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[ Admiral George Anson Byron (1789-1868), 7th Lord Byron. ] Autograph Note Signed ('Byron.'), directing admission to the gallery House of Lords.

Author: 
Admiral George Anson Byron (1789-1868), 7th Baron Byron, cousin of the poet Lord Byron [ George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale ]
Publication details: 
7 March 1846.
£65.00

1p., landscape 12mo. In good condition, lightly-aged, with minor traces of glue from mount on reverse. With a large firm signature, the text reads: 'Admit the Bearer to the Gallery of the House of Lords | Byron. | Monday | March 7th 1846'.

[ Vice-Admiral Robert Hall, Third Lord and Controller of the Navy. ] Letter in a secretarial hand, signed 'Robert Hall', to William Griffith of Derby

Author: 
Vice-Admiral Robert Hall (1817-1882), Royal Navy, Third Lord and Controller of the Navy [ The Admiralty, Whitehall ]
Publication details: 
Admiralty [ Whitehall, London ]. 27 March 1874.
£56.00

1p., folio. In good condition, with light signs of age. Addressed to 'Wm. Griffith Esqre. | Becket Street Chapel | Derby.' Informing Griffith that he has 'laid before My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty the petition from the United Methodist Free Church, Derby, requesting the alteration of the 93rd. Clause of the Marine Mutiny Act'.

[ Keith Douglas Young, United States intelligence officer. ] Three Typed Letters Signed (all 'Keith') to military historian Barrie Pitt, discussing topics including his military career, assassination attempts on his life, military intelligence.

Author: 
Keith Douglas Young (b.1916), Australian-born United States intelligence officer, with the 15th Air Force, author of memoir 'Born to Adventure' (1945) [ Barrie Pitt (1918-2006), military historian ]
Publication details: 
All three on his letterhead, Coronado, California. The first two dating from 1977, and the last from 1989.
£1,000.00

Three long letters, closely typed. Each 3pp., 4to. In good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Topics include: his military career; unreliability of field intelligence; the impossibility of 'training future POWs'; his career at the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs. ONE: 20 September 1977. On the subject of 'intelligence garnered in the field.

Earl Jellicoe and Special Boat Section 'Operation Hawthorn': A 'shambles' in Sardinia, 1943: a small archive

Author: 
[ Earl Jellicoe; Special Boat Service ]
Publication details: 
[1943]
£4,000.00

The distinguished wartime career of George Patrick John Rushworth Jellicoe (1918-2007), 2nd Earl Jellicoe, is well described in Loma Almonds' 'A British Achilles' (2006). However Jellicoe, who commanded the Special Boat Section from 1943 to the end of the war, was not always blessed with success. The present collection of eighteen documents constitutes Jellicoe's own file on what Almonds describes as a 'shambles': an attempted series of sabotage attacks on six Sardinian airfields in the run-up to the allied invasion of Sicily.

[ Commander Augustus Jacob, RN. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'Augustus Jacob') to his brother 'Gay', one written from Balaclava Harbour during the Crimean War, the second describing an action he was involved in with cossacks and field guns.

Author: 
Commander Augustus Jacob (1839-1893), RN [ The Crimean War; FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan ]
Publication details: 
First letter [from Balaclava Harbour in the Crimea ] on board HMS Leopard, 12 December 1854. Second letter on board HMS Excellent, 7 December 1859.
£280.00

Jacob was one of the ten children (seven sons) of Archdeacon Philip Jacob (1803-1884). Both items are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: 'HMS Leopard | Dec 12th. 1854'. 4pp., 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper. To 'My dearest Brother'. The fifteen-year-old Jacob has a shaky grasp of spelling and punctuation.

[ Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier. ] Autograph Signature ('Gambier'), given immediately after the Battle of Basque Roads.

Author: 
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier (1756-1833), 1st Baron Gambier, Lord Commander of the Admiralty and Governor of Newfoundland
Publication details: 
'Given on board the Caledonia in Basque Roads 17 April 1809.'
£30.00

On piece of 6 x 12 cm laid and watermarked paper, cut from an order. In fair condition, aged and worn. Above the good firm signature, in another hand, is: 'Given onboard [sic] the Caledonia in Basque Roads 17 April 1809'. At foot, in a nineteenth-century hand: 'Gambier's autograph'. Gambier's actions during the battle, the victory in which was credited to him rather than Lord Cochrane, led to a Court Martial. Gambier was exonerated, and Cochrane's naval career ended.

[Russian Navy 1861-1880] Two detailed Journals of an English engineer (primarily naval) in the Russian Far East, 1861-1880

Author: 
An English engineer (primarily naval) in the Russian Far East, 1861-1880
Publication details: 
1861-1880.
£1,500.00

2 volumes. Both internally in good condition, with light signs of age, and both in worn grey cloth bindings with marbled boards.ONE: 17 May 1861 to 22 July 1861, then a couple of entries for 1867, and then from 1 January 1868 to 22 May 1870. 115pp., 4to. At rear, three pages, with the following headings: 'Cashe [sic] received From 16 October 1865', 'Nineaux' and 'Account with Lutz the 22 of Febure [sic]'.TWO: 14 August 1876 to 23 September 1880. 136pp., small 4to.

[ Sir Archibald Spicer Hurd, naval authority. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('A S H.') to 'Mr Service' (of the publishers Seeley & Co.), complaining about the severity of a proposed contract for a series of articles.

Author: 
Sir Archibald Spicer Hurd (1869-1959) [ Seeley, Service and Co., London publishers ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 6 Stafford Terrace, Plymouth.
£65.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Written in pencil. A long and interesting complaint, casting an interesting light on the journalistic practices of the period. Hurd begins without preamble, pointing out, with reference to a previous letter, that he 'never promised 35000 words', and stating that the publisher 'would doubtless be able to put in a few extra illustrations to fill it out'.

[Royal Navy] Clipped Signature, "WParker | Admiral".

Author: 
Admiral William Parker (1781-1866), naval officer in Nelson's time and beyond.
Publication details: 
No place or date
£25.00

Paper, blue, 9 x 5cm, irregular shape, sl. chipped in two places, mainly good conditon. On the verso, the words "Gentlemen I beg [...] the receip[t?]".

[ John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe. ] Autograph 'Draft Pedigree' of the Jellicoe family by Frederick Arthur Crisp, with long entry on Admiral Jellicoe.

Author: 
John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859-1935), 1st Earl Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet, commander of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland, 1916 [ Frederick Arthur Crisp (1851-1922), FSA, genealogist ]
Publication details: 
In printed folder ('Visitation of England and Wales') for Frederick Arthur Crisp, F.S.A., "Grove Park Press," 270 Walworth Road, London, S.E. 1918 or later.
£80.00

The pedigree is written out by Crisp on one side of a 37 x 95 cm piece of paper, folded twice into a 37 x 23.5 cm packet, printed on the front of which is: 'Visitation of England and Wales. | DRAFT PEDIGREE. | Please return to Frederick Arthur Crisp, F.S.A., "Grove Park Press," 270 Walworth Road, London, S.E.' The same address is embossed at the head. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. In top right hand corner of cover is a manuscript label with 'JELLICOE.' underlined in red. The pedigree, descending from 'Capt.

[Royal Navy] Clipped Signature, "WParker | Admiral".

Author: 
Admiral William Parker (1781-1866), naval officer in Nelson's time and beyond.
Publication details: 
No place or date
£25.00

Paper, blue, 9 x 5cm, irregular shape, sl. chipped in two places, mainly good conditon. On the verso, the words "Gentlemen I beg [...] the receip[t?]".

[ Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Hall Gage. ] Autograph Note Signed ('W H Gage') to an unnamed artist, declining to sit for his picture, as he has never done so before.

Author: 
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Hall Gage (1777-1864), senior officer in the Royal Navy
Publication details: 
'U. S. C.' [ United Services Club, London] 27 May 1847.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. He is sorry that the recipient has 'taken so much trouble respecting my portrait. I never have sat for my picture, and must resquest you will excuse my doing so now'.

[ Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland. ] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'Northumberland') to Admiral William Henry Smyth, the first regarding 'Dr Braun in Rome', and the second sending condolences on the death of his daughter.

Author: 
Algernon Percy (1792-1865), 4th Duke of Northumberland, Admiral in the Royal Navy and Conservative politician [ Admiral William Henry Smyth (1788-1865) ]
Publication details: 
Both letters from Alnwick Castle, Northumberland. 20 July 1856 and 14 November 1859.
£45.00

ONE: 2pp., 12mo. Bifolium with mourning border. In good condition, on lightly aged paper. He is enclosing a letter from 'Dr Braun in Rome', and suggests that Smyth will be able to correct the translation. 'I am sorry Dr Braun is not more successful, but he has zeal in the Cause, & will not lose an opportunity.' TWO: 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on aged paper, with remains of mount on blank page. A letter of condolence on the death of Smyth's tenth child, Caroline Mary Smyth (1834-1859).

[ Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood. ] Contemporary manuscript official copy letter to Vice Admiral Duckworth, regarding Royal Navy ships in the Mediterranean respecting the neutrality of Portuguese ships. With manuscript extract from treaty.

Author: 
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood (1748-1810), 1st Baron Collingwood, commander at Trafalgar after Nelson's death [ Sir William Richard Cosway; Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1748-1817), 1st Baronet ]
Publication details: 
'Given on board the Ocean off Cadiz | 12th. August 1806'.
£180.00

Both items in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. ONE: Copy letter. 2pp., folio. On paper with watermark 'JOHN HOWARD | 1804'. Ends: 'To | Sir J. T. Duckworth K.B. | Vice Admiral of the White | &ca. &ca. &ca. | Given on board the Ocean off Cadiz | 12th. August 1806 | (signed) Collingwood | By Command of the Vice Admiral | (signed) W R Cosway | A Copy -'.

[ Major-General Sir Benjamin Charles Stephenson, Surveyor-General of the Board of Works. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('B C Stephenson') to 'Lieutt: Lawrence R:N:' about an invention.

Author: 
Major-General Sir Benjamin Charles Stephenson (c.1766-1839), G.C.H., Surveyor-General of the Office of Works
Publication details: 
Office of Works [London]. 19 March 1823.
£56.00

1p., 4to. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with a short closed tear along a crease and slight loss to one corner. He regrets that 'it is not in my power to afford any Official Assistance, in promoting the use of your very Ingenious, & Valuable Invention; as the Business of this Department is exclusively confined to the Building, & <?>, belonging either to His Majesty, or the Public, such as Palaces, Public Offices &c.' He suggests a number of organisations to which Lawrence should apply., 'as the Departments most likely to encourage your useful Undertaking'.

Account Book; Lloyds of London c.1800

Author: 
A Scottish underwriter, Lloyd's of London and the Slave Trade,
Publication details: 
1804-1808
£3,000.00

The accounts in the present volume cover a four-year period, with the first entry headed 'London 1st. January 1804', and the last 'London January 1808'. The author (perhaps the Hon. Montgomery Granville John Stewart) is a wealthy Lloyd's underwriter and a partner in a London merchant bank.

[ Admiral Sir William Alison Dyke Acland, Royal Navy. ] Autograph Signature ('W A D Acland').

Author: 
Admiral Sir William Alison Dyke Acland (1847-1924), Royal Navy
Publication details: 
Without place or date [1895].
£18.00

On 3.5 x 9.5 cm slip cut from a letter. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with remains of stub at one edge. Reads 'Yours truly | W A D Acland'. On reverse, in a contemporary hand: 'Capt Acland R.N. | H.M.S. S. Australia | Guard Ship Cow<?> | Augst. 1895.' Beneath this, in pencil: 'Admiral Sir Wm. Dyke Acland'.

[Victorian scientific patent.] Printed 'Letters Patent to Thomas Earl of Dundonald, of Belgrave Road, in the County of Middlesex, Admiral in Her Majesty's Navy, for the Invention of "Improvements in Coating and Insulating Wire."'

Author: 
Admiral Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860), 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão
Publication details: 
London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty: Published at the Queen's Printing Office, East Harding Street, near Fleet Street. 1854.
£130.00

6pp., 8vo, followed by one lithographic plate by Waterlow & Sons. Stitched. In blue printed wraps. Aged and creased, with minor staining; in worn wraps,and with some underlining in ink on second page.

[First World War Royal Navy Night Order Book.] Autograph Signed night order book of Lieut. Commander E. T. R. Chambers, relating to the destroyers HMS Kennet, HMS Welland and HMS Otter, and mostly spent around China.

Author: 
Lieut. Commander Ennis Tristram Ratcliffe Chambers (b.1884), Royal Navy [HMS Kennet; HMS Welland; HMS Otter; Commander R. M. Alleyne, RN]
Publication details: 
In 'S.553' Night Order Book ('Revised December, 1910') by Waterlow & Sons Limited, Printers, London Wall, London. 25 October 1911 to 4 March 1915.
£400.00

82pp., small 4to. In good condition, on lightly aged paper, in worn black cloth, with large printed official 'NIGHT ORDER BOOK' label on front cover, to which Chambers has added 'Captain's' in large letters, and 'TO BE RETURNED TO MY CABIN'. Ruled pages, with printed 'NIGHT ORDER BOOK, H.M.S. [name of ship in manuscript] | ORDERS.' at head.

Printed map, titled 'Indian and Eastern Engineer. | Key Plan, showing the disposition of the Ships of H.M. Fleet, assembled at Spithead on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee Review, 26th June, 1897.' With 'Tabular Statement' on reverse.

Author: 
[Royal Navy Diamond Jubilee Review, Spithead, 1897; The Indian and Eastern Engineer, monthly magazine]
Publication details: 
'Indian and Eastern Engineer', Calcutta. 1897.
£180.00

Printed in black on both sides of a 36 x 53 cm piece of wove paper with watermark of 'W F & Co'. In very good condition, lightly-aged and folded three times. The 'Key Plan' is on one side, showing the disposition of the fleet on a map of the Portsmouth area, with a note of 'Foreign Men of War', 'British Battle Ships and Cruisers', '3rd Class Cruisers Gun Vessels and Torpedo Gunboats', 'Special Merchant Vessels', 'Destoryers & Gunboats' and 'Torpedo Boats'.

[Hon. Capt. Francis Egerton, R.N.] Autograph Letter to 'John Bowring Esqre', regarding the writing of his 'Journal of a Winter's Tour in India, with a Visit to the Court of Nepaul'.

Author: 
Hon. Capt. Francis Egerton (1824-1895), Royal Navy [Francis Leveson-Gower; Sir John Bowring (1792-1872), Governor of Hong Kong; John Murray, London publisher]
Publication details: 
[London?] 'Monday <June?> 20th' [1852].
£280.00

1p., landscape 12mo (16 x 20.5 cm). Addressed on reverse 'To | John Bowring Esqre | 6 Freeman's Court | Cornhill'. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded into a packet for hand-delivery. Written in a crabbed, difficult hand. Begins: 'Tomorrow I will send you a copy of my Character [clearly 'The Life and Character of the Duke of Wellington', which is however generally ascribed to his namesake the Earl of Ellesmere], which you will see <?> Blaquiere <?> is just now in demand. Also a work which i can only lend him. <?> The Fragment ought [last word underlined three times] to be sent'.

[Lord Edwin Hill-Trevor, MP for County Down.] Autograph Letter Signed ('AEHT') to his son George Edwyn Hill-Trevor, writing from the House of Commons on the day the British Fleet sailed for Turkish waters during the Anglo-Russian crisis.

Author: 
Lord Edwin Hill-Trevor [Lord Arthur Edwin Hill-Trevor] (1819-1894) of Brynkinallt, Denbighshire, MP for County Down, 1845-1880 [his second son George Edwyn Hill-Trevor (b.1859); Russo-Turkish War]
Publication details: 
On embossed House of Commons letterhead. 8 February 1878.
£56.00

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. An interesting letter from a senior Conservative politician during Disraeli's second government, written on the day the British fleet set sail for Turkish waters, with war between Great Britain and Russia appearing imminent. (Tensions between the two countries had been increasing during the course of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, and the fleet would anchor off Constantinople, which the Russians threatened to occupy.) The letter begins: 'My dear George | We divided last night contrary to all Expectation.

A List of the Flag-Officers of His Majesty's Fleet.

Author: 
[Royal Navy List, 1779; naval and maritime]
Publication details: 
January 1, 1779.
£300.00

12mo (dimensions of leaf 18 x 8 cm): [iii] + 16 + 34 pp. No title leaf and publisher not stated. Printed on the versos only of 53 leaves. Unbound. In contemporary marbled-paper and cloth-spine wraps. Text clear and entire, on aged and lightly stained paper. Loss and staining to rear wrap. A few annotations in pen and pencil in contemporary hands (for example 'Horatio Nelson' is marked out as 'Lord Nelson'). Ownership inscription of Jane Hume. From the papers of her relative, Charles William Paterson, Admiral of the White.

A List of the Flag-Officers of His Majesty's Fleet.

Author: 
[Royal Navy List, 1782; naval and maritime]
Publication details: 
January 1, 1782.
£220.00

12mo (dimensions of leaf 18 x 7.5 cm): [v] + 18 + 16 pp. No title leaf and publisher not stated. Printed on the versos only of 39 leaves. Unbound. In contemporary marbled-paper wraps. Dogeared and worn, on aged paper. Damage to last leaf causing loss of one word of text. From the papers of Charles William Paterson, Admiral of the White.

A List of the Flag-Officers of His Majesty's Fleet.

Author: 
[Royal Navy List, 1761; naval and maritime]
Publication details: 
July 1, 1761.
£220.00

12mo (dimensions of leaf 17.5 x 8 cm): paginated [5] to 20. No title leaf and publisher not stated. Printed on the versos only of 19 leaves. Unbound. In contemporary marbled-paper wraps. Dogeared and worn, on aged paper. A few annotations in a contemporary hand in pencil and ink. From the papers of Charles William Paterson, Admiral of the White.

[HMS Berwick, Royal Navy cruiser.] Duplicated 'List of Urgent Defects', ninety-two in number, with the priority of the necessary work indicated in manuscript, compiled on the verge of the ship's decommissioning in 1946.

Author: 
[HMS Berwick, Royal Navy County class heavy cruiser, of the Kent subclass, launched 1926 and decommissioned 1946; Second World War; North Sea convoys; Norwegian campaign]
Publication details: 
No place. [Admiralty, Whitehall.] Latest reference to December 1944.
£150.00

9pp., foolscap 8vo. Duplicated carbon, printed in purple (except for Item 27, added in black), with the type breaking up heavily at points. Listing 92 numbered items, with columns for 'Departmental Serial No.' and 'Priority', the latter marked up in red pencil with 'A' (top priority), 'B' and 'C'. The list is divided into the following subsections: 'Hull & Miscellaneous', 'Auxiliary Machinery & Gunmountings', 'Electrical', 'First Fitting Stores'. The document was presumably produced as part of an assessment of whether the ship should be saved or scrapped.

[HMS Arethusa, ship's log, 1837.] Manuscript log of HMS Arethusa, while stationed in 'Passa D'Arcos Bay' [Paço d'Arcos, Portugal] and travelling from Cadiz to Lisbon. With 'Remarks' including a death and burial at sea, and punishment by lashing.

Author: 
[HMS Arethusa, 46 gun fifth-rate Royal Navy ship, launched in 1817]
Publication details: 
Passo de Arcos First entry while 'At Single Anchor in Passo D'Arcos Bay' [Paço d'Arcos, Portugal], dated 24 July 1837; last entry from 'Fort St. Julian' [on the mouth of the Tagus river], dated 30 September [1837]
£500.00

HMS Arethusa, the fourth of nine Royal Navy ships to bear the name, was a 46-gun fifth rate launched in 1817. (Fifth-rate ships served as fast scouts or independent cruisers. Owing to their combination of manoeuvrability and firepower, they were often assigned to interdict enemy shipping.) She was was renamed HMS Bacchus in 1844 on conversion into a hulk, and was broken up in 1883. The present item is 21pp., 8vo. Stitched. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn grey paper. With loose heavily worn remains of brown marbled wraps (front and back cover detached from one another).

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'.

['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).

[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.

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