BRITISH

On a piece of paper cut from a letter, roughly 3.5 x 9.5 cm. On lightly aged and slightly grubby paper. Good firm signature, beneath which, in a contemporary hand, 'I knew his daughter Stepny'. Gulston's wife Bridgetta (1749/50–1780) was the second daughter of Sir Thomas Stepney.

12mo: iv + 164 pp. In original green cloth, with the title in gilt on the front cover. All edges gilt. Slightly foxed. Good and tight, in lightly worn cloth. A curious collection, with the index of first lines containing such entries as 'Sweet Edgbaston bells' [this poem dated 1844], 'Dear Varinka', ' 'Twas a boy in a cut-off jacket' and 'They call me little Trottie'. All three series are excessively scarce. The only copy of this third series on COPAC is in the British Library, and the only copy on WorldCat in California.

Both issues 8vo (roughly 30.5 x 19.5 cm), 6 pp (each a loose leaf in a bifolium). Both printed on brittle watermarked laid paper. Both unbound, and stabbed as issued, and both on aged and chipped paper, but with the text clear and entire. Each issue with the title in an expansive calligraphic design. The full slug, at the bottom of the last page of both issues, reads: 'Printed and Published by ETHERINGTON, at No 25, opposite the South Door of St. Paul's (where Letters, post-paid, to the LITERARY FLY will be received).

The main text is printed on one side of a piece of paper roughly 28 x 13.5 cm, headed 'Upwards of Thirty Thousand Copies Of the "Manchester Weekly Times," with Eight-page Literary Supplement, are Issued Every Saturday.' The main block of text, in a variety of types and point sizes, consists of 27 lines ending 'The Proprietors respectfully solicit instructionsn to insert your Advertisement.' Describes the newspaper's merits and boasts that it is 'one of the Largest and most complete Weekly Papers published'.

All four items well printed on one side of a piece of watermarked laid paper. All four lightly-aged but good. None of them filled in. The third item more dusty than the rest. Item One (15.5 x 20.5 cm): Headed 'No. VII. A PROTECTION.' To be signed by one of the 'Deputy Lieutenant, | Captain, | Commanding Officer.' Exempting the bearer, as a militia man, 'from doing any Highway Duty, commonly called Statute Work'.

Printed in purple on six pages, on the rectos of six leaves, each roughly 34 x 21 cm. Three bifoliums, loosely inserted one in the other to make a pamphlet. Text neatly written and complete. Good, on aged and lightly-worn and stained paper, with the discoloration to the blank verso of the last leaf more marked than elsewhere. Begins with a paragraph explaining the context, and ending 'It is strongly rumoured that all the high administrative appointments are to be given to E. I.

One page, 12mo, asking her friend to dinner "to meet a friend from the country", fearing that "there is small chance of finding you disengaged" with such late notice.

Printed on one side of a piece of laid paper roughly 21 x 13.5 cm. Good, on aged and lightly-creased and spotted paper. Eighteen line poem in heroic couplets, turning on the conceit of a game of cards. Begins 'OFT have I shuffled, often played the Knave, | In vain attempts a losing game to save;'. Ends ' 'Stop!' cried John Bull, with honest anger choking; | 'Turn out that fellow Gladstone - he's revoking!' ' References to Egypt and Home Rule date this item to the mid eighteen-eighties.

Two pages, printed on the recto of the first leaf and verso of the second of a yellow wove-paper bifolium. Leaf dimensions 22.5 x 14.5 cm. Grubby and creased, but with text clear and complete. The first poem, 'A New W[h]ig Song', begins 'In our town there's a street, with a chapel and shop, | Where a gay pole once hoisted of late is let drop, | There a fam'd Barber deals with his w(h)ig as he wills, | From full bottom'd P----r to little scratch M--ls.' References to 'shot-yellow A---r [Adair]' and 'M----y, the close button'd Barber'.

Dimensions: 17.5 x 13.5 cm. 64 pp. In original coloured paper covers. Priced at 10d, and thus the British edition and not one produced for the foreign market. Good and tight, on browned paper. Attractive image on front cover showing a bemused Holmes puffing on his pipe as he wanders down a country-house corridor whose walls are covered in paintings, while the spectral figure of the hound's head looms above him.Covers lightly worn and slightly damaged by the rusting of the staples. Both stories are told in comic strip form.

Printed in three columns of small type on one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 22.5 x 18 cm. Text clear and complete on grubby, worn, creased and foxed paper.

8vo: 334 pp. Portrait of Northcliffe as frontispiece. Three facsimiles of letters in text and fold-out with facsimiles of three of Northcliffe's letters. Inscribed by Owen on front pastedown 'To Elaine from Louise and Northcliffe. | Nov. 1938'. (The reference to 'Northcliffe' is explained by the fact that Owen considered herself a spirit medium, in contact with the deceased Viscount.) Internally good: sound and tight, on lightly aged paper. In original worn red cloth, with slight bloom on front.

On a leaf (roughly 15.5 x 18 cm) removed from an autograph album. Aged and a little grubby. Both hands bolder than usual. Recto reads '"Courage Mounteth with occasion" - | Yours sincerely | [signed] Violet Vanbrugh'. Verso reads 'Yours sincerely | Dora Labebette.'

On light-yellow page (roughly 11 x 14 cm) removed from autograph album. Four glue stains showing through from the reverse (not affecting the signatures), otherwise good. Reads 'Dora Stevens | Ethel Hobday | Marjorie Hayward | Cedric Sharpe'. Lightly docketed in pencil.

On piece of laid paper (roughly 13 x 11 cm). Aged and chipped. Reads 'Yours truly | Frank Barrington Foote'. Chipping to the outer edge, very close to the last couple of letters of the signature. Foote, who frequently sang with Adelina Patti at Covent Garden, ended his days destitute in New York City.

On piece (15 x 16 cm) of laid-paper cut from a page of a diary. Creased and worn at head. Signature under heading 'March 18'. Lightly docketed in pencil.

On a light-green leaf (11 x 14 cm) removed from an autograph album. Lightly aged and creased. Reads 'Hugh P. Allen | Nov 8. 1928'. Lightly docketed in pencil. Two other autographs on reverse.

On one side of a leaf (roughly 11 x 16 mm), removed from an autograph album. Good, on lightly aged paper, with some show-through from amusing drawing on reverse by L. E. H. Phipson. Bold signature reads 'Yours Sincerely | Marie Novello'. Drawing on reverse depicts a monocled old fogey protesting his love to a pretty young thing regarding herself in a handmirror. Captioned 'I'd rather be a young man's slave!' Signed by the illustrator 'L. E. H. Phipson | 6/12/1917'. Docketed in pencil.

On leaf (roughly 10 x 15 cm) torn from autograph album. Good, on lightly aged paper. Signed 'Hugo Rignold' with another signature ('John <?> | <?>') in pencil above it. Docketed in pencil.

On piece of laid paper paper (roughly 11 x 16 cm) cut from diary. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Under the heading 'June 25'.

Dimensions of print roughly 13 x 17.5 cm. On original grey paper windowpane mount (22 x 28.5 cm). Engraved label (3 x 12.5 cm) beneath the print, with small remarque-style illustrations of the ship and the queen. The print itself is good, although aged and a little worn and spotted; the spotting and aging to the margins and mount is a little heavier. Attractive and unusual item, the image changing when held up to the light. The ship is depicted sailing on choppy seas, and the young queen seated with drapery around her on a verandah with stone balustrades and a landscape behind. Scarce.

On one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 28.5 x 24 cm. On aged, somewhat grubby paper, with 6 cm closed tear repaired with tape on reverse. Full-length diagrammatic depiction of a British army officer in uniform of the Napoleonic period (black boots with spurs, tight white breeches, green jacket with yellow trim and black hat with red plume), holding his sword horizontally in front of his face. A set of thirteen numbered angles are projected from the tip of the blade, some bracketed 'all these are strait in Front'. Others are described as 'flat'.

One one side of a piece of laid paper, roughly 21 x 13 cm. Clear and complete on aged and spotted paper. A couple of manuscript emendations, in a contemporary hand: 'I'm' in the text expanded to 'I am' for the sake of scansion, and 'like' in the text changed to 'likes' for the sake of grammar. Sixteen-line poem arranged in four stanzas.

Four plates, each roughly 39.5 x 22 cm. Good, clear impressions. The first two plates have a little light staining in the margins, and the first has some light foxing. The other two in very good condition, and the set good overall. An attractive series, each plate containing twelve main engravings, mainly of an infantryman with his musket in various positions, but also of an officer with sword. Begins with 'Dress to the Right' and ends with 'Sword Salute'. Mains numbered series begins '1st. Poise Firelock' and ends '35th. Shoulder Firelock'. Occasional smaller engravings in the background.

On one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 28 x 23 cm. On aged, creased and spotted paper. A poem, arranged in double column, consisting of fourteen seven-line stanzas intended to be sung to the tune of the British national anthem. The first stanza reads 'Misanthrops a la-mode, | Up, up, and chose the road, | To happiness. | Out of the three men choose | Two men that won't abuse, | Although they may refuse, | Some things we want.' The position of the ballad is clearly stated: 'Candlish has been our Mayor, | Hartley has graced the Chair, | Make them M.P.'s'.

Octavo: 29 + [2] pp. Unbound, stabbed and stitched. Slightly dogeared, on grubby, lightly-spotted paper. Loss to top right-hand corner of title-leaf (not affecting text). Two pages of advertisements at rear, headed 'Important pamphlets, etc. Recently published by James Ridgway, Piccadilly.'

Octavo: 28 pp. Unbound, stabbed and stitched. Slightly dogeared, on grubby, lightly-spotted paper. Loss to top right-hand corner of title-leaf (not affecting text). Marked up in ink in a contemporary hand. COPAC lists copies at the British Library, Manchester and National Library of Scotland. The 'Alabama Question' related to what indemnity should be paid by Great Britain for damage done to United States commerce by the Alabama and other confederate cruisers built in British ports.

Printed on one side of a piece of laid paper roughly 320 x 190 mm. On light-aged paper, with slight discoloration, and wear to the fold line repaired on the reverse with archival tape. Twenty-one lines of text, clear and entire, with 'Hinkford Hundred, in Essex}' in the left-hand margin.

4to: 37 pp. Unbound. Stitched as issued. Text clear and entire on discoloured paper worn at the extremities. Central closed tears to the last four leaves, the closed tear to the last leaf being repaired with archival tape on the blank reverse. A production over which the author has taken great care, he having added two autograph footnotes, one of three lines and the other of two, on p.34. Note on p.37: 'The extraordinary length of this Discourse, being more than double that of Sermons usually printed, is the reason for its being sold at the additional price of one half. [i.e.

8vo (dimensions of leaf 32.5 x 20 cm): 36 pp. Unbound. Stapled into blue printed wraps. Mimeographed. Divided into seven sections (Geography and general; Geology; Flora; Fauna and Sport; Language; Ethnology; Military), with 'Author's Name Index' at end.