History

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Manuscript, in a contemporary hand, of an English satirical poem entitled 'Boney's Bridge', based on 'The House that Jack Built', concerning an incident during the Battle of Leipzig.

Author: 
[Napoleon Bonaparte; Battle of Leipzig, 1813; English Georgian satire]
Publication details: 
[England, 1813.]
£95.00

4to (22.5 x 19), 2 pp. Text complete in forty-three lines. On aged and stained paper, with wear and closed tears to extremities. The first three lines are 'This is the Bridge that was blown into air. | These are the Miners who had the care | Of mining the Bridge that was blown into air'. Three corrections in the same hand. The poem was printed in the Morning Chronicle, 24 November 1813, under the title 'Buonaparte's Bridge', and reprinted in 'The Spirit of the Public Journals for 1813', that version containing a couple of minor variations [authorial?] from the present text. A. M.

Autograph Letter in the third person to Buchan, regarding 'Mr. Pitt', 'his abilities and fortitude' and 'the dilemma' arising from 'the present situation'.

Author: 
Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford (1737-1793), politician and art collector [David Steuart Erskine, eleventh earl of Buchan (1742-1829), antiquary and reformer]
Publication details: 
8 February 1784; Oxford Street.
£56.00

4to, 1 p. On piece of watermarked laid paper. Thirteen lines of text. Clear and complete. Good, on aged paper, with thin strip of stub adhering to blank reverse. Docketed at head, in a contemporary hand, '331 | Lord Camelford for fac simile'. Camelford was not at home when Buchan called, but he 'will take care that his Lordship's Letter shall be transmitted to Mr Pitt [his cousin William Pitt the younger?]'. Pitt 'will doubtless feel himself flatter'd with his Lordship's testimony in favour of his abilities and fortitude'.

Manuscript Memorandum, in English, docketed 'General Bernard's information respecting ettiquette [sic] of the french Court'.

Author: 
Baron Simon Bernard (1779-1839), French general of engineers, who did much military work for the United States government
Publication details: 
Date and place not stated.
£56.00

Written in a neat, close hand (not Bernard's) on one page (the recto of the first leaf of a 12mo bifolium). Twenty-one lines. Text clear and complete. On aged, grubby and lightly-creased paper.

Official instructions for the carrying out of an execution at Prisons in a British Colony.

Author: 
William Stirling, 'Ancien Assistant au Laboratoire de Police Technique de Lyon' [executions; hanging]
Publication details: 
[Offprint from the 'Revue Internationale de Criminalistique', vol.6 (1934).] Lyon: Joannes Desvigne et Cie, Editeurs, 36 a 42 Passage de l'Hotel-Dieu. 1934.
£56.00

8vo: 4 pp (paginated 3-6). In original light-green printed wraps. Text in English, clear and complete. Good, on aged paper, with slight discoloration to wraps. Blind accession stamp of the British crime writer Jonathan Goodman (1931-2008). The following sentence is deleted in pencil: 'The above instructions have been observed at executions interessed [sic] by one.' A 'plan of the authorized scaffold' is said to be 'attached', but is not present. No copy recorded on COPAC or WorldCat.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Eric A. Walker') to Bower.

Author: 
Eric A. Walker [Eric Anderson Walker] (1886-1976), first holder of the King George V Chair in History at the University of Cape Town, South Africa [Sir Graham John Bower]
Publication details: 
30 June 1927; on University of Cape Town letterhead.
£150.00

4to, 2 pp. Thirty-nine lines of text. Clear and complete. Neatly and closely written. Begins by discussing two books recommended by Bower: Otto Hammann's 'World Policy of Germany' and a work by Sir Francis Younghusband. Hammann's book 'confirms what Sir Sidney Lee writes about the Kaiser's telegram'; he is pleased that Younghusband's, which he has not yet read, contradicts the story that 'Lord Ripon was prepared for such drastic measures'. He has been 'correcting the proofs of the 600-page history of South Africa which I undertook to write for Longmans Green five or six years ago'.

[International Studies.] Israel. Documents, Facts and Figures. [with map]

Author: 
[The State of Israel, 1950; The Diplomatic Press and Publishing Co.; Jewish; Judaism; Palestine]
Publication details: 
London: The Diplomatic Press and Publishing Co. 13, Cotswold Gardens, N.W.2.
£95.00

12mo: 48 pp. Fold-out map of Israel at rear. In original grey printed wraps. Advertisements. Pro-Israeli pamphlet, aimed at British Jews (see advertisements for the Jewish Chronicle, Jewish Review, the Zionist Review, El Al, the Anglo-Israel Association). Divided into five sections: 'A People's Destiny', 'Basic Outline of the Coalition Government Programme', 'Jerusalem and the Holy Places', 'Israel Today', 'Defence' and 'Chronology'. Uncommon: COPAC only lists copies at the BL and LSE.

Printed circular, signed 'Hervey', putting himself forward as Parliamentary 'Representative of our University'.

Author: 
Frederick William Hervey (1800-1864), 2nd Marquess of Bristol [Trinity College, Cambridge]
Publication details: 
23 October 1822; Trinity College, Cambridge.
£65.00

4to (22.5 x 18.5 cm), 1 p. Eighteen lines in four paragraphs. Text clear and complete, crisply printed in italic. On aged and grubby paper. Begins 'The lamented death of Mr. SMYTH having occasioned a vacancy in the Representation of our University, I am induced to offer myself as a Candidate for the honour of succeeding him in that distinguished situation.' He is 'unfettered by political engagements', and must forever feel 'affection and gratitude' for 'a Body, amongst whom I have passed some of the happiest and most profitable years of my life'. Hervey was unsuccessful.

Autograph Letter Signed (twice, both 'Negri Cristoforo' ), with short poem, to an unnamed woman.

Author: 
Cristoforo Negri (1809-1896), Italian politician and first President (1867-1872) of the Italian Geographical Society [Jeremiah James Colman (1830-1898), Norwich mustard manufacturer]
Publication details: 
27 August 1868; on letterhead of Carrow House, Norwich.
£120.00

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Fair, on aged paper with a little light staining. The recto carries the seventeen-line letter to a 'Gentilissima Dama', in response to a request for an autograph. On the reverse of the second leaf is a four-line poem, signed and dated by Negri, beginning 'Come un Nume che si adora'. In the letter Negri writes that he does not have 'la presunzione di credere che il mio autografo meriti di essere conservato'.

The War in America: Its Origin and Object. By the Rev. G. H. Shanks. Together with A Letter, addressed to Lord Shaftesbury, by Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Author: 
Rev. G. H. Shanks; Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Publication details: 
Belfast: George Phillips & Sons, Bridge Street. C. Aitchison; William M'Comb, High Street. 1861. [Printed at the News-Letter Office, 25, Donegall Street, Belfast.]
£175.00

12mo, 12 pp. With errata slip. Disbound. Good, on aged paper with small grease spot on title leaf. Shanks's piece is on pp.3-6, dated at end 'Boardmills, Sept. 2, 1861.' Stowe's piece is on pp.7-10. The last two pages (11 and 12) are by Shanks, dated 'Boardmills, September 12, 1861. Scarce: no copy in the British Library, and the only copy on WorldCat is at the University of Texas.

Broadside titled 'Mr. W. J. Bryan. Speech at Thanksgiving Day Banquet, Hotel Cecil, November 26.' Inscribed by Bryan to Cecil Harmsworth.

Author: 
William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), American politician, Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States, 1896, 1900 and 1908 [Cecil Harmsworth (1869-1948), 1st Baron Harmsworth]
Publication details: 
[1903.] [London?]
£180.00

In three columns of small type, on one side of a piece of paper 41.5 x 26.5 cm. Fair, on aged and lightly-worn laid paper, with a little offsetting from the ink of the inscription. Reproduces the text of Bryan's speech without editorial interpolation. A report on the banquet (held by the American Society in London and with 'over 400 covers') in the New York Times, titled 'Bryan and Choate in a duel of repartee. Former Guest of Honor at Thanksgiving Day Banquet in London.

Galley proofs of a chapter of the fifth volume of 'The Second World War' ['Vol. V - Bk. II - Chap. XVIII - On the Eve'].

Author: 
Winston Churchill [Churchilliana; first editions; galley proof]
Publication details: 
Dated 'SEPTEMBER 4, 1951'. [Cassell & Co., London.]
£300.00

Thirteen pages, paginated [i] + 1-12, on one side each of thirteen leaves, each roughly 37.5 x 16.5 cm. Each page laid out for 55 lines in the text point size (the point size for quotations is smaller). Unbound and attached by a staple in the upper inner corner. Good, with first and last leaves a little grubby and upper two corners dogeared. The first page, headed 'SEPTEMBER 4, 1951 | VOLUME V - BOOK II', is unpaginated, and carries the chapter title and sixteen-line synopsis. The following twelve pages, paginated 1-12, are each headed 'Vol. V - Bk. II - Chap. XVIII - On the Eve'.

Printed (British government?) report entitled 'A Plan for China.'

Author: 
British Government Plan for China, 1925 [League of Nations; Great Britain; Foreign Office]
Publication details: 
Dated 'April, 1925.' [Foreign Office, London?]
£480.00

A curious document which, whether it emanates from the British Foreign Office or not, provides valuable insight into informed British opinion on China in the period following the First World War. Printed on fourteen 34 x 21.5 cm leaves, paginated 1-13 with title on fourteenth leaf. On paper with the Britannia watermark of Waterlow and Sons Limited, London. Stapled. Text clear and complete on aged and foxed paper.

Warrant (commission), signed by 'Arden.', 'Charles Small Pybus.' and 'Chs. Middleton' as Lords of the Admiralty, and 'Php Stephens' as Secretary, appointing Paterson 'Captain of His Majesty's Ship the Ariadne'.

Author: 
Charles George Perceval, 2nd Baron Arden; Charles Small Pybus; Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham; Sir Philip Stephens, First Secretary of the Admiralty [Admiral Charles William Paterson]
Publication details: 
20/02/95
£450.00

On one side of a piece of vellum, dimensions 27 x 32 cm. Neatly folded to make eight rectangles. Red wax seal under paper in top left-hand corner, embossed with the Admiralty anchor. One blue 2s 6d stamp in left-hand margin. Small paper stamp on the reverse, which is docketed 'Ariadne | Capt. Paterson | Admty Conf Comm | 20 Jany 1794'. Text entirely legible on lightly discoloured vellum. The body of the document is printed over fifteen lines, with the specific information added in manuscript.

Ten (10) original photographs of Churchill (mainly) and Family

Author: 
Gerard Guttmann ("Gerard") [WINSTON CHURCHILL]
Publication details: 
Circa 1950-70.
£595.00

The photographs range in size between 3 x 4" to 5 x 7", are in good condition, and comprise unposed views. A 10p stamp (Churchill during the Boer War) is stuck on the largest (corner)(Churchill head and shoulders, smiling with cigar), and another (fourpence halfpenny)(Churchill wearing a peaked cap) is stuck on another (Churchill acknowledging the crowd while in a motorcade). One similar to the first is crudely dated 1949 by the photographer.

Supplement to the Evening Journal, Monday, September 25, 1871. To Thomas Elder, Esq., J.P., Adelaide. [List of names of '1,181 Electors of the Province' petitioning Elder to stand in 'the coming Election'. With transcript of Elder's letter in reply.]

Author: 
[Sir Thomas Elder (1818-1897), explorer and philanthropist; The Evening Journal, Adelaide, South Australia]
Publication details: 
[1871.] Printed and Published by Messrs. Andrews, Thomas & Clark, at their Offices, Grenfell-street, Adelaide.
£250.00

On one side of a piece of wove paper, 45.5 x 28 cm. Wear to a couple of the names, otherwise the text is clear and complete. Fair, on aged and spotted paper, with wear to extremities including a closed tear at head repaired on reverse with archival tape. Small patch of glue from previous mounting on reverse.

Scrapbook, assembled and annotated by Pymm, containing newspaper cuttings, letters and other material relating to his wife's involvement in the 'Liberal Unionist Tea Party Scandal' of 1893.

Author: 
Henry Pymm [The Liberal Unionist Tea Party Scandal, Lambeth, 1893; Henry Morton Stanley]
Publication details: 
1893; London.
£225.00

The nature of this somewhat Pooterish 'scandal' is explained in one of the cuttings in the scrapbook: '[...] the Unionists of North Lambeth are making secret but strenuous efforts to insure the return of Mr. H. M. Stanley at the next election.

Autograph Draft of speech, made as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, addressing the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) on his unveiling of a statue of his father.

Author: 
William Cavendish (1808-1891), 7th Duke of Devonshire, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge [King Edward VII; Prince Albert, the Prince Consort; Clare College, Cambridge]
Publication details: 
[January 1879.] On letterhead of Clare College Lodge, Cambridge.
£65.00

12mo: 4 pp. Bifolium. Sixty-three lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Headed 'Duke of Devonshire'. A couple of minor corrections. Begins 'I must now ask permission to offer to your R H in behalf of Univty expression of our hearty thanks to you for having done us honor of unveiling statue of your illustrious Father.

Two long typewritten letters, the first describing 'the King's Visit' to H.M.S. Revenge, and 'the surrender of the German Fleet' in 1918; the second describing the 1931 Spring and Summer Cruises of Royal Yacht, the Queen Elizabeth.

Author: 
Anonymous 'writer' on H.M.S. Revenge [The surrender of the German Fleet, 1918] [the royal yacht, The Queen Elizabeth]
Publication details: 
Letter One: 21 November 1918; H.M.S. "Revenge", at present off Inchkeith, N[orth]. B[ritain]. Letter Two: 14 December 1931; 'Office of the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station, Malta.
£325.00

A valuable eyewitness account of an historic event. H.M.S. Revenge was the flagship of Admiral Freemantle, and it was to its quarterdeck that Admiral Ludwig von Reuter would be brought in 1919, after issuing the order to scuttle the entire German fleet at Scapa Flow. The text of both items is clear and complete. Both good, on lightly-aged and spotted paper. Letter One (1918): Foolscap (32 x 20.5 cm), 4 pp. In manuscript at head of first page: 'Use this where you like, Dad! Tho' be careful of showing who wrote it.

(Manuscript) Life in India: being an account of the doings of Lt P. Jones, "B" Co., 10th Middx.

Author: 
Lt P. Jones
Publication details: 
Fort William, Calcutta, April 1915
£100.00

Part two only (any other part missing). 101pp, 8vo, carbon copy, describing the day to day life of a soldier in India during the Ist WW, 24 March -7 Sept. 1915, duties, leisure activities, fellow-soldiers, rations, the market, inspections, letter-writing, "Telegram to say short rifles on the way", games, Boards, "Today [4 May] the final list was made out for men going to the Persian Gulf" (men from his company listed), parades, marches, [12 May] farewell to Persian party, replacements for Persian party, (little about "natives"), "boots from Cawnpore", trip to Dimond Harbour, and so on.

Manuscript Map, in colours, by Corporal A. Hunter, of the 'Bilstien [sic, for 'Bilstein'] Defences. scale 1/6250'.

Author: 
Bilstein (Germany) [Junkermuehle, Nassenstein]
Publication details: 
01/02/19
£85.00

Dimensions of paper roughly. Creased, with fraying to extremities, closed tears, and some staining and fading due to damp. A careful production, detailing the fortification to the towns of Bilstein (north-east of Cologne), Junkermuehle and Nassenstein, in black, yellow, red and green, with attractive lettering. 'References' are to 'barbed wire entanglements', 'main roads', 'Woods', 'stream', 'bye Roads' and 'Bridges'. Pencil additions include position of 'SNIPERS'. Ascribed at foot to 'Cpl. A. Hunter' and dated 'February 1919'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Stanley Buckmaster') to [F.] Meade[, Secretary, Official Press Bureau].

Author: 
Stanley Owen Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster (1861-1934), Liberal politician and Lord Chancellor [the Official Press Bureau; Great War; censorship]
Publication details: 
12 April 1915; on embossed government letterhead of the Official Press Bureau, Whitehall.
£35.00

12mo, 3 pp, 26 lines. Good, with tiny pin holes at head and foot of both leaves of the bifolium, and one corner roughened by removal of mount. Buckmaster has learnt that Meade is 'contemplating leaving [his] work in this Office', and would 'greatly regret any such step' as Meade's work is 'of great assistance and is much appreciated by all of us in this room'. While Buckmaster realises that there is little opportunity for advancement, he feels that 'we all do render considerable service to the state'.

Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'Henry Knollys') to 'Staff Surgeon Walter Haydon, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Conquest'.

Author: 
Colonel Sir Henry Knollys (1840-1930), wrote on life in Japan and China; commanded the Royal Artillery in South Africa, 1889-1891; later Private Secretary to Queen Maud of Norway [Walter Haydon]
Publication details: 
24 and 27 August 1916; both on letterhead of 2 Morpeth Mansions, Victoria, London.
£80.00

Both letters lightly creased and spotted, but good overall. Letter One (8vo, 8 pp): In stamped, addressed envelope. Begins by asking whether Haydon would consider acting as co-executor to his estate with his wife Flora. Outlines his financial situation and discusses the executor's duties. Turns to 'the naval situation', Haydon's letter on the subject being 'so guarded that it might be nailed up in Trafalgar Square without helping the enemy'.

Prospectus and application form for the Anti-German League, together with two other items of promotional material.

Author: 
E. J. Balsir Chatterton, founder, The Anti-German League [First World War Zeppelin raids on London]
Publication details: 
All three items undated [1915 or 1916]. One printed by 'Willsons', New Walk Printing Works, Leicester.'
£150.00

All three items good. Item One: Prospectus and application form, headed 'The Anti-German League. Introduction by the Founder.' Three pages, in a bifolium. Leaf dimensions 27.5 x 21.5 cm. Printed in blue. The 'Introduction' covers the first two pages, flanked by columns bearing the words 'Lest We Forget.' and 'MOTTO: "Everything German Taboo." ' It includes the headings ' "Made in Germany" - The Mark of the Beast' and 'The Alien Menace'.

Typed Letter Signed ('Oliver Locker Lampson') to Dr E. E. Lewis.

Author: 
Oliver Stillingfleet Locker-Lampson (1880-1954), British Conservative Member of Parliament for North Huntingdonshire, Commander of an Armoured Car Unit in the First World War
Publication details: 
23 July 1913; on embossed House of Commons letterhead.
£100.00

One page, folio. Very good on lightly creased paper. Headed 'FIGHTING FUND' and listing the members of the 'PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE' (including Lampson as Honorary Secretary, and the Duke of Westminster and Earl of Malmesbury). Communication of twenty-seven lines, with decided proto-fascistic overtones.

Typed Letter Signed ('C. Oxon:') to Ormsby Gore, discussing at length the issue of 'the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales.

Author: 
Charles Gore (1853-1932), Bishop of Oxford [William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore (1885-1964), 4th Baron Harlech] [the Church of England in Wales]
Publication details: 
9 December 1913; on letterhead of Cuddesdon, Wheatley, Oxfordshire.
£85.00

4to, 4 pp. Sixty-six lines of text. Clear and complete. Fair, on grubby and lightly-worn paper. At the time of writing Ormsby-Gore was still a commoner, sitting in the House of Commons as Member for Denbigh. Headed 'Private'. Gore considers that 'both sides in politics have been doing their best to confuse the issue'. He begins by stating his position: 'The broad ground on which I stand is that a Liberal Government cannot, either on grounds of policy or of principle, refuse the demand of the Welsh Representatives for the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales.

Broadside titled 'King Crispin. The ancient and modern history of King Crispin, with a particular account of the plan and order of the grand procession, time of meeting, &c.'

Author: 
Robert Martin, Edinburgh printer [Freemasonry; the Craft; broadsides; street ballads; handbills]
Publication details: 
Edinburgh: 'Printed for, and sold by R. MARTIN . . . . Price one penny. | Glass, Printer, South Niddry Street'. [Between 1832 and 1851?]
£175.00

Printed on one side of wove paper roughly 41.5 x 17 cm. Text clear and complete. On aged, creased and grubby paper. In two columns, headed by the title and royal crest. Begins 'Bannatyne's Key to the Almanack gives the following account of Sts Crispin and Crispianus, brothers, [...]'. Concludes: 'In a short time Crispin ascended the throne, [...] he was sainted and the Shoemakers, through gratitude for the privileges conferred on them, made him their tutelar saint'.

Votes of the House of Commons. Jovis 17. die Jan. 1711. [Including the transcript of a letter to the House of Commons from Queen Anne, dated 'St. James's, 17. January, 1711.']

Author: 
W. Bromley, Speaker [Votes of the House of Commons, 1711; Queen Anne; Treaty of Utrecht]
Publication details: 
London: Printed for Samuel Keble at the Turk's Head in Fleetstreet, and Henry Clements at the Half-Moon in S. Paul's Church-yard. 1711.
£56.00

Printed in small type on both sides of a leaf of laid paper, roughly 31 x 20 cm. Text clear and complete. On aged, worn and grubby paper. Closed tear to upper corner (not affecting text). At head of first page: '[39] Numb. 17'. At head of second page: '[40]'. The Queen's letter, of 28 lines, is placed in the midst of a report of the House's business.

Manuscript draft of the Preface to the Third Edition of "Liverpool of Few Years Since" (1885).

Author: 
James Aspinall.
Publication details: 
Liverpool, 1885.
£65.00

Two pages, folio, fold marks, some additions and corrections in author's hand, remnants of laying down process, text complete and clear. He says that the new edition responds to demand by an appreciative public perhaps families of people mentioned, city's development, anticipating an update of the history, hoping for "rapid demand". Signed " [?] Aspinall".

Autograph Letter Signed ('Le Despencer') to a member of the Tonyn family.

Author: 
Francis Dashwood (1708-1781), 11th Baron Le Despencer, politician and rake; member of the Hellfire Club; founder of the Monks of Medmenham Abbey
Publication details: 
16 November 1763; Curzon Street.
£650.00

4to: 1 p. 7 lines of text. Docketed on the reverse of the otherwise-blank second leaf of the bifolium. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. He has been informed by Lord Marchmont that his correspondent is 'a son of my old acquaintance Colonel Tonyn', and for that reason, as well as 'for the respect I bear towards Lord Marchmont', he will 'be glad to shew you any civility in my power. He does not know when there will be 'a new General Commission of Justices of the Peace for the County of Bucks', but when there is, he will not forget Tonyn's request.

Autograph Letter Signed ('B Wilson') to Rev. Charles William Tonyn (d.1805), 'at the Palace Berwick upon Tweed'.

Author: 
Benjamin Wilson (c.1721-1788), English portrait painter and scientist
Publication details: 
Postmarked 17 April [no year]. Place not stated.
£300.00

Foolscap (31.5 x 20.5 cm): 1 p. 24 lines of text. Address, with postmark, on reverse. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. Discussing a picture he has been painting of 'Captain Tonyn', which 'is within one days work of being finished'. Points out that there has been a misunderstanding about the price: 'fifty five pounds [...] could not be the case because I never yet reced from any body pounds, but always Guinneas'. Because of 'the great work that so large a Canvas wod. require (it being bigger than a whole length for which I had at that time 50 Gs. and now 60 Gs.

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