CENTURY

On a piece of green paper roughly 22.5 x 19.5 cm. Title and 56 lines of text (ending 'S. F.'), within a decorative border. Lightly-embossed stationery crown mark in top left-hand corner. Text clear and complete. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper with creasing to bottom righ-hand margin. Begins 'HAVING heard thou art shortly to enter a garden enclosed, and knowing thou art at present a stranger to this garden, permit an old friend to give thee an account of it. I have travelled every path and part thereof, and know the productions of every kind, it can possibly yield.

12mo, 1 p. Fair, on aged and lightly-creased paper. Blank second leaf of bifolium bearing traces of previous mount. He is obligedfor the 'kind invitation to meet Maeterlinck. It will give me great pleasure to lunch with you at the National Liberal Club on Tuesday at 12.30.'

4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper with damp staining causing the fading of ink in some parts, and a little chipping to bottom edge. Since writing there has been no packet from Falmouth, and the news from the continent are reported with sufficient detail in the gazettes, so 'il est inutile de vous en parler. Les procedes du Duc de Brunswick [he led an invading German army into France], et le systeme du Roi de Prusse sont egalement mysterieux [...] Les Emigrants [...] sont reduits a la derniere necessite'.

On a piece of card roughly 9 x 11.5 cm. With embossed government crest of the Board of Education in the top left-hand corner. In fair condition, lightly-aged and with small triangular areas of discoloration to two opposing corners caused by previous mounting. Good bold signature, presumably sent in response to a request for an autograph. Reads '[signed] Walter Runciman. | 6 March | 1911.'

On rectangle of paper roughly 8 x 11 cm, with small triangles neatly cut away from corners. Aged and with traces of glue and paper from previous mounting. The letterhead has Roberts's Garter crest in the top left-hand corner and his address at top right. Firmly written: '[signed] Roberts, F.M. | 28. April 1908.' Slight smudging to the 'rt' of 'Roberts'.

8vo: 16 pp. Stapled pamphlet. Nothing other than the title printed on the first leaf. Text paginated [19] to 31, with publisher's slug on reverse of last leaf. On aged and creased paper, with 6 cm closed tear at central crease of outer bifolium. No copies of this title on COPAC or WorldCat.

On one side of a piece of grey wove paper roughly 13 x 20 cm. Elaborate engraved letterhead in a variety of fonts: 'To Chas. Edwd. Mudie, | BOOKSELLER, STATIONER & NEWS AGENT, | 28, Upper King Street, Bloomsbury Square. | Select Library of Popular Works, | IN HISTORY, RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY & GENERAL LITERATURE. | Single Subscription Seven Shillings a Quarter, One Guinea a Year. | [at left] BOOKBINDING | AND | Engraving' | [at left] PRINTING | AND | Lithography.' Boissier's subscription for '15 Vols. new' is charged at five guineas. In a large hand at foot of page: 'Recd Payt.

12mo, 1 p. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with slight damage to one corner from removal from mounting, small glue stains from which are evident on the reverse. She was prevented from obtaining his autograph 'during the Meeting of the British Association at Norwich', and he is sending it to her now.

Letter One (12 September 1887): 12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. On aged paper with a little wear to extremities. He has read in the paper that 'Aberdeen & some Gladstonian M.P's are going to deliver Home Rule Addresses in Crieff on 27th. Sept.' and thinks that 'the Liberal Unionists ought to be very active in Scotland' during the autumn. If it is 'of any service' to Currie or 'to the cause' Camperdown is 'ready to make a speech in Crieff on any night you like'.

On one side of a piece of green paper, 8 x 15.5 cm. Aged and spotted, and with traces of glue and paper from mount still adhering. Central closed tear (not affecting text) caused by removal from mount. In Cushman's florid hand, with the signature roughly 3.5 x 9 cm. Reads ' "Oh! I am fortunes fool!" | Charlotte Cushman | Dublin April 4th. 1846.'

12mo, 1 p. Fair, on aged paper, with traces of previous mount adhering to the corners of the blank reverse. Of course Hollingshead should 'wait till the last night of "used up" ' before writing to Mathews, who has 'hunted up Buckstone - hunted up Turpin - but in vain. Not a box to be had'. He has sent 'the best I could get': '3 Dress Circle to Mrs Smiles with "Mr Hollingshead's best compliments." '. In a postscript states that if Hollingshead wants 'a box for the "Overland Route" before the last night' he will be 'too happy'. 'There is always a run on last nights.'

A piece of laid paper, 7 x 20 cm, cut from a letter by an autograph collector. Fair, on aged and lightly-creased paper, with some staining on the reverse from the glue used in mounting the item. Reads '<...> of 15 Nov next, or by the following steamer on Dec: 3d. | I have the honor to be | Sir | Your most obedient servant, | E Perry | Supreme Court, Bombay | May 1st. 1852.' On the reverse: '<...> year, and whether a warrant under the sign manual may not be directed to <...>'.

12mo, 1 p. In a bifolium, addressed and docketed on the reverse of the second leaf, to which the red wax seal adheres, in good condition with a clear impression of Agar-Ellis's monogram. Fair, on aged and grubby paper. If Jerdan has 'quite done' with Agar-Ellis's copy of 'G<?>'s improvements of London' asks if he will allow Agar-Ellis's 'messanger' to return it. 'If however you still wish to keep it, pray do.' Agar-Ellis has 'promised to lend it to Sir H Halford'.

12mo, 3 pp. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with a little damage to the four corners of the second leaf caused by removal from mount. Thirty-five lines of text. Clear and complete. He has been afforded 'very great satisfaction' by the announcement that the Hospital 'is now so nearly completed' that it will 'a few weeks hence be delivered into the possession and management of the Governors'. It is a 'new, capacious and very necessary addition to our metropolitan Hospitals'.

On a piece of paper, 2 x 8 cm, cut from a letter. Neatly laid down on a piece of paper, 4 x 9 cm. Good, on aged paper. The signature reads 'Maurice OConnell'. In a contemporary hand, on the mount, 'Maurice O'Connell. MP. | (nephew of King Dan)'. According to the Oxford DNB, Daniel O'Connell ('The Liberator') was a cousin of Maurice's father Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'Connell (1768-1848).

16mo, 1 p. In a bifolium. Seven lines. Clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. In stamped, addressed envelope. Asks if Chittenden will 'come to luncheon' on one of the two following days, as Sidgwick 'hardly saw' her on the previous day.

The envelope is roughly 8 x 13 cm. Aged and lightly ruckled. The signature is on the front, in the bottom left-hand corner, with 'Private' in the top left, and the address in the middle, 'The Duke of Argyll | India Office'. The seal has been stamped through paper onto dark brown wax. The envelope has been torn open at the back flap. Can be dated to after 1869 (when Mayo became Viceroy) and before 1874 (when Argyll ceased to be Secretary of State for India).

On one side of a piece of paper roughly 5.5 x 10 cm. Aged and lightly spotted. Presumably sent in response to a request for an autograph. Underlined signature. Reads 'Yours | truly | George Meredith'.

Cut from an envelope into a 'T' shape, with the front panel bearing the address and signature roughly 8.5 x 22.5 cm, forming the cross stroke, and the area from the back of the letter bearing the seal, cut into a roughly 6.5 x 5.5 cm rectangle, hanging down from this like the vertical stroke of the letter. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. Reads 'To the Right Honorable, | Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart | Secretary of State for India | London | J Lawrence'. The circular red wax seal is 3.5 cm in diameter.

A piece of laid paper, roughly 8 x 20 cm, cut from a document by an autograph collector. Yorke's signature, large (4.5 x 7 cm) and bold, is in the bottom right-hand corner. The surviving text is in a secretary's hand, and reads: '<...> of Our Reign. | By His Majesty's Command. | C Yorke | Our Trusty and Wellbeloved William Gordon Esqr General in Our Army & Col of Our 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot or to the Officer appointed by him to raise Men for Our said Regiment'.

On one side of a piece of wove paper, roughly 5 x 18.5 cm, cut from letter by an autograph collector. Aged, and with staining from the glue used in mounting. Reads '<...> upon it. | I hope you are quite recovered. | Yours trly | James Wilson'.

On one side of piece of paper 23.5 x 16 cm. With perforated edge. Good, on aged paper, with traces with strip of glue from previous mount on reverse. Printed in copperplate. The deposited works are 'Notes on the Maces, Insignia of Office, and Town Plate of the Town of Guildford', 'Progress of Catholic Work', 'Token Pamphlet', 'Guildford Shakespeare' and 'County Town'. Ostensibly signed by the 'Keeper', but the signature is not decipherable (''). In his obituary in The Times, 6 July 1942, Williamson was praised as 'a highly industrious and versatile writer on art'.

4to bifolium (leaf dimensions 26 x 20.5 cm). The notification certificate is on the recto of the first leaf, and Highton's letter is on the recto of the second. Versos of both leaves blank. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper, with 5 cm closed tear to margin of second leaf caused by removal of letter from stub, traces of which still adhere to the verso of the second leaf. The certificate is tastefully printed in black, with the Society's crest in red in the top left-hand corner.

On upper half of a piece of quarto paper, unevenly torn to make a piece roughly 11 x 18.5 cm. Fair: on aged paper. Part of address from previous letter to 'W. Jerdan <...> | 267 Strand <...>' on reverse, which is docketed 'Procter | Miss Proby | Cornwalls poems'. Reads 'I inclose you a note left here for you | George says he will review the book for you next week - in the meantime give a flourish in your notice - 'The time does not admit of doing just to the vol. &c &c We are all a Party in this success -'.

Quarto (leaf dimensions roughly 19.5 x 15.5 cm). Ruled with twenty-eight lines to the page. Written in a close, neat hand, covering the first ninety-one pages of the notebook. Loosely inserted are twelve pages containing a further thirty stories, on three bifoliums each headed 'Anecdotes &c'. In black-leather half-binding, marbled boards. Good and tight, with text clear and complete on lightly aged paper. Calligraphic design printed on front free endpaper. A charming collection, casting amusing and entertaining light on nineteenth-century English social history.

12mo: 1 p. On the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium, with the address, with postmark, on the reverse of the second. On brittle, aged paper. The letter has been neatly folded three times, and there are a few closed tears along the crease lines, including one through the initial 'N' of the signature. Wiseman thanks Castermann for the copy he has sent of 'votre nouvelle édition en Français de "Fabiola". Not only is the 'execution typographique de l'ouvrage' deserving of his praise, but also the translation, which leaves nothing to be desired.

Two copies: one a revised proof, the other out-of-series, with manuscript additions to the list of subscribers. Both copies 8vo, 25 pp, in original grey printed wraps. Both copies internally tight and clean, in grubby wraps. Attractively printed on thick laid paper, with the wraps printed in red and black. Pp.7-9 of the proof have been deleted, with the manuscript instruction, p.7: 'Take out this & the passages marked on next two pages & insert MS. sent'.

Dimensions roughly nineteen inches by thirteen inches. Aged and a tad grubby, but in very good condition overall. Small piece, roughly one inch square, cut away from bottom left hand corner. Government five shilling stamp in top left-hand corner.

The collection in a contemporary green leather quarter-binding, with grey paper boards and title in gilt on spine. Good, in heavily worn binding splitting at rear hinge. The letters are expertly mounted on leaves in the volume. 'Excerpta Cantiana': folio: 23 pp of letterpress, with illustrations and with three full-page engravings by J. S. Agar and one fold-out pedigree. PRESENTATION COPY from Streatfeild to the antiquary and historian Charles James Palmer of Great Yarmouth.

Unbound and stapled. Sixty-four pages. Dimensions of leaf roughly thirteen inches by eight wide. Lithographed facsimile handwriting throughout. Aged and with some wear to extremities, but text clear and entire. 'Clerk of Writ Copy' in red ink manuscript at head of first page. An interesting and informative document, compiled on behalf of the Metropolitan Asylums Board, giving in detail the specifications for builders tendering for the contract for the erection of the new hospital.