Music and Theatre

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Autograph Letter Signed ('John Hullah') by the English composer John Pyke Hullah to an unnamed recipient, complaining about an 'unreasonable' request.

Author: 
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla] (1812-1884), English composer for one of whose operas Charles Dickens wrote the libretto [St Martin's Hall, Long Acre]
Publication details: 
25 April 1850; 20 St James's Place, London.
£35.00
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla]

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. 17 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Begins 'I cannot help thinking your request a very unreasonable one. You have, in the first instance, monopolized, for the best part of the season, my Room, on the night when it is most in request; & now that every body has fully laid out his plans for this side off the autumn you call upon me to release you from an engagement [...]'. He will not force the recipient to occupy the room 'longer than the six nights', but will not keep 'the engagement' open for him at Christmas.

Autograph Letter Signed ('John Hullah') from the English composer John Pyke Hullah to T. V. Lister.

Author: 
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla] (1812-1884), English composer for one of whose operas Charles Dickens wrote the libretto [St Martin's Hall, Long Acre]
Publication details: 
28 March 1862; on letterhead of 11 Devonshire Place, W., London.
£35.00
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla]

12mo, 2 pp. 15 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Having failed to 'catch' lister after 'our practice', Hullah asks if he would be willing to 'take part in a private performance here of Haydn's Stabat Mater'. Gives details of dates of proposed performance, and rehearsal.

Autograph Letter Signed ('John Hullah.') from the English composer John Pyke Hullah to an unnamed male recipient.

Author: 
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla] (1812-1884), English composer for one of whose operas Charles Dickens wrote the libretto [St Martin's Hall, Long Acre]
Publication details: 
24 May [no year]; 20 St James's Place, London.
£35.00
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla]

12mo, 1 p. 10 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The recipient 'had better be in Town for the Choral Meeting on the 4th. June'. Gives details of when the recipient will 'generally find' Hullah there.

Photographic portrait by Messrs W. Walker & Sons of Cavendish Square, London, of the English composer John Pyke Hullah, on albumen carte-de-visite.

Author: 
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla] (1812-1884), English composer for one of whose operas Charles Dickens wrote the libretto [St Martin's Hall, Long Acre]
Publication details: 
Undated (circa 1860?). Messrs Walker & Sons, Artists & Photographers, 64 Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, London.
£125.00
John Hullah [John Pyke Hulla]

Oval sepia photograph of the head and shoulders of Hullah, looking to his right in double-breasted jacket. Faded and on aged card, with traces of mount adhering to reverse. The sitter - who by comparison with other photographs is definitely Hullah - is named as 'JOHN HULLAH' in a contemporary hand on the card beneath the laid-down photograph, and as 'Mr Hullah' in pencil on the reverse. Not present in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, which only holds three images of the composer.

[Printed facsimile; Hymn] From Greenland's Icy Mountains [Twas when the Seas were roaring].

Author: 
Reginald Heber, sometime Bishop of Calcutta.
Publication details: 
Published & Sold by Hughes & Son, Wrexham, [1899].
£65.00
From Greenland's Icy Mountains

Four pages, 4to, bifolium, stains and small closed tears on fold marks, mainly good condition, comprising: Facsimile of Heber's words for the Hymn commencing "From Greenland's Icy Mountains" and concluding ([p.2]) "Redeemer, King, Creator, in bliss returns to reign" (Note at foot of p.[2] "The obliterations in the second and Fourth Verses are caused by the Printer's file"; p.[3] For the story of the writing of the hymn (see http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/r/fromgrim.htm); p.[4] Typed Letter Signed "Ellis Lever", "coal contractor", Brooklawn, Southport, April 8th, 1899, explaining to the ad

Manuscript Letter, written for publication in a 'valuable periodical', signed by 'Uno dell'Antica Scuola', containing 'observations' for 'students of the Vocal Art'. ['The art of Vocalization', with especial reference to Italian opera.]

Author: 
'Uno dell'Antica Scuola' [Italian Opera; vocalisation]
Publication details: 
Undated. [England, 1880s?
£95.00
Observations' for 'students of the Vocal Art'

4to, 4 pp. Bifolium. 87 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with wear to extremities and a spike hole to one corner. Written in ink in a Victorian hand, and with three changes in pencil. Docketed at head 'The art of Vocalization'. Towards beginning writes that the subject is one which he has 'studied many years in close connexion with the most eminent Masters of Italy, most of whom I may rank among my personal friends, and the pith of whose conversations, added to my own experience I propose embodying in a few short essays upon the Formation of the Voice'.

Manuscript Notebook (Home Exercise Book, imprint Liverpool)) listing, with narrative, the order of lantern slides in a show.

Author: 
[Lantern Slide Shows, 1890s]
Publication details: 
[1890-1896]
£450.00
Lantern Slide Shows, 1890s

Green printed paper wraps, 40pp. used, 8vo, contents detached and loose, but complete. First page headed Programme followed by (1) Puss in Boots, with brief narrative with dialogue of nine slides, 2.5 pp.

Autograph Letter Signed from the Shakespearian actor Balliol Holloway to the artist Jean Inglis.

Author: 
Balliol Holloway (1883-1967), English stage and screen actor, specialising in Shakespeare
Publication details: 
24 June 1924; King's Theatre, Hammersmith.
£23.00
Autograph Letter Signed from the Shakespearian actor Balliol Holloway

4to, 1 p. Fourteen lines, in pencil. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper. In envelope addressed by Holloway to Inglis. He apologises for his 'rudeness' in not answering earlier: 'I plead rush of work'. He would be delighted to sit for her, but 'the trouble is that I may have to leave town on Monday to produce a play in the country and then on to S[tratford]-on-A[von] for the 7 weeks Festival'. Suggests a later meeting.

Typed Letter Signed from the English actor and film director Milton Rosmer to the artist Jean Inglis.

Author: 
Milton Rosmer (1881-1971), British actor, film director and screenwriter [Gaumont-British Picture Corporation Ltd]
Publication details: 
20 September 1933; on letterhead of the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation Ltd.
£28.00
English actor and film director Milton Rosmer

4to, 1 p. 15 lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. In green ink. He is pleased that her 'footsteps are treading in high places', and hopes that this 'leads to as much golden reward as it seems to suggest'. He will see her friend 'Mr. Kennerley', but he cannot be 'encouraging' as he is not at present 'casting any picture', and will not be doing so for 'a month or so'. His 'activities now never seem to bring [him] to Hampstead', he hopes she will see him when she visits his 'neighbourhood'.

Autograph Letter Signed "E. Albani" (soprano) to "Miss Knowles", presumably lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria

Author: 
Emma Albani, soprano
Publication details: 
16 The Boltons, South Kensington, 10 July 1887.
£56.00
Autograph Letter Signed "E. Albani" (soprano)

Three pages, 12mo, good condition. She expresses delight at receiving a bouquet from "Her Royal Highness" and wishes her thanks for the latter's "kindness and consideration for me" to be conveyed to the Queen, an her appreciation expressed.

[Printed handbill libretto.] The House that Jack built. A Nursery Cantata. With Solos, Choruses, and Incidental Music, Composed expressly for the Royal Aquarium, by Mr. George Fox. The Juvenile Troupe, Under the Direction of Mr. J. E. Nolan.

Author: 
George Fox [The Juvenile Troupe; J. E. Nolan; The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden, London; Hutchins & Romer, Conduit Street]
Publication details: 
[Circa 1880.] 'The Music Published by Messrs Hutchins & Romer, Conduit Street, Regent Street'.
£56.00
The House that Jack built. A Nursery Cantata

Small 4to, 4 pp. Bifolium. Text clear and complete. Fair, on browned high-acidity paper. Neat strip of stub from mounting in album still adhering to inner margin of verso of second leaf. Headed 'Words.' All but first chorus in double-column. A mixture of the original 'House that Jack built' with 'Jack and Jill'. Begins with 'Chorus. - "This is the house that Jack built."', the first lines of which are 'Our labours are done, our recompense won, | And anger has been on no back spilt, | So now with one voice we'll laugh and rejoice | As this is the house that Jack built.' Characters are: Mr.

Autograph Letter Signed from the journalist and music critic Charles Lewis Gruneisen to Sir George Clark

Author: 
Charles Lewis Gruneisen (1806-1879), English journalist and music critic [Sir George Clark]
Publication details: 
7 October 1852; 16 Surrey Street, Strand, London.
£120.00
Autograph Letter Signed from the editor & music critic Charles Lewis Gruneisen

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. 48 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Attached, in a windowpane, to a leaf detached from an autograph album. He 'fell in, at Newport, in South Wales, with a youth of extraordinary ability as a player on the Harp - not the Welsh, but the Gothic instrument'. Although the youth, named 'Pollock', is 'Harpist to Lady Morgan', his income 'is scanty and fluctuating'. Exclaims 'What is to be done, Sir George!

Autograph Letter Signed from 'M. McSweeney', of the American Association in London, to the English dramatist Benjamin Nottingham Webster, regarding a proposed celebration of George Washington's birthday.

Author: 
M. McSweeney of the American Association in London [Benjamin Nottingham Webster (1797-1882), English dramatist; George Washington]
Publication details: 
11 February 1859; on letterhead of the American Association in London, 14 Cockspur Street.
£35.00
Autograph Letter Signed from 'M. McSweeney', of the American Association

12mo, 1 p. Eight lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper. Asking if Webster requires a seat at a celebratory dinner for George Washington, 'Tickets not to exceed one Guinea'.

Renters and Lessees. A Review of the Judgment in the Suit of Dauney v. Chatterton By an Old Playgoer.

Author: 
[An Old Playgoer] Anon.
Publication details: 
London: Printed by J.W. Last, Stanhope Works, Princes Street, Drury Lane, W.C., 1875.
£95.00
Renters and Lessees. A Review of the Judgment in the Suit of Dauney v. Chatterto

16pp., 8vo, blue printed wraps, some staining, cobver and contents slightly askew, mainly good condition. Someone has added "First" before the word "Judgment" on wraps as well as the title-page. The writer gives a history of Drury Lane to explain the fact that Daunay was a "new renter" (subscriber) asserting privileges, Chatterton being the Theatre Manager.

[Pamphlet] Poets and Profits at Drury Lane Theatre. A Theatrical Narrative Suggested by F.B. Chatterton and written by Charles Lamb Kenney

Author: 
Charles Lamb Kenney [F.B. Chatterton]
Publication details: 
London: Aubert's Steam Printing Works, Maiden Lane, Strand, 1875.
£95.00
 Poets and Profits at Drury Lane Theatre.

58pp., 12mo, beige printed wraps, spine nicked, small amount of staining and other wear and tear, mainly good condition. The suggestion by Chaterton to Kenney was "to publish a pamphlet containing an account of the pecuniary successs and losses which attended the different plays I have produced during my management of Drury Lane". COPAC records only one real copy (at BL) others being electronic resources.

Signature and some words in her hand on piece of paper, c. 13 x 8cm

Author: 
Maria Piccolomini, Italian operatic soprano singer
Publication details: 
[1859]
£56.00
Maria Piccolomini, Italian operatic soprano singer

Piece of paper, c. 13 x 8cm, splodge of a black seal, botton left, other marks but text clear and complete: '"Lucia di Lammermoor" | Regnava nel silenzio . . . | Maria Piccolomini'. The recipient has written on the verso: "from herself | recd 26 May 1859 | [signature not deciphered].

Keywords:

Autograph Letter Signed from the editor of 'Punch' F. C. Burnand to T. H. Lacy, regarding the publication of a farce.

Author: 
F. C. Burnand [Sir Francis Cowley Burnand] (1836-1917), English comic writer and editor of 'Punch' [Thomas Hailes Lacy (1809-1873), actor and theatrical publisher]
Publication details: 
29 April 1869; on letterhead of Hale Lodge, Edgware.
£56.00
Autograph Letter Signed from the editor of 'Punch' F. C. Burnand

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.'

[Printed illustrated handbill advertisement] A Graunde Fantesie Fayre schal be holden in a Marketynge Plaice in Ye Halles of Assemblie, or Jarratt Streete Roomes, situate in ye pleasaunte toune of Kyngeston-upon-Hull.

Author: 
[Christopher Sykes; Kingston-upon-Hull; M. C. Peck and Son; George Falkner and Sons, Manchester
Publication details: 
1881. 'Imprynted for Maister M. C. Peck and hys Sonne, in ye Market Gate, Number 10, in ye antiente toune of Kyngeston-upon-Hull, by Maister George Falkner and hys Sonnes, of Manchester.'
£36.00

4to, 4 pp. Bifolium. Printed in brown on watermarked laid paper. Fair, on aged paper. An exercise in Wardour Street English, foreshadowing in some respects the Leadenhall Press with its mish-mash of fonts and point sizes, and its antiquated decorative rules. The fair will be opened by 'Maister Christophere Sykes, Member of Parlymente for ye East Ryding of ye Countie of Yorkshire'. Names of the great and good expected to attend. Vignettes of a tudor fair, three medieval women, two jousting knights, a posy, chairmen, two men in eighteenth-century garb, a dinner table.

Autograph Signatures of the opera singers Carlotta Patti ['Carlotta Patty'] and her sister Adelina Patty.

Author: 
Carlotta Patti ['Carlotta Patty'] and her sister Adelina Patti (1843-1919), Italian opera singers
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£165.00
 Carlotta Patti ['Carlotta Patty'] and her sister Adelina Patty.

On a rectangle of paper cut from the bottom of a letter. Fair, on aged and creased paper. Reads 'We are | Sir | Yours obediently | [signed] Adelina Patti | Carlotta Patty [sic]'.

Anonymous manuscript, in French, by the 'Doyen de la Musique du Roi', listing those 'Musiciens du Roi' alive and dead in 1815, and giving the 'Apostile de M. de Rohan a ma demande de Bibliotécaire [sic] honoraire'.

Author: 
[La Musique du Roi (the King's Music); Monsieur de Rohan; Bourbon France]
Publication details: 
[Circa 1815.]
£450.00
La Musique du Roi (the King's Music)

12mo, 8 pp. Fair, on aged laid paper. On four leaves removed from a pocket book, with two leaves numbered in manuscript '41' and '42'. Apparently a first-person draft of information for an appeal by the oldest surviving member (from the inception of the group) for a stipend. Begins 'Depuis le commencement de l'an 1760 que j'ai ete recu a la Musique du Roi, j'ai été en exercice jusqu'en 1792, avec 222. sujets qui s'y sous dont 40 vivant encore au 18 Janvier 1815. [...]'.

Archive of material relating to the pianist and music teacher Professor Willibald Richter

Author: 
[Professor Willibald Richter, pianist, founder of Leicester and County College of Music]
Publication details: 
Various
£550.00

The German-born Richter (1860-1929) studied under Liszt, Haupt, Lebert, Mischalek, Oskar and Joachim, the last of whose protégé he became. He came to England in the 1880s, and was based from 1887 in Leicester, where he founded the Leicester and County College of Music, and where 'Herr Richter's Chamber Concerts' went through at least eighteen annual series. As a pianist he was widely praised for his 'fine technique and temperament' (The Times) and 'real musicianship (Westminster Gazette).

Typed Letter Signed from George Hands, director, Grotrian Steinweg Ltd, to the pianist and teacher Professor Willibald Richter.

Author: 
George Hands, director, Grotrian Steinweg Ltd, pianofortes and player-pianofortes [Professor Willibald Richter (1860-1929)]
Publication details: 
20 January 1925; on letterhead of Grotrian Steinweg Ltd, 40 Great Marlborough St, London.
£56.00
Typed Letter Signed from George Hands, director, Grotrian Steinweg Ltd

4to, 1 p. Text clear and complete. On aged and creased paper. He has been 'asked by the firm in Braunschweig' to give his opinion on two questions relating to 'Concave Sharps'. He puts the questions to Richter, adding that the Sharps are 'a special patent of Grotrian Steinweg', adding that Richter will 'see from the enclosed leaflet [not present] the reception they found in the musical circles in Berlin'. He asks Richter for his own opinion.

Typed Letter Signed on behalf of 'John Broadwood & Sons' to the pianist Willibald Richter.

Author: 
John Broadwood & Sons, piano makers, 33 Great Pulteney Street [Professor Willibald Richter (1860-1929), Anglo-German pianist and teacher]
Publication details: 
7 April 1899; on letterhead of 33 Great Pulteney Street.
£56.00
John Broadwood & Sons, piano makers

4to, 2 pp. On the firm's letterhead. Twenty lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper.

Screenplay of "Walk on the Wild Side" From the novel by: Nelson Algren.

Author: 
[Nelson Algren] John Fante with Edmund Morris and Ben Hecht (the latter uncredited).
Publication details: 
1960 in pencil on titlepage.
£125.00
Screenplay of "Walk on the Wild Side"

Filmscript, 190pp., 4to, soft-covered ("Chas. K. Feldman Productions), sl. worn and chipped, contents good. Copyright stetment on title: Charles K. Feldman | Famous Artists Productions | 9441 Wilshire Boulevard | Beverly Hills, California.

[printed playbill] Theatre Royal, Drury-Lane. This present Wednesday, October 22, 1794, His Majesty's Servants will act the Comedy of The Country Girl [...] To which will be added (28th. time) the new Opera of Lodoiska.

Author: 
[Georgian playbill; Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 1794; Mrs Kemble [Marie Therese De Camp]; Fanny Kemble; Mrs. Jordan; Charles Lowndes, printer]
Publication details: 
22 October 1794. Printed by C. Lowndes, next the Stage-Door. [Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.]
£65.00
[Printed playbill] Theatre Royal, Drury-Lane

4to, 1 p. On laid paper. Forty-nine lines, in a variety of point sizes. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with remains of mount adhering to blank reverse. After printer's details: 'Vivat Rex et Regina!' At foot of play bill: 'Ladies and Gentlemen are respectfully requested to give peremptory orders to their Servants to set down with their Horses Heads towards Drury-Lane, and to take up with the Horses Heads towards Covent-Garden. - No Carriage can be permitted to stop the way after proper Notice given to the Company.' No copy of this playbill on COPAC.

Two Typed Letters Signed from the Hollywood actress Bebe Daniels, wife of Ben Lyon, to 'Ruby', the variety entertainer Rubye Mae Colleano, mother of the film actor Bonar Colleano.

Author: 
Bebe Daniels [Phyllis Virginia Daniels] (1901-1971), Hollywood actress, and star of the British radio series 'Life With The Lyons' [Rubye Mae Colleano; Ben Lyon (1901-1979)]
Publication details: 
Letter One: 24 October [1943]; Queen's Hotel, Leeds. Letter Two: 2 April [no year]; 18 Southwick Street, London.
£75.00
Two Typed Letters Signed from the Hollywood actress Bebe Daniels

Both items on 'Bebe' letterheads, and both with signature 'Bebe' incorporating a drawing of a stick figure with hat. Letter One: 12mo, 1 p. Twelve lines. Good, on lightly-aged paper. With addressed envelope. She is sorry they missed one another 'at the station, especially after all the trouble you went through to get there'. Gives news of show: 'Boy, it will be good to get back to town again. | I have enjoyed the tour but as you know travelling nowadays isn't what it used to be, by a long shot.' Letter Two: 8vo, 1 p. 21 lines.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Jackie & Ann Coogan') by Hollywood actor Jackie Coogan to the variety entertainer Rubye Colleano.

Author: 
Jackie Coogan (1914-1984), Hollywood actor [Rubye Colleano; Bonar Colleano]
Publication details: 
Undated [c. 1947?]. On letterhead of the Grand Hotel, Plymouth.
£100.00
 ALS signed by Hollywood actor Jackie Coogan

12mo, 2 pp. 19 lines of text. Clear and complete. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. Begins 'Just a line to tell you we miss you like mad & hope you are well & happy. Praises a 'dinner at Mary's'. They hope to call on Colleano when passing through London on 'Sunday Nite'. Ends 'Well honey, keep us in mind & we will see you soon - Our very best to Bonar Jr. [Colleano's son the film actor Bonar Colleano]' Postscript 'Billy sends his best'. Coogan was married to Ann McCormack, his third wife, from 1946 to 1951. From the Colleano Family archive.

Signed Photograph of the British variety entertainer Rena Hall ('Musical Specialities'), inscribed to the contortionist Rubye Colleano.

Author: 
Rena Hall, British variety entertainer [Laddie Cliff and Rena Hall; music hall; Rubye Colleano]
Publication details: 
1937.
£45.00
Rena Hall ('Musical Specialities'), Signed photograph

Studio portrait photograph on postcard, captioned 'RENA HALL | MUSICAL SPECIALITIES'. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. Depicts Hall in highland costume with bagpipe under her arm and an accordion on a plinth. Inscribed 'To dear Rubye | In memory of Happy days | Love, Rena | 1937'. 'Laddie Cliff and Rena Hall' performed in front of George V and Queen Mary at the Royal Variety Performance, Coliseum Theatre, London, 1923. From the Colleano Family archives.

Typed Letter Signed by Troy and Dollie Hoskins for 'The Four Comets | Dollie, Pauline [Same], Bob [Saras] & "Hank" ' to 'Dear Friends' [the variety entertainers Bonar and Rubye Colleano], concerning an appearance in Austria with Willy Reichert.

Author: 
'The Four Comets America's Whirlwind Skaters' [Troy Hoskins; Dolly Hoskins; Pauline Same; Bob Saras; Bonar Colleano; Willy Reichert; roller-skating; variety entertainment]
Publication details: 
10 January 1938; Munchen, Austria.
£95.00
The Four Comets America's Whirlwind Skaters

4to, 4 pp. 43 typed lines, and two-line manuscript postscript. Signed in pencil 'Sincerely | Dollie & Troy.', with the name of the troupe typed over this. Text clear and complete on discoloured and creased paper. Chatty and humorous letter. 'By the time you read this letter we will have either left a terrible stench in the Theatre or else the Manager will be satisfied. [...] JANUARY 11, FLASH!!!!

Typed Letter Signed by Bruce Long, concerning the William Desmond Taylor murder case, together with the first issue of Long's pamphlet 'Taylorology'.

Author: 
Bruce Long [William Desmond Taylor (1872-1922); Taylorology]
Publication details: 
Letter: 10 January 1986; Mesa, Arizona. Pamphlet: Number 1, Fall 1985.
£350.00
Bruce Long [William Desmond Taylor (1872-1922); Taylorology]

Letter: 4to, 1 p. Twenty-six lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and worn paper, with a couple of holes, light staining and indentations. Addressed to 'Jon', whose book, with a 'chapter pertaining to the Taylor case' Long 'would like very much to see'. Long encloses the copy of 'Taylorology', of which he writes, 'Despite my intentions, there was only one issue due to very poor response -- only a dozen subscribers.' He boasts that his 'collected material on this case', 'primarily newspaper clippings', 'weighs over 30 lbs., with more information coming in every week'.

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