GORDON

The collection, deriving from the Ewart family papers, is in good condition, on aged paper, with fraying to the extremities of the report. Sir John Spencer Ewart, son of General Sir John Alexander Ewart, Colonel of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, entered Sandhurst in 1880, and left the following year, with the sword of honour, to join the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. (For more information about Ewart and his father, who also obtained 'special distinction' at Sandhurst, see their entries in the Oxford DNB.) ONE. Manuscript 'Report'.

Both items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with slight loss of text to both from the cutting away of Gordon's seal. Both addressed to 'My dearest Jessey' and posted to her as 'Mrs. Creed', care of General Corner, 4 Berkeley Street, Portman Square, London. Letter One (1828): 5pp., 4to. On a bifolium and a single leaf. With Madras postmark and three others. He begins by explaining his handling of money 'from the Estate of our poor late Uncle [...] sufficient in the beginning of the Year for the Purchase of my Majority in the 13th Dragoons in the Event of a Vacancy'.

Lower part of letter with ruled border, laid down on part of leaf from autograph album. Dimensions: 7.5 x 18.5 cm. Lightly aged and ruckled. Reads: '<...> your support at the approaching Election for the County of Durham - having for so long possessed the confidence of this County, it is his utmost ambition to have it continued and should he be honoured with yours, it will be considered the highest obligation | I am Sir | Your faithful Servant | [signed] Ju: Milbank | Seaham | Octr: 27. 1806.' Contemporary ink note reads: '[Lady Milbanke afterwards Lady Noel Milbanke, mother of Lady Byron.]'

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium on mourning paper. In good condition, lightly-aged. Reads: 'Sir John Hobhouse presents his compliments and would be very much obliged to the Secretary of the British Institution to send him two tickets for the exhibition of this evening.'

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with damage to second leaf, which carries the address to 'Messrs Carey & Hart'. Reads 'Gentln | Will you oblige me by an account Sales on the one hundred copies of the Gazetteer of New York, delivered to you in October last. | Very respectfully &c | [signed] Thos F Gordon | 2 May 1837 | Mess. Carey & Hart.'

4pp., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with the second leaf neatly placed in a paper windowpane mount. He writes that he has been 'excessively busy', and this has delayed his 'coming to a decision re the lecture'. 'Since the 4th Oct. I have written two large books, besides any amount of magazine work &c.' As he has '4 books to write before May', he is afraid his 'lecture on Caravan Life will have to be deferred till another season'. He has been asked to 'lecture on Kindness to Dogs, &c with living specimens on the stage at Birmingham', and fears that 'even this will have to be put off'.

1p., 4to. Good, on lightly-aged paper. In reply to Allston's letter Greene assures him that 'Capt. Sturgis did not write the paragraph' Allston alludes to, 'nor did he contemplate the publication of his decision in a newspaper at the time he made it known to the gentleman who furnished me with the information'.

Printed on one side of a 4to leaf, to which a black mourning border has been given by hand. Well printed on wove paper. Fair, on lightly-aged and ruckled paper. The author's name is not given, and the title reads 'SONNET | ON THE LATE | DUTCHESS [sic] OF GORDON.' The poem begins: 'IS then the bright expansive spirit flown, | That wont to animate the admiring throng? | Does the fair theme of many a poet's Song | Exist in pleasing memory alone?' The poem was also printed in 'The Poetical Register, and Repository of Fugitive Poetry, for 1810-1811' (London: F. C. and J.

8vo volume, on thick laid paper, in black simulated leather binding (a Black Book of Bankers, so to speak), marbled endpapers. Gilt stamp of the Bank of England on the front cover. In very good condition. The recto of the first leaf is inscribed 'To Gordon Richardson | In admiration and With every good wish On your 90th birthday | From your Friends and Colleagues of the Bank and the City and from abroad | 25th November 2005'. Around 70 signatures follow, over seven pages.

4to, 180 pp. In original 'Emberlin & Son' ledger, with red leather half-binding, black cloth, marbled endpapers. Text clear and complete. In fair condition, on aged paper, in worn binding. Minutes signed by G. H. Spray, B. W. Tucker, W. B. Alexander, J. B. E. Say, William G. Dyson, Alan Newton. Numerous programmes (with lists of officers) tipped-in, along with one set of rules and a poster with large engraving of bird (a smaller version of which features on the programmes), printed by the Holywell Press.

Both letter and estimate clear and complete; both good, on lightly-aged paper. Letter: 4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Addressed, with faint circular 'ABER | DEEN' postmark in black ink, on reverse of second leaf, to 'The Right Honourable | The Earl of Aboyne | Montrose'. The letter is in two parts: the first (12 lines) on the recto of the first leaf, informs the Earl that 'The Buttons were sent by yesterdays Mail', and that, 'Some days since', he 'sent by the Mail Coach a pattern Coat as a Uniform for the Band.

4to, 3pp. Bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with slight loss to second leaf caused by opening of red wax seal (part of which still adheres), and minor nicking to edges. Begins: 'The task you set me was a task indeed [...] my first attempt at translation'. He comments on some of the difficulties involved ('The Cara so often repeated in the original is beautiful in repetition while it's angliciz'd Dear is so degraded by vulgar use').

8vo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. On creased and lightly-aged paper. He is glad that Sir Thomas appreciates 'the seriousness of our position', and the reasons for asking Hatchards 'to release Mr. Edgeley to us for approximately six months in order to enable him to concentrate mainly upon the rehabilitation of this business'. Not a minor matter; according to one source the firm had '2,217 branches and 1.3 million books in circulation by 1934'.

On a piece of paper roughly 7 x 10 cm. Laid down on a piece of card. Fair, rucked and grubby, with traces of previous mount adhering to the reverse. Presmuably in response to a request for an autograph. Reads: 'I wish thee well | [signed] W Gordon-Stables | MD - RN'.

The front of the envelope (dimensions 8.5 x 14.5 cm) cut away. Previously laid down in an autograph album, and with traces of the leaf still adhering to the reverse. On aged and lightly-creased paper. In a firm, neat hand. Reads 'Mr John Ball | 31 Bloomsbury Place'. At the head, in a contemporary hand, 'The writing of Lady Noel Byron, wife of Lord Byron'.

According to Karl Dallas (Morning Star, 16 November 2007) it was he who 'first mooted the idea' of an anti-Vietnam War 'campaign in the folk scene', with the 'singers' group' being formed by Dallas in conjunction with Ewan MacColl and Gordon McCulloch. The four items are excessively scarce survivals, with no copies of any of them appearing on COPAC. All are printed on one side of a leaf roughly 25 x 20 cm. Each leaf is differently coloured. The items are in fair condition, dogeared and with light creasing and chipping to extremities.

LETTER: One page, quarto. Somewhat aged and creased. An attractive item in Carter's disciplined calligraphic hand. A damning assessment of Craig's son Edward Anthony Craig ('Edward Carrick', 1905-98). '[...] If you know him, you presumably also know what you are taking on! We had some dealings with Teddy over possibly printing old EGC's engravings of Robinson Crusoe, but Teddy sold them, [...] My impression is that the old rogue manufactured archives in order to sell them to someone - preferably twice.

4to, 1 p, 17 lines. He 'deeply appreciate[s] the spirit undlying the contents' of Cavangh's letter, which he found waiting for him on his return the day before 'after attending our beloved late King's Funeral'. 'As you say, the sword and scabbard must have belonged to my great Grandfather, the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, who was Prime Minister during theh Crimea War by the express command of Queen Victoria. He accepted the Premiership on the condition that he should be allowed to resign at the conclusion of the war.' Suggests a meeting in Aberdeen.

One page, 8vo, good condition. Boddy of letter in secretrarial hand, signed "Yours sincerely | C Bradlaugh". Text: "Protest against war in the Sudan. | Dear Sir | I should be obliged if you would kindly add to the letter you have received from me that S Storey Esq MP & Professor Beesly have also consented to attend & speak at the St James Hall meeting on April 2nd."

[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'.

All items very good. A couple with slight staining at head from paperclip. Letter One (to 'The Secretary', 4to, 1 p, 5 lines): Apologising for delay in acknowledging the 'letter and enclosures of 31st ultimo': 'my office was only opened on Wednesday last and I have had much correspondence with which to deal'. Letter Two (to Luckhurst, 4to, 1 p, 18 lines): Concerning 'a booklet on the layout and design of small houses' which the C.P.R.E. 'is hoping to publish this spring'.

Quarto: ix + 21 pages. Stapled. In original cream wraps, with colour cover illustration by Helen Taylor. Full-page reproduction of drawing of Rutherston by his brother Sir William Rothenstein. Introduction places Rutherston in the tradition of Edward Gordon Craig and Claud Lovat Fraser. Copies of the second edition (1992) recorded by COPAC, but not at BL or Bodley.

Dimensions of paper roughly fifteen inches across by nine; dimensions of print roughly eleven and a half inches by seven. On laid paper, watermarked 'VI' or 'IV'. The image and text clear and complete, though the paper aged, and with some fraying and damp staining to extremities. A jubilant mob in front of a burning Newgate, with hats and axes held high, throwing the Keeper's domestic possessions onto a bonfire. A woman to the right, along with a 'No Popery' flag.

One page, 12mo. Very good. He presents his correspondent with 'deux petits ouvrages sortis de ma plume'. The first was mentioned by 'Mr. Burgess' and the second is 'un petit traite qui a eu le bonheur il y a quelques ans de remporter le prix annuel dans l'Universite d'Oxford'. Signed 'Willm. Roberts'. In a postscript asks to be recommended to any acquaintances Van Santen may have 'a Rotterdam Anvers ou Bruxelles'. Address, with broken wafer, on second leaf of bifolium. Roberts is perhaps best remembered for the controversy brought on by a passage in Byron's 'Don Juan'.

Motorcycle, motorboat and motorcar racer (1868-1940), leading figure in the motor business, 'in farming established the largest pedigree pig-breeding business in the United Kingdom [...] winner of many classic cycle races, the only British winner of the Gordon Bennett race, the International Harmsworth Motor Boat Trophy and the Championship of the Sea at Monaco [...] holder for over 17 years of 24 hours' motor-car record of 1581 miles' continuous driving, in this country, and then beaten by his own car' (Who's Who). Both items one page, quarto.

Admiral (see DNB). A difficult hand. Two pages, 8vo, residue of laying down on verso, torn in two which only marginally affects the text, as follows: "My Dear Gordon, / I have had this sketch [?] copied. Many thanks for it and for the paper containing the general's visit to Abyssinia. I have given the [?] to Lord North[?] to read. I look upon . . . [???] the [?] of the Nile as impracticable for an army but I sh[oul]d like to send a small force across the [?] almost at the same time as the [Troops?] go from Suakin to Berber."

1st edition, 2nd issue. 8vo. In original plain grey wraps. Fly leaf and half-title. Pages: xi + 100 + 4 pages of publisher's advertisements (dated February 1814). Without the words 'THE END' or the publisher's imprint on the last page. In poor condition: grubby, frayed and stained, and with loss to one corner each of rear wrap and to last leaf of advertisements. Also lacking, as a result of the partial removal of an ownership inscription, a small strip along the top edge of the title-leaf, but with inscription 'Sophia F. Stewart - 1814'.

Playwright under the name Walter Gordon. One page, 16mo, on mourning paper. "My dear Croker / Monday is reserved for you - I enclose one more autograph and one of the three you want - / Yours very sincerely / William Gowing" Docketed in pencil "of the Olympic Theatre". Negligible traces of mount to the reverse.

Theatre historian, wood engraver, etc. four pages, 8vo, (250 copies, numbered in pencil)with a poem by John Gawsworth and a device including Block's name on the front cover by "Edward Carrick" (pseud. for Edward Anthony Craig). Three copies, EACH,

Playwright under the name Walter Gordon. The first, 4 pp, 12mo, on mourning paper, 24 August 1887, c/o Mrs H. E. Rose, Buxton on the Water, Glos. "I went to Town yesterday to attend the Funeral of my old friend [John] Palgrave Simpson [dramatist and novelist, 1807-1887, DNB], returning here again this morning. / Of course the death seemed sudden when it came although one had forseen it coming for some long time past.