CRIMINAL

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with short closed tear at foot of fold. Signed 'Owen Philipps'. Having received a letter from Buxton Forman 'about the Matchless Orinda', he gives some details regarding her husband, who is 'an ancestor of mine, being one of the Phillips of Kilsant & Picton'. His brother has 'lent me a copy of her Poems which I have been reading with much interest.' He also refers to his relations 'Mr. Wogan', 'Mrs. Owen', 'Jas Phillips' and 'Hector Phillips'.

Piers was a thorough blackguard, who seduced Lady Cloncurry for a bet. The resulting Crim. Con. action was a notable London scandal, with Lord Cloncurry awarded the considerable sum of £20,000 in damages, which Piers payed with great reluctance. After a dishonorable sojourn on the Isle of Man, he returned to Ireland, where he built a high wall around his home to deter creditors. The present document dates from this latter period, and it is a matter of some doubt whether Koechy was paid the considerable sum owed to him for the upkeep of Piers's two sons. 3pp., 4to. Bifolium.

The present item presents a double significance as a result of the circumstances in which it was composed. The author writes in a tone of forced levity to her two sons John Peter Hankey (1770-1807) and Thomson Hankey (1773-1855), grandsons of the banker Sir Thomas Hankey (1704-1770), from whom she is separated as a result of her divorce from their father, following a sensational adultery case, her marriage to Hankey having been dissolved by an act of parliament in the previous year, her hairdresser and maid having deposed that she was living in a state of intimacy with Lt-Col.

21pp., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The document presents a mass of information. A 'Brief History' in the form of a chronology (pp.2-4), is followed by a section setting out the conditions of 'Membership of the Victoria Police Force' (pp.5), followed by a table of 'Ranks, Insignia and Retiring Age' (p.6).

These volumes bear tragic testimony to a diseased mind. A native of Argentina, Hume saw service in the First World War with the 1st County of London Yeomanry at Gallipoli, before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps (66 Squadron, RFC and RAF). In May 1917, while on his second patrol, he was shot down over France. It was while incarcerated in several POW camps (he escaped from one) that Hume's mental illness appears to have begun to manifest itself, and he was exchanged for German prisoners in August 1918.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Not having had 'la facilté de profiter de la bonne recommendation de Miss Louisa Hardy', she writes a letter of recommendation for her son, who will be passing through London for a few days: 'c'est lui qui vous portera nos compliments et vous remercira des articles des journaux que vous m'avez fait parvenir et qu'il m'a traduit'.

2pp., 4to. In good condition, on aged paper, with traces of mount at head. The Earl and his brother loathed one another. FitzHardinge was a notorious philanderer, and Berkeley - whose violent behaviour included assaulting the bookseller Fraser and duelling with Maginn - held his position as a Member of Parliament to spite him. The letter begins: 'Sir. | You have published a letter from Mr.

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. In Prision Commission envelope, with two postmarks (one of them 'HOME OFFICE PRISONS | OFFICIAL'), addressed by Ruggles-Brise to 'Capt. Vansittart | 24 Cadogan Square | SW'. He writes to inform Vansittart that he has 'arranged for Capt Conor, Governor - Parkhust, to be at Borstal on Tuesday next 17th. inst. to confer with yourself & the Govr. as to the best way of developing the Farm.' He asks Vansittart to 'communicate with Major Elliott as to the time when it will be convenient to you to be there'.

2pp., foolscap 8vo. In good condition. Headed 'Secret'. Headings: 'The Hoong League', 'Founders. Symbols', 'Notorious Societies' and 'Mark of Leadership'. From the private papers of C. A. A. Nicol, who joined the Malayan Union Police Force in 1950, and in the Royal Malaysian Poilce between 1957 and 1967, 'to assist in promoting and consolidating the successful transition to full independence. During this period the Special Branch played a vital role in maintaining peace and security in the country.'

Crisply printed on one side of a piece of 9 x 14 cm card, with Boyd's signature in blue ink, and Vassall's name typed. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Headed in gothic letters 'Central Criminal Court', with the rest reading: 'PRESS PASS | The holder is authorised, as a Press Representative, to obtain admission to the Court during the trial of [typed: 'WILLIAM JOHN CHRISTOPHER VASSALL'] | This pass does NOT entitle the holder to a seat.

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The word 'Declined' has been written at the head of the letter by the recipient. The first paragraph reads: 'A number of influential gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Mile End and Bow, in recognition of the services of Mr Talbot, have resolved to give him a testimonial Entertainment on the 27th inst. at the Beaumont Institution.' The 'Committee' have requested Wainwright to ask the recipient to 'kindly preside on that occasion'.

Folio, [i] + 49 pp. Text clear and complete. A mimeographed typescript, with text and manuscript annotations. Clear and complete, on aged and creased paper. Typed in bottom right-hand corner of covering title: 'Director of Public Prosecutions.' Anwarudding was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1913, and between that year and 1918 his marital difficulties caused him to appear before thirteen different High Court Judges in eight different courts.

Two 8vo diaries, by Charles Letts, the first 'improved' and the second 'self-opening'. Both in heavily worn covers, lacking spines, but internally clean, on aged paper, and with the text entirely legible. Both diaries end with a brief set of accounts. The diaries are filled with details of the life of a young English lawyer in London during the Great War, including references to the many legal cases in which he was involved.

Printed on one side of a piece of paper roughly 680 x 430 mm. Good, on aged paper with a little spotting and one short closed tear. Text complete and entirely legible. Heading printed in a variety of types and point sizes, with the Rules and Articles, dated 'Slough, April 20th, 1897. and 'Signed on behalf of the General Body of Subscribers, EDMUND J. CRASKE.', in double-column beneath. Final list of subscribers, in four columns, beginning with 'ABORN, Edwin, Eton' and ending with 'WOLLASTON, H. U., East Burnham'.

Two pages. On both sides of a piece of paper roughly twelve and a quarter inches by eight inches wide. Illustrated on both sides. An unusual piece of Post Office ephemera, and something of a period piece, on aged paper, with fraying to extremities. Begins 'The object of these instructions is to secure the apprehension of men and women who are negotiating stolen postal order forms and stolen penny stamps, the proceeds of thefts from Post Office. [...]'.

At the Old Bailey Sessions of 16 May 1833 Peacock stated 'I am brother to the solicitor of the Post-office. I assist him in his business'. Thirty-four pages, quarto. Unbound and crudely stitched. Grubby and with stains to first and last leaves. Apparently unpublished, but with a few pencil emendations. Each item initialed at the end by Peacock. First account begins 'Mrs. Rawlinson, the wife of a Merchant in the City, resided at Brixton in the County of Surry - She had in her employ a Servant Girl named Mary Burton, [...]', and ends 'Mrs.