HOUSE

Following the 1951 General Election, Morrision was proposed as Speaker by the victorious Conservative Party, against convention. An election among MPs followed, with Morrision winning against the Labour candidate Major James Milner. 2pp., 4to. Fair, on aged and lightly-creased paper. At the head of the first page Chorley has written the words 'not used'. The first paragraph reads: 'There are a number of reasons why Mr. W. S.

Letter: 1p., 12mo. On bifolium. On aged and worn paper with closed tears at foot and pinholes at head. Reads: 'Sir, | I return you the account of Burley with some Amendments which I think it requires, I dare say that when I have an opportunity of seeing your Work I shall wish to become a Subscriber.' The proof, with a few minor corrections in Winchilsea's hand, are 2pp., 8vo, printed on one side of a half sheet folded once to make a bifolium, with the first page on the recto of the first leaf, and the second page on the verso of second leaf. On aged and worn paper.

1p., 12mo. Very good. Wildeblood writes: 'I would like to thank you for your appreciative reference to my book in Tuesday's debate, and to say how much I admire your efforts to obtain a measure of justice for a section of the community that is necessarily inarticulate. I am proud to be associated with your activities and wish them every possible success.' Rather than homosexuals, the 'section of the community' referred to by Wildeblood was the 'prison population'.

2pp., 12mo. 20 lines. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Asking Chorley if he would be one of '3 members for the committee which is to be set up to examine the powers of this House over its members relative to their attendance - that is probably not an accurate description of it, but I have not got the reference handy, and I think you will know what I mean!' The committee is to be appointed the following June, 'but Hendriks would be glad to have the names beforehand'. 'Wedgy Benn [William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate] and Lewis Silkin' have also been asked. From the Chorley papers.

1p., 12mo. Fair, on aged paper, with short vertical closed tear at foot through the first name of Pyne's signature, unobtrusively repaired on reverse with archival tape. The letter reads: 'Dear Sir | I left a message for you this morning asking for a Box which I am very much surprised at not receiving | Will you kindly send me one by bearer | It is for my Father | In haste | Yours Obediently | [signed] Louisa Pyne'.

Black and white photograph, 11 x 15 cm, laid down on piece of white paper 12 x 16.5 cm, itself laid down on a piece of grey card, 200 x 255 cm. In fair condition, slightly discoloured and with one tiny chip to the right-hand edge; in lightly-aged mount with wear to corners. The card carries the printed caption: 'Proclamation of H. M. King Edward VII. | GIBRALTAR, 25TH JANUARY, 1901.' A large crowd looks up at a large official party on the stone balcony of the Governor's House, Gibraltar, which is decked with a large Union Flag.

30 + [ii] pp., 12mo. One of 300 copies. Printed in Caslon in red and black on Batchelor handmade paper. Wood-engraved initial and press-mark. Worn grey paper-covered boards with printed labels on spine and front board. Internally good in worn binding with discoloured spine splitting. Inscribed 'With every kind thought from C. Persis Burkitt. | July 17th.' Bookplate in green and black of D. Tecwyn Lloyd. The "second book printed at the Essex House Press".

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of glue from mount. It would give her 'very much pleasure' to accept the invitation 'to join you & other dear workers in the Temperance Work you are planning for April, but I am sorry to say at present I am quite liad aside from all work'. She describes how she has been ill since the previous October.

A good, firm signature, written on one side of a rectangle torn from the base of a letter, roughly 15 x 20cm. Aged and little creased. Written while Kean was on an American theatrical tour, the fragment reads 'I remain, | Yours truly | [signed] Charles Kean | Aster House | 9th. June | 1846.' In pencil on the reverse: 'Presented by A. Bassler'.

1828: 2pp., 4to. 'Dalmahoy nr Edinburgh | March 3d 1828'. Signed 'Morton'. In fair condition, lightly-aged and with a short closed tear along one fold.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with slight creasing to bottom outer corner of both leaves. Bishop begins by asking Gye to confirm 'the excuse which Mr Barton has given for his absence the whole of Friday Evening last: & which having being [sic] noticed to me officially, I am obliged to enquire particularly into: - He says that he was at the Old Bailey Trial in consequence of your invitation that day!

1p., 4to. Eighteen lines. On creased and lightly-aged paper. On 21 February 1924, in the House of Commons, Lansbury 'asked the Secretary of State for War if his attention has been called to the fact that the Officers' Association have sent in a claim to the Army Council for compensation on behalf of Lieutenant C. H. Glendinning, 3rd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, on the grounds of the false imprisonment, conspiracy and persecution to which this officer was subjected whilst serving in India during 1917'.

The nine items are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Items One, Three and Four, from 1962, and stapled together, as are the other six items, dating from 1964-5. ONE: Autograph Letter Signed ('Benjamin Britten') from Britten to Juda. On letterhead of The Red House, Aldeburgh, Suffolk. 25 July 1962. Responding to Item Three below, Britten thanks Juda for 'sending the magnificent book on Graham Sutherland', which Britten is 'very glad indeed to have'.

9pp. [paginated ii+ 7], 8vo. Disbound. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with first leaf loose. Government stamp at head of first page: 'SUPPLIED FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE'. The first two pages (paginated i-ii) give an 'Arrangement of Sections'. An historic document, almost never found alone: no copies listed on COPAC.

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. Addressed, with red wax seal and postmark in red ink, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Captain Pack | Royal Fusiliers | Barbados'. The letter begins: 'My dear Captain Pack | I take the earliest opportunity of letting you that [sic] the Ship Herefordshire - a noble vessel - has been taken up to convey the 67 to Gibraltar, & the 66 & 72 from thence to the West Indies, proceeding afterwards with the Fusiliers & 19th Halifax'.

1p., folio. On laid paper, watermarked 'CLARKE AND HORSINGTON 1825'. Disbound. Fair, on lighly-aged paper with creasing to the top outer corner. The central part of the page carries the 39-line Order in Council, signed in type by C. C. Greville, and headed 'AT THE COURT OF ST. JAMES'S, | The 16th Day of November, 1827, | PRESENT, | The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council:'.

2pp., folio. Disbound. Fold mark. Fair, on lightly-aged and creased paper. The title, lengthwise on the reverse, ends: '[...] Admiral King; and, Copy of Report as to how the Captured Vessels and Property were disposed of, and what Amount of Prize Money was shared by the respective Captors; &c. | (Colonel Sykes.)' At the head of the return is a communication from Briggs repeating the title, dated from the Admiralty, 10 May 1866.

1p., 4to. Worn and aged. The item has been laid down and cropped to 23 x 19.5cm, with only the top part of Langston's surname is present at the bottom of the leaf. In heavily-inked type. The item reads: 'FREEMEN | OF THE | City of Oxford. | Gentlemen, | I want words to express my acknowledgements to you for your generous conduct towards me this day; and I am proud to find, that the longer the Contest continues the better I stand on the Poll.

4pp., 12mo. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. She begins: 'I could not but tell the Queen how kindly you had expressed the pleasure which the Royal visit at Stowe had given to the Duke & Duchess. - And Her Majesty was exceedingly pleased and flattered - and desired me to tell you from her, how delighted both she & the Prince had been by their reception, & the whole visit; which to Her Majesty & the Prince, had but one drawback - and that was, the not having met you there, which would have realised the great wish they both entertain, of being introduced to you'.

An excessively scarce run of issues of the organ of the Jezreelite sect, founded by James Jershom Jezreel (real name James Roland White), under the inspiration of Joanna Southcott and John Wroe, and most famous for the unfinished construction of 'Jezreel's Tower' in Gillingham, Kent. For more information see P. J. Rogers, 'The Sixth Trumpeter' (OUP, 1963). The ninety issues in this incomplete run contain a variety of articles and poems in the same declamatory and horatory style.

12mo, 8 pp. On two bifoliums. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged and spotted paper. She writes with compassion but without tact: 'how great your loneliness must be - Dear Alice was so wrapt up in you, so devoted to you that the withdrawal of her love & sympathy must be very hard to bear - Till people lose one whose devotion to you & whose satisfaction in you made the whole world different, till they lose such a one, they can never realise the <?> the emptiness - the bitter years <?> one has to bear - it makes one feel such hopeless solitude Ah!

12mo, 8 pp. On two bifoliums. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged and spotted paper. She writes with compassion but without tact: 'how great your loneliness must be - Dear Alice was so wrapt up in you, so devoted to you that the withdrawal of her love & sympathy must be very hard to bear - Till people lose one whose devotion to you & whose satisfaction in you made the whole world different, till they lose such a one, they can never realise the <?> the emptiness - the bitter years <?> one has to bear - it makes one feel such hopeless solitude Ah!

1p., 4to. A fair copy, on a piece of aged high-acidity paper, with chipping and loss to edges (not affecting text). Signed at foot. The poem begins: 'Heart of a hero in a poet's frame, / Soul of a soldier in a body frail, - / Thine was the courage clear that did not quail / Before the giant champions of shame'. Gilder is praised as a 'poet, patriot, friend', the poem concluding: 'Thou leavest two great gifts that will not die, - / Amid the city's noise, thy lyric cry!

2pp., 4to. On bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed to 'Wm. Hamilton Esq'. Streatfeild has received directions from 'Mr. Secretary Bruce' granting Hamilton 'the Dignity of a Knight Bachelor of the United Kingdom'. Hamilton is to place £96 14s 6d in Streatfeild's account at Drummond's Bank in Charing Cross, 'being the Account & the Expenses attending the passing of the Patent under the Great Seal'. Streatfeild will 'proceed with the Patent as soon as you inform me whether the enclosed is your proper description'.

1p., landscape 12mo. On creased and aged paper. The name of the recipient is not given. In reply to his letter 'I acquaint you that my return to Parliament for the Borough of Armagh is dated the 15th of December 1832 and that I have not been a Member of Parliament prior to the above period'.

All items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letters total 33pp., 12mo; and 31pp, 16mo; with nine on 12mo bifoliums, seven on 16mo bifoliums and two on single 16mo leaves. Nine are on Southgate House letterheads, and two on Winchester College letterheads. All are complete except the last, which lacks the last part. Mostly addressed to 'My dear Aunty' and signed in a variety of ways, from 'J. Bowyer B. Nichols' to 'BBN'. The first letter, dated 4 December 1871, sets the tone, showing Bowyer Nichols to be a precocious and spirited twelve-year-old.

2pp., 4to. Good, on lightly-aged laid paper. Bower begins by stating that he is sending 'a Copy of a Letter which I have received from Dr Carm Smyth [James Carmichael Smyth (1742-1821) of the Middlesex Hospital]'. Smyth's son (the future Sir James Carmichael-Smyth) is 'a very fine handsome young man Lieut in the Engineers come out a Passanger [sic] in the same ship with us'. Bower and Smyth 'wisely went into the Boat which was lashed to the Stern Gallery to fish sharks which were following the ship - the Boat suddenly canted round in the slings, upon which poor Smyth went plump into the sea'.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Fair, on aged and chipped paper. As 'Mails for India leave at the end of the week', he considers the letter to be more convenient for her to forward. What attracted his attention to 'Mrs. Dighton's advertisement was the mention of African Stamps which she wished to obtain in exchange for those of Travancore'. He describes his own interests: 'I am especially strong in African Stamps having much correspondence from the West Coast'. He lists sets he would be willing to send to Mrs Dighton 'in exchange for 3 or 4 full sets of Navancore'.

1p., 12mo. On aged and lightly-spotted paper. Reads: 'My dear Sir, | Mrs. Hope's house will do & I shall be obliged to you to engage it for me, from the Saturday before the show for a week & the stables at Mr. Wrights also. | Yours most truly, | [signed] Spencer'. Mrs Hope is probably the Hon. Louisa Hope (d.1851), wife or widow of the connoisseur Thomas Hope (1769-1831), and one of the wealthiest women of England. If this is the case the letter was written before her second marriage in 1832 to her cousin Viscount Beresford.

Both items good, on lightly-aged paper. Rosa Hood's sister Adelaide Fanny was the wife of Herbert F. Gye, and letter and reply are written informally. Hood's letter: 3pp., 12mo. She received Mrs Gye's letter that morning, 'and the Queen has read it' and is 'quite pleased with your reply'.