NAPIER

Draft invitation on both sides of landscape 12mo (11 x 18 cm) piece of paper. In fair condition, lighly aged. A rough draft, apparently for the design of a printed card. The main effort, on one page, reads: 'Mr. Geo. G. Adams, Sculptor, | Solicits the honor of a call, from | [wavy line] | to inspect his | [two wavy lines] | Private view on the [wavy line] | 126, Sloane Street.' There is the start of another attempt on the reverse. The poetical quotation is on one side of a 5 x 18 cm strip of paper, laid down on a paper backing. In fair condition, aged and worn.

1p., 8vo. Very good on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse, with Clancarty's broken seal in red wax and two postmarks, with Clancarty's frank: 'Ballinasloe May twenty 1824 | Miss E. Napier | St. Albans | Herts | England | 2 | Clancarty'. He writes that immediately on his return to Ireland he 'applied to Edwd. Pakenham about the Coleridge Charity, & finished with him your Account'. He is sending Pakenham's answer, 'which has been delayed by the reasons which you will find in it.' It appears to him to be 'quite satisfactory'.

1p., 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, on aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr. Danl. Flexney | Westborne Place | Bayswater | near London', with two postmarks in red ink, one round and the other oval (the second in two parts), both giving year 1818. Docketed and with the following note above the text of the letter: 'From Lieut Col George Napier | To Mr. Danl.

3pp., 8vo. Bifolium. On laid paper with 'Silverburn' watermark. In good condition, lightly aged, with short closed tears along fold lines. The petition, in Darwin's hand, reads: 'To the Manager of the Great Northern Railway Company | We the undersigned residents at Cambridge have often occasion to pass the day in London, and frequently make use of the admirable train service provided by your Company. | The afternoon is the time usually devoted to our business, and we are often pressed for time or compelled to stay over in London, because there is no train leaving London after 5 p.m.

1p., 4to. He is honoured to be asked to talk to the Napier Society (a military history society at Sandhurst), but is 'right in the middle of the Cambridge term', as a Fellow of Churchill College, and so must 'propose a subject which I have already talked about.' He suggests two topics: 'Trade Defence in World War II' and 'Some Reasons for Official History', in the last of which he tries 'to answer criticisms of that form of history and describe the sources I had used and the way I had worked when writing The War at Sea 1939-45'.

3pp., foolscap 8vo. 60 lines. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Bifolium. Addressed, with broken red wax seal, to 'C. J. Auret Esqe. | Secretary | Board of Public Roads | Cape Division | Cape Town'. Napier understands that no tender has been received 'for putting in repair the Cross Road leading from Mr. place, to Mr. Henry Dreyer's Bridge on the Constantia Road & from the Bridge to the foot of the Hill leading to Wynberg'. It is 'very evident' to Napier 'that if some means are not immediately taken, that the heavy rains we may expect this winter will render the same totally impassable'.'s?>

2pp., 16mo. On first leaf of bifolium of watermarked laid de la Rue paper. In good condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper. A fair copy, neatly written out in a delicate hand. The poem is 28 lines long, arranged in four 7-line stanzas. Short and effective, with no hint of Christian piety to lighten the unremitting gloom.

2pp., 12mo. Closely and neatly written. 45 lines of text. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. An interesting item, pulling together several strands of nineteenth-century Anglo-American literature. Having received a letter from his daughter telling him that George Ticknor (1791-1871) of Boston was 'desirous of knowing who was the author of an article in the Edinburgh Review on a work of Mr Prescott', Horner has written to the publisher 'Mr Longman as the most likely person to give or get me the information'.

Folio, 1 p. Twenty-three lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. His mother Lady Napier, who went to town the previous day, has 'taken charge of the 2 Vols of the Athenaeum' his correspondent sent him. 'Lady Napier has promised to call herself at Leicester Square & deliver the books to you'. If he should be in when she calls, Napier asks him to 'explain to her my theory as to the "Sources of the Nile", briefly embodied in the accompanying paper'.

Folio, 1 p. 35 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper. Docketed 'Copy of Letter wch. proved the antedate of Major'. He apologises for troubling Torrens again with his 'unfortunate case'. he is 'still on crutches and a very great sufferer in consequence of the numerous & severe Wounds I received in the Battle of Waterloo'. He is 'induced to implore His Rl. Highness The Commander in Chief [i.e. the Prince of Wales] to allow my commission as Brevet Major'.

12mo, 8 pp. Stapled. In original grey printed wraps. Text clear and complete. On aged paper and in spotted wraps.

Most in fair condition, some in poor. The collection comprises: A. One ALS and 3 draft ALSs from Wood (2 apparently incomplete), total 16pp. with some notes, not an easy read: to unknown correspondent (1877) on "public works questions"; to Syed Hussein (1878) checking facts about cultivation in Hyderabad for newspaper article (prob. annotated by Hussein so ALS not a draft); to "Mr Machen[?](no date) about a pamphlet he's just published on the issues of the day; to Col. C.

On piece of card, 4 x 7 cm. Aged and spotted. Reads 'Sir Chas Napier | Merchistoun', with the words centred as usual. Drawing or floor plan in pencil on reverse. From the Paterson papers.

4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Twenty-two lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with minor damage repaired with archival tape. Franked, with broken red wax seal and two postmarks, to 'Captain Saml Brown R.N.', at Inverleith House, Edinburgh. Despite the fact that Martin has 'given the Credit of every improvement in the Service', Napier happens to know 'that other people are deserving of more credit than him', and he wishes to 'bring forward some great names like yours' to 'the Lords & the Country' at the second reading of the Navy Officer Bill.

12mo, 3 pp. Good, on lightly-aged paper with small light stain to one edge. He has 'been laid up since the party with what appeared to be much the same brand of whopping cough as that indulged in by my children by the present moment!' He is 'shaking it off now' and is 'delighted to hear that your district has achieved the amount aimed at', and is pleased to have 'helped in a small degree towards it'. Written a few months after North's return home in disgrace, after allowing a French squadron pass the Strait of Gibraltar without harrassment in September 1940.

Scottish diplomat and governor of India (1819-98). Four pages, 12mo. On mourning paper. Folded twice. Creased and grubby and with traces of previous mounting adhering. Slight loss at foot of first leaf of bifoliate, affecting one word of text. Headed 'Private'. Haly's letter to the private secretary of the Governor of Madras has been placed in Napier's hands. 'I regret that I feel myself under the necessity of declining the dedication of your intended work.

12 pp. Complete and clear, on browned high-acidity paper. According to one authority 'The People's Convention (P.C.) began life as the People's Vigilance Committee, set up by the Hammersmith Labour Party and Trades Council in July 1940. The leading figure was Denis Noel Pritt, a recently expelled Labour M.P., but the aims were very much in line with the policies of the Communist Party (C.P.) in that period of the Phoney War.' The Convention met in January 1941 and folded at the end of the year.

12mo (18 x 11 cm): 1 p. 15 lines of text. On aged paper with one light stain at centre. Corner on reverse tipped in onto card mount. No signature. Introducing 'Miss Napier who has just returned from the Cape of Good Hope - She has one or two M.SS which she wishes to submit to your notice [...] you will kindly assist the lady in her literary efforts'. Miss Napier's address is given as '4 Beech View Villas, South Penge Park | Penge Surrey SE.' It is perhaps significant that Sir George Thomas Napier (1784-1855) was Governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 1837 to 1843.

On piece of laid paper, dimensions 6 x 11 cm. Good. Clearly complying with a request for an autograph. Reads 'With much pleasure | [signed] Napier of Magdala | March 1884'.

Scottish engineer (died 1967), noted for his innovative design of a gas turbine engine. One page, 12mo. Very good. Pinholes to one corner and bearing a date stamp. He is honoured to be nominated as a fellow of the Society, and encloses the proposal and a cheque (neither present), thanking the Council 'for the kind invitation extended to me'. Signed 'H. Sammons'.