Published by 6 August ; on letterhead 'YATSCOMBE BOAR'S HILL OXFORD.', 1930
Paper dimensions: five inches by eight inches wide. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. Good clear signature reads 'Yours sincerely | Gilbert Murray. | August 6. 1930.'.
Published by Cambridge, U.K.: November 9, 1954., 1954
Seller: Blue Mountain Books & Manuscripts, Ltd., Cadyville, NY, U.S.A.
Signed
Condition: Good. - Typed letter filling 1-1/4 sides of his gray 7-1/8 inch high by 5-3/8 inch wide letterhead with his address printed at the top. Signed "D. M. Dunlop". There is some light staining to the edges of the letter with an additional small, light stain to the blank section of the verso. Folded once for mailing. Good. Dunlop writes to his correspondent about a photostat of an Islamic manuscript offered for sale in Dawson's catalogue. ".I am inclined to think that this is the same work as the Kitab Tafhim fi'n-Nujum (sic, not Najum, as in the catalogue), and further, that the photostat now offered for sale may have been made in connection with this edition. I saw Tillotson, who will propose purchase of the photostat at a meeting of the Library committee this afternoon."British orientalist and scholar of Islamic and Eurasian history Douglas Morton Dunlop [1909-1987] studied at Bonn and Oxford under the historian Paul Ernst Kahle. In the 1950s and '60s, he was Professor of History at Columbia University in New York. He is best known for his influential histories, "Arab Civilization to A.D. 1500" [London: Longman, 1971] and "The History of the Jewish Khazars" [New York: Schocken Books, 1967]. Dunlop was the "most esteemed scholar of the Khazar monarchy" and had command of the many languages needed to study the Khazars--Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Chinese.
Published by Published by William Collins 14 St. James's Place, London First Edition 1941., 1941
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition
Condition: Very Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original powder blue and creamy white paper covered boards. 8vo. 9'' x 6½''. Contains 48 pp with 12 colour plates and 13 monochrome illustrations throughout. Near Fine condition book in Very Good condition dust wrapper with rubs to the tips and corners. Dust wrapper supplied in archive acetate film protection. Member of the P.B.F.A. BRITAIN IN PICTURES.
Published by Published by William Collins 14 St. James's Place, London Second Edition . 1942., 1942
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
Condition: Very Good. Second edition hard back binding in publisher's original powder blue and creamy white paper covered boards. 8vo. 9'' x 6½''. Contains 48 printed pages of text with 8 colour plates and 13 monochrome illustrations throughout. Ink message to the title leaf 'Bayham Abbey Estate, Tunbridge Wells, Kent 9th August 1943.' Very Good condition book in Very Good condition dust wrapper with shallow rubs to the spine ends and corners, not price clipped, 3s 6d. Dust wrapper supplied in archive acetate film protection. Member of the P.B.F.A. BRITAIN IN PICTURES.
Published by Published by George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 39-41 Parker Street, Kingsway, London Fourth Revised Edition . 1947., 1947
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
Condition: Very Good. Fourth revised edition hard back binding in publisher's original blue cloth covers, gilt title and author lettering to the spine. 8vo. 8'' x 6''. Contains [vi] 533 printed pages of text with frontispiece and 16 full-page monochrome illustrations throughout. Pages 211-212 with pen line to margins, dusty page edges, spine slightly darkened and in Very Good condition, no dust wrapper. Member of the P.B.F.A. STAGE & THEATRE.
Published by Published by Bellew Publishing Company Ld., 7 Southampton Place, London First Edition . 1990., 1990
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition
Condition: Fine. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original emerald green cloth covered boards, blocked and lettered gilt back, biscuit lining papers. 8vo. 9½'' x 6ĵ''. The Mad Mullah as the English called Mohammed Abdille Hassan, who fought to keep Somaliland free of Europeans. Contains (xvi), 173 pp with 9 monochrome plates and 5 maps. Fine condition book in Fine condition dust wrapper, not price clipped, £17.50. Unused new book. Member of the P.B.F.A. AFRICA [Ethiopia].
Published by 20 February on embossed letterhead of the British Embassy Rome, 1902
12mo: 2 pp. Eleven lines of text. Very good. Having just received it from London, Rodd is sending Crawford the book he could not get in Rome which he wanted to send him as a birthday present. 'It is written by a great friend of mine who knows better than any one the history of the first voyages to America and the discovery of the Great Southern Sea. I think you will like it.' In an envelope, on aged paper, with postmarks and Italian postage stamp. Addressed to 'Harold Crawford, Villa Crawford, St Agnello di Sorrento'.
Language: English
Published by W. Griggs, Chromo-Lithographer to Her Majesty the Queen, London, 1898
Seller: Monroe Bridge Books, MABA Member, Houlton, ME, U.S.A.
Association Member: MABA
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good to Very Good. Limited/Numbered. Limited Edition, this being No. 201 of 300 Copies issued for Private Circulation. Lxxxiii, 144pp [printed on rectos only], 65pp [printed on rectos only, and being in Amharic text], printed on hard stock paper. Collated, and complete with 33 b/w illustrations and 92 chromo-lithographic plates, as called for, colours still bright. OVERSIZED, measuring 12 1/2 inches tall by 10 1/2 inches wide, and 3 3/4 inches thick. Bound in the original blind stamped leather, done in an Ethiopian style, top edges gilt, other edges marbled. Covers in Good Condition, internally in Very Good Condition, front cover detached, foxing on back preliminary pages, upper/lower spine edges shows some loss. Valerie, Lady Meux [1852-1910] was a character in her own right, being a banjo playing barmaid that married Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet, who came from one of Britain's richest brewing dynasties - Meux's Brewery. The original Ethiopian manuscripts were brought back from the Abyssinian Campaign by a British officer, who sold them to the antiquarian book dealer in London, Bernard Quaritch. They were then purchased by Lady Meux, and reproduced by E. A. Wallis Budge, on her behalf.
Language: English
Published by W. Griggs, Chromo-Lithographer to Her Majesty the Queen, London, 1900
Seller: Monroe Bridge Books, MABA Member, Houlton, ME, U.S.A.
Association Member: MABA
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Fair to Good ++. Limited/Numbered. Limited to 300 Copies for Private Circulation, this being No. 191. [4], lxv, [1], 158pp [printed on rectos only], 159-220pp [double sided], 116pp [printed on rectos only, and being in Amharic text], printed on hard stock paper. Top edges gilt, other edges marbled. Collated, and complete with 111 chromo-lithographic plates, as called for, with the colours still bright. Not just oversized, but MASSIVE, measuring 15 1/4 inches tall by 13 inches wide, and 5 1/8 inches thick. Bound in the original blind stamped leather, done in an Ethiopian style. Covers in Fair Condition, internally in Good ++ Condition. Spine covering pulling away from the front cover, front cover nearly detached, lower spine edge loss, corners of the book are bumped, occasional fore-edge tear [not affecting the text nor image]. Valerie, Lady Meux [1852-1910] was a character in her own right, being a banjo playing barmaid that married Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet, who came from one of Britain's richest brewing dynasties - Meux's Brewery. The original Ethiopian manuscripts were brought back from the Abyssinian Campaign by a British officer, who sold them to the antiquarian book dealer in London, Bernard Quaritch. They were then purchased by Lady Meux, and reproduced by E. A. Wallis Budge, on her behalf.
Published by Published by J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., Aldine House, Bedford Street, London First Edition . 1961., 1961
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition
Condition: Very Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original terracotta cloth covered boards, blocked and lettered gilt back. 8vo. 7½'' x 5ĵ''. Contains 208 pp. Fine condition book in Very Good condition dust wrapper with sun fading down the spine, not price clipped, 15s. Member of the P.B.F.A. MODERN FIRST EDITIONS.
Published by Published by Williams and Norgate, 14 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London First Edition . 1881., 1881
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition
Condition: Fine. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original deep navy cloth covered boards, blocked and lettered gilt back, gilt insignia to the front. 8vo. 9'' x 6''. Contains (vii), 262 pp + i + 8 pp catalogue pp. Just a little surface rubbing to the boards, contents in Fine and fresh condition. Member of the P.B.F.A. BUDDHISM, HINDU, DHARMA.
Eigenhändiger Unterschrift (wohl aus Scheck ausgeschnitten) in Tinte signiert BEILAGE: zeitgenössische Karteikarte mit persönlichen Daten und Laufzeit der Autogrammanfrage Jan. 1955.
Published by Published by Cambridge at the University Press First Edition . 1923., 1923
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition Signed
Condition: Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original quarter cream cloth covers, maroon title and author lettering to the spine, red cloth covered boards, fore and lower page edges untrimmed. 8vo. 9'' x 6''. Contains [vi] 397 printed pages of text. Foxing to the uncut page edges, spine age darkened and in Good condition, no dust wrapper. We currently hold in stock 2 other titles from this series. From the private library of William Leigh, General Manager of The Old Vic, London, and SIGNED by him to the front free end paper 'William Leigh'. Member of the P.B.F.A. STAGE & THEATRE.
Published by Published by Cambridge at the University Press First Edition . 1925., 1925
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition Signed
Condition: Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original quarter cream cloth covers, blue title and author lettering to the spine, blue cloth covered boards, fore and lower page edges untrimmed. 8vo. 9'' x 6''. Contains [xii] 431 printed pages of text. Foxing to the uncut page edges, spine age darkened and in Good condition, no dust wrapper. We currently hold in stock 2 other titles from this series. From the private library of William Leigh, General Manager of The Old Vic, London, and SIGNED by him to the front free end paper 'William Leigh'. Member of the P.B.F.A. STAGE & THEATRE.
Published by Published by Cambridge at the University Press First Edition . 1927., 1927
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition Signed
Condition: Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original quarter cream cloth covers, brown title and author lettering to the spine, brown cloth covered boards, fore and lower page edges untrimmed. 8vo. 9'' x 6''. Contains [x] 387 printed pages of text. Foxing to the uncut page edges, spine age darkened, surface marks to the front board and in Good condition, no dust wrapper. We currently hold in stock 2 other titles from this series. From the private library of William Leigh, General Manager of The Old Vic, London, and SIGNED by him to the front free end paper 'William Leigh'. Member of the P.B.F.A. STAGE & THEATRE.
Published by Published by The Dolmen Press, 8 Herbert Place, Dublin First Edition . 1971., 1971
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition Signed
Condition: Very Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original blue / green tonic covers, gilt title and author lettering to the spine. 8vo. 9'' x 6ĵ''. Contains 53 printed pages of text. Fine condition book in Very Good condition dust wrapper with a little age darkening of the paper down the spine, not price clipped. SIGNED by the author to the title page 'To Alison Barnard, in friendship, from Kathleen, October 7th 1971.' Alison Mary Barnard was a formidable Lady and networker. She lived at No. 4, Wimpole Mews, London and 'ran' The Centre of Spiritual and Psychological Studies. Dust wrapper supplied in archive acetate film protection, it does not adhere to the book or to the dust wrapper. We currently hold in stock 10 other books by this author. Member of the P.B.F.A. ISBN 851051944 POETRY, VERSE & RHYMES.
Published by Published by Macmillan & Co., London and Cambridge First Edition . 1867., 1867
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition
Condition: Very Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original terracotta cloth covered boards, blocked and lettered gilt back, black paper end papers. 8vo. 7½'' x 5ĵ''. A longtime university librarian and lecturer at St. John's College, Cambridge, Mullinger was the author of several books detailing the college's history and similar academic subjects. He was also a contributor to many periodicals of the Victorian era, most especially, Cambridge History of Modern Literature, the Dictionary of National Biography and Encyclopĉdia Britannica. His best known effort, History of the University of Cambridge Down to the Decline of the Platonists (1873), was a three-volume history of the university and was considered the definitive work on the subject at the turn of the 20th century. It is today considered a landmark publication in British university history. Contains red and black printed title, (xv)-1, 205, blank, i pp, subjects flagged in the margin for ease of reference. References to 41 Graduates from Bishop Stephen Gardner of Winchester (1483-1555), to Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Spine age darkened, small ink blob to the fore edge, text block without any age toning or foxing to the paper and in Very Good sound condition. Member of the P.B.F.A. CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
Language: French
Seller: PhP Autographs, Hastière, Belgium
Manuscript / Paper Collectible Signed
Pas de couverture. Condition: Bon. Autograph letter signed. Dated : no date. Size : 10x12 cm. Certificate of Authenticity and lifetime guarantee. Signé par l'auteur.
Published by 19 October From the India Office Whitehall. On his letterhead, 1923
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
See his entry in the Oxford DNB. (In his Who's Who entry he stated that he was 'author of a great number of papers and articles in the Journals of Scientific Societies'.) 1p, landscape 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. With stamp and manuscript docketting of the RSA. He writes: 'In 1900 (I think) I gave a lecture on Round About the Andamans & Nicobars published in vol XLVIII. If you have a separate copy left I shall be glad if you can send me one on payment / from Yrs trly / R. C. Temple'.
Published by On letterhead of the Friends of the National Libraries c/o The British Museum London WC1. 1 September, 1941
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. He is 'very much obliged' to Frewen for the offer 'of duplicates to help in the restoration of destroyed libraries', and notes that 'it is impossible to forecast the needs that will exist at the end of the war'. In the meantime he has 'marked with the initials F. [L. S.?] a number of volumes in your list which I think are sure to be useful for our purpose. If the Institute of Historical Research Library should be destroyed, probably nearly all the official papers you could spare would be welcome; but as far as I know that has at present escaped.'.
Language: English
Published by Club de Constantinople, Pera [Ottoman Empire], 30 April 1909., Constantinople (Istanbul), 1909
Seller: Khalkedon Rare Books ABA, ILAB, IOBA, ESA, Istanbul, Turkey
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
No Binding. Condition: Good. Original ALS in full and as 'BGS' in black ink on paper. "Club de Constantinople, Pera" embossing on the upper right corner. Open size: 20x25 cm. Almost 70 lines in English. The recipient is not named, and the salutation is in Romany. Aged and worn with closed tears along fold lines. A rare and historically significant letter providing a vivid and newsworthy glimpse into Ottoman political life just three days after the 31 March Incident, an uprising in April 1909 during the first year of the Young Turk Revolution, at the heart of Constantinople, particularly around the palace. It includes a detailed account of a day in a Turkish bath (hammam), the arrest and execution of Kurds, and reference to an unsuccessful attempt at a massacre of Christians. The letter also describes the writer's attendance at the Selamlik ceremony with the new Sultan Mehmed V Resad at Hagia Sophia, rumours surrounding the deposed Sultan Abdulhamid II, and the execution of his chief eunuch in the city. Additionally, it recounts the dramatic scene of a military band marching from Bâb-i Âli (The Sublime Porte) towards Galata Bridge with great noise and a gathered crowd, where the chief eunuch's execution took place. The letter begins: 'I am about to feast the eve of tomorrow which is the eve of the next day by imbibing a large quantity of Whisky and Soda, first to see how much will be required to produce the desired effect. I am also streaming with a cold in the head due to a hammam last night. The Kurdish youth has left for his country: - many Kurds have been arrested & shot since you left. A rumour which it is impossible to confirm & which sounds to me stupid will have it that a massacre of Christians was imminent & would have taken place if the troops had not entered last Saturday when they did.' He continues - with reference to Sir H. C. A. Eyres, Consul-General at Constantinople, 1905-14 - by describing how he has that day 'asked Eyres's permission and got it and went to the new Selamlik with the "Good Reshad", Mehmet V as Sultan. It was held at Aya Sofia. I drove up to the Square with Edmonds & made my way to a back entrance of the Mosque facing the Sea and there I saw Mrs: Eyres & daughter & a Kavass in a carriage in splendid view of the Gate where he, He, was to pass. I left Edmonds who would not follow & got through the crowd to the carriage. I was disappointed in the Selamlik. It was crowded & too big, & disorderly & bourgeois, so different to the one you saw in the pretty little mosque on the hill.' He suggests that it may improve 'when the regiments are organized [?] but as they will not keep so many soldiers in Constantinople it will never again be what it was.' There has been 'no news yet worth recording of Adbul Hamid. The head eunuch was hung (hanged) on the New Bridge yesterday morning they say.' He 'walked back through narrow streets headed by a band playing one Turkish Air [i.e., Maqam] after another, the first the one you know, passed the Sublime Porte & down the Rue de la S. Porte & down to the New Bridge: most !' He is regularly studying Romanian 'in bed - keeps me from wasting too much time on it'. He concludes: 'I don't think we have heard the last of the old man yet. What will Anatolia do? And Arabia?' Postscript signed 'BGS': 'Yesterday I went up to the Seraskerat & saw the prisoner soldiers begging for bread through the grills, bars I mean. I avoided the Bazaar & the Spaniard, so as not to have to tell you what he might say!'. Bernard Gilliat-Smith's career is described by him in "Who Was Who": "Levant Consular Service; served at Constantinople, Sofia, Beirut, Varna, Foreign Office (London), Tabriz, Copenhagen, Sarajevo, Leningrad, Bucharest, New Orleans, Smyrna; retired, 1943". Online sources say: "British diplomat, linguist, botanist, naturalist and botanical collector". At the time Gilliat-Smith was in the consular service in Istanbul. THE 31 MARCH INCIDENT: The 31 March incident (31 Mart Vakasi) was an up.
Published by Published by Anaya Publishers Ltd., 49 Neal Street, London First Edition . London 1989., 1989
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition
Condition: Fine. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original navy paper covers, silver title and author lettering to the spine. 8vo. 9½'' x 6ĵ''. ISBN 1854700081. Contains [xiii] 177 printed pages of text. Without any ownership markings. Fine condition book, in Fine condition dust wrapper with slight curving to the top edges, not price clipped. Dust wrapper supplied in archive acetate film protection, this protects and prolongs the life of the paper, it is not adhered to the book or to the dust wrapper. Member of the P.B.F.A. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS.
Published by Printed at the University Press for H. Mortlock, at the Sign of the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-yard, Cambridge and 1702. 1701 and 1702., 1701
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
Condition: Very Good. Seventh edition hard back binding professionally rebacked preserving the original boards and morocco gilt title and author lettering label to the spine, six raised bands. Folio 13ĵ'' x 8½''. Contains frontispiece portrait of the author, title-page, [26, including 2 title-pages, the first dated 1702 and the second dated 1701 and textually somewhat different than the first and lacking red ink printing of certain words]. 1- 328 pages, pages 339-424, [4], 126 & [2] pages. Pagination jumps from 328 to 339 with no loss of text. Includes a single-sheet advertisement at the end offering other books by this author, followed by other books offered for sale by Mortlock. Name to the front free end paper and top of first title page 'James Drake, St John's College, Cambridge.' A little worming to the last 25 pages, text block without any age toning or foxing to the paper and in Very Good clean and sound condition. This volume weighs 2.5 kg, regrettably extra postage will be requested over and above our default setting for destinations outside the UK. Member of the P.B.F.A. THEOLOGY & RELIGION.
Published by Published and Privately Printed for the Athenaeum Club by William Clowes and Sons, Ltd., London and Beccles, London First Edition . 1926., 1926
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition Signed
Condition: Very Good. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original sage green cloth covered boards, blocked and lettered gilt back, gilt cameo to the front board, top edge gilt,others untrimmed. Royal quarto. 10'' x 8''. Contains frontispiece, red and black printed title, (xii), 370 pp with 32 single sided full-page monochrome illustrations and archive photographs on loaded paper. This is the complete history of the Athenaeum, a Gentlemen's Club in London, written to honour its centenary. Contents: Part I: Introduction. I. Coffee Houses and the First Clubs. II. Our Founders and First Committees. III. In Temporary Premises. IV. Building of the Club House. V. 1830-1840. VI. 1840-1860. VII. 1860-1880. VIII. Finance After 1870. IX. 1880-1914. X. The Years of War. XI. The Library. Part II: Rule II Elections. Biographical Sketches from 1831 to 1925. Index. SIGNED and dated 'April 1926 by Frederic George Kenyon', Director of British Museum, President of British Academy etc. to the front free end paper. Spine sun darkened, rubbing across the spine caps and corners, else in Very Good condition, no dust wrapper as issued. Member of the P.B.F.A. LONDON (Londinium).
Language: French
Seller: PhP Autographs, Hastière, Belgium
Manuscript / Paper Collectible Signed
Pas de couverture. Condition: Bon. Authentic signed card. A magazine photo is pasted to the card. Size : 20x12.5 cm Condition : please see scans. Provenance : Gérard Leman collection. Certificate of Authenticity and lifetime guarantee. Signé par l'auteur.
Published by Published by Enitharmon Press, East Finchley, London First Edition . 1968., 1968
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Association Member: PBFA
First Edition Signed
Condition: Near Fine. First edition in publisher's original plain white paper covers [softback]. Quarto 10'' x 7½''. Contains 21 printed pages of text. Frontispiece by Cecil Collins with Juliet Standing wood engraving tipped-in to verso following introductory poem. Near Fine condition book in near Fine condition dust wrapper with just a little curling of the paper down the fore edge, not price clipped £1 12s 6d. One of 450 numbered copies [this copy not numbered]. SIGNED by the author to the limitation leaf 'Kathleen Raine - Alison Barnard's copy, with love from the author, October 1968.' Alison Mary Barnard was a formidable Lady and networker. She lived at No. 4, Wimpole Mews, London and 'ran' The Centre of Spiritual and Psychological Studies. We currently hold in stock 10 other books by this author. Member of the P.B.F.A. POETRY, VERSE & RHYMES.
Published by 'a Londres au Museum Britannique ce 22 Febr. ' At the British Museum London. 22 February 1786, 1786
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
1p., 4to. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. A letter of recommendation for 'Mr Svederus, Chapellain du Roy de Suede, qui va a Paris pour quelques mois, et qui est recommandé au Ministre Suedois'. Woide explains that he became acquainted with Svederus during his stay in London, which lasted almost a whole year. He concludes by sending his regards to six individuals, beginning with 'Mr de Guines'.
Published by Watson's book: London: Neville Spearman The other material dating from the 1940s and 1950s, 1959
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
One: Holograph poem by Gere in red ink on slip of paper. Apparently unpublished, it reads: 'I.M. E.HWM | buried Hampstead 18. 9. '52 | Grave scholar of a Grays Inn cell, | Gay naturalist of Norfolk fen, | Divion [sic, corrected in pencil to 'Division'] now ordains farewell. | I shall not see your like again. | JG'. Items Two to Seventeen: Sixteen transcriptions of letters and notes from Meyerstein to John Gere (as 'J G'). Each on a separate piece or slip of paper, and all written out in red ink. Possibly written out for Watson's use, and returned on the publication of his selection (which contains four Meyerstein letters to Gere). Item Eighteen: Transcription by Gere of letter from Meyerstein to him, dated 7 July 1950. 1p., 4to. Referring to Item Nineteen, Meyerstein writes: 'I never realized before how hard it is to speak critically of work, infused with personality, that goes so near the hart as this does to mine. I shall understand if you can't use it, but it is the best I can do, and I thank you for giving me the chance.' Item Nineteen: Transcription by Gere of letter from Meyerstein to 'T. I F A Esq [i.e. T. I. F. Armstrong]'. 2pp., 4to. Critical of his poetic efforts, and beginning: 'I have read through the black book and found nothing in it. One piece has a decadent Wratislavia flavour (p22) but I doubt if it is worth keeping. I am worried about you, so far as writing poetry is concerned, because I don't feel your heart is really in it. These refrains are awful. [.] If you merely want to write a poem that finds its way into 1000 anthologies devil take you. [.] If I knew nothing of you and merely read the contents of the black book I should imagine that you had read nothing but songs and jingles in the newspapers. [.] It all comes down to this: you must read before you write, and read not as a bibliographer, a measurer-up of books, but as a student who wishes to find out how certain effects are obtained, and not imitate them but think out others equally good.' Item Twenty (from which the recipient of Item Nineteen has been identified): Envelope, with stamps and postmark, with typed address to Meyerstein at Magdalen College, Oxford, deleted and readdressed by him to '1246619 Sgt. T. I. F. Armstrong | Section 17 H.Q. Base Air Forces | S. E. Asia'. Items Twenty-one to Twenty-three: Three newspaper cuttings, including Meyerstein's Times obituary (13 September 1952) and a review of his 'Of My Early Life' from the Listener, 9 January 1958. Item Twenty-four: Printed prospectus for Item Twenty-five. 4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. 'Printed by The Garden City Press Ltd., Letchworth, Hertfordshire.' Item Twenty-five: Copy of 'Some Letters of E. H. W. Meyerstein', edited by Rowland Watson. A fair copy, in worn and aged dustwrapper. With pencil notes by Gere on the back endpapers and flap of dustwrapper, and a further 2pp., 12mo, of pencil notes by him on a loosely-inserted leaf.
Published by 1800 2 1806 and 1807 the last apparently a mistake for 1806. The first from St James's Square the last from Clifton the others from Sundridge Kent, 1798
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
See the two men's entries in the Oxford DNB. The five items are in good condition, lightly aged, with each on a 4to bifolium, and all folded for postage. In a neat and attractive hand. The text of each letter is on the first leaf, and the first two letters are addressed by Porteus on the reverse of the second leaf, each with broken seals in red wax. In Letters Four and Five Porteus lays out his objections to Maurice's 'Elegy on the late Right Honourable William Pitt', published in 1806 under the name 'T. M.' ONE (St James's Square, 10 April 1898): 1p, 4to. Addressed to 'Revd. Mr Maurice / No. 19. Princes Street / Cavendish Square'. He is 'overwhelmed by Business', but hopes to read Maurice's letter and two pamphlets 'when I move into the Country'. 'The Point you are labour is a curious & important one, & I have little doubt of your being able to substantiate your opinion.' TWO (Sundridge, 26 August 1800): 2pp, 4to. Maurice's letter arrived while he was 'on a Visit in Oxfordshire'. He thanks him for the enclosed preface, 'which I hope will finish your Labours & afford you Leisure to attend more to your Health'. 'It is to be lamented that the Situation at the Museum, which most of your Friends thought peculiarly adapted to you is become unpleasant to you; & I think it will deserve a little further consideration from you before you resolve upon Exchanging it, even if you were permitted. That Permission does not rest solely with the Archbishop; but if you continue in the same mind when I return to London in the Winter & have an opportunity of seeing the Archbishop, I will have some conversation with his Grace on the subject, & will communicate to him your wishes.' THREE (Sundridge, 26 September 1800): 1p, 4to. Franked to 'Revd Mr Maurice / British Museum / London' from 'Sevenoakes - August / Twenty Six. 1800 B. London'. He has returned from 'a Visit in Hampshire' to find 'the five last Volumes of the Indian Antiquities which you was so obliging as to send me; & of which I beg that I may be allowed to pay the current Price''. As Maurice has communicated his wishes 'to the ABp & Bp of Lincoln', Porteus will 'not fail to converse with them on that subject when we meet'. FOUR (Sundridge, 4 September 1806): 2pp, 4to. He is sending a banker's draft for ten guineas. 'I have read your Elegy on Mr Pitt, & think it has great merit & is written in the true Poetical energy & ardor. To a few expressions & a few lines I have some objections'. One of these is Porteus's use of the word 'saviour': 'too strong & too sacred an expression to be applied to any human Being however great'. He goes into greater detail in explaining why it is 'going too far' to suggest that 'any of the Human Race immediately after Death is appointed to 'Minister to Heaven's Eternal King'". Regarding one turn of expression: 'There are acts of Power that belong solely to the Almighty; & the last expression is so peculiarly appropriated to our blessed Lord that it is surely very improper to preidcate it of any other Person whatever.' While he is sure that no offence was meant, he urges Maurice to 'reconsider & remove' all 'ambiguity'. FIVE (Clifton, 26 August 1807, but the year apparently a mistake for 1806): 2pp, 4to. Having received a 'pacquet by the Bristol Mail', he laments that Maurice has not followed his advice, 'both with respect to the Mode of Publication & the Alteration of the Passage to which I objected. - By printing the Poem at your own risque [sic] on so large & expensive a scale you will, I fear, again involve yourself in difficulties which you will not easily surmount: & by retaining the Objectionable Line you will, I am persuaded, prejudice many serious Persons against your Poem, which in other respects has considerable merit. - Indeed in looking again at the whole of the Portrait you have drawn of that truly great man whom you celebrate (& of whom I think as highly as any man can possibly do) I perceive several other expressions which appear to me objectionable - no mortal man (however great & good) should be dignified with the sacred name of the Saviour of his Country, (p.117) which should be appropriated solely to the Saviour of the World. Nor should the Almighty be represented as displaying to one of his own Creatures all his vast designs (p.122). Nor can any dead Man be the Guardian or Protector of Kingdoms & Empires. P.123. This Power belongs to God alone.' He gives Maurice 'full credit for not meaning any Thing improper by such expressions', and is 'willing to make all due allowance for the Enthusiasm of a Poet & the flights of an ardent Imagination. But still when he treads so close on hallowed Ground he must proceed with great caution & reverential Awe, & not ascribe to any human Being those properties & Powers which are the peculiar Attributes of the omnipotent Sovereign of the Universe'. He ends by stating that he is only writing to Maurice out of an interest 'for your Credit & that of your Poem', 'for indeed in my present precarious state of Health, I find writing very inconvenient to me; & it is therefore now my wish that this matter may rest here, & that nothing more may be said on the Subject either on your part or mine.'.
Published by St Leonards , January (11th) 1831, 1831
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
Quarto, 18.7 x 22.7 cm, 2 pages + integral address leaf. Unpublished letter from Malthus from St Leonards, where he was convalescing, to the economist Nassau William Senior (1790-1864) approving of Senior's emigration plan which he published in 1831 anonymously "I quite approve of your emigration plan, and see no objection to the draft of the bill which seems to propose adequate means to accomplish the desireable end". Malthus refers to an upcoming visit to town with Mrs Malthus and a stay with his friend William Otter. [page 1]St Leonards Jany 1831My dear Senior I should have written to youthis evening, if I had not received yourletter of this morning. I quite approveof your emigration plan, and see no objectionto the draft of the bill which seems topropose adequate means to accomplishthe desireable end. It would give me great pleasureto join your party, and I should not havebeen deterred by your saying that youcould not give me a bed, knowing thatthere must be plenty of such articles inthe neighbourhood; but as we are about[page 2]to have this warm climate on Saturdaysennight, I think that two winter journeysso near together would not be justifiable eitherin regard to my health or resources. I mustbe at the College without fail on this dayfortnight, and we have taken our lodgingsto that time; but as Mrs Malthus particularlywants a day on town, we shall start on theSaturday and sleep at Mr Otters at Stockwellthat night. I will endeavour to see youon Sunday or Monday.most truly yoursT.Robt Malthus. [address leaf]Nassau Senior EsqNew SquareLincoln's InnLondon[with circular Hastings postal stamp in black ink dated Ja 11 1831 and two other postal marks, one 'Hastings Penny Post' in black ink, the other red].