I

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. Addressed on second leaf 'To | Sr John Chetwood Barrtt'. On aged and worn paper. Neatly and attractively written out. Reads: 'Sr | I brought down from London the Prince's Patent for ye levyeing 3000 Markes in Cheshire due to his Royall Highness, as Earle of Chester on whic a Comis[si]on is issued out directed to you and Others for ye levyeing the Same which Comis[si]on I am oblig'd to acquaint you will be at Chester on Tuesday the first day of October next'.?>

Printed in black ink on one side of a 14 x 11 cm piece of wove paper. At the foot, in blue ink, is a good firm signature: 'E. Nesbit | 1921.' Above a central engraving of the façade of the Cathedral is written in stylised lettering: 'THE RECONSTRUCTION OF RHEIMS CATHEDRAL AS A MEMORIAL TO THE ALLIED FALLEN'. Beneath the illustration is printed, in conventional lettering: 'May France and the British Empire ever walk side by side in the paths of Peace!' Restoration of the cathedral began in 1919, and is still in progress.

2pp., folio. On bifolium. In a contemporary hand in margin of first page: 'Mr. Leblond' and a reference number. The document begins: 'Pre. Louis Caron de Vernon a eu l'honneur de servir sous les ordres de V: Altesse Royale en 1793 dans le 73 Bataillon de Paris, et au camp de Ste. Margueritte celui d'offrir son pain a V: Altesse, qu'Elle volut bien daigner accepter, en recommandant de lui rappeller cette circonstance dans l'occasion.

A total of 211pp., 8vo, paginated vii + xcviii + 105 + [1]. In red leather quarter-binding, with a coat of arms stamped in gilt on the green cloth front cover, and the title in gilt on the spine. Internally in fair condition, on lightly aged paper, in shaken and worn binding, with damage at head and tail of spine. Tastefully printed in a heavy style by Wyman and Sons. Day's 98-page introduction concludes by explaining thaht 'the documents now printed are in possession of Mr. Benett Stanford, the collateral descendant of Colonel Benett, and present member for Shaftesbury.

[ii].[1]-48 pp., 12mo, disbound, staining and other defects, but complete, text clear. Illegible ownership signature [?] on title. This includes the duel between Richard I and Saladin. BL copy recorded on COPAC only.

Pp.[3 title]-27[1 blank], 8vo, disbound, presumably missing hf-title, title and final blank dingy, small hole on p.27 with loss of part of page number and a couple of letters. ESTC R205565. Multiple copies in British and US libraries. No copy currently on the market.

On one side of a small skin of vellum (circa 28 x 29 cm). In fair condition, aged and worn. In English, with signed Latin note on reverse by a notary public. Boundaries given. Scan on application.

On one side of a piece of vellum (roughly 32 x 43 cm). In fair condition, aged and worn, with the remains of the seal sewn up in a cloth bag. With monogram signature in customary place on gutter tab. Ruled with red lines, and with ornate initial capital and decorative margin at head. Docketed on reverse. In Latin. Scan on application.

On both sides of a piece of vellum (approximately 11 x 27 cm). In fair condition, aged and worn, with seal removed. In English. Concerning the fulfilment of articles mentioned in a pair of indentures of the same date (not present). The various signatures include the marks of two of the parties. Scan on application.

8vo: 36 pp, paginated [17] to 52. Disbound and unbound. Grubby, but with text clear and entire. Outer bifolium in poor condition. Lacking stitching, so with each bifolium loose. Mainly consisting of lists of individuals receiving awards.

[2] + 11 + [1]pp., 12mo. Printed in black on cream paper, with the wraps printed in blue in 'Stop Press' style. In very good condition, with minor spotting from staples. Presumably printed up by Bentley himself, and taking the story of his claim to 29 March 1922, the Home Office response to his petition to the king. The text begins: 'When Earl Kitchener called in Captain Bentley, a pioneer of motor transport, to embody in actual design the famous car which became known in the war a a "Tank," he promised that his interests as an inventor would be safeguarded.

1p., landscape 12mo. On aged and lightly-creased laid paper ('PRO PATRIA' watermark), with chipping to extremities. On reverse, in another hand: 'At Northampton a Monument at the Inn'.

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium, with Foss's letter (33 lines) on both sides of the first leaf, and the page of extracts by the recipient (38 lines) on the recto of the second leaf. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with one corner of the first leaf cut away. The letter is addressed to 'My dear Sir', without any indication of the recipient's identity.

2pp., 12mo. Aged and creased, on Seymour's monogrammed letterhead. The letter, on the recto of the first leaf, is addressed to 'Gentlemen' (possibly Stamfords, the London firm of map-sellers). It reads: 'I shall be much obliged to you to send me the three Maps marked overleaf, mounted on <?> in a small parcel to be left at the Foreign Office to the care of F. B. Alston Th Esqre who will have the kindness to pay for the same. / The parcel to be directed to Sir Hamilton Seymour G.C.B. H.M. Minster, St Petersburg'.

Folio, 3 pp. Bifolium. Printed on laid, watermarked paper. Around thirty-four lines to the page. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with loss to one corner (not affecting text). Reverse of second leaf docketed, and with thin strip from mount adhering at fold. Written in a neat seventeenth-century hand, with a number of emendations (including a deletion of three lines) suggesting that this copy was made by the anonymous author himself.

This archive records the day-by-day response to the Great War of a cultured and intelligent English newspaper editor operating outside the Fleet Street hegemony. It charts his change of opinion from initial optimism (8 August 1914: 'The instinct is to strike - it is nature's own law.

An interesting correspondence, from one maritime expert to another, casting light on German naval attitudes in the period following the Great War. Batsch's father, Admiral Karl Ferdinand Batsch (1831-1898), is regarded as one of the founders of the German navy. Bower, who served for twenty years in the Royal Navy, retiring in 1884 with the rank of Commander, is best known as Imperial Secretary in South Africa at the time of the Jameson Raid. Following the First World War he established himself as an expert in international law relating to naval matters.

Dimensions of paper roughly. Creased, with fraying to extremities, closed tears, and some staining and fading due to damp. A careful production, detailing the fortification to the towns of Bilstein (north-east of Cologne), Junkermuehle and Nassenstein, in black, yellow, red and green, with attractive lettering. 'References' are to 'barbed wire entanglements', 'main roads', 'Woods', 'stream', 'bye Roads' and 'Bridges'. Pencil additions include position of 'SNIPERS'. Ascribed at foot to 'Cpl. A. Hunter' and dated 'February 1919'.

Both letters lightly creased and spotted, but good overall. Letter One (8vo, 8 pp): In stamped, addressed envelope. Begins by asking whether Haydon would consider acting as co-executor to his estate with his wife Flora. Outlines his financial situation and discusses the executor's duties. Turns to 'the naval situation', Haydon's letter on the subject being 'so guarded that it might be nailed up in Trafalgar Square without helping the enemy'.

The author is obscure, but the letter is addressed to 'Sir Rennell' [Sir James Rennell Rodd (1858-1941), diplomat and author]. 2 pages, 16mo, creased but in good condition. A florid missive beginning 'In this tempest of egotism and hate which has plunged us all into Teutonic darkness, you will not have forgotten, my dear Sir Rennell, the lines of Coleridge: | [...]'.

All three items good. Item One: Prospectus and application form, headed 'The Anti-German League. Introduction by the Founder.' Three pages, in a bifolium. Leaf dimensions 27.5 x 21.5 cm. Printed in blue. The 'Introduction' covers the first two pages, flanked by columns bearing the words 'Lest We Forget.' and 'MOTTO: "Everything German Taboo." ' It includes the headings ' "Made in Germany" - The Mark of the Beast' and 'The Alien Menace'.

Interesting item with contemporary resonances. ITEM ONE: dimensions eight and a half inches by fourteen and a half inches. Around fifty lines of text. Clean, but heavily folded. States that 18 months previously Maude and the British Army had come 'not as conquerors but as deliverers'. Describes the progress of the war and states that despite Maude's death the promises he made in a proclamation to the citizens of Baghdad will be kept. Announces eight undertakings (e.g. 'Fifth, that the routes to the sacred places will be thrown open once again for organized pilgrimages').

One page, folio. Very good on lightly creased paper. Headed 'FIGHTING FUND' and listing the members of the 'PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE' (including Lampson as Honorary Secretary, and the Duke of Westminster and Earl of Malmesbury). Communication of twenty-seven lines, with decided proto-fascistic overtones.

4 pages, 8vo. Creased and grubby but in good condition overall. Interesting letter in difficult hand. Opens by sending his deepest sympathy: 'I can sympathise having as you know been personally damaged by a falling branch last Xmas.' 'Officially we have given up contradicting the <?> prevalent rumours of Russian Troops moving through Great Britain. The Germans may hear of the rumours - may believe them: [^ that may do good;] but there is no truth in them at all. Barring a few Russian reservists who were in this country no Russian troops have been sent to France.

An attractive and delicate piece of ephemera, dusty and slightly tarnished, but in very good condition overall. Skilfully manufactured and giving a convincing metallic appearance. 15 cm wide from opposing points of the star, which is of gold card overlaid with silver silver card, both types embossed in a pattern of pearls of different sizes radiating out from the centre, over which sits the Reichsadler, of embossed black card, 6 cm high by 7 cm wide, crowned, with wings outstretched, orb and sceptre in its talons.

Landscape 12mo (leaf dimensions 12 x 16 cm): 27 pp. Stitched with no jacket as issued. Covers a little grubby, but a good copy of a scarce item. Title page and twelve delightful full-page pochoir illustrations by Arnoux, all hand-coloured: 'En temps de Paix', 'Premier contact', 'Le sous-lieutenant', 'Les Indiens', 'Black-Watch', 'Le capitaine et l'infirmiere', 'Les Irlandais', 'Le Major', 'La Mascotte', 'Ship ahoy!!', 'Le bon Ecossais' and 'God save the King'.

Explorer (1856-1933), and commander of Prisoner of War Camp during the Great War. Three pages (with the third, including the signature, written crosswise), 12mo. In very good condition. He has been away and apologises for not replying to her 'kind invitation' sooner. He is disappointed not to be able to accept, as he should have liked to have had 'a chat with you & your husband'. Signed 'Henry de Windt'.

3 pages, 8vo. On three leaves of paper, all creased, discoloured and worn, with a few tears and pin holes. Lively, humorous, and well-written account of the army career of a skiver. 'Behold me then the next time in the trenches a Lewis Gunner, my-self to be about to kill Bosches in neat little trenches of 47. As a matter of fact I did not kill one as I never fired the gun but we had one or two thrilling times. [...] January 1st. 1917 I became a member of the now famous Tank Corps.

12mo, 3 pp, 26 lines. Good, with tiny pin holes at head and foot of both leaves of the bifolium, and one corner roughened by removal of mount. Buckmaster has learnt that Meade is 'contemplating leaving [his] work in this Office', and would 'greatly regret any such step' as Meade's work is 'of great assistance and is much appreciated by all of us in this room'. While Buckmaster realises that there is little opportunity for advancement, he feels that 'we all do render considerable service to the state'.

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.