Book Trade History

Paper, 11 x 4cm, incudes name of address, To Mrs Warner., formerly laid down in an album, some remnants of process on reverse, showing through faintly not impinging on the signature, mainly good condition.

4to, 68 + viii pp. Frontispiece and eight plates, as well as numerous illustrations in text. In original printed wraps, with advertisements. Eight pages of advertisements at end. Text and illustrations clear and complete. A scarce item (the only copy on COPAC at the V & A Libraries) on aged paper, in chipped and worn wraps, with title page creased, and some sections detached. Inscribed by the editor, at head of front wrap, 'From Edward King | to his Brother Savage W. Linnell | In Memory of a joyous afternoon in Venice. | Nov.

One page, folio, part-printed, part manuscript, edges chipped, small closed tears on fold marks and at top and bottom edges, some staining but text clear and complete. The document gives the terms they agree, and Montalba has added I acknowledge the receipt of £50 the signatures for which [?] various sums stand in the cash book-as payment for the wood cuts for the above work & which is to [be] charged in the account | ARMontalba. Note: According to the BLC this work was written by A.Whitehill, translating Montalba.

Broadsheet, c.24 x 40cm, fold marks, light foxing, mainly good condition. He sets out his principles in the usual high-flown manner, not identifying with any party.

Three pages, 4to, good condition. Harmsworth has obviously consigned two copies of the History of Little Goody Two Shoes to Dobell for evaluation and Dobell is now returning them with a learned disquisition on the publishing history of the work. He discusses the advertising and other background of the Newbery imprint, speculation on the rights being sold to a syndicate of booksellers (explaining worsening quality of printing), speculation on the undated one being pirated. He cites a memorandum by a British Library principal Librarian, J.

Both 12mo, 1 p; and both bifoliums. Both aged and creased. Letter One (recipient not named): Asking to be sent any works 'that would give information on the subject of Chaplaincies abroad in connection with the Government or otherwise', as well as 'a copy of the publisher's circular regularly'. Letter Two (to Smith): Asking if there 'have been any sales of Salverte since the Athenaeum Advertisement', and what Smith would give 'for the whole lot on hand (say per 100 copies) if willing to take them off my hands'.

Two pages, cr. 8vo, bifolium, segment cut from bifoliate leaf, no obvious loss, fair condition, text clear and complete.

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Fair, on aged paper. He begins 'Print the farce', and gives two conditions, ending 'There that's definite'. He will have the farce published after it is performed in London, 'at a good theatre of course'. 'But get on with it and lets have the proofs.' He will 'most likely' play it himself 'at Manchester and somewhere else, when I will put all this stage business &c in'. Ends 'Toole wants to do it. | Yours Tooley - I mean Truly'. In one of two postscripts he hopes Lacy has 'a good supply of Billy Taylor. Hopewood & Crew publish it.'

12mo, 1 p. Ten lines. Clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. Letterhead in red. Headed 'My Garden' (in 1907 Arrowsmith published 'My Garden and other Poems by John Gregory. With an appreciation by E. J. Watson'). He wonders whether the book is 'worth notice'. 'There is no mistake about Gregory being a working man [he was a cobbler]. His son is Prof. of astronomy and Assistant Editor of Nature'.

Landscape 12mo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper, with light traces of mount adhering to the blank reverse. Asking for a copy of his 'Sermons for Families & Villages' ['Sermons chiefly designed for family reading and village worship', 1842] to be given to an individual, and 'put to my Account'.

Landscape 8vo, 1 p. Text clear and complete. Fair on aged vellum. Engraving of royal crest in top left-hand corner. Printed in small type and completed in manuscript. Three witnesses, including 'Rich. Robinson' and 'Walt: Robins'. Red wax seal of head, and government stamp on blue. Brief modern notes accompanying the item state that the elder Shaw was born in 1685, the son of the headmaster of Lichfield Grammar School (Johnson's old school), who died in 1704. There is no record of anything published by the Shaws, who do not feature in BBTI.

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. On aged paper, with a spike-hole with closed tear from hole to edge of both leaves. No loss to text. He is sending 'a list of the books that I wish to part with in order that upon the exchange for a Dyce's Shakspeare, one settlement of our account might suffice.' There follows a list of the books over around 40 lines, beginning with 'Tyndewood's Procinciale Fol. calf. neat. Best edition' and ending with 'Kennet's Impropriations 1 vol calf'. Includes 'Solomon & Perseda 1599'. The recipient has written '£6 .

8vo, 6 pp. Two bifoliums sewn together. On laid paper with Britannia watermark. Text clear and complete. Neatly written out at approximately 38 lines to the page. On aged paper, with slight damage to the first bifolium, the leaves of which are detaching at the spine. Some of the items have been lightly scored through in pencil, but are still legible. The inclusion of such items as '149 Blank Silk Paper for copying Maps' would appear to indicate that the document is an inventory (for probate?) of a cartographer's stock. Last two entries read '165 Blank Sheets of Paper for copying Maps.

One page, 8vo, good condition. " I fully appreciate the pains and enthusiasm which have gone into your Bibliography of RIDER HAGGARD, and admire the thoroughness with which the job is done. But I am afraid that I cannot in present circumstances see the bookas a proposition for a general publisher. It is Bibliography pure and simple, and does not pretend to deal with Haggard as a writer or to use his career in illustration of developments in publishing history.

Total 4pp., 8vo, text readable but sometimes faint,good condition. (Nov. 1947) He's been too ill to write but has marked the books he wants. Any sort of copy not even firsts[.] They are only for work. [This from the most fastidious of collectors (Muir, Minding My Own Business, p.101)]. He'll go through the list again just in case. Those Press cuttings & photos were most useful. (Dec. 1947) He thanks him for another Hobbes, revealing his greatest want, The Vineyard. Fletcher is to stop looking for the life of 1911 since Jennings' publishers have sent a copy.

One page, 8vo, fold marks, good condition. No doubt our London House has told you that they are ordering a copy of SHAKESPEARE AND THE ACTORS for you.~35~SHAKESPEARE OUP OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS THEATRE AUTOGRAPH~ ~0~BT MSS 1~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 9764~16/09/2010~False~John Sparrow, Warden of All Souls, Bookman~Autograph Postcard SignedJ. to John Carter, c/o Sotheby's, Bookman.~Venezia, 24 Oct. 1971.~Good condition.

One page, 8vo, good condition. Somewhat mysterious but concerning a book or books by Herman Melville. Pardon me for not answering your kind note before. Although I cannot agree that you have received anything approaching an equivalent for your copy of Omoo, I am naturally very gratified that you are good enough to think differently . . .

Two pages, 8vo, good condition. A bookseller called Glaishier at Greenwich sent me a small Trollope letter to see to other day. It was in bad condition, but I think the signature was undamaged and if your friend only collects signatures it might be worth his asking to se this. | If, however, he wants a complete letter (as probably he does for an important collection) I think he might get one from Bernard Halliday [underlined], 1King Richards Road, Leicester or from Maggs Brothers [underlined with address]. Both these will be expensive.

9 x 14 cm. Backed on piece of card, and hence with the details of the addressees obscured. Fair, on aged paper with central vertical crease. Sending 'Compliments au père et à la mère. Bon veux pour le nouveau né!' Written while waiting for trial, following Déroulède's re-arrest for treason. He was found guilty and banished for ten years. His funeral procession in Paris attracted a larger crowd than any since Victor Hugo.

12mo, 15 pp. In modern brown paper wraps (easily removed). Clear and complete. In fair condition, on aged paper. Wraps stamped 'J467'. This item has a complicated publishing history (not made easier by the large number of microfilm reproductions listed on COPAC). This copy has 'Price Two Pence.' at the foot of the title, which - with a triangular geometric vignette made up of ten flowers - is enclosed in a frame. The reverse of the last leaf is blank and there is no cancel.

Dimensions of paper 23 x 17 cm; dimensions of image c.16 x 10.5 cm. In fair condition on lightly-aged paper. Captioned at foot 'Nathaniel Hawthorne'. Head and shoulders illustration, with Hawthorne looking at the viewer with his head slightly towards his right shoulder. Placed in modern 34 x 26.5 cm cream card frame with gold and light-green border. Professionally executed in a traditional style. The artist's monogram, centred beneath the illustration, consists of a stalk topped by simple flower design, and with the date '26' at the foot.

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf. Fair, on aged paper. He does not think he received 'Part II of Collectanea Topog. & Geneal.' 'As I believe that receipts are taken on delivery of that Work be so good as to send me any memorandum of the fact - if you do not possess it perhaps the Part may not have been left at my House'. Docketed, with details of the receipt, at head of first page.

12mo, 1 p. Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of mount on blank reverse. He only has 'time for a single line before Post'. He is adopting the recipient's 'suggestion of putting my name among the Vicars | "47. John Raine. Presented November 1834', and is sending copy. The note concerns an entry on Raine in the following: 'Reports and Papers Read at the Meetings of the Architectural Societies of the Counties of Lincoln and Nottingham, County of York, Archdeaconries of Northampton and Oakham, County of Bedford, Diocese of Worcester, and County of Leicester', Vol. 15 (1879).

4to, 2 pp. Twenty lines. Text clear and complete. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of mount adhering at head of reverse. He has been on an 'interesting and agreeable' tour. 'If my name is worthy of standing amongst the Patrons of the Splendid Work forthcoming under your auspices I shall be proud to enroll myself with them; and shall be ready to obey the call of your publisher whenever you direct him to me.' He praises Dibdin's 'Tour in France and Germany' (1821), and thanks him for selecting 'so fine a copy'.

4to, 1 p. In bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf with circular 'RUSHYFORD' postmark in black ink. On aged and creased paper, with traces of mount adhering on second leaf. Giving details of the 'allowance to the Trade', which he admits is 'small', for volumes in large and small paper. 'Only 500 Copies being printed it is not worth my while to push the sale by a large allowance'.

16mo, 1 p. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr Rodd | Little Newport St.' Fair, on lightly-aged paper, with minor traces of mount adhering at head of reverse of second leaf. He is returning the books as he already possesses two of them, '& the other he is not anxious to have'.

4to, 2 pp. Bifolium, with letter on both sides of first leaf, and frank ('For Mrs Montagu at Mr Purdies in Orange Court, Bath'), with red wax seal (bust of a man), on reverse of second. 42 lines of text. Clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with strip of mount adhering to second leaf. Begins by describing her state of health, complaining of 'a Constant pain in my Head & Opression [sic] at my breast', for which she has been 'blooded'.

12mo, 1 p. Ten lines, written lengthwise. Text clear and complete. Addressed on reverse to 'Mr. Cadell, Bookseller, Stran[d]'. Clearly relating to Hallifax's 'Sermon preached before the Lords spiritual and temporal', published by Cadell in 1782. He is sending a 'List of Presents to persons out of London'. Copies for 'the Mansf[iel]d Waggon' are 'to be sent on Sunday evening to Smithfield; the twenty-one copies for 'Dr Jowett of Cambridge need not be wrapped up in separate papers'.

4to, 1 p. 19 lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and lightly creased paper, with strip of sunning to left-hand margin. Neat signature: 'Nicolas Bentley'. The film and television rights to the book were all 'bought some years ago by Herbert Wilcox, who, as I understand it, still owns them'. Bentley has reports the opinion of 'Messrs A. P. Watt, my late father's agent', on the question of the radio rights. 'I control the stage rights', Bentley states, giving the conditions on which he would agree to a stage adaptation.

Two pages, 4to, some damage at fold mark, but text clear and complete. The writer identifies the author as Rawdon Brown, "resident at Venice", whose "Translation of the 'Despatches of Sebastian Giustinian" had been reviewed in "The Athenaeum". Brown takes exception to the conclduing sentence, refers to a passage in his own book and outlines the rules by which he is writing (using English "authorities" sparingly, etc., being more interested in what was said of the English abroad). He would welcome useful references for his second edition.