Art and Architecture

Goodyer has long been recognised as a significant figure in the arts and crafts movement (see Adburgham's 'Shops and Shopping' and Aslin's 'Aesthetic Movement, Prelude to Art Nouveau'), but surprisingly little is known about him. A former partner in the firm of Liberty's, he founded his Aesthetic Gallery at 55 Bond Street in 1889. It specialized in 'English silks, cashmeres, velveteens, fans, cushions, handkerchiefs, table covers, and other dainty manufactures', and numbered Voysey among its suppliers.

Elliot's illustrations, attractively executed in great detail, recall the style of those in the volumes produced by the publisher B. T. Batsford during the same period. All in excellent condition, the majority with tissue guards; album in good good condition. Fifty-eight of the illustrations, all of Swiss knockers, on paper ranging in size from 21 x 5 cm to 23.5 x 16 cm (the latter the majority), are laid down on the rectos of the first 45 leaves of a 47-leaf landscape folio album (leaf dimensions 36 x 16 cm). All have tissue guards.

12mo, 1 p. Six lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Suggests a couple of alternative days on which he 'will be at liberty to give Sir W. J. Newton a sitting'.

A nice collection of Victorian Shakespeare ephemera. All four items with text clear and complete, on lightly-aged and worn paper. The 'Description' is printed in red, on both sides of a piece of paper 13.5 x 18 cm, with both vertical edges perforated. 'This may be retained as a Souvenir' along one edge. Dated at end 'RICHARD SAVAGE, Secretary and Librarian to the Trustees. | 1896-6.' Along head of first page: 'The Committee request that no Gratuities be offered to the Attendants.' Numbered 22989 in black.

Each drawing 22 x 16 cm, and each neatly mounted on card 31.5 x 22 cm. In good condition, in slightly discoloured mounts and folder. The mounts numbered in pencil in top left-hand corner. In cream folder, with blue cloth spine. Title in blue pencil on front of folder, together with image of hand holding glasses. Illustration of hand painting with brush, surrounded by ink pots, on back of folder. First illustration signed 'GZ | 5.3.66' and last 'GZ 7.4.66' Folder dated 'GZ. | 20.7.66'. Pleasant compositions, with something of an Edward Ardizzone feel about them.

4to, 4 pp. Bifolium. 105 lines of text. Clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Black wax seal with impression of 'D L' adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is postmarked 'LOUGHBOROUGH | 109' and franked '1817 | Loughborough March Eight | S. Pipe Wolferston [sic] Esqr | Stotfold Hall | Tamworth | [signed] P. Gell'. Begins 'I have recd. your obliging communication of the 22d.

12mo, 22 pp (followed by final blank leaf). Stitched pamphlet. Text clear and complete. On discoloured and worn paper. 152 'ouvrages d'arts' arranged in alphabetical order under the names of the artists, from 'François Alewaters, peintre à Malines' and 'Henri Adams, à Malines' to 'G. P. Wuyts, de Lierre' and 'L. Zwitzer, de Malines'. Preliminary notice headed 'Police du Salon'. Scarce: no copy on WorldCat or COPAC.

[12]pp., 8vo, unbound, formerly sewn (sewing not present), chipped, outer pages (and inner in parts) grubby and (front) worn at fold mark with minor loss of text, text otherwise complete. Title continued from above "..."in fine condition among which may be names, A MAGDALEN, CARACCI, A Grand Gallery Picture, Landscape and Figures, Very fine, VERMULEN, A Sea Storm, Vernet . . .". Pencil NOTE on front cover "Call for | letters | Herald | Office | James" (perhaps James = James Izod but I don't see why he should have written such a note on somebody's catalogue).

8vo, 12 pp. Stitched as issued. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Two engravings ('Egyptian Obelisks' and 'Egyptian Sarcophagus') in text. Begins 'The subject on which I am about to make a few remarks this evening is the Sculptural Art Treatment of Granitic Surface, or the Surface of Granite.

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Written out in one hand, and signed 'Bradley & Co' in another. Addressed to 'W. F. Stocks Esqre | Glen Elwy | St Asaph. | Flint[shire]'. Thirteen lines. Text clear and complete. On foxed and lightly-aged paper. Giving the firm's 'charge for receiving unpacking & delivering pictures to the R.A. or other London Exhibitions' and for 'collecting repacking & forwarding', as well as the dimensions of pictures for which these charges apply.

The proof itself is in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, 22 x 14 cm. Dimensions of image roughly 10.5 x 7 cm. Mounted on the original foxed and aged paper, 43 x 29 cm, with wear to extremities, carrying Fisher's inscription in pencil: 'L Stocks Esqr with S Fisher's Comts'. Oval vignette, showing what appears to be a ruined Norman abbey, with stone staircase and high window, a skull, a sword, a helmet, a stork and a key in rushes on water in foreground. Possibly one of the enravings from Leitch Ritchie's 'Ireland, Picturesque and Romantic' (London: Longmans, 1837-8).

The proof itself is in good condition, on lightly-aged paper, 24 x 16 cm. Dimensions of image roughly 12 x 10 cm. Mounted on the original foxed and aged paper, 43 x 29 cm, with Fisher's inscription in pencil: 'Bantry Bay Cork. L Stocks Esqr with S Fisher's Comts'. Oval vignette, giving tasteful view from hill, with soldiers and women, down into the bay, with mountains behind. The engraving appeared in Leitch Ritchie's 'Ireland, Picturesque and Romantic' (London: Longmans, 1837-8).

12mo, 2 pp. Twenty lines. Text clear and complete. In bifolium. On aged and discoloured paper, with small closed tears along central fold lines of both leaves. A reference, 'bearing testimony to your perfect efficiency as a teacher of landscape painting possessing, as you do, the first and greatest requisite, namely a power to sketch beautifully from nature, your success should not be short of great. [last word underlined]' Apologises for not answering sooner, caused by 'the loss of your card'. From a small archive of Walter F. Stocks's correspondence.

12mo, 2 pp. 15 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper. Providing a 'recommendation as a teacher' for his correspondent, 'in the neighbourhood of Leamington'. 'My observation of the progress you have made, during your studentship at the Royal Academy enables me to state, that, you are, in my opinion fully competent to undertake the teaching of the elementary branches of art'. From a small archive of Walter F. Stocks's correspondence.

12mo, 1 p. Ten lines. Clear and complete. On bifolium with mourning border. Fair, on aged and discoloured paper. Endorsing the application of Walter F. Stocks for 'the vacant professorship of landscape painting in Queen's College'. Stocks 'has been an exhibitor at the Royal Academy for many years' and Calderon 'has admired his paintings on our walls'.

8vo, 40 pp. Five plates (numbered I to V and with p.40 numbered VI) and thirty illustrations in text. In original brown cloth wraps, with cover bearing white paper label printed in red and black reading 'HUME | METAL ON LEATHER. | 1863.' Tight, on aged paper, in rebacked wraps. Inscribed on front free endpaper 'To W. W. F. Hume Esquire from his the writer 3rd March 1863. Title-page also in red and black. Note on reverse of title: 'This Paper is printed in the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol. XIV, for Session 1861-62.

All three items 8vo. The first of two pages, and the other two of one page each. Texts clear and complete. Fair on aged, creased and slightly-discoloured paper. Discussing his disagreement with the architect of a building over the width of two proposed uprights. Walker considers that these 'would handicap the fullest expression'. The first letter carries a simple pencil diagram of the window. He feels 'we shall all have forgotten this point' when the window is seen 'in all its glory'.

12mo, 2 pp. First leaf of letter only. On worn aged paper, with slight loss and chpping to extremities. Docketed by Melville in red at head of first page with date 'Feby 1829'. Begins 'Sir Thos. Lawrence presents his Compts to Captn. Melville Grindlay, [...]'. Thanking Grindlay for the gift of 'his Works from the Scenery and Architecture of India; and from the Sculpture in the Cave Temples of Ellora'. Lawrence has 'received great pleasure from the frequent inspection' of the works. Ends abruptly, at foot of second page, 'and very particularly, from the view <...>'.

Printed on the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium. Leaf dimensions 29 x 23.5 cm. Clear and complete. Grubby, and with closed tears to folds and slight damp staining. An attractive production. Ornate heading, with engraved portrait of Minerva in circular medallion (5.5 cm diameter) surrounded by laurel leaves, 'Drawn & Engd. by W. H. Lizars'. Text engraved in copperplate. Reads (with manuscript part in square brackets): 'Edinburgh [23d. January] 18[34,] | At a meeting of the Society held here on the [22d.

On one side of piece of paper, irregularly-cut from bottom of letter, and measuring approximately 3.5 x 11 cm. Lightly-aged, spotted and creased, with thin strip from mount adhering to the left. Reads 'Yours sincerely, | [signed] Kate Perugini | 24th. Oct.'

12mo, 1 p. On bifolium. Good, on aged paper. Addressed, on reverse of second leaf, to 'Mr. Simco | Warwick St. | Golden Square.' Asking Simco to send a book 'by the Bearer', as well as ' a remittance upon his account of Holbein', as 'he has some large payments to make at the beginning of next week'.

Two pages, 8vo, bifolium, blank second leaf laid don on stiff paper, c.21 x 27cm, good condition.. He asks Disderi de lui envoyer deux collections des huit vues de Claremont [an earlier refuge in England] & Weybridge qu'il a fait en avril dernier, et un exemplaire du groupe general sur la pelouse de Claremont." He doesn't want the latter mounted but "l'autre collection doit etre montee sur carton." He asks for a "note au compte" made out to him. Note@ Apparently Disderi pioneered the carte de visite.

The collection is in very good condition, on slightly aged and dusty paper. Several items bear the Society's stamp. An interesting and significant correspondence. The letters, in a variety of formats from 12mo to foolscap, are often long, and are written in an informal tone. Indicating Baines's deep involvement in the Society's affairs, they most significantly concern an appeal, organised by Baines on behalf of the Society, 'for the preservation of the cottage architecture of Great Britain', with the backing and involvement of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.

12mo, 3 pp. Thirty-three lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with traces of mount on reverse of second leaf, which is docketed 'C. Fane to G. Joy | 19 Augt. 1844'. A significant and interesting letter, on a topic later tackled by Dickens in 'Bleak House', by a judge who was an active member of the Law Amendment Society, and whose decisions, according to his entry in the Oxford DNB, 'were frequently the subject of comment', although 'very few of his judgments were reversed on appeal'.

On one side of a piece of wove paper, roughly 400 x 250 mm. Dimensions of engraving roughly 130 x 180 mm. Good, on heavily-foxed and lightly-creased paper. The sketch shows a well-dressed flautist playing his instrument in a market square, with money, clothes and food drawn to him from onlookers as if by magnetism. Beneath the print, in a variety of types and point sizes: 'Speedily will be Published, Inscribed to all Lovers of Tweedledum Tweedle, The Art of Playing upon People: or, Memoirs of the German Flute. Interspersed with The Character of Baron Steeple; [...]'.

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He is sending a cheque for thirty-five pounds for 'Skirving's picture of my mother with which I am well pleased', which he 'got from the Hall porter at the Reform'. Reports that the picture 'has been exposed to a very serious risk of entire destruction, the plate-glass having been shivered to pieces in the packing case. Wonderful to say, the damage done is confined to the dark & unimportant parts of the drawing'. When Grahame 'heard the broken glass rattling in the Box', he had 'no hope of the picture being sound'.

4to, 2 pp. Twenty-three lines of text, clear and complete. In fair condition, creased and lightly-worn. With stamped envelope addressed by Flint. In reply to a question from Carpenter ('I very, very freqently receive letters such as yours') Flint writes: 'Dont worry about not receiving art instruction in painting because I never had a lesson in my life.' He believes he inherited the skill he 'started with', but constant study of the works of masters & constant practice have brought me (with the aid of a kindly Providence) to my present position'.

8vo, 4 pp. Neatly printed on watermarked laid paper. Fair, though slightly grubby and creased. The words 'First Issue' are in the top left-hand corner of the first page. The heading reads 'Trinity College, Cambridge. | June 21 and 22, 1899. | The following Members of the College have accepted the invitation of the Master and Fellows to dinner on June 21. The date placed opposite to each name is that of the year in which the first degree was taken, and the order is that in which the names stand on the College Boards'. The earliest graduates date from 1858 and the latest from 1865.

Stamped on front pastedown 'LE ROY & CIE. | DECORATION GENERALE | 58, Avenue Fonsny, 58 | TEL. SABLON 2061'. In a landscape 12mo (roughly 12 x 17 cm) album of 29 leaves, bound in coarse brown cloth. The majority of the photographs are in good condition though lightly aged, with around 20 showing varying degrees of damage involving staining and chipping. The album itself is worn and aged, in a binding heavily-worn at spine and corners, and with spotted and aged leaves.

12mo, 2 pp. With mourning border. 42 lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and worn paper, with slight chipping to extremities. Herbert has not yet received Wyatt's 'promised letter', but wants 'to say one word [...] about the lighting of the Wilton Chapel. The Gap must be brought to the centre of the Ceiling before the works are completed, as Mr. Olivier wishes to give Eveng. Lectures to the Servants on different occasions & I thought a Corona in the centre would light the whole [...] I can quite trust to yr. Taste to choose one.