weston Green 10th: July'. 1 p, 4to. On bifolium, with verso of second leaf addressed to 'Mr: Whitaker | St: Pauls Church Yard | London', with two postmarks (one 'KINGSTON - T | 12'), and docketed 'Mr; T.

2 pp, 4to. 25 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of stub still adhering to one margin. Addressed to 'Dear Mother'. He is displeased with his aunt, but pleased that his mother is 'so much better'. He goes to Hatton (where Parr had set up a school in 1786) on the Tuesday, 'with the Dr: [i.e. Parr] who desires his Compts. I went with him last night to see Mrs. Siddons who he likes very much.

1 p, landscape 12mo (18.5 x 11.5 cm). Eleven long lines in a small neat hand. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. Tipped in onto a piece of paper, 21 x 13 cm. The reference to Melmoth's 'advanced Age' is at the foot of the page. Docketed on reverse in a contemporary hand: 'From Mr. Melmoth to Mrs. Walters'. Begins: 'Believe me, my very dear Sophia, I am so truely [sic] your obedient servant in every affectionate & friendly sense of those terms, that there is no office in which you can employ me I shd.

Both items in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper, each with slight trace of paper label at spine. Letter One: 3 pp, 12mo. Docketed at head of first page '1 Dec/88.' and 'The Explorer of Thibet [sic]'. He thanks him 'for the Card of the St Botolph Club' and will try to go there the following day. He has 'so many things to do' that he is not sure he will be able to stay there long. Letter Two: 4 pp, 12mo. Docketed beneath address '6 January 89.', and beneath signature 'The traveller in Thibet [sic]'. Thanking him for the 'note and cheque', and hoping that the sketch arrived safely.

4 pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 89 lines. Text clear and complete. She begins by apologising for the delay in sending an autograph: 'In atonement I give you Anthony Trollope's signature, which perhaps you have not got.' Reports that they 'went to the Italian lakes this summer. We aimed at Venice but gave it up because of the cholera.' She regrets that the recipient's 'friends book & chart do not prosper. Mr Bowes (the Macmillan of the shop) thought the chart a good plan and likely to succeed, except that the size would be against it'.

4 pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 63 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Difficult hand. He thanks him for 'the Statistical Tables', admitting with 'some shame' that he needs 'an interpreter for part of the tables on page 68'. Describes the problem in detail, and discusses 'the sly remark that "the change is being made quite as abruptly as would be safe".

On one side of a piece of paper approximately 18.5 x 6.5 cm, neatly cut from a letter. Laid down on a piece of 22.5 x 28 cm paper, and with a border drawn around it. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Reads: 'We have been most kindly & hospitably received by every body & I find such a variety of character & even of incident (of a political kind) that I rejoice exceedingly at having come here in the first instance. We still propose leaving this on the 1st. of Feby., Charleston on the 1st. of March, & New Orleans on the 1st.

1 p, folio. On grey paper. Fair, on aged paper, with slight spotting and chipping to extremities affecting a few words of text. A whole page of the manuscript, numbered '9' and written entirely in Reid's hand, with a few minor emendations by him, from Chapter XXVI, 'Treed by an Alligator'. Begins with the reported speech: '"That would be anything but pleasant - perhaps more so [last word emended from 'unpleasant'] to those who are waiting for us, than to ourselves.

Totalling 5 pp, 4to. All texts clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. He begins the first letter 'I am venturing to address you on the assumption that you are the son of the revered singer DAME EMMA ALBANI, and most sincerely trust that my letter may not come amiss.' Harvey is writing an article for Albani's centenary the following year 'for Sir Compton Mackenzie's magazine The Gramophone - for November, 1952' and is 'very anxious to obtain definite details of the two UNPUBLISHED Records which Madame ALBANI made for The Gramophone Company in 1904', of which he gives the details.

Galitzin's letter: 1 p, 4to. 13 lines. Text clear and complete. On lightly-aged paper with a few pinholes to one corner. Signed 'Georges Galitzin'. He writes regarding the course of action to be taken if, 'par un hasard qelconque ou par conviction M. Tey [i.e. Gye] se refusait a me ceder son theatre pour le concert que je veux donner au profit de la souscription Garibaldi'. The draft of Gye's reply is 1 p, 12mo, docketed on the reverse 'Monsieur le Prince Gaelzin [sic] | 52 Porchester Terrace Bayswater' | June 1 1860'. It is written in French in the third person. 11 lines.

1 p, 4to. Bifolium. Sixteen lines, neatly written. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'W. Hayley Esqre.' He begins by thanking him for 'the kind memorial' (a volume of music?); the gift expresses Hayley's 'sense of common civility' and acquaints Boaden 'with a composer of great merit'. 'I tried the effect of his divine art yesterday, Sunday, and could not but wish to hear it from the organ at Chichester'. The rest of the letter concerns 'the subject of Randolph, and the copy of his works honour'd by the hand-writing of Pope'.

ONE. Letter, signed 'Wm Brown'. 3 pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 25 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He is 'greatly disappointed' that, '[h]aving gone to the expense of building the Hall of Inventions & Science', 'the five Learned Societies' that 'induced' him 'to make that addition to the Library, have taken no effectual means to make it available for the purpose intended'. Brown 'promised £100 towards the fittings', and is sending a cheque for that amount.

3 pp, folio. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Supporting the application of 'Surgeon [Charles] Lowdell, Officiating Agency Surgeon Baghelkhund, [sic] applying for the Acting Appointment of Medical Officer in Charge Bhopal Battalion in the event of a vacancy occurring in October next'. Lowdell is holding his current post while Surgeon Goldsmith is on furlough, and on his return will be without an appointment. 'His duties in connection with the special charge of the young Maharaja have been difficult and have required the exercise of tact and patience.

Letter: 4 pp, 12mo. Bifolium. 36 lines. Text clear and complete. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. He addresses him 'as Provisional Secretary to the Abbotsford Subscription Committee', to inform him that he has instructed his bankers in Newcastle to transmit forty pounds from his account to bankers in the Strand, 'to be added to the Abbotsford Fund - being the Amount collected in small sums between 1.£ & 1.s. by Mrs. Liddell in the town of Alnwick & vicinity'. She will forward a book of subscribers' names to the Committee.

1 p, 4to. Trimmed at top, causing slight loss to first word ('Sir'), otherwise good, on lightly-aged paper, with one short closed tear. Regarding a series of publications he was purchasing, begins 'Sir | I am very sorry indeed to find that No's 11 & 12 are wanting - No 13. is among the lot. | The rest are | No 1, 2, 12, Old Series - | [...]'. There follows a column listing volumes in the 'New Series'.

2 pp, 12mo. 18 lines. Text clear and complete. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'My dear Ernest'. The news that Gye has been posted to Damascus is 'exciting', although 'it will be funny & deserted - like to come home & not find you at the seat of custom'. Gye had spoken of going abroad, so he was not surprised, '& Lady Armstrong said recently that you were about to seek another field'. Regarding Gye's painting, he 'will have lots of interesting things to limn (that's a good word)'.

8 pp, 12mo. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'Dear Ernest'. He begins by congratulating Gye on his promotion and 'on going to Tangier - a delightful spot'. It is however 'very sad' that Gye's 'guiding hand over our destinies will no longer be there in the Office'. He thanks Gye for his 'kindness' and 'sympathy': 'My path has lain along uneventful ways and it has been an untold solace to feel you did not despise those who had mearly [sic] to 'stand & wait''.

10 pp, 12mo. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'My dear Ernest'. The Wellesleys have been back from India a couple of months. The journey out was a 'delightful trip', despite a mishap with a 'steel hawser' which 'wound itself round the screw' in the middle of the Mediterranean. After a brief reference to Ceylon he describes the Indian visit. His wife tripped up on a step in front of the Maharaja of Mysore: 'I feel sure he thought she was tight. Mysore is too modern & up to date to suit me, but Seringapatam only nine miles away is fascinating.

Totalling 68 pp, comprising 50 pp, 12mo; 18 pp, 4to. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Two signed 'W. A. Smart' and the others 'WAS.' All addressed to 'My dear Ernest'. Written in a spirited, chatty, and (for a diplomat) surprisingly indiscreet style, of which the beginning of the second letter (Salonica; 19 August 1919), concerning the appointment of Victor Vincent Cusden (1893-1980), gives a good example: 'Were you not content with condemning me to physical and financial ruin in this death-trap? Why, to add to my afflictions, did you send me this pathetic shop-boy?

Both letters 1 p, folio. Texts clear and complete. Fair on aged paper worn at extremities. In the first letter he informs him that 'his name has been entered in the register of candidates selected for appointment in the Opium Department, but that the Lieutenant Governor cannot hold out to him any home [sic] of an early appointment'. The second informs Pagose that it is 'quite impossible to say when it may come to your turn to get an appointment in the Opium Department as vacancies in it are not of frequent occurrence and the number of candidates is large'.

Letter: 1 p, 4to. On the recto of the second leaf of what was originally a bifolium, but with the first leaf (around a quarter of which has been torn away) detached. On aged paper. Addressed, on recto of first leaf, to 'Mr. Edd: Jones, No 6. | Little Titchfield Street | Gt. Portland Street | London.' With two postmarks (both in black ink; one reading 'OXFORD') and a black wax seal. The reverse of the second leaf has the forwarding address 'Times Office | Printing House Square | Blackfriars', with 'Walthers' above it. Letter reads 'Dr.

On two pieces of laid paper, joined together to make a piece 30.5 x 68 cm, the lower part with watermark of 'D & C BLAUW'. In fair condition, clear and complete, on lightly-aged paper. Headed 'PLAN EN KELDERS | van het Casteel | tot | Sluÿs.' In another hand, in top left-hand corner: 'Archives Hollandaises'. Bearing three stamps: the first, circular in red ink, 'ARCHIEF VAN OORLOG'; the second, oval in red ink, 'DEPOT GENERAL DES <...>'; the third, in black ink, 'ARCHIVES HOLLANDAISES'.

3 pp, 12mo. 41 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper with a couple of closed tears. He is sending 'the trans. of the Baghobahan together with the Original', and trusts that Robinson will keep his promise 'and not detain it long'. Considers it fair that Robinson's friend 'should pay the carriage thereof from & to London'. 'The younger Stewart is to send me up a book of mine in about a week - the best way will be to send the Bagh along with it as it will be the same expence'. Suggest sending another book with 'the Bagh to Haileybury', rather than to Portman Square.

Measuring 9 x 6 cm. With 'Mrs.. Byam Shaw' in larger type in centre, with '62, Addison Road, W.' in bottom left-hand corner, and '2nd. Wednesday &| 2nd. Thursday' diagonally in top left-hand corner. On aged paper, with the address '21 Wilton Street | S. W. 1 | Wednesday' in ink at head, and '88 Brook Green' in pencil on the reverse. A pencil name and telephone number ('Vic. 3583') have been erased.

1 p, 4to. 20 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged and creased paper. In response to a letter from Gye states that he did not hear Albani sing 'until her last two Canadian tours when she was approaching 50', when he 'thought her best in her singing of Mozart, which revealed her rare vocal finesse'. Charlesworth was told by the 'late Edwin R. Parkhurst, a Toronto music critic, 30 years my senior who had heard her frequently in his younger days in London', that 'these appearances gave no adequate idea of how glorious her voice had been in the seventies'.