1. [Malta Content] – Luke, Harry [then Lieut. Gov. of Malta] / Rear Admiral, Sir Arthur Bromley / George V. / Princess Elizabeth & The Duke of Edinburgh.

Autographed Letter, signed (ALS) by Rear Admiral, Sir Arthur Bromley & Lord Chamberlain Inviation, alerting Luke “Dear Mr.Luke – The Secretary of State who is acting for the Secretary of State for the Colonies during his absence in Canada would like to present you and Mrs. Luke to their Majesties the King and Queen after tea at the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on the 21st. If you intend to be present at the Garden Party will you please meet me at the north side of the Royal Tea Tent on 5 o’clock on that afternoon ?……Yours very truly A[rthur] Bromley – Rear-Admiral. Ceremonial Secretary, 14th July, 1932. / The letter was sent on July 8th, 1932, in an official envelope of the Lord Chamberlain to Luke c/o Colonial Office in Downing Street but was redirected to St.James’ Club and accompanied by an official Invitation – Card “The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by Their Majesties to invite Mr. & Mrs. H.C.Luke…..”.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. [Oxford], c.1943. Small Octavo. 1 Letter (ALS) and 2 Royal Invitation-Cards in Lord Chamberlain-Envelope. From Sir Harry Luke’s personal library. Luke added to this envelope an additional Royal Invitation-Card which was addressed to Luke in later life, by the Lord Chamberlain in July 1949 after the Lord Chamberlain was “commanded by Their Majesties [then Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh] to invite ‘Sir Harry Luke’ to an Afternoon Party in the Garden of Buckingham Palace on Thursday 7th July, 1949, from 4 to 6 o’clock (Weather Permitting)”.

2. 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.

3. [Family History of Sir Harry Luke] – [Luke, Sir Harry] / Matthias Likeij – Freemason at St.John’s Lodge / St.Johannisloge / Carl Sörensson //

Collection of Manuscript Masonic Letters and Masonic Papers of Sir Harry Luke’s Cousin, Swedish Philosopher Matthias Likeij, Member, “Sancti Johannis Meister” of the St.John’s Lodge in Christianstad. Including eight (8) Manuscript letters between swedish Freemason Carl Sörensson, Visby, dated between the years 1899 – 1902 and Broder [Matthias] Likeij.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. [Visby / Christiansstad], 1899 – 1902. Octavo – Folio. Two original Masonic Diplomas for Matthias Likeij and eight (often multi-page) letters. From the personal library of Sir Harry Luke (Luke was a Mason as well and a cousin of Matthias Likeij), protected in a special envelope: “On His Majesty’s Service”.

4. [Malta Content] – [Luke, Sir Harry].

Collection of nineteen (19) Letters and five (5) Congratulatory Telegrams on the occasion of Sir Harry Luke being awarded the post of Lieutenant Governor of Malta (1930 – 1938). The often very detailed and personal letters are full of praise and support for Luke and not seldom are filled with regret for seeing him not return to Palestine. Other colleagues who served in Malta, are encouraging him and promise he will like it there. Letters included are important reflections on Luke’s character and show his impeccable reputation among peers and family.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. London / Austria / New York etc., June 1930. Octavo. From the personal library of Sir Harry Luke.

5. [Sierra Leone Content] – Luke, Harry Charles.

Collection of ninetythree (93) [Multi-Page] Manuscript Letters Signed (MLS) / Autographed Letters Signed (ALS) – from Harry Luke sent home in the years 1908 – 1911 to his Father, Mother & Sister during his posting as Private Secretary to the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Leslie Probyn. With private but also lots of official news from the Colonies and including strong impressions by Harry Luke on his very first posting as an official for the Colonial Office. A fantastic collection of letters, re-introduced into Harry Luke’s private library after the death of his parents. Of great interest regarding the becoming of a colonial officer, Luke shares in these letters his adventures as much as his thoughts and worries about which career-path to take. These 93 letters give an extraordinarily detailed insight into the career of an Etonian and Trinity College Oxford Alumni, turning Colonial Officer, just prior of The Great War at the time of the ascent of contemporaries as eminent as Churchill & Bonar Law.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Freetown / “S.S.Nigeria”, November 1908 – January 1911. Octavo. From the personal collection of Sir Harry Luke.

6. [Pacific Content] – [Luke, Harry / Lukach, Harry / Sir Harry Luke].

Easter Island [Typescript / Manuscript – Proof – Pad of Harry Luke – with his personal note and corrections on the article on Easter Island which he prepared during and after his visit in April and May 1952 for “The Geographical Journal” (published subsequently in Volume CXX, Part 4, 1954)].

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. [London], [1952]. Octavo. 32 pages. Stapled. From the private collection / library of colonial governor, diplomat and historian, Sir Harry Luke.

7. Abraham, George D.

First Steps to Climbing. With 24 Special Copyright Illustrations by Messrs. G.P. Abraham, Ld., Kerswick.

London, Mills & Boon Limited, 1923. 13 cm x 18.8 cm. 126 pages. 24 illustrations. Hardcover [publisher’s original green cloth] with lettering on spine and front board. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Some light foxing occasionally to an otherwise clean and bright interior.

8. [Pacific Content] – [Luke, Harry / Lukach, Harry / Sir Harry Luke].

Large collection of Material related to the British Western Pacific, kept by Sir Harry in a large envelope from Suva (Fiji), with manuscript-pads, Annotated Typescripts and manuscript notes by Sir Harry Luke, especially material he used to prepare for Lectures and Talks. Among these materials are two different Essays on Easter Island, recorded on June 2nd, 1958 for a broadcast in Malta, also included numerous note-pads with quotes and background-info from important writers, historians and politicians which Luke uses to illustrate the pros and cons of Colonialism, especially connected to the British Empire. From looking at the Material closely, one can clearly understand how Luke structured his lectures (Historical Background of an Island or a country, some humorous stories and a very critical but decisive stance towards the British Empire and its Imperialism, without ever losing his diplomatic loyalty to the Crown). [See full list below].

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. [London], [1952]. Octavo. 32 pages. Stapled. From the private collection / library of colonial governor, diplomat and historian, Sir Harry Luke.

9. [René d’Anjou].

Le Livre Du Cueur D’Amours Espris [The Love Heart Book]. Introduction and Commentaries by F.Unterkircher / The National Library, Vienna.

Faksimile. London, Thames and Hudson, 1975. 19.4 cm x 28.2 cm. 48 pages. 16 colour plates with commentary opposite. Original Hardcover in illustrated card slipcase with gold draw-ribbon. Fine condition with only minor signs of external wear (minor stain to cover). Gilt decorated cloth. Number 1694 of 3000 special limited edition. From the reference library of Hans Christian Andersen-Translator Erik Haugaard.

10. [Malta Content] – [Luke, Sir Harry] / Pirie-Gordon, Christopher.

Long (2-page) Manuscript Letter (MLS) / Autographed Letter, signed (ALS) by Christopher Pirie-Gordon, 14th Laird of Buthlaw, “formerly Assistant-Resident in Amman and seconded for service under the Foreign Office, following the winding-up of the Palestine Administration”, to Sir Harry Luke from Pirie-Gordon’s post in Taiz (Yemen). Pirie-Gordon writes: “‘My dear Harry Charles, thank you so very much for your recent letter. Iremain almost aghast at the extent of your “wanderlust”. Brazil and Penang combined with almost permanent residence in Malta and a flat in London seem quite a good way of keeping at bay in suggestion of the humdrum or routine in life”. Pirie-Gordon describes his recent activities, including a ‘visit to stay with our Ambassador in Addis Ababa’, where he found the Ethiopians ‘a friendly courteous people’. Regarding the situation in the Yemen Pirie-Gordon writes: “We have been through a rough summer here during the Crown Prince’s period of Regency with one unpleasant afternoon in Taiz when the army ran amok”. The fact that the country did not have ‘the long awaited revolution then, when the Imam [Ahmad bin Yahya] was out of the country’, has convinced Pirie-Gordon ‘that revolutionaries of the necessary calibre are just not to be found locally’. Of the Imam he writes: “If someone bumps the old man off (no easy undertaking) or if Allah decides that he can do without him no longer then all hell will be loose and the War of the Roses will probably be declared at once.” In the meantime the country will ‘probably slide into a nice quiet anarchy’. Regarding ‘His Majesty’s gracious message’, Luke’s ‘mental imagery’ of ‘the Dragon breathing fire’ is ‘not inapt’. Pirie-Gordon now turns to his own future, which ‘remains shrouded in mystery’. His aim is to secure a ‘particular post’, despite ‘the Ambassador in the country concerned’, who is ‘anxious to have it for an old boyfriend of his own’. The letter ends with Pirie-Gordon describing his ‘highly international social life’, which, he declares, ‘suits me well’.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Taiz [Yemen], 8 October, 1959. Quarto. Two pages. From Sir Harry Luke’s personal library. The letter comes with a publication, edited by Hector Bolitho: “The British Empire”, in which are contained two essays on the Colonial History of the Empire by Sir Harry Luke: I.The Mediterranean Colonies and Aden” / II. “The British Islands of the Pacific”.