1. [Carew, Sir Peter / George Oliver (Historian) / John Carew Esq.] MacLean, John.

The Life and Times of Sir Peter Carew, Kt. (From the Original Manuscript) – With a Historical Introduction and Elucidatory Notes, by John MacLean. [Personal copy of John Carew Esq., with two unpublished manuscript letters by historian George Oliver, Exeter (Devon), tipped-in to the rear of the Volume, one longer manuscript entry to the rear in which George Oliver mentions that he has consulted the Inventory of Ottery Mohan House and that he has “made a few pencil notes in the margin” of the book (Oliver must have been sent the book and then returned it or it was his own copy and he gifted it to John Carew)/ George Oliver helped John Carew, Esq., a descendant of Sir Peter Carew, to identify some information form the original manuscript of John Hoker, to which Oliver must have had access. The letters deal with details of John Hoker’s [Hooker’s] Manuscript on Sir Peter Carew and details in John MacLean’s Biography of Carew. George Oliver’s correspondence with John Carew, a descendant of Sir Peter, is very interesting indeed and Oliver seems to study the original manuscript by Hoker for John Carew and reports his insight in the original manuscript of Hoker’s Manuscript on History, mentioning for example Carew’s death-notice: “This year died the worthy and Honorable Knight Sir Peter Carew at Ross in Leinster, and buried in the City of Waterford in Munster in Ireland, in all such honourable order…” (see detailed images on our website)].

London, Bell & Daldy, 1857. Octavo. Frontispiece portrait of Sir Peter Carew (Steel Engraving by J.J.Chant, being Plate I.), CXVIII, 317 pages plus 6 pages “List of Subscribers”. With several Plates: Plate II: Musical Notes: “By a Bank as I lay” / Plate III: Monument to Sir Peter Carew in St.Peter’s Cathedral, Exeter (Steel Engraving) / Plate IV: Folded Map of Kylkenny (Kilkenny) / Plate V: Pedigree of the Family of Carew (Large Fold – out Plate). Hardcover / Original publisher’s cloth with gilt lettering on spine and armorial emblemata on front board. With the armorial supralibro of the Carew Family to the binding’s front board: Arms of Carew: Or, three lions passant in pale sable / Manuscript-entry of previous owner John Carew on endpaper. Boards fragile and spine loosened. In protective Collector’s Mylar to give the slightly broken binding stability. A very rare publication with the beautiful, signed manuscript-letters by George Oliver, signed in the years 1857 and 1858. The letters are also of interest regarding the history of John Hoker [John Hooker / John Vowell] because George Oliver mentions Hoker’s entry “into the New Office of Chamberlain of Exeter at Michaelmas 1555 – having the fee of £4 by the yere & his Lyveries – MS. Hist. p.351”.

2. Congo / Kongo – Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909) – King of the Belgians and Owner / Absolute Ruler of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.

Collection of four very important and meaningful manuscript letters by Leopold II to his administrator and Foreign Minister of the Congo – Free-State, Baron Adolphe de Cuvelier (1860-1931) with a total of 16 pages filled with Leopold’s instructions on pressing issues regarding a warning about an imminent visit by the Rector of the Mill-Hill Missionaries [probably Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan (1832 – 1903)] and Leopold’s qualification of the visit of being detrimental to the Congo Free State (″ne travaillent pas pour l’État”). Leopold continues in another letter to talk about the hostile positions of english officials (consuls) and missionaries (″que les consuls anglais et les missionnaires anglais se conduisent bien mal envers l’État”). Interestingly, Leopold also touches on the nuisance of the german press criticizing Belgian Railway Lines and he is of the opinion that this is all happening in order to force the german parliament [″Reichstag”] to finance the building of the Tanganyika Railway [between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma]: (″cherche à effrayer l’opinion [en] Allemagne à propos de mes chemins de fer afin d’obtenir du Reichstag des fonds pour la ligne allemande vers le Tanganika”.

16 pages of MLS, Manuscript Letters (signed) on 10 leaves of Leopold’s official stationery “Château de Laeken” and “Palais de Bruxelles”. Laeken / Brussels, Château de Laeken [Palace of Laeken], 1901 – 1906. The leaves with different sizes (13,5 cm x 9 cm) and (18 cm x 11,5 cm). Excellent condition. Unsigned. Tremendously rare to find original letters by Leopold II on the open market in which the Colonial Free State and the protection against inquisitive visitors is discussed in such clear and instructive fashion. Leopold’s correspondence with Adolphe de Cuvelier shows how he is very much trying to still protect and influence the narrative of his Colonial Slavery Outpost even in the final years of his life.

3. [Cumberbatch, Benedict] Cumberbatch, Henry Arnold / Rees, Helen / Basil Benwell Rees / William Benwell Rees / Etheldreda Blanche Barker / [Sir Winston Churchill / Sir Anthony Arthur Duncan Montague Browne [Private Secretary to Sir Winston Churchill]].

Large Family Archive of the Benwell Rees – Family, including William Benwell Rees (brother to actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s grandmother Helen Rees, by marriage to British Diplomat Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, who was Consul in Romania, Turkey and Lebanon ). The archive includes at least one manuscript letter by Henry Arnold Cumberbatch and around one thousand documents chronicling the lives of the ex-patriate Benwell Rees family from 1890-1970 in Alexandria and Monaco, including William Benwell Rees, whose marriage to Etheldreda Blanche Barker cemented the family’s role in the highest circles of Alexandria life. The archive also charts their son Basil Rees’ decade in Monaco under Princess Grace and Prince Rainer III where he served as President of the British Association in the 1950’s-‘60s and solicited a letter written by Sir Anthony Arthur Duncan Montague Browne, on Winston Churchill’s behalf on Chartwell headed paper in which the former Prime Minister declined to attend an event in Monaco [signed by Montague Browne]. The archive is held in five heavy volumes, bursting with a plethora of amazing and wonderful historical letters, ephemera, emotional messages and telegrams, old images, theatre-programmes, and especially also includes programmes of plays in which ancestors of Benedict played (J.M.Barrie, Shakespeare etc.). The original letters and documents paint an interesting picture of Benedict Cumberbatch’s grandmother’s side of the family history in the Levant, their service in the Middle East and their social lives. The five volumes are bound in bespoke red morocco over textured paper-covered-boards and they contain at least one reference to Helen Rees next to a newspaper-clipping and dozens of wonderful handwritten letters and cards. Each volume about four inches across spine with title in gilt to upper cover and around 100 leaves in each with documents mounted recto and verso throughout, with photographs, invitations, business materials and clippings that chart the family’s life in their service for the British Colonial Office. The five Volumes include for example: Volume 1: The Benwell Rees’: begins with Egyptian Gazette, 1890 and a programme for a performance c1900 at the Port Theatre, Marina, Alexandria of Rumpelstilkskin; visiting cards and contemporary reports of the marriage of W B Rees and Etheldreda Blanche Barker in Alexandria, February 1901; Windsor Hotels prospectus and flyer (a WBR enterprise); 1913 Casino de Monte Carlo ticket for Ethel Rees; Kings School Canterbury ephemera and St Johns’ College, Cambridge for Basil Rees from 1920’s, graduated June 1924. Volume 2: The Benwell Rees’ Vol II, 1920’s-1990’s: includes J M Barrie, Quality Street programme for English Girls’ School, Alexandria, 1941; invitations from Princess Grace of Monaco etc Volume 3: Basil Rees Vol III, cover nearly detached, 1953- Basil Rees living at 2 Rue Origene, Alexandria, and covering period of move to Palais Majestic, Monaco after which he served as President of the British Association and his sudden death in 1967. Invitations to dinner and place settings with the Prince and Princess of Monaco. Birthday greetings; international stamp collecting societies. Photographic ‘Permis de Sejour’ for William Benwell Rees in Monaco, October 1918. Volume 4: Basil Rees Vol. IV Begins with telegram from Rees to the Queen; mostly very extensive formal correspondence concerned with Rees’ Presidency of he British Association in Monaco; invitations, notes, printed volume of Statutes of association from 1950, royal correspondence with Monaco and Britain. Volume 5: Basil Rees 4-5 1902 Vol II; William Basil Benwell Rees; Royal Navy ID card, British Forces, September 1943 – other material relating to Rees’ work as Duty Defence Officer at the Royal Navy Defence Base in Alexandria, HMS Nice. Volume begins in 1902 and includes Alexandria Dog Show, W B B Rees at Jesus College, Cambridge; Egypt NAAFI permits; lock of Basil Rees’ hair, aged 2 etc.

Alexandria / Monaco / etc., c. 1902 – 1967. Octavo. Half Morocco. Bindings stronger rubbed and slightly damaged.

4. [Cygnet Press / Hofer, Philip / Winship, George Parker] Matteo da Ferrara.

Vita de Sancto Hieronymo [with original manuscript letter by Philip Hofer, later Curator of the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts at Harvard’s Houghton Library, discussing his work at the [Pierpont] Morgan Library and the first product of Cygnet Press, “Vita de Sancto Hieronymo”, which he and George Parker Winship had produced 6 years earlier: “The little book which accompanies this note is one which George Parker Winship and I set by hand and printed a few years ago. It amused us, and, I hope, will amuse you. Of course we would do it differently now – that is always the way !”. The letter, on Hofer’s stationery with his address at 14 East Ninetieth Street, is addressed to one Dr. Collija in Stockholm, on June 25, 1934 and Hofer reminisces about the wonderful time he had there and how he wants to return to Sweden.

Cambridge (Massachusetts), Cygnet Press, MCMXXVIII [1928]. Small Octavo (13.3 cm x 17 cm). [35] pages. Original Hardcover with Label. Housed in its original, protective box from Cygnet Press. Excellent condition with some minor signs of wear only. The four-page-letter (on one sheet), signed by Philip Hofer in full.

5. Foster, Vere [Henry Louis / Lewis] / [Emily Albinia “Alba” Foster] / [Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire].

Amazing Vere Foster-Collection including Educational Materials and as a centerpiece the “Presentation Copy of “The Two Duchesses” with Autograph / Manuscript – Letter by Vere Foster to his niece, Emily Albinia “Alba” Foster. With a stunning, unpublished, two-page-letter, revealing several important details about the immediately favorable reviews and reception of the book [″in the Daily Telegraph”] and Vere Foster’s disdain about some criticism from one J.Donohue [which led to an alteration in the second edition of the book]. Vere Foster is also expecting a review to appear in the “Athenaeum” but reports “the Athenaeum has nothing yet”. Vere Foster apologizes to his niece for the delay in sending the book and explains that he had left 12 “parcels″£ with Blackie’s agent and gave instructions to send them but a few days later found they had been “untouched”. / The Two Duchesses – Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire – Family Correspondence of and Relating to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire, Earl of Bristol (Bishop of Derby), The Countess of Bristol, Lord and Lady Byron, The Earl of Aberdeen, Sir Augustus Foster Bart, and Others, 1777-1859. [See Full list of items which are part of this collection, on our website under the topic “Libraries & Collections”].

First Edition. London / Glasgow and Dublin, Blackie & Son Limited, 1898. Octavo (15 cm x 22 cm). Pagination: Frontispiece, IX, [3], 497 pages with 18 Illustrations (including frontispiece and one Vignette of the two Duchesses opposite page 1). Hardcover / Original, publisher’s green cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only. This is an astonishing find for the Vere Foster Research Community and the letter gives significant insight into the importance the publication had for him, its reception as seen by Vere Foster and it solves the riddle why an altertaion was necessary for the second edition [which Vere Foster explains in a brief note to the reader at the beginning of the second edition]. The heartfelt inscription to his niece Albinia Foster is also of great importance and to our knowledge the only presentation-copy of this book on the international market for the several decades we can look back at auction records.

6. Fry, Christopher.

Autographed Manuscript Dialogue from “Venus Observed” – One full – page manuscript, signed.

England, c. 1990. Octavo. 1 pages. Original Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear.

7. Headlam, Maurice / [Arland Ussher].

Irish Reminiscences [Association – copy between Maurice Headlam and Arland Ussher, not only signed and inscribed in length by Maurice Headlam but also including two 4-page-manuscript letters by Maurice Headlam to Arland Ussher, reflecting on Ussher’s publication “The Face and Mind of Ireland”].

First edition. London, Robert Hale Limited, 1949. Octavo. Frontispiece – Photograph, 244 pages. Hardcover with original dustjacket. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Inscribed and signed on endpaper. Two manuscript letters loosely inserted. Manuscript entry, correction/explanation/annotations by Maurice Headlam to Arland Ussher on page 166 and page 175.

8. Le Brocquy, Louis / Montague, John / [Dupin, Jacques] / [Samuel Beckett].

Small Archive of personal correspondence between irish-american writer John Montague and irish artist Louis Le Brocquy plus many related items. The correspondence also includes John Montague touching on Samuel Beckett. The core of the collection includes 1. Extremely insightful and important, very personal manuscript-letter from John Montague to Louis Le Brocquy – Inside an envelope addressed by John Montague to Louis Le Brocquy at his french residence ‘Domaine des Combes’ with Louis Le Brocquy’s answer carefully tucked into the same envelope, treasured by John Montague. The densely filled, very personal 4-page-manuscript letter from John Montague, is dated Christmas 1981, written after “a sabbatical [..] on a long tour which led me as far as Los Angeles” and is a strong reflection of John Montague’s personal struggles, thoughts and influences as a writer; he talks about his ten years of teaching in the US “after O’Riada’s death led to a vacuum” and “enduring the semi-bourgeois limbo of Cork”. Montague speaks about the time “after the harness came off” and he “felt quite strange, and after thirty years my stammer returned in painful, nearly uncontrollable force”. Montague even touches on his fears about his health and continues “I clocked into a clinic for a rest cure….so far liver excellent, so it is not Sean or Brendan all over again (in any case, loving the stuff, as you do, I can’t overdrink; the tastebuds are against it)”. Montague dives into comparisons with Samuel Beckett: “″Did you realize that Sam Beckett was under analysis at the Tavistock Clinic for two years ? – The early Beckett is a smart alec; the break comes when he has to survive in post-war France and accept “his own darkness”. Montague also touches on his struggle with his mother “Isn’t it terrible that we spend up to nearly middle-[a]ge coping with the traumas of youth, with no way round it ? – I have cleared/cleaned/buried & forgiven my mother in my next book “The Dead Kingdom”….” – The letter continues to talk about books, “the Landslide Manuscript”, poetry and his work etc. etc. He mentions a Dupin “play” which “will travel in my Paris luggage”. Montague also touches on the subject of the Irish Troubles and writes “I have always, by the way, believed that 1916 may have been a mistake as Yeats said: “For England may keep faith – For all is said and done” / Montague speaks about “My own area of Tyrone is blessedly free from all but minor incidents” – Amazing document of confidence and trust between two irish landmark personalities. 2. Louis Le Brocquy’s answer to John Montague is dated “New Year’s Day 1981”[which should have been 1982]: A. Very personal manuscript Letter – a direct answer to Montague’s letter from “Christmas 1981” (1 sheet with both pages filled in ink and signed “Louis”) in which Le Brocquy reflects on the tense political situation with Northern Ireland and the overall worldwide tension of a looming war / Le Brocquy writes that he did have a “wild hope that when Charlie took office…that he and Thatcher might between them opted a ‘Rhodesian’ solution in the North” / Le Brocquy also writes about the eagerly awaited publication of “Selected Poems” of John Montague and he also asks John if “you thought of collecting Esteban’s and Dupin’s poems in French with your translations ?” – Le Brocquy offers to help with illustrations etc. – Both letters together in an envelope which suggests that John Montague received his letter to Louis le Brocquy back from the Le Brocquy-estate after Le Brocquy’s death. / Also included: B. A manuscript postcard with Le Brocquy’s “Girl in White” as a postcard-reproduction in which Le Brocquy suggests a project with John Montague and sends greetings to Montague’s wife Evelyn and the kids (in envelope from Carros,France) / C. In his function as chairman of Amnesty International, Le Brocquy sends a callout by Amnesty International to John Montague and kindly asks him to support the cause. He sends the callout to John by adding a few manuscript, personal lines of affection (in envelope from Carros,France).

France / Ireland, Carros / Cork, 1980-1981. A4. 4 pages on two sheets (main Montague-letter), 2 pages on 1 sheet (Le Brocquy – answer), 1 postcard, 1 manuscript-letter from Jacques Dupin to John Montague (25.10.1978) about a translation of “L’Éboulement” (Dupin also speaks about Louis le Brocquy in the letter), several pages of letters (mostly typed and signed) from other figures in irish and international literature and art. Original Envelopes. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Besides some ephemeral materials from personalities in Literature and Art, addressed to John Montague, the small collection includes several vintage photographs of John Montague, taken during his acceptance of a honorary Doctorate of Literature at UCC, Cork, as well as a Legislative Resolution by the State of New York (Senator Daly), recognizing and thanking the distinguished author and poet John Montague with this decree on May 26, 1987. Among the lesser interesting materials is a pamphlet titled “Ireland’s Literary Renaissance – 20th century Portraits” in which portraits by Louis Le Brocquy of John Montague and Thomas Kinsella are included. The pamphlet is accompanied by a letter from James White to John Montague in which he explains this being a publication that was released for an exhibition in Chicago and he apologises for the entries being “necessarily short but hopefully reasonably correct”. Provenance: From the private collection of John Montague’s papers in his recently sold West Cork Home.

9. Levy, Arthur Joseph / Zangwill, Israel.

Archive / Collection of more than 350 items, letters, documents, ephemera, pamphlets, manuscript notes, receipts , manuscript letters from the private library of Providence (Rhode Island) lawyer, Arthur (Art) Joseph Levy. The collection includes an important, controversial typescript-essay (8 pages) on Israel Zangwill’s address before the American Jewish Congress at Carnegie Hall on October 14th, 1923 (″Watchmen, what of the Night ?”); with manuscript annotations and remarks on Israel Zangwill’s position “the hopes of Jewry for the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine are doomed to disappointment”. The collection includes a plethora of interesting letterheads of jewish organizations and also important documentation of Levy’s contribution to and support for the “Palestine Foundation Fund”, (receipt from Boston, Mass. June 1923). Levy, who was a graduate of Brown and Boston University Law School, practiced law in Providence, Rhode Island and led an active life as a member and leader of several Jewish civic organizations, such as the Jewish Family and Children’s Service, which he established and led for twenty years, Rhode Island Jewish Historical Society, the Temple Beth-El Brotherhood, the Miriam Hospital, the Touro Fraternal Association and the Jewish Home for the Aged of Rhode Island. He was also a prominent member of the American Bar Association, the Brown University Alumni Association and the Brown Club of Rhode Island. Highly regarded as a jurist, he was a member of the Commission to Consolidate State Laws, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Federal Tax Institute of New England and an editor of the Rhode Island Bar Journal. Included in this archive are a group of letters written during World War I discussing his role in the Jewish Welfare Board of the United States Army and Navy, an invitation to a fund-raising dinner for the Jewish Orphanage of Rhode Island, a group of documents and letters discussing the establishment of a Jewish country club in Providence, several documents from the early 1920s concerning the mostly Jewish fraternity Phi Epsilon Pi and several items relating to Levy’s personal life, such as personal letters, bills from clothiers and invitations to social events. (Main source of the description of this archive is the research of our colleague Greg Talbot from The Lawbook Exchange).

Providence (Rhode Island), Cambridge (Massachusetts), New York, 1917 – 1931. Octavo and A4. Two heavy folders with original documents. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear.

10. Palmer, Alice Freeman.

Manuscript Letter, signed (MLS) by Alice Freeman Palmer, American educator, President of Wellesley College, Dean of Women at then newly founded University of Chicago and most importantly, Advocate for College Education for Women. The letter, written in Cambridge, Mass. on March 16th, 1899 comes in its original envelope and is a wonderful example for her caring personality not only for women’s education but also for a mother’s anxiety who was worried about her son’s education and who found the courage to write to Alice Freeman Palmer and ask for her help. The six-page-manuscript-letter is addressed to a Mrs. Richmond in Adams, Massachusetts. Alice Freeman Palmer responds to Mrs. Richmond’s worries that her son may not be able to afford a second year at Harvard University. Alice Freeman Palmer writes: “My dear Mrs. Richmond, I have read your letter with the warmest interest and have discussed the possibilities with my husband, who is a Professor in Harvard. He has seen the Dean in confidence and they will do all they can to secure some Price Greenleaf Aid for your son for next year – as much as possible. Dean Briggs will send a blank to your son which he should fill out and return. I think the decision is mde here in June and then you will know how much you can reky on from that source. If your son decides to return to Harvard, my husband wil secure one hundred and fifty dollars in addition, to pay his tuition from a fund which he has for students whom he wishes to help; so that he can have any Greenleaf aid he receives & use in addition to his tuition bills. For how much can he get on in Cambridge ? We will do all we can to secure him work and as will the Dean but we cannot be sure there are as many students applying for the same thing. We hope he will get $ 250 from the Gren Leaf Fund. If he does and has 150.00 for his tuition, would it not be wise for him to come, hoping that you might do a little for him, and might get some work from time to time and live very economically, and so get through the year. He must do such good work in his sophomore year that he can stand a chance for a scholarship at the end, and I should think that would be likely. I hope very heartily that he can return to Harvard and you may be sure that we will help him in any way we can. He must come and see us at once and let me know how we can assist him. We shall hold your letter in strict confidence you may know. You can trust the Dean absolutely and his help is essential in getting your son the aid he needs; for the numbers who need aid quite as sorely are many more than the means to aid them. But your letter has made me feel that a boy as Frailed as yours deserves the chances to finish his college course, and I hope he can find a way to the next three years without any more delay. Let us hope too that your husbands business will improve, and your anxieties be removed and the other boys find their way after too ! Sincerley Yours, Alice Freeman Palmer”. [The Letter was loosely inserted in to an edition of George Herbert Palmer’s publication: “The Life of Alice Freeman Palmer”. The book is part of this collection.

Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin/The Riverside Press Cambridge,, 1908. Octavo. Portrait-Frontispiece, 349, [3] pages with 6-page Autographed letter signed (ALS), loosely inserted. Original Hardcover. Excellent condition with some minor signs of wear only.

11. Porter Jr., LCDR William Hamilton / [Howard Chandler Christy].

Archive of Naval Captain, Lieutenant commander [LCDR] William Hamilton Porter Jr.‘s Love Letters to his wife Amy Manning Porter and letters to his mother Barbara Hamilton Porter, from his service during and after graduating from United States Naval Academy Annapolis MD, 1914. The Collection includes not only the Yearbook of the Brigade of Midshipmen, called “Lucky Bag”, signed with nearly all Graduates and with numerous amazing photographic illustrations of sports like American Football, Lacrosse, early photographs of Basketball and Baseball – Teams, images of visits to Ireland etc., but the collection includes nearly 50 manuscript letters by LCDR Porter from the USS Alden, USS Columbia, writing back home to his wife Amy between 1916 and 1920, reflecting his first tour of duty and sending letters from Constantinople, Smyrna, Venice, Dalmatia, Split, Naples, Samsoun, etc. The collection is full of reports of life on ship and upcoming tours to Naples, Genoa and Villefranche, relationship to the captain, Porter’s view on politics etc. Telegram about “USS Alden and two Destroyers of the 26th Division to be designated by USADRA proceed to Manila”. / Fantastic archive of an Annapolis Graduate with amazing artwork by Howard Chandler Christy in the “Lucky Bag” and a collection of letters in all its complete scarcity of completeness. The collection also includes the original letter of “Washington Granite Monumental” to Porter’s wife upon Porter’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery (he died in 1937).

Baltimore (Maryland) / Annapolis / USS Alden etc., 1916-1920. Octavo. Lucky Bag [Vol. XXI [Volume 21] of the Annual of the Brigade of Midshipmen at Annapolis / Two Ringfolders with original letters, telegrams and some photographs. Excellent condition with some minor signs of wear only. Check out a large collection of high quality photographs on our website, depicting Baseball, Crew Rwoing, Handball, Basketball and Baseball at the Academy in Annapolis. Rare collection with the wonderful original signatures of nearly all Graduates who served with LCDR Porter.

12. Richardson, Josiah (Editor) / [J.F. Lloyd – Photographer – Carmarthen / J.C.Portnell – Carmarthen].

Song and Speech. [Unique collection of the short-lived “Song and Speech” – Magazine, edited by Josiah Richardson in 1891 and accompanied by an autograph / manuscript letter-signed by Richardson].

Two Volumes in One (14 Issues in Total). Strand / London, “Song and Speech”, 1891-1892. 18 cm x 24 cm. Volume 1: No.1-12, 192 pages / Followed by parts of Volume 2: No.13 – No.1: 16 pages, No.13 – No.2: 16 pages. With numerous black-and-white illustrations and photographs throughout. [The pagination of this periodical changed from original 16 pages per number at the beginning of Volume I, to 8 pages towards the end of the first Volume. With the start of Volume II , in 1892, the periodical changed again to 8 pages per issue and also changed its numbering. We were not able to verify if this magazine was published beyond the May – Issue of 1892]. Hardcover / Private, decoratived half-leather with gilt lettering and ornament on spine. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. With the very interesting provenance of two Welsh men of Carmarthen: Victorian photographer J.F.Lloyd and J.C.Portnell. Bound by: ‘The “Welshman” Newspaper and Steam Printing Co. Lt., Bookbinders, Machine Rulers, & c., Carmarthen’ – with their bookbindery-label on pastedown. Includes manuscript-draft of a speech on endpaper titled ‘John Jones Chairman’, written by photographer J.F.Lloyd, Carmarthen. The calligraphed titlepage of this privately bound compilation shows the watermark ‘Annandale Polton’, of ‘Annandale and Polton Paper Mill Company’, which operated from 1825 until after the Second World War. Contains hand-written note on Page 1, dated January 29, 1896, signed by Editor Josiah Richardson’. This note also contains the blindstamped address of Josiah Richardson at ‘Gordon House, Wandsworth Common, S.W.’. In this note, Richardson telles the recipient that “I hope soon to go on with the publication of my Journal & should then be pleased to number you among my subscribers – Faithfully your Josiah Richardson”. The date of this note leads to the assumption that by 1896, the magazine had already ceased to exist and Richardson answers to one of his fans by expressing his hope to go on. The Volume also includes a manuscript – Index to the rear of the Volume. A very rare and uncommmon compilation of this early Magazine, with very interesting articles from “Pronounciation in Singing” to “Alteration of Music by Singers” to “Vocal Physiology” (Breathing / Principle of Breathing etc.), to “Stammering” etc.

13. Taylor, Tom / [Abraham Lincoln].

Exquisite collection of six (6) items/original, vintage and personal materials by/of Tom Taylor. The collection includes a 2 1/2 page, signed manuscript letter [MLS] by Tom Taylor to an unknown recipient , discussing a memorial he sent to Robert Browning’s patron, John Kenyon and mentioning former Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen [George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen]. The collection also includes two vintage 19th century cabinet photographs [Carte de Visite’s] of Tom Taylor, a later edition of Ballads and Songs of Brittany and two beautifully inscribed and signed presentation copies of his major works: 1. The first edition of Ballads of Brittany – London/Cambridge, MacMillan and Co.,1865 with many illustrations by Tissot, Tenniel etc. (This first edition is signed and inscribed by Tom Taylor to Emilia Ventana at Xmas 1864, before the publication of the book commenced) and 2. Tom Taylor’s Historical Dramas. London, Chatto & Windus, 1877. Signed and inscribed by Tom Taylor to Marie de Beauvoisier in March 1879.

London / Cambridge etc., Chatto & Windus / Routledge & Sons / etc., c. 1850-1879. Octavo. Ballads and Songs of Brittany (1865 edition): Frontispice, XXII, 239 pages / Ballads and Songs of Brittany (Later Routledge edition): XVI, 176 pages / Tom Taylor’s Historical Dramas: VIII, 466, 32 pages. / Manuscript Letter: 2 1/2 pages. Original Hardcover / The manuscript letter in a Folder, it includes an A4 manuscript leaf from a 19th century autograph-collector describing the letter by Taylor. / The two vintage cabinet photographs of Taylor included in the Folder with the autograph. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear.

14. Toulmin, Stephen.

Manuscript Letter Signed to his friend, professor of Philosophy, Henry Aiken. The letter was sent from Sussex in England and includes information about Toulin’s latest book and his dedication to tirelessly writing together with his wife June Goodfield. June Goodfield has added to the letter as well by alerting Aiken and his wife of Stephen and her coming to Boston again.

Sussex / England, no year [c.July 1968 ?]. Octavo. Two pages. Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Corners torn and some fraying.

15. Viereck, George Sylvester / [Frederick Franklin Schrader] / [Mentioning of Oscar Wilde / Lord Alfred Douglas].

Collection of early Manuscript Material (which is a Manuscript Ballad / Poem), a two-page Manuscript Letter (which is a MLS mentioning Oscar Wilde, Lord [Alfred] Douglas, Viereck’s literary tastes etc.) and the personal copy of “House of the Vampire”, all by the controversial german-american author George Sylvester Viereck. The collection includes: 1. One six-page, hitherto unpublished Manuscript – Ballad [Poem], called “Die Ballade vom Sündigen Glück” [Translates: “The Ballad of sinful Pleasure”]/ 2. A lengthy and extremely insightful Two-Page Manuscript Letter, signed in New York, 1902, which accompanied and talks about the enclosed Six-Page Manuscript – Ballad [The letter and Poem was not conclusively but very likely addressed by Viereck to Frederick Franklin Schrader, then editor of the New York Dramatic Mirror and shortly thereafter co-founder with George Sylvester Viereck of “The Fatherland” / 3. The collection also includes Viereck’s personal copy of his publication “The House of the Vampire” with handwritten, manuscript entry of his name, address in New York City as well as a pasted statement on the endpaper by the author Viereck: “Concerning “The House of the Vampire” : This book went through several editions when it was first published and was dramatized. It played for eight weeks in New York and for two years on the road under the management of the Shuberts. Critics have compared it to such books as Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, Lady Into Fox, and Dorian Gray”]. The two-page letter is of great value and touches on Viereck’s admiration for Schrader and his “Blatt” [Newspaper]. Viereck is advertising himself to Schrader by introducing himself as a critical admirer with substantial references (Viereck details his working for numerous newspapers in America). Viereck mentions his secessionist tendencies and name-drops Oscar Wilde, Rosetti and Lord Douglas (whom he claims to know personally). This amazing, autographed/signed Manuscript-Material was created by Viereck directly during his transition from writer to propagandist and is an example of his early, bullish personality, which wants to be heard, which needs attention and it is here, in 1912, where his career begins to develop. This large Archive of manuscript material [8 pages in total] is stunning and unpublished (see partial Transcription of the original german material on our website). Viereck’s close friends included Nikola Tesla and even Theodore Roosevelt was among his acquaintances.

New York, Moffat, Yard & Company, 1902-1912. Play and Letters: 20.3 cm x 25.3 cm / Book: 13 cm x 19,5 cm. Pagination: Balld (Poem): 6 pages / Manuscript Letter (MLS): 2 pages / Book: 190 pages. Original Hardcover / Blue publisher’s cloth with gilt lettering on spine in protective collector’s mylar / The play protected in clear folder. The manuscript pages overall in excellent condition besides page IV of the play which has two abrasions with small parts of the text missing only. The book in excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Viereck’s usual vanity made him add the lovely littel note of critical success. The personal copy of this controversial author’s most interesting book is a unique possibility for each collector of unusual Vampire material. Extraordinary collection !

16. Wells, Percy A. (1867-1956) / [Letter by Morris, Mary ‘May’ (Designer)] / [Letter by Allom, Sir Charles Carrick (english decorator)] / [Letter by Garnett, Prof. William (Experimental Physics)] / [Letter by Henry, Jacob Solomon (Furniture Maker)] / Letter by Hems, Harry (English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor)] / [Letter: Image, Selwyn (British Artist & Designer of the Arts & Crafts Movement)] / [Letter: Russell, Sir Sydney Gordon (English Designer & Craftsman) / [Letter: Quennell, Marjorie (Courtney) (British historian, illustrator and Museum Curator at The Geffrye Museum) //

Small Archive / Manuscript Material, Letters, Designs, Books and Pamphlets as well as vintage photographs of Furniture like Chairs (Percy A. Wells Chair), Wardrobe, Advertising of Exhibitions [chaired for example by Christopher Hussey], etc. etc. This material all originates from Percy A. Wells’ personal collection and sensationally also includes a manuscript notebook / sketchbook with his drawings, designs and a detailed, typescript with autobiographical memories in which Wells details his decades of being involved in Furniture Design. Loosely inserted in the manuscript notebook / sketchbook, is a signed manuscript letter on stationery of Kelmscott Manor by Mary ‘May’ Morris, daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris and his wife and artists’ model, Jane Morris [included is ephemeral material which for example informs about a pair of Episcopal Gloves, designed by William Morris’s daughter [May Morris] and the clipping continues: “Those who remember Morris’s attitude towards the Church will smile and reflect upon time’s revenges”]. The collection includes an abundance of information which easily can lead to a monograph on the life of Percy A. Wells. Detailed description of the Archive and all materials contained below (more details will be listed constantly).

Dulwich / Shoreditch / London a.o., Percy A.Wells Private Library, c.1900-c.1920. Octavo / Quarto / Folio. Hardcover Folder with loosely inserted material like letters and photographs, envelopes, signed and inscribed books and rare pamphlets with designs etc. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Fantstic Archive and lots of unpublished material of one of the more eminent Cabinet, Furniture and Chair – Designers which resulted from inspiration by William Morris’ Kelmscott – School. Percy A. Wells Chairs are still in regular demand today and sell for stunning prices (3000 £ etc.).