PUBLISHING

TLS, on letterhead of Dacres, Quantock Rod, Weston-super-Mare; 19 April 1937, 3pp., 4to, good condition. Long paranoid letter, bitterly attacking 'seaside towns', and Weston-super-Mare in particular, as 'run by councillors of the Tammany Hall type, interested in the sale of "drink" and all the various things that go with it'.

ALS, on his presidential letterhead; 14 July 1932, 2pp., 8vo, good condition, with enclosure. His 'Little Visits to the Great' is 'almost ready to go to press, but we are holding things up for the Chapter on "Robert and Sylvia Lynd." If you and Mrs Lynd could glance it over and scratch out any thing that I remembered inaccurately, [...]'. With a mimeographed typewritten copy (1 p, fol.), transcribing three 1937 letters to Clemens, two from Douglas Hyde and the last from W. B. Yeats.

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. On laid paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and spotted. Printed in black with title in red. The first page headed: 'Now Ready | Small Colombier 8vo. With 7 Photogravure Plates, and 84 Illustrations in Half-Tone, £2, 2s.

23 + [1]pp., 12mo. Stitched, in blue printed wraps. Aged and worn, with creasing to wraps and fly-leaf, which is inscribed 'Ivor James | from | J. A. Grosvenor | May 20. 1921.' Excessively scarce: the only copy on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat at the British Library.

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'.

It is Sir Basil Blackwell, in his DNB entry on Wilson, who described him as 'the most famous English [sic] bookseller of his time'. The freshness and enthusiasm conveyed by this small volume supports Blackwell's view that Wilson viewed 'bookselling not so much as a matter of retail trade as a service in which bookseller and customer met and shared the experience of contact with the precious manifestations of the spirit of man', as well as casting light on the methods and practices which made Wilson so successful.

On the 8 x 13cm cover of the envelope. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with loss at head and to top right-hand corner from removal from an album, traces of which adhere to the reverse. Playfair's signature ('Lyon Playfair') in the bottom left-hand corner is unnaffected, and the address, also in his hand, reads: 'Messrs George Routledge & Son | Broadway | Ludgate Hill | E.C.' The orange circular franking postmark is incomplete, and reads: 'LON | OFF | PAID | B | 9 FE 86'.

Letter written across two pages, 8vo, small tear with no loss of text, small hole at fold, mainly good, address on verso counter-signed (Free Post) "H.Gally Knight", M.P., traveller and writer. Notation top left corner "F.66.Cole. CR". Text as follows: "The enclosed will prove to you that you are not forgotten. I am but just recovered from a dreadful illness, which has shared one half of my person and two thirds of my purse: but the Tour [Northern Counties and Scotland [see full details below] has been triumphant - and will, I trust, be profitable.

14 x 10 cm albumen print, on 16.5 x 11 cm card. In fair condition, lightly-faded. Docketed on reverse: 'G. W. Childs | who erected monument over <?>' From the papers of the Anglo-American astronomer Mary Proctor (1862-1957).

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. The first page carries the 'pitch', beginning: 'AN HISTORICAL MAGAZINE has long been the great desideratum of our literature.' The author proceeds to claim that 'THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE has stepped forward to occupy this vacant post.' The page ends: 'Five numbers of the new undertaking are before the public, and present a fair example of what the work will henceforth be. The following important subjects have been treated of in some of the recent articles: -'.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter reads: 'I beg to re-enclose for the excerpt from your publication "Men & Women of the Time," of my biography which I have revised, making a very few alterations, & adding a few lines which I write on the other sheet of this note: [not present] my permanent address now is the above'. The note relates to the fifteenth edition of the work, published by G. Routledge & Sons in 1899.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn 'MONCKTON'S SUPERFINE' laid paper, with a pin holes through both leaves. The only book by Kropotkin published by Methuen & Co. appears to be 'The Terror in Russia', which went through at least eight editions between 1909 and 1911, but the references to the piracy of works by Kropotkin in the Boston magazine the Youth's Companion may suggest an earlier date, as the magazine was publishing pieces by Kropotkin', presumably without his permission, as early as 1901.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. For further information about Williamson and his publications, see his entry in 'Who Was Who'; see also Marillier's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Founded in 1818, the Ipswich firm of W. S. Cowell Ltd ('The Press in the Butter Market') grew into one of the leading British printers, known for its high-quality catalogue work. The firm's papers are in the Suffolk Record Office at Ipswich, whose catalogue entry provides a good summary of its history.

The two items relate to the book 'An Old Coachman's Chatter with Some Practical Remarks on Driving. By a Semi-Professional. Edward Corbett, Colonel late Shropshire Militia.'(London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1890). Both the letter and the proofs are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. LETTER: 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. 34 lines of text in a particularly difficult hand. He will endeavour to 'throw all the light' he can on the subjects mentioned in his correspondent's letter, beginning:: 'I think the time between Cape Curig & Holyhead must be correct.

Gladys Jones ('Gwen John') lived with her sister the suffragette Winifred Jones in Lincoln's Inn. Her play 'The Prince' - three corrected copies of which are in the present collection as Items Three to Five - was retitled 'Gloriana' [= Elizabeth I] when performed at the Adelphi Theatre in London in December 1925, with a youthful John Gielgud in the role of Sir John Harrington. Items One, Six and Seven below relate to the volume 'Plays of Innocence' by 'Gwen John', published in 1925 by Ernest Benn (by whom Victor Gollancz was then employed).

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with traces of mount adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf. In reply to his letter, she refers Helmore to 'Mr Wright', who has 'frequently since the Publication of the "Sunbeam" [in 1849] been appealed to to bring it out in a cheap form - but he has no speculating propensities - and as he is perfectly satisfied with the sale of twenty thousand at a shilling - he is not inclined to try it in a cheaper form'. She has 'nothing to do with it - further than receiving a certain sum as each edition is sold out'.

1p., landscape 12mo. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-worn paper. Strachey has written 'Mrs. Shorter' in the bottom left-hand corner, but the note is addressed to 'Dear Sir', and corrected by him to 'Madam'. It reads: 'I enclose with many thanks cheque [sic] for your contributions during the past month'.

Two attractive pieces of Dickens memorabilia, and tasteful examples of Victorian printing, by a firm one of whose partners (John Cheney) described himself on his calling card as a 'Printer in Gold, Silver, and Colours', with 'Specialities in the best class of work'. ONE: Printed in gold on brownish-red marbled paper. Dimensions 26.5 x 30.5 cm. Consisting of the words 'The Works | of | Charles Dickens. | [short rule] | Pocket Volume Edition.' in large type, within a gold border, with 'Chapman & Hall, Lim.' in small type within the border at bottom left, and 'London.' at bottom right.

Magazine: [8] + 80pp. In blue printed illustrated wraps. Internally in good condition, on aged paper, with unopened signatures, in worn and chipped wraps. Stamped in red at head of front cover: 'SPECIMEN COPY.' Announcement at foot of front cover: 'This magazine is not to be introduced into England or its colonies nor into the United States of America.' The first eight pages carry advertisments, as do both sides of the back wrap.

2pp., 12mo. Printed side by side on one side of a piece of 23 x 29cm wove paper, with blank reverse. In fair condition on aged and dusty paper. The left-hand page is headed 'NEW BURLINGTON STREET, Dec. 6', and has the slug at the foot: 'PRINTED BY T. BRETTELL, RUPERT STREET, HAYMARKET, LONDON.' It advertises the forthcoming publication in 'Bentley's Miscellany' of two titles.

The first issue 44pp., 12mo, with pink order slip. The second issue 48pp., 12mo (paginated 45-92). Uniform: stapled in brown printed wraps.In fair condition, on aged paper, with rusting from staples. The first issue has articles by Ambrose Heal, Hal Warwick, Henry Arthur Jones, S. P. B. Mais, Eleanor E. Helme, Irene Beeston and Rose Fyleman. The interview with H. G. Wells is on pp.3-5. Wells asks what the 'object' of the new magazine is, and is told, 'to foster and develop the reading and possessing of books'.

80pp., 8vo. Stapled and unbound. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. On front cover: 'Each Book in this Catalogue is written by an Expert and is written so you can understand it'. Many items illustrated with representations of the binding. Index of subjects on p.2, ranging from 'Abrasives and Abrasive Wheels' to 'Wiring Diagrams', and including section on 'Automobile Books', pp.5-14 (Charts, Ignition Systems, Lighting, Questions and Answers, Repairing, Starting Systems, Trouble Charts, Welding), 'Gasoline Engines', pp.15-18, and 'Aviation', pp.19-22.

Letter: 1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. He begins by suggesting that Baron write to 'Mr Payn' (the novelist and editor James Payn) via the Reform Club, Pall Mall. (Baron's method involved asking one celebrity how to contact another.) He next discusses two of his works: '"The Memorial Windows" appeared in the Gentleman's & was published in Pippins & Cheese (Bradbury & Evans) - "The Valley" you will see in enclosed list'. He concludes by thanking Baron for his 'complimentary note'. With envelope addressed to 'J. T.

1p., 12mo. Attractively printed within a decorative border, on the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. The letter reads: 'Dear Sir | The Specimen Book sent you herewith, of which I have much pleasure in asking your acceptance, contains a history of the Caslon Foundry printed with the justly celebrated types engraved by its founder in the early part of last Century.

The text is engraved in copperplate on one side of a piece of card, with plan on reverse of the the premises at 18 Paternoster Square, with Newgate Street, Warwick Lane, Rose Street and Paternoster Row also shown. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with unobtrusive vertical crease. A nice piece of nineteenth-century London book trade ephemera. The text reads: 'Publication Committee | Presbyterian Church of England, | 18 Paternoster Square.

[4] + 47pp., 8vo. In printed wraps. Internally in fair condition, on aged paper, with slight staining to the corners; in worn and chipped wraps. A handsome production, as one might expect from one of the nine founders of the Grolier Club, with a two-page introduction followed by a full-page reproduction of the Ascensius printer's device, and 47 examples of pages set in various point sizes of Cushing, Ancient Roman, Jenson, Satanick, Louis XV, and Century Roman. No copy on COPAC, six American and one French on WorldCat.

One page, 12mo, laid down on larger piece of paper, after formation of a 2" closed tear. text complete and clear. [Cadell] "If the game sent with this tolerably good send it to [Mrs] Grignion with my love. You will tell them it may be Sunday before we arrive as the weather is so uncertain." [Lawless adds] "Madam | I am afraid these are bad, but I believe it is only when it was shot" [whatever that means]. Lawless earned an obituary in the Annual Register.

Written over 13 lines on both sides of the 9 x 11 cm card. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. 'Dear John, | I do feel ashamed of having been so rude to my fellow guest yesterday - It was a dreadful thing to do! The fact is I am, I suppose, very touchy about Time & Tide - ridiculously so really - I don't think he had read it - but after all why should he, poor man - I really wasn't very fair - | Please forgive me - except for feeling that I had behaved abominab[ly], just at the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my most excellent luncheon'.

The collection is in good condition, lightly aged and worn, apart from Item Seven. ONE: Autograph notes by Newberry on the firms of 'Chiswick Press Tooks Court' and 'Wm. Griggs & Sons Ltd. Peckham'. 4pp., 12mo. Closely written, with corrections. The first section concludes: 'Jacobi was certainly an experienced and successful printer of fine printed volumes and H.M. paper. William Morris drew inspiration from Chiswick Press that led to his founding the Kelmscott Press. His first experiments in the use of type designed at K. P. were carried out under Jacobi. C. P.