COWPER

The two volumes contain a total of 239pp., 12mo, in ink and pencil, with entries dating from between 29 November 1912 and 28 March 1950. In fair overall condition, with light signs of age and wear. In two Keuffel & Esser notebooks, each in remains of brown calf binding, the first with 'MINING | TRANSIT BOOK | 363' stamped on front cover, and the second with 'Cross Section Book | 375 S'. In manuscript on cover of first volume: '19<...> Dec. | The Psilomelane D | of the Francis <....> | by | Don <...> | Under Prof. A. C. L <...>'.

Neatly written out on one side of a stamped, postmarked postcard, the other side addressed by Wright to 'Miss Alice A. Leith | 10 C<?> Gardens | London | N.W 3'. He is 'very pressed with work', and refers her to his 'Life of Blake', which 'gives all I know respecting Blake's attitude to Bacon - or Coban (altering the letters) as he sometimes calls Bacon'.

2pp., 12mo. He writes with aristocratic hauteur: 'Sir. | I shall return to London on or before the 20th & I shall be ready to meet the other members of the Site Committee any day after that date & It is quite indifferent to me whether we meet at the Society of Arts or in Pall Mall | Truly yrs | W Cowper'.

Four pages, 16mo, grubby, small chip from first page, text clear and complete. Scarce. One copy only found on COPAC/WorldCat at Pittsburgh.

123pp., folio. Paginated. In contemporary brown tooled calf, with two metal clasps, and a metal ring at foot of rear board. Internally good and tight, on aged paper, in worn binding. A fair copy, neatly written out in a mid-eighteenth-century chancery hand, with the body of text on each page bordered by two vertical red lines. The Free Grammar School of King Edward VI in Berkhamsted was founded by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's, in 1541.

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'.

12mo, 134 pp each on one side of a ring-punched loose leaf, with the leaves attached by green thread within an original worn buckram binder with discoloured endpapers. The leaves themselves in good condition on lightly-aged paper; with those of the draft story ruled in red, and sometimes utilizing scrap paper (for example the blank reverses of prospectuses for Wright's books and scrap pages from Blake Society material).

12mo, 220 pp. Engraved title and six other plates, each carrying an engraving from Westall. In green calf binding, gilt, with spine in compartments. Marbled edges and endpapers. Internally tight, on lightly-aged paper, with the plates a little foxed. Rebacked and in worn and lightly-stained binding. Tasteful small bookplate, with the single word 'Simpson' in copperplate, an initial 'M.' added in manuscript. Pink ticket on front pastedown: 'GEORGE DAVEY, | Bookseller, Binder, | & STATIONER, | NO. 1 BROAD STREET, | BRISTOL.' An uncommon Chiswick Press item.

Two volumes in one binding. 12mo, vi + 108; iv + 108. Each volume with engraved title (included in pagination) with vignette from Westall, and another plate also carrying an engraving from him. In green calf binding, gilt, with spine in compartments. Marbled edges and endpapers. Internally tight, on lightly-aged paper, with the plates a little foxed. Rebacked and in worn and lightly-stained binding. Tasteful small bookplate, with the single word 'Simpson' in copperplate, an initial 'M.' added in manuscript.

8vo, [iii] + 66 pp. Computer printout in plastic binder. Text clear and complete. Creasing to first four leaves, otherwise in very good condition. On title-page: 'ACTING COPY ONLY'. Note by 'C. W.' on next page: 'This version of the script is taken from Paul Roberts' unedited first draft transcription for a public reading of the play at the Powys Society's Annual Conference, at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, at 7.30pm on Sunday, 28th August, 1994. | Where words have still not been deciphered in the transcript, temporary ones have been inserted.

12mo: 27 pp. Stapled. In original brown printed wraps. Good, on lightly-aged paper with rusted staples. Divided into five sections: 'Our Ancestry', 'Our Father', 'Our Mother', 'Montacute' and 'The Children'. A scarce item, the only copies on COPAC being at the British Library, Cardiff and St Andrews.

Gregory's letter: 8vo, 1 p. Thirteen lines of text. Very good on lightly-creased paper. A telling comment on the craze for inscribed copies of books. She is 'sorry to seem disobliging', but considers that 'an author's inscription seems [...] to have significance only when the book in question has been presented to a friend or when it is likely to become profitable to a dealer'. Her book 'qualifies in neither category'. She is 'puzzled to know' how Disspain 'came upon' her address. Gregory's book: 8vo, 208 pp. No dust wrapper. Grubby copy in worn original red cloth binding.

[Duplicat] Quarto: 154 pp. Around a dozen fold-out plates. In original light-green printed wraps. Internally very good; in worn, creased and stained wraps. A splendid production, printed in red and black on thick laid watermarked paper. With note, in red ink, on tipped-in slip, beginning 'The Government paper restictions forbid anything save the following very brief descriptions.' In red ink at foot of title: 'The whole of the contents of this catalogue are entirely free from duty'.

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).

Two pages, 12mo. Mourning border. Damp stained. Cowper has told 'P[rofesso]r. Wheatstone' [Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), Professor of Experimental Philosophy at King's College, pioneer of the telegraph, and seller of musical instruments] of Novello's 'wish to have a little conversation with him'. Gives dates when Wheatstone will be available to see Novello at ''King's College (in the Museum)'. '[H]e will very shortly go to Switzerland & therefore the earlier you meet him the better'.

Judge (1669-1728), and Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales on the accession of George I. Grandfather of the poet William Cowper, and brother of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper (1665-1723), Lord Chancellor of England. One of the defendants, in 1699, in the celebrated trial for the murder of Sarah Stout. Dimensions of paper roughly six and a half inches by six inches. On discoloured, spotted paper, with slight wear and loss to one corner (not affecting text). Right edge slightly trimmed, with partial loss to one word'.

One page, octavo. Good, on aged paper with slight fraying and a few small closed tears at extremities. 'Received by me [Adelaide Dutchess Dowager of Shrewsbury Ass[ign]ee of Wm. Harvey] of the Honourable George Parker Esq; One of the Four Tellers of His Majesty's Receipt of Exchequer, the Sum of [Twenty five pounds] [...]'. Signed 'Adelaide Shrewsbury' and witnessed by 'Hen: Gardie'. Adelaide was (according to the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica) married to Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury (1660-1718) in 1705.

Cousin (1690-1740) of the poet of the same name. Both fragment and bookplate are pasted to a piece of thin, discoloured card. The fragment, which is roughly 5 inches by 2 inches, is grubby annd rubbed. It reads, in Cowper's hand '13th July Exhibited to us under the Commission agt. Thomas Park | Wm Cowper'. Beneath this the signatures of 'Fr. Rookes' and 'Rd Maddock'. The bookplate (roughly 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2, in good condition although somewhat grubby) is armorial, with the motto beneath reading 'FAX . MENTIS. HONESTAE. GLORIA | William Cowper Esqr.