TURKISH

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper, with strip of glue from mount discoloring second leaf. Written in a difficult hand, the letter begins: 'My Dear Sir | I have not forgotten a conversation with you on returning from Bradfield which first opened my eyes to the horrors of Turkish Rule'. He is sending 'a small contribution to a fund to which I am led by your name'. Mentions 'the League', 'Lady ' and 'Col Lindsay', stating that he is 'a little puzzled'. Postscript refers to 'Mr Probyn Editor of the Cobden Club', ending 'I am just going to a meeting at Barnstaple'.?>

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with strip from mount adhering to the blank reverse. Reads: 'Dear Sir | I start off for Italy tomorrow morning - I hear that in the excavations at Pompeii they have come upon a fresh Bath. | Many thanks for your Books which I now return by Book Post.' Annotated at foot in pencil: 'introducer of the Turkish bath'.

2pp., foolscap. In fair condition, on aged paper. The letter, no doubt sent to all the diplomatic missions, begins: 'I have the honour to acquaint you that The Queen has been pleased to accept of the Earl of Aberdeen's resignation of the Office of Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and to confide to me the Seals of that Department.' He names a day and time when he wil be 'happy to receive' him, 'in order to confide with you on any business upon which you may have received Instructions from your Court'.

4to, 346 pp. Divided into two sections, each on different printed forms, bound together in contemporary red calf 4to half- binding (with ticket of Smith & Lane, Printers, 15 Bridge St, Sydney. Text clear and complete, on aged and foxed paper. Binding worn and stained. Part One: 5 April 1915 to 31 January 1916. 4to (leaf dimensions 30 x 25 cm), 252 pp. Part Two: 1 February to 14 June 1916. 4to (leaf dimensions 32 x 25 cm), 94 pp. In a variety of hands, the second section being described as being kept by 'The officers of s/s 'Clan Macrae''.

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').

All items clear and complete, and good, on lightly-aged paper. An interesting set of letters, from one scion of a leading British diplomatic family to another. Letter One (4 December 1906): 12mo, 4 pp. Written after his father Sir Edmund Monson's stroke. He finds it 'very hard to say whether my father is better or worse' as he never sees the doctor himself. 'I am never sure if my mother tells me everything, or if she keeps things back for fear of frightening me.

12mo, eight pages. Very good, with slight wear to inner margins from removal from stubs (not affecting text). An informative discussion of the commercial prospects in the vilayet of Adana. He has 'been absent a great deal travelling', hence the delay in answering Haynes-Smith's questions. Begins by discussing the 'titles to property &c. here in Cases of improvement schemes &c.' Next comes the 'population of the vilayet' ('about half a million [...] The language generally is Turkish all over').

Author/translator of "La Muse ottomane ou chefs-d'oeuvre de la poésie turque" (Paris, 1853). Three pages, 8vo, good condition. He thanks his correspondent for a copy of "l'Anthologie arabe de M. Grangeret de Lagrange" [first published 1828]. He explains his great interest in the book and the excellent job done by the compiler. He praises his correspondent for enriching the book with Latin and notes which derive from their discussions.

Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, British diplomat (1786-1880; DNB), for many years Ambassador to the Sublime Porte. The recipient, James Finn (died 1872), was British consul at Jerusalem from 1849–1858, also representing the U.S.A. 3 pages, 8vo. Creased, but in good condition. Reads 'The bearer of this letter is Miss Harriet Larrimore, a native of the United States of America, and a religious devotee, going for the third time to Jerusalem. She has a passport from Her Majesty's Minister at Athens, to which I have added my visa.

Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, British diplomat (1786-1880; DNB), for many years Ambassador to the Sublime Porte. The recipient, James Finn (died 1872), was British consul at Jerusalem from 1849–1858. 2 pages, 16mo. In good condition. He has sent his correspondent's 'memorandum respecting Abyssinia' to Lord Stanley, 'who is a better judge than I can presume to be of any advantage which might result from putting into practice the suggestions it contains'. He has 'a due sense of the confidence you have shewn me'. Signed 'Stratford de R.'

Diplomat (1844-1915) and scion of the banking house. 4 pages, 8vo. Paper discoloured and grubby, but in good condition generally. He says he 'was on the other side of the Bosphorous' the day before, and so 'was unable to answer your letter by Austrian mail as I should otherwise have done'. He is sorry that Scott 'should have had any trouble about the cheque': he omitted to go through his account. He presents another cheque (not enclosed) for £4 18s 6d as he is going to ask Scott to make another payment.