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Autograph Signature ('George Willes') of Admiral Sir George Ommanney Willes.

Author: 
Admiral Sir George Ommanney Willes [Admiral Sir George Willes] (1823-1901) [Royal Navy; Admiral]
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£23.00

Written on a 4 x 11 cm piece of paper, cut from letter. Laid down on a 6 x 14 cm piece of grey paper, annotated in a contemporary hand: 'Admiral Sir George Willes'. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Reads 'Yours v. truly | George Willes'.

[Printed pamphlet by the Marine Biological Association of the West of Scotland.] Handbook of the Marine Station, Keppel Pier, Millport. Compiled by the Honorary Secretary.

Author: 
[John A. Todd, Honorary Secretary, Marine Biological Association of the West of Scotland, Glasgow; Keppel Pier, Millport]
Publication details: 
Glasgow: Printed for the Marine Biological Association of the West of Scotland. 1901. [Glasgow: Printed by N. Adshead & Son, Union Street.]
£80.00

66pp., 8vo. In grey printed wraps. Internally very good, in worn and discoloured wraps. Bookplate of Henry Malo inside the front cover. On shiny art paper, and with eight pages of illustations, including five full-page photographs and five plans (two of the 'Station Buildings', two of the sailing yacht the 'Mermaid', and one of 'The Ark' carrying the laboratory). The last two pages (65-66) carry a list of 'Office-Bearers 1901' from which Todd's name has been extracted. Uncommon: no copy at the British Library, and only six copies on OCLC WorldCat.

['Flighty', First World War magazine of the Royal Naval Air Service (Kingsnorth Airship Station).] Complete run of seventeen issues, each filled with features, cartoons, illustrations, features, gossip. bound in one volume with some covers.

Author: 
'Flighty' ('The Premier Air Service's Journal'), First World War magazine of the Royal Naval Air Service, published at the Airship Construction Station, Kingsnorth, Rochester, Kent
Publication details: 
R.N.A.S. Kingsnorth [later Kingsnorth Airship Construction Station], Rochester, Kent. From May 1917 (No. 1 Vol. 1) to Christmas 1918 (Vol. 2 No. 5).
£1,500.00

Issues of this magazine are excessively scarce, and a full run would appear to be well-nigh unique. The only other copy traced, either on COPAC or on WorldCat, is at the Imperial War Museum (whose inadequate entry implies that it only holds a single issue, stating that it 'lacks advertisement pages before page 1'). The seventeen issues present in this set (vol. 1 nos. 1-12; vol. 2 nos. 1-5) total 448pp., 4to, in a contemporary textured blue-cloth binding, with 'FLIGHTY | KINGSNORTH | AIRSHIP | STATION | 1917-18' in faded gilt on spine (binder's note in pencil on last page).

[Harold Tomlins, Master, the Apolline.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H. J. G. Tomlins') to the ship's owners Messrs. Hankeys, explaining why he has had to put into port at Queenstown, Ireland, while transporting troops to Bermuda. With copy letter.

Author: 
H. J. G. Tomlins, Master of the Apolline brig, the property of Messrs. Thomson Hankey & Co., London merchants and banker; Captain W. Mosse; Edward Walker [Admiral Sir Henry Ducie Chads (1788-1868)]
Publication details: 
Tomlins to Hankeys: 'Ship "Apolline" | Queenstown Ireland'. 13 December 1856. Copy letter from the 'Hired Freight Ship | Apolline'. 10 December 1856.
£130.00

On 29 November 1856 The Times had reported that 'The 26th company of the Royal Engineers, under the command of Captain G. E. L. Walker, R.E., will leave the head-quarters of that establishment at Brompton Barracks, Chatham, this morning for Gravesend, where they will embark on board the Appoline, [sic] for Bermuda.' Both items in good condition, on lighty aged and worn paper. Both docketed by the recipients. ONE: Tomlins to Hankeys, 13 December 1856. 3pp., 4to. Bifolium.

[Pamphlet.] Educational Series. The Work of the Navy League in Schools. Articles contributed by Masters of Public and Preparatory Schools to the Navy League Journal, 1902.

Author: 
Vice-Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, C.B., M.P., et al. [The Navy League]
Publication details: 
London: Published by The Navy League, 13 Victoria Street, Westminster, [London] SW. 1903.
£80.00

32pp., 12mo. Stapled. In cream printed wraps. Reprinted 13 articles by a number of authors, with a preface by Beresford. With stamps, shelfmarks and labels of the Board of Education Reference Library. Scarce: no copy in the British Library or on COPAC.

[J. D. Emms, ship chandler of Lowestoft.] Autograph account book ('J D EMMS | 1851 | SHIP-BREAD'), recording the itemised orders for provisions for a large number of individuals and ships.

Author: 
J. D. Emms [Jewett David Emms] (fl. 1898), ship chandler of 3 Commercial Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk
Publication details: 
Lowestoft, Suffolk. 3 September 1851 to 26 November 1853.
£340.00

254pp., in long (32 x 10cm.) account book. Bound in vellum, with the front endpaper carrying a printed diary ('Almanack for 1850'), and the rear endpaper marbled. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, in grubby vellum binding. At the head of the front free endpaper Emms has written 'J. D. Emms | Lowestoft | 1851 | Aug 6th.', and on the front cover: 'J D EMMS | 1851 | SHIP-BREAD'. Closely written, with the entries marked as paid, with Emms's signature and that of 'J. C. Emms'.

['A relic from the Ocean Monarch', 1848.] Tiny seal on stone of a sphinx, in brass mount with handle shaped like a pillar. With contemporary note explaining the background and stating that it was 'Presented by Mr John Neilson', and Neilson's own note

Author: 
[The Ocean Monarch, 1848; John Neilson; Eleanor Avena Blackburne, daughter of John Ireland Blackburne of Hale Hall, near Liverpool]
Publication details: 
Neither seal nor document dated. [Document English, 1840s?]
£180.00

Seal on stone oval just over 1cm wide; in brass mount just over 3cm high, with handle in shape of a pillar topped with a ring (presumably for attaching to a chain or necklace). Wrapped in a 5.5 x 11 cm packet, made from folding a piece of 17 x 21.5 cm paper (with watermark of R. Turner of Kent), with the following written on it in a Victorian hand (presumably that of Eleanor Avena Blackburne, to whom the item was presented): 'Part of the Ocean Monarch burnt off the coast of Wales | August 1848 | Presented by Mr John Neilson'.

[Samuel Read of Chatham Dockyard and the School of Naval Architecture.] Autograph Letter Signed ('S: Read') to Viscount Ingestrie, attacking in detail Sir Charles Adam's conduct regarding the construction of the wooden steam paddle frigate HMS Gorgon

Author: 
[Sail to Steam] Samuel Read (1796-1863) of Chatham Dockyard and School of Naval Architecture [Admiral Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, Viscount Ingestrie (1803-1868); Admiral Sir Charles Adam (1780-1853)]
Publication details: 
Chatham. 12 March 1839.
£420.00

A substantial letter, 3pp., foolscap 8vo. 100 lines of text. Bifolium. In very good condition, on aged paper, with one closed along crease line neatly repaired with archival tape. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with Chatham postmark, frank, and black wax seal, to 'Viscount Ingestrie M:P. | 2 Wilton Crescent | Belgrave Square | London'. An interesting document, in which a distinguished Victorian naval architect makes detailed criticisms of an innovation in his field. (HMS Gorgon was designed by Sir William Symonds and launched in 1837.

[Henry James Mitchell, naval tailor of Portsmouth.] Autograph Letter to him, in the third person, by 'Mr Cust', giving instructions for 'Master Custs best uniform' and other requirements as midshipman.

Author: 
[Henry James Mitchell, Tailor and Woollen Draper, 32 High Street, Portsmouth; Midshipman Cust; Royal Navy]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. Postmark dated 24 April 1837.
£65.00

1p., 4to. Bifolium. Reverse of second leaf with wax seal, postmark and address to 'Mr. Mitchell | High Street | Portsmouth'. The letter begins: 'Mr Cust wishes Mr Mitchell to send up Master Custs best uniform coat & waistcoat, & if any difference from those he has got the Trowsers; as soon as possible.' He complains that the shirts 'do not sit quite neat about the collar', before listing more requirements: '1 Pewter hand Bason, & cup. | 2 Bars common soap. | 1 Packet Windsor Do. | 2 Pair of Braces | 2 Log Books size for 3 yrs | 1 Watch Bill Book | 2 Bottles of Ink.

[Printed book by Lieutenant Alexander Dingwall Fordyce, R.N.] Outlines of Naval Routine. [With ownership inscription of J. D. Cockburn of HMS Gorgon, and with manuscript 'list of Tools and sundrie [sic] articles' left by him with James Williams.]

Author: 
Lieut. Alex. Dingwall Fordyce, R.N. [Captain Alexander Dingwall Fordyce (1800-1864), Member of Parliament for Aberdeen]
Publication details: 
London: Smith, Elder, & Co. Cornhill. 1837.
£120.00

xvi + 230 + ii pp., plates inc. 5 folding, 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with the top part of the title leaf torn away, resulting in the loss of the works 'Outline of' from the title. In detached and heavily-worn original publisher's quarter-binding of grey paper boards and brown cloth spine with paper label. Bookseller's ticket of W. Hodge, East Street, Chichester, on front pastedown, together with ink inscription of 'J. D. Cockburn | H.M.S. Gorgon | 1859 | Port Royal'. Pencil inscription on front free endpaper of 'W. Cockburn | Carp R.N'.

[The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen.] Album compiled by Howard Fuller of Hove, filled with material (mainly Edwardian) relating to the Fisherman's Mission, including photographs, pamphlets, newspaper and magazine articles and ephemera.

Author: 
The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, London [Fishermen's Mission], British charitable organisation founded by Ebenezer Joseph Mather in 1881 [Howard Fuller of Hove; Sir Wilfred Grenfell]
Publication details: 
The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, Bridge House, 181 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C. The body of the collection dating from around 1906 to 1914, but containing items from 1938 and 1952.
£450.00

Around 150 items, tipped in or laid down on 88pp. (on 59 leaves) of a 4to album. In good condition, on aged paper, with workmanlike repairs to the spine of the volume. An attractive and informative volume, gathering together material from before the Great War relating to a significant organisation in the British cultural landscape, profusely illustrated and with manuscript additions and captions.

[Captain G. P. Rimington, Hon. Representative, Royal Life Saving Society, Nairobi, Kenya.] Sixteen documents relating to his post, including five Typed Letters Signed from Chief Secretary Alwyn E. Briscoe, certificate, diploma, printed supplement.

Author: 
[Captain G. P. Rimington, Hon. Representative, The Royal Life Saving Society, Nairobi, Kenya; Alwyn E. Briscoe, Chief Secretary; lifeguard; swimming]
Publication details: 
Most documents from The Royal Life Saving Society, Desborough House, 14 Devonshire Street, Portland Place, London. Between 1950 and 1963.
£100.00

The documents include a printed 'Certificate of Thanks' from the RLSS, with facsimile signature of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, made out to 'Captain G. P. Rimington | Nyeri', and dated 1963; 1p., foolscap 8vo. Also present are five Typed Letters Signed from Alwyn E. Biscoe, Chief Secretary, to Rimington in Kenya. All on RLSS London letterhead, 2 May and 21 July 1950, and 16 February, 4 May and 19 June 1951. All 1p., 4to. The first two discussing 'the appointment of Mr. Tattersall as Hon. Representative for the Kisumu district' and Rimington's resignation as 'Hon.

[Printed volume.] Heather's Marine Journal; or Complete Seaman's Pocket-Book; for the Year 1796. [Containing a manuscript list of 988 British vessels (for insurance purposes?), with letter key.]

Author: 
William Heather (1764-1812), nautical publisher and bookseller ('many years assistant to John Hamilton Moore'), at the Navigation Warehouse, London [naval; maritime; Royal Navy; insurance]
Publication details: 
"Fourth Edition". London: Printed for William Heather, (many years assistant to John Hamilton Moore) At the Navigation Warehouse, No. 157, Leadenhall-street, near the Royal Exchange. [London, 1796.]
£320.00

200pp., 12mo, paginated xii + [108] + 57 + [3]. Publisher's advertisements on both sides of last leaf. In original calf binding. Internally sound and in good condition, on aged paper; the binding heavily worn, with only the traces of the marbled endpapers remaining, and the leather flap to the front wallet detached and loosely inserted. Modern pencil inscription on fly-leaf - '132-1939 (131) | Presented by Mrs Mary Greene Bray' - otherwise no indication of provenance.

[Admiral Henry Richard Glynn, Royal Navy.] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'Henry Richard Glynn') to Col. Alexander Campbell of the Board of Excise, describing his straitened circumstances and reluctance to come to London to assist his brother.

Author: 
Admiral Henry Richard Glynn (1768-1856), Royal Navy; Mayor of Plymouth, 1838; Admiral of the Blue, 1846 [Col. Alexander Campbell (1776-1844) of the Board of Excise, London]
Publication details: 
Both from Bideford, Devon. 12 and 13 June 1823.
£90.00

Both items in good condition, on aged paper with a slight bloom. Both on bifoliums, each with the reverse of the second leaf carrying the address, including two postmarks (one apiece from Bideford). Both docketted by Campbell. ONE: 12 June 1823. 1p., 4to. With red wax seal of a face in profile.

Printed handbill requesting 'a Meeting of the Owners and Masters of Vessels' to discuss 'the establishment and maintenance of one or more Floating Lights', 'particularly on the East Coast' of England.

Author: 
J. Herbert, Secretary, Trinity House, London [Dawson Turner; lighthouses]
Publication details: 
'TRINITY-HOUSE, LONDON, | 23rd November, 1826.'
£150.00

On one side of a piece of laid paper, roughly 31 x 20 cm. 30 lines. Tipped in along one edge inside modern folder with grey paper boards. Good, on paper lightly creased at foot. Addessed 'To Dawson Turner Esqre' by 'Custom House | Yarmouth | 11 December 1826 | [signed]

[Alec Clifton-Taylor, architectural historian.] Corrected Signed Typescript titled 'Tour of Naval Establishments in the Mediterranean with Mr. John Dugdale, January, 1946'. [A tour of 'about 7,000 miles, almost all by air'.]

Author: 
Alec Clifton-Taylor, architectural historian [John Dugdale (1905-1963), Labour politician, Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty under Clement Attlee, 1945-1950; Royal Navy]
Publication details: 
Undated, but with covering signed page, on British Government letterhead, with alternate title: 'Mediterannean Tour | January, 1946'.
£350.00

[1] + 26pp., foolscap 8vo. On twenty-seven leaves held together with a brass stud. In good condition, on aged and worn paper. The covering page is headed with the embossed government letterhead (lion and unicorn in oval) and has the words 'Mediterannean Tour | January, 1946' in the centre, with the signature 'Alec Clifton-Taylor' in blue ink in the bottom right-hand corner. The twenty-six pages of text, carrying a few minor autograph corrections by Clifton-Taylor, are headed with the full title.

[New Zealand; Maoris; Admiral David Robertson-Macdonald.] Autograph transcripts of 3 documents (defence of Kororarika, NZ, against an attack by 'natives' during the Flagstaff War). With 88 (eighty-eight) newspaper obituaries and other biographical matter.

Author: 
Admiral David Robertson-Macdonald (1817-1910), Scottish Royal Navy officer who served under six sovereigns [his son David Macdonald Robertson-Macdonald (1857-1919)]
Publication details: 
[Edinburgh, Scotland; Kororarika, Nelson and Auckland, New Zealand.] The transcripts, made by the Admiral towards the end of his life, from documents dating from 1845. The newspaper obituaries all dating from 1910. Other matter from 1918.
£950.00

At the outbreak of the Flagstaff War, Robertson-Macdonald was serving as Commander of HMS Hazard. On 11 March 1845 he was severely wounded while leading the defence of the town of Kororarika (now Russell) from 'the attack of an overwhelming body of natives', resulting in the loss of six of his men. The three transcripts that form Item One below relate to this action, and were presumably made out by the Admiral himself towards the end of his life, in a shaky hand and with a number of errors.

[Printed poster.] Wonders of Many Lands. Burton's "Old Curiosity Shop." The African Room. Savage and Civilized Products. Glimpses of the World.

Author: 
'A Californian Wanderer' [John Burton (1839-1907); Burton's 'Old Curiosity Shop', Falmouth, Cornwall]
Publication details: 
'Reprinted from The Cornishman, Thursday April 30th., 1891.' [Burton's 'Old Curiosity Shop', Falmouth, Cornwall]
£280.00

A native of Scotland, Burton set up a china business in Falmouth in 1862, but soon turned to the sale of unusual items from around the world, purchased from sailors, his shop acquiring an international reputation and royal patronage. Printed on one side of a piece of pink paper, 38 x 25.5cm. A frail survival, on aged and worn high-acidity paper, with loss and chipping to the margins, and a few closed tears, but with the text complete.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Geo: Moorsom') from George Moorsom to C. R. M. Talbot, MP, presenting his 'A Mode Proposed for Determining the Register Tonnage of Merchant Shipping, by Means of a System of Internal Measurements', with the copy of the book.

Author: 
George Moorsom (1796-1866), Member of the School of Naval Architecture, and Member of, and Secretary to, the late Commission for the Revision of the Law of Tonnage [Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, MP]
Publication details: 
Letter: Stoke's & Dalton's Offices, 5 Tokenhouse yard [London]. 1 January 1851. Book: London: Printed by William Rock, Elephant and Castle, Newington. [1850].
£280.00

There is an obituary of Moorsom (who was not, as sometimes stated, an admiral) in The 'Moorsom System' of calculating tonnage became law in 1854, and remained in effect until 1982. Transactions of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Volume 8 (1867). Letter: 4pp., 12mo. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. He explains that he has been 'a member of, as well as Secretary to the late Tonnage Commission', and that he is 'aware, from your correspondence with Mr.

Autograph Letter Signed ('E. O'Connor'), in Spanish, from the Argentinian Admiral Eduardo O'Connor to Coronel Ricardo Mombello, with reference to 'el Conscripto Carlos Wasington [sic] Anthony'.

Author: 
Admiral Eduardo O'Connor (1858-1921), Argentinian naval officer, Director General de Administrativa, y Gefe del Arsenal de Puerto Militar [Belgrano]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Gefe del Arsenal de Puerto Militar. 26 February 1914.
£100.00

2pp., 8vo. On bifolium. O'Connor's signature damaged by wear along a vertical fold, otherwise in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Scan on request.

Autograph Letter Signed from Lieut. George Thorp to his brother Robert, written while serving on board HMS Aigle off Smyrna, describing two visits by 'Captain Pacha' [Hasan Pasha, Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Empire], his magnificent attire and gifts

Author: 
Lieutenant George Thorp (1777-1797) of HMS Aigle or L'Aigle, son of Robert Thorp, Archdeacon of Northumberland [Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha (1713-1790) of Algiers, Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Empire]
Publication details: 
'L'Aigle Smyrna Sept 5th [1795]'.
£750.00

3pp., 4to. 59 lines of text. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with two postmarks and a manuscript note by forwarding agents the Frères Smitmer of Vienna, to 'Robert Thorp Esqr | Alnwick | Northumberland | England'. Addressing his letter to 'My Dear Brother', Thorp begins by congratulating him on his wedding: 'Sailors are bad hands at Complements [sic] but I cannot avoid expressing the satisfaction I had in hearing who my new Sister was'.

Part of autograph 'Diary of the War' of Assistant Paymaster (later Rear-Admiral) Noel Wright, describing three months of his service with Jellicoe's Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, and reporting the Battle off Texel and sinking of HMS Audacious.

Author: 
Rear-Admiral Noel Wright (1890-1975), Royal Navy [Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Jellicoe, Commander of the Grand Fleet, Scapa Flow; Battle off Texel; sinking of HMS Audacious]
Publication details: 
Covering the period from 18 October 1914 to 4 January 1915.
£1,250.00

163pp., 12mo. In a sturdy notebook, with brass clasp, covered in grey paper. Wright has written '4 | N W' on the front board. On the recto of the first leaf he gives the addresses of 'T', 'C', 'J', 'Adml Campbell' and 'Young'; and on the verso he writes the title 'DIARY OF THE WAR | VOLUME II', above the oval stamp 'SUPPLIED FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE'. He signs 'Noel Wright' at head of the recto of the second leaf.

Mimeographed typed 'SECRET' Royal Navy First World War intelligence document by 'Hugh Miller | Paymaster | "Arethusa"' [later a Rear-Admiral], titled 'Information obtained from a German officer. Action at Heligoland' [Battle of Heligoland Bight].

Author: 
Rear-Admiral Hugh Miller (1880-1972), Royal Navy [First Battle of Heligoland Bight, 28 August 1914]
Publication details: 
Headed 'H.F.0022'. Dated from '"ARETHUSA" | 27th November, 1914.'
£380.00

3pp., foolscap 8vo. Mimeographed in purple on three leaves. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with marks at head and in left-hand margin of each leaf from rusted pin. The first leaf stamped 'SECRET' in blue ink in top left-hand corner.

The original lithograph of Samuel Prout's 'A Drawing on Paper transferred on Stone', showing a dockside water pump, from the English edition of Alois Senefelder's 'Complete Course of Lithography' (1819).

Author: 
Samuel Prout (1783-1852), English watercolour painter [Rudolph Ackermann; Alois Senefelder]
Publication details: 
[London: Rudolph Ackermann, 1819.]
£95.00

On a piece of paper 20 x 22.5 cm, with the dimensions of the image 16.5 x 22 cm. Caption at foot: 'A Drawing on Paper transferred on Stone', with 'Drawn by S. Prout' beneath the bottom left-hand corner of the image. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with the image clean, and foxing to the caption strip at the foot. Laid down on a leaf removed from an album. The original print, from the English edition of Senefelder's book, published by Ackermann in 1819, and not the version reprinted in 'Lithography and Lithographers' by E. R. and J. Pennell (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1915).

Autograph Letter Signed ('W: Sidney Smith') in French from Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, thanking 'Mon cher Chevalier' for his image by David D'Angers, sending his own portrait on a medallion, and complaining of being kept up at night by noise.

Author: 
Admiral Sir Sidney Smith [Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith] (1764-1840)
Publication details: 
Paris. 12 May 1834.
£160.00

2pp., 4to. In poor condition, heavily-aged and with loss to a few words of text caused by chipping to extremities. Smith thanks him 'le Chevalier' for his 'obligeant cadea vos traits et rappelant ainsi l'expression de la bienveillance, la Philanthropie et l'esprit d'observation qui vous caracterisent'.',>

Typed Letter Signed ('S. W. Roskill') from the naval historian Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill to the Sandhurst lecturer Major Antony Brett-James, proposing two subjects for a lecture to the Napier Society.

Author: 
Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill [Captain S. W. Roskill, Royal Navy] (1903-1982), British naval officer and historian [Major Antony Brett-James (1920-1984), lecturer at Sandhurst]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Blounce, South Warnsborough, Basingstoke, Hertfordshire. 12 January 1966.
£80.00

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'.

Last part of Autograph Letter Signed ('John Corbett') from Admiral Sir John Corbett, Naval aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria, written as a young man to an unnamed recipient, declaring his impatience to return to sea: 'Shore is a stupid place I think'.

Author: 
Admiral Sir John Corbett (1822-1893), KCB, RN, from 1875 Naval aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£45.00

2pp., 12mo. 31 lines. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Begins abruptly: '<...> rather wait a little & get it without its having made a great favour.' He declares that he is 'perfectly ready however to go to sea tomorrow & have no wish to remain on shore, the reverse in fact, I would rather be afloat if I could choose - Shore is a stupid place I think - perhaps as soon as I leave it I shall commence to think otherwise'. References to 'sharpish weather' and dinner 'with the Chads' follow. He has been 'living rather a la Hermit'.

Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'John Corbett') from Admiral Sir John Corbett, Naval aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria, to 'Miss Bruce', daughter of 'the Commodore' [ Admiral Sir Henry William Bruce].

Author: 
Admiral Sir John Corbett (1822-1893), KCB, RN, from 1875 Naval aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria [Admiral Sir Henry William Bruce (1792-1863)]
Publication details: 
The first without place and date; the second from 'Hotel V<?>', 29 January [no year].
£95.00

One: 3pp., 16mo. 42 lines. Fair, on aged paper.

Autograph Letter Signed ('John Corbett') from Admiral Sir John Corbett to 'Mrs. Alexander', describing his activities and plans following his marriage, including his appointment as Captain of HMS Hastings, flagship to Admiral Sir Lewis Tobias Jones.

Author: 
Admiral Sir John Corbett (1822-1893), KCB, RN, from 1875 Naval aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria [Admiral Sir Lewis Tobias Jones (1797-1895)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of Aston Hall, Shifnal. 29 June [1864].
£75.00

6pp., 12mo. Earlier in 1864, as Captain John Corbett, he had married Georgina Grace, eldest daughter of G. J. Holmes of Brooke Hall, Norfolk. He begins by explaining that he could not answer her note, as he received it 'at Spithead just before sailing for Sheerness': 'As I explained to your Husband I took the note & consequently the address so that when I wanted to send my wedding cards I could only send them to Alexander at the R. L. College.' He continues: 'I am not very long out of harness and am going to try my hand at being a Flag Captain'.

Letter, in a secretarial hand, Signed ('Jn Barrow') by John Barrow, head of the Admiralty record office, to Richard Norman of Melton Mowbray, regarding the Royal Navy commission of his son Henry Anne Norman.

Author: 
John Barrow (1808-1898), head of Admiralty record office, son of Sir John Barrow (1764-1848), writer on exploration [Richard Norman (c.1757-1847) of Melton Mowbray, father of Lieut. Henry Anne Norman]
Publication details: 
Admiralty, London. 13 September 1842.
£95.00

2pp., foolscap 8vo. On bifolium, with the reverse of the second leaf carrying the address, two postmarks and a red wax seal. In response to a letter from Norman, Barrow writes that his son 'was promoted to the Rank of Lieutenant on the 3rd of September 1841, and as he has not since been appointed to any Ship it is presumed he will return to England'. Furthermore, 'the Commission promoting him is with the Chief Clerk of this Office, and will be delivered to any person authorized to receive it on the payment of the Stamp Duty of 5/-'.

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