COMMONS

Hertford's Letter: 1p., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with broken seal in read wax, 'To | Sir Robert B. Harvey Bt'. In good condition, lightly aged, with closed tear caused by breaking open of seal. Reads: 'The dissolution of Parliament will I trust apologize for the liberty I take in requesting the continuance of your friendly offices in the county of Antrim, but I cannot apply for a new favor without expressing my obligations for those already conferred, and of assuring you that I remain most truly, Sir, Your faithful & very humble Servant'.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter, addressed to an unnamed recipient, begins: 'My dear Sir | Before I quitted Office I communicated to the Court of directors the Draft of an Insolvent Bill & some letters on the subject which I had received from the Judges in India, together with a request that they might be laid before you for your opinion & observations.' He should like the opportunity to talk over the subject with him, as he considers himself 'pledged to bring the measure forward [in the House of Commons]' with the approval of the present Board.

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition. Casting interesting light on the workings of the British parliament in the Regency period. Headed by Abbot 'Private'. Docketed on reverse of second leaf, presumably by Sidmouth: 'The Speaker, | Novr. ye. 19th: 1806. | Lord Harris's Proposal | Meeting of Parliament | &c -'. He has received Sidmouth's note, and reports that 'Lord Harrowby wrote me a full account of your Meetings on Lord Harris's proposals'.

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium with drophead title. In fair condition, aged and worn, disbound, with chipping and damage at spine. Three copies on COPAC.

5 + [1]pp., 8vo. In fair condition, aged and lightly-worn, with slightly rusted staples and rust stain from paperclip. Scarce: the only actual copy on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat at the LSE in London.

A collection of 858 documents, dating from between 1860 and 1893, bearing a total of 800 autographs of British Members of Parliament (765 Members of the House of Commons and 35 Peers). The collection is in good condition, with the usual signs of age and wear, each item having been punch-holed by the collector (whom evidence suggests was a fellow-member) for insertion in a binder.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. He has received a note from his friend 'Provost Grieve', asking him to 'allow my name to be put on the back of the Greenock Police & Water Bill, along with Mr Dunlop'. If this were a formality he would readily agree, 'But I find some of my own Constituents have severe alarm about the water part - and I would prefer that you would get some other Member of the House - Mr Bouvene is interested as representative of Pt Glasgow which is to receive the benefit of the water'.

ESTC R24519. Wing S2572. 9pp., 2o. Paginated: [2] 1-7. 'THE | INFORMATIONS | OF | JOHN SERGEANT, | AND | DAVID MAURICE, | [last three lines gathered by right brace to] Gentlemen; | RELATING | TO THE | POPISHPLOT, | (Deliver'd by them upon their respective Oaths) | REPORTED | To the HOUSE of | COMMONS, | Upon Saturday the 26th Day of March, 1681. | Then Ordered by the Commons | IN | PARLIAMENT, | To be forthwith Printed. | [rule] | LONDON, | Printed for Gabriel Kunholt, Book-Binder to His | Highness Prince RUPERT; And are to be Sold at his Shop | at the Kings-Head, over-against the Meuse.

25pp., foolscap 8vo. Stitched. On worn and aged paper. With shelfmark, stamp and label of the Board of Education Reference Library, London. Title-page headed in manuscript: 'OUT OF PRINT'.

23pp., foolscap 8vo. Stitched. On aged and worn paper, with short closed tear to first leaf at foot of spine. Shelfmarks, stamp and label of the Board of Education Reference Library, London. Purple stamp on reverse of first leaf: '10 SEP 1910'. Divided into three sections: Warrants of Appointment; Majority Report; Minority Report. The 'Majority Report' section under the following main headings: Origin and Course of Inquiry; General Results of the Investigation; Remedies and Recommendations; Summary of Recommendations and Conclusions. A large part of the document discusses 'Street Trading'.

30 + [1]pp., foolscap 8vo. Stitched. In fair condition, with shelfmarks, stamp and label of the Board of Education Reference Library, London. The full title reads: 'School-Houses (Scotland).

40 + [1] pp., crown 8vo. On aged and worn paper, with broken stitching causing the loosening of the leaves. Shelfmarks and labels of the Board of Education Reference Library, London. The end of the title reads, in full: 'by Roman Catholic Prelates in Ireland, and of the Correspondence relating thereto; and of all Memorials addressed to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on the subject of University Education in Ireland. (Sir George Grey.)' Scarce.

5 + [1]pp., crown 8vo. Stitched. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. With stamps and shelfmarks of the Education Department Library. Scarce: no copies (other than microform) on OCLC WorldCat or COPAC.

19 + [1]pp., crown 8vo. Stitched. In good condition, lightly-aged and with slight staining at head of back cover. With stamps and shelfmarks of the Education Department Library. Scarce: no copies (other than on microfilm) on either OCLC WorldCat or COPAC.

2pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with slight discoloration to reverse of second leaf, which also bears traces of mount along one edge. Addressed, on reverse of second leaf, to 'The Attorney General | &c &c &c | J R G Graham'. This letter - an unusually detailed survival for a communication from one officer of state to another during this period - concerns a House of Commons debate on the 'Moral and Religious Education of the Working Classes', held on 28 February 1843, and extensively reported in The Times, 1 March 1843, pp.3-4.

Olive's Letter: 3pp., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed, with postmark, on reverse of second leaf to 'H. J. Mant Esq | 2 Wood St | Queen Square | Bath'. The letter is without place or date. Olive has written the letter on behalf of the Bath attorneys Mant & Bruce (he states at the conclusion that 'Mr Bruce requested me to write to save him the trouble'), who are acting for an interested party (Capper?).

1p., 12mo. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. 'If you would ever care to look round King Edward's very archaic Oxford abode, I can shew you it, with engravings of its details in his day - coloured and otherwise. It is a nice old house - half Elizabethan, half Queen Anne.' He concludes by explaining that he is 'at Westminster all the middle days of the week, save in the recess', and so requires notice. From the H. E. Wortham papers.

Printed in black on piece of purple paper, 27 x 14 cm. In good condition, laid down on a leaf removed from a contemporary album, with the date '1881' written beside it. The first paragraph sets the tone: 'LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL rose to ask Her Majesty's Government a question as to the state of Public Business, and the probable date of the Prorogation of Parliament.

Letter and address are on a foolscap 8vo bifolium, with the address covering the first three pages, and the letter the reverse of the second leaf, which also carries the address ('Mrs Hyde | 31, Henrietta Street, | Bath', forwarded to Kew and then 10 New Street, Margate) with ten postmarks and a red wax seal. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with a few nicks and short closed tears along folds. LETTER: 1p., foolscap 8vo. Addressed to 'My dear Elizabeth'.

Both items in fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Letter One: 4pp., 12mo. Harvey begins: 'Of course I well remember the too short time when I had the pleasure of being your colleague at the British Museum.' He would like to see Aldrich's 'old Dutch masters' but may not be able to visit him at Bowes Park before 'returning to reconstruction work in France in which I am interested'. He suggests a meeting in the new year, before enquiring whether Aldrich has 'got Sir Sidney Colvin's opinion of your Old masters. He is very interested in these things.' Letter Two: 2pp., 4to.

4pp., folio. Originally on a bifolium, but now with the two leaves separated and attached to a white stub from an album. In good condition, on aged and lightly-spotted paper, and trimmed at the head. Laid out in the conventional manner, With the reverse of the final leaf printed in landscape, so that the item can be folded into the customary package.

3pp., folio, paginated to 3. Bifolium. Disbound. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper; folded twice into the customary packet, with the title printed lengthwise as usual.

2pp., 12mo. On paper with mourning border. Headed by Gladstone 'Private'. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The letter concerns Lord FitzMaurice's motion of no confidence in the government, held in the House of Commons the following day. (The resolution, which had been introduced following British reversals in the Boer War, was defeated by 352 votes to 139.) Gladstone writes that he hopes that he was not 'too "stiff"' with Evans. 'The situation at the time was a bit acute, 70 men asking for that wh. I knew to be impossible.

1p., 12mo. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with unobtrusive closed tear and evidence of previous mounting on reverse. The letter reads: 'The Speaker presents his Compts to Mr Sherwood, and begs to return his best thanks for the work he has just received - The Speaker feels assured that Mr Sherwoods experience in and attention to the Private business of the House will have enabled him to collect much useful information on this subject so important to the Public at large | Palace Yard | Feby. 6 | 1828'.

Placed within a 35 x 45.5 cm frame, with 25 x 35.5 cm window. In good condition, with unobtrusive 2.5cm closed tear at head. Dimensions of image 34 x 22 cm, with engraved caption beneath: 'A PARLIAMENTARY EXAMINATION TOUCHING CERTAIN CURIOSITIES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM', and 'MC.LEANS MONTHLY SHEET OF CARICATURES NO. 41' running up the left-hand side of the border.

On one side of a 7.5 x 16 cm strip of paper, cut from the bottom of a typed letter signed. In fair condition, lightly-aged and with minor traces of mount adhering to reverse. Reads (with O'Connor's signature in autograph and the rest typed): '[...] | Yours sincerely, | T. P. O'Connor. | W. Teignmouth Shore, Esq'.

28 + [1] pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-worn paper. P. 1 has the drophead title: 'STRAND UNION WORKHOUSE. | RETURN to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons, | dated 25 June 1866; - for, | COPY "of the REPORT made by R. B. Crane, Esquire, Poor Law Inspector, to the Poor Law Board, after an Inquiry held by him on the 4th and 6th June 1866, into certain Allegations made by Matilda Beeton, in reference to the Treatment of the Sick in the Strand Union Workhouse." | Poor Law Board, 25 June 1866.

Both items good, on lightly-aged paper, with slight rust staining from paperclip. Typed Letter Signed ('Herbert Morrison') from Morrision to Driberg: 1p., 12mo. 17 lines of text. Concerning 'the difficulties which Private Donaldson says he is experiencing about his discharge from the Army because his certificate of naturalisation has gone astray', the Home Office 'asked the War Office to take every practicable step to recover the lost certificate', and they have written again to the War Office, 'to give them the information about the naturalisation of Private Donaldson'.

2pp., landscape 12mo. On aged and dusty paper. This item is a jocular response to a letter by Furniss, printed in The Times of 21 July 1892 under the heading 'A Parliamentary Prophecy'. Both the Times letter and the present item are published in Furniss's 'Confessions of a Caricaturist' (1901), with other matter and the context explained. In this item Burnand teases Furniss about a misprint ('Is that setter-up-of-type still alive?

11pp., foolscap 8vo. Stitched and unbound. Aged and worn, with closted vertical 5cm cut from bottom through all six leaves. The full drophead title reads: 'CAP. LXXVII.