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<strong>Manuscripts</strong><br />
October 2016<br />
4927 Edendale Court West Vancouver, BC V7W 3H7 CANADA Tel: 604.720.2000 Fax: 604.922.2272<br />
email: info@voyager-press.com
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(MANUSCRIPT DIARY – MOROCCO)<br />
Exquisite Morocco Binding with Lock & Key<br />
English Lady Travels to Morocco<br />
Watches a Public Hanging in Venice<br />
Visits a Harem in Tangier<br />
US$2,750<br />
[Italy, Spain, Morocco, France, Germany, Austria,<br />
Belgium, Switzerland, England, 1851-1874] - Journal of<br />
travels and special events in the charmed life of<br />
Charlotte Dent, a privileged and confident young<br />
woman born into an upper-class elite family whose<br />
legacy is tied to the restoration of the Sudeley Castle in<br />
Gloucestershire, with highlights being a year spent in<br />
Venice whilst it was still crown land of the Austrian<br />
Empire, a three-week tour of Tangier, and intimate<br />
details of her private life. Qto. 502 pages. A fine<br />
burgundy morocco binding sold by William Burnside in<br />
Blackheath, with ornate gilt tooling to front and spine,<br />
gilt tooled turn-ins, five raised bands, original green<br />
star-patterned end papers, leafs watermarked J<br />
Whatman 1851, and featuring a genuine Bramah lock<br />
and key system engraved "J Bramah, 124 Piccadilly"<br />
with the two original skeleton keys. Volume measures<br />
24,5 x 20 x 4 cm. Very good condition, a pleasing and<br />
elegantly penned work.<br />
A most absorbing and very personal diary of continental<br />
travels and upper-class life hobnobbing with royalty and<br />
gentry, the writer being Miss Charlotte Wilkinson Dent, an<br />
educated socialite, an adventurous woman, and member of<br />
the patrician Dent family connected to Sudeley Castle.<br />
"Oct. 11th. There was an unfortunate man hung on the<br />
Campo di Marte this morning by the Austrian Government for<br />
having purchased Revolutionary prints & possessing<br />
Revolutionary papers. His name was Luigi Dottesio, & he was<br />
denounced by one of his friends and countrymen. The man<br />
who sold the prints is condemned to ten years imprisonment<br />
in a fortress with heavy irons, - this seems severe... I can not<br />
help thinking about this execution all day."<br />
"Oct. 2nd. Managed to see the Pasha's Harem, the court of<br />
the Palace was very handsome. I cannot say as much for the<br />
wives... The first wife, an enormous dark coloured woman was<br />
very civil & shewed us one of her dresses... There were hosts<br />
of small coloured children running about... took our leave &<br />
went to the Pasha's stables... The Pasha past... he was<br />
gorgeously attired..."<br />
3
(MANUSCRIPT DIARY - PAPACY - VATICAN)<br />
BURCHARD, Johanne<br />
Life of Borgia Pope Alexander VI<br />
Infamous Banquet of Chestnuts<br />
Primary Source Uncovered by the Pope's<br />
Trusted Master of Ceremonies<br />
US$4,950<br />
[Rome, circa 1800] – “Della Vita di Papa Alessandro VI”<br />
[The Life of Alexander VI]. Primary source manuscript<br />
fair copy biography of the Renaissance era's most<br />
controversial Borgia Pope Alexander VI drawing directly<br />
from the diary writings of his Ceremoniere Johann<br />
Burchard (c.1450-1506), Protonotary Apostolic (PA),<br />
made circa 1800 by an unidentified historian or Vatican<br />
scholar, centering on the successes of the Pope and<br />
featuring the famous yet virtually unobtainable firsthand<br />
account of the disputed Papal orgy in the Vatican in<br />
1501, and a dedicatory preface. Text is in Italian. 202<br />
pages with wide margins, the text area measuring<br />
approximately 12 x 23 cm. 4to. Half calf over marbled<br />
boards, titled and lined in gilt to spine. Bound by<br />
bookseller J. Griffiths, 4 Argyle Building, Bath, England,<br />
in the early nineteenth century. Original bookbinder's<br />
label to front pastedown. Volume measures<br />
approximately 27,5 x 20,5 cm. Slight wear to boards,<br />
otherwise excellent condition, content penned in an<br />
immaculate hand, leafs crisp and bright, a fine<br />
example of a scarce primary source.<br />
Together with a rare original Alexander VI Borgia papal<br />
grosso coin, made at the Ancona papal Mint during his<br />
papacy 1492-1503. Recto features a tiara and keys over a<br />
shield of papal arms, and circumference text ALEXANDER VI<br />
PONT MAX. Verso shows Saints Peter and Paul standing<br />
facing one another, each holding scriptures, one with a<br />
sword, the other a key, and text S PAVLVS S PETRVS. Some loss<br />
to extremity as is usually the case, otherwise very good<br />
condition, retaining a strong impression, and accompanied<br />
by a certificate of authenticity by a numismatics expert in<br />
Treviso. ITALY, Papal Coinage. Alexander VI (Roderic Llançol<br />
de Borja i Borja). 1492-1503. AR Grosso of Rome. Measures<br />
approximately 25mm in diameter. CNI XV 10; Muntoni 23;<br />
Berman 538.<br />
4
[Excerpts from the Preface]: Porgo all sue Real mani il parto<br />
delle mie debbolezze non già per essere encomiato da<br />
Vostra Maestà Cattolica, ma per puramente discoprir<br />
[riscoprire?] le quali siano stati li mezzi più efficaci della<br />
grandezza di Don Rodrigo Borgia, ora Pontefice Alessandro<br />
VI, ... subblime ed alta dignita... e mainere... Sarai questo un<br />
puro attestato della mia umilissima servizio professare a Va<br />
[Vostra] Maestà... come dalle [Serristasse?] di Palazzo,<br />
registrate quelle memorie per conservarle..."<br />
[I humbly present to his Royal hands, not for praise from Your<br />
Catholic Majesty, but purely to uncover what were the most<br />
effective means of greatness of Don Rodrigo Borgia, now<br />
Pope Alexander VI... sublime and high dignity... and<br />
manners... This will be a pure testimony of my most humble<br />
service professed to Your Majesty... as [xx] of the Palace, that<br />
year recorded memories to preserve...]<br />
“<br />
For over 150 years, Burchard's diary remained concealed,<br />
until Rodrigo Borgia's papal namesake, Pope Alexander VII<br />
(Fabio Chigi, 1599-1667) had a scribe make a copy of it for his<br />
kinsman, Flavio Chigi (1631-1693), who subsequently, at the<br />
end of the seventeenth century, placed it in the enormous<br />
library of the Chigi Palace, along with the numerous<br />
manuscripts, miniature books and signed documents that he<br />
and his uncle had amassed. Flavio was a powerful Italian<br />
Catholic Cardinal from 1657, and was also a Vatican<br />
Librarian from 1659 to 1681. The contents of the diary thus<br />
became accessible to historical and liturgical students for a<br />
brief time. As these seventeenth century scholars sought<br />
information in its pages, their extracts from it have appeared<br />
now and again, albeit at a most infrequent occurrence.<br />
Johann Burchard (c.1450-1506), also spelled Johannes<br />
Burchart or Burkhart was an Alsatian-born priest, famed as a<br />
chronicler of the Italian Renaissance. He became a<br />
Protonotary Apostolic in February 1481, and was appointed<br />
Master of Ceremonies to Pope Sixtus IV in 1483, having<br />
bought the office for 450 ducats. He is best remembered for<br />
the diary which he kept, privately, from the time of his<br />
appointment, through his twenty years as Ceremoniere for<br />
Rodrigo Borgio - Pope Alexander VI - and until his death in<br />
1506, which was only three years after the death of<br />
Alexander VI, thus essentially being a chronicle of the career<br />
and life of the infamous and highly controversial Borgia Pope,<br />
and containing the only known firsthand account of the 1501<br />
Vatican orgy.<br />
The Banquet of Chestnuts, known also as the Ballet of<br />
Chestnuts, refers to a festivity held in the Papal Palace in<br />
Rome on 30 October 1501, and hosted by Cardinal Cesare<br />
Borgia, son of Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI.<br />
Burchard's Diary is an Important Primary Source on the History<br />
of the Borgia Papacy from the Late 15th to the Early 16th<br />
Centuries. Extremely Rare.<br />
5
(ARCHIVE - WOMAN ARTIST)<br />
GRUBBE, Margaret<br />
English Painter Margaret Grubbe<br />
Watercolours - Drawings - Photographs<br />
US$1,250<br />
[Blythburgh, 1930-1955] - Archive of female artist and<br />
illustrator Margaret Julia Maria Grubbe (1911-1997), who<br />
comes from a long line of famous Suffolk artists and<br />
painters, comprising her manuscript drawings,<br />
watercolours, and oil paintings, including a journal<br />
made whilst in Scotland, letters and critiques from the<br />
Royal Drawing Society as she learned and perfected her<br />
own unique style, and an exhibitor card from the<br />
Ipswich Art Club. Together with several photographs<br />
from her childhood and college years, an important<br />
photograph of her father, and a scant few personal<br />
papers including a lease document for part of the Priory<br />
at Blythburgh dated 1936, where she lived and<br />
exhibited, at the time being owned by her widowed<br />
mother. The lot in overall very good condition.<br />
Margaret Julia Maria Grubbe (1911-1997) is an artist and a<br />
book illustrator listed on the Sufflok Painters Index, and was<br />
born into a prominent London family of artists. She inherited<br />
The Priory at Blythburgh in Suffolk, from where she also<br />
exhibited.<br />
Miss Grubbe's archive illustrates her progression as an artist,<br />
from her earliest submissions to a drawing society, to the<br />
skilled development of her unique style. The earliest pencil<br />
sketches are inherently reminiscent of the style of her father,<br />
Laurence Carrington Grubbe (1854-1912), who died the year<br />
after her birth, but whose works must have surrounded her<br />
and provided a visual influence. These are followed by a<br />
display youthful whimsy and experimentation with bright<br />
colour, which in later years, resulted in the skilled creation of<br />
elegant and tasteful impressionist scenes largely capturing<br />
the essence of life in England.<br />
6
(ARCHIVE - THEATRE)<br />
SIEGERT, Hans<br />
Watercolours and Manuscript Drawings<br />
Theatre Set Design<br />
Original Artwork by German Designer<br />
Innsbruck National Theatre<br />
US$2,750<br />
[Innsbruck, Munich, 1933-1976] - Archive of 34<br />
watercolours, manuscript sketch drawings and<br />
photographs pertaining to theatre sets designed from<br />
1933-1944 by the highly respected German set director<br />
at Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck - Hans Siegert.<br />
Together with 35 original typescript articles published by<br />
him in German film magazines from 1955-1976 after he<br />
had become a film producer. All text is in German. Very<br />
good condition.<br />
Hans Siegert (1910-1983) was a set designer and film director.<br />
He studied with German illustrator and print maker Emil<br />
Preetorius. Siegert is especially remembered for his excellent<br />
stage designs created for the Innsbruck Theatre from 1938 to<br />
1944 when he was Set Director. Several of these are<br />
represented here in his original artwork, and in additional<br />
photographs of his artwork. Together with his wife Irma, he<br />
also painted cinema posters and giant outdoor advertising for<br />
movie theatres. Around 1955 he became a film director. He<br />
was involved in numerous film productions and earned<br />
several awards. Hans and his wife Irma were both from<br />
Munich.<br />
At the time of Siegert drawings and watercolours the theatre<br />
was called the Royal Bavarian Court National Theatre. In<br />
1945, it was renamed the Tiroler Landestheater (Tyrolean State<br />
Theatre)<br />
7
(HERBARIUM - SEAWEED - ENGLAND)<br />
Large Folio of Early Seaweed Collection<br />
Large Three-Dimensional Specimens<br />
Resort Town St. Leonards-on-Sea<br />
An Early Sample Discovered in Australia<br />
US$1,750<br />
[St Leonards-on-Sea, England, 1847-1849] - Substantial<br />
collection of 123 ocean botanical specimens, gathered<br />
by an unidentified English, nineteenth century<br />
phycology enthusiast, neatly organized into three<br />
sections, Melanospermeae, Rhodospermeae,<br />
Chlorospermeae, and accompanied by a manuscript<br />
index card. Includes over 75 specimens, carefully<br />
mounted into a large album and captioned in<br />
manuscript with scientific names, as well as 48<br />
additional specimens mounted onto individual leafs<br />
placed within the same volume. (A scant few<br />
specimens, mostly on the individual leafs, were<br />
collected in Tenby, Wales, in 1853. One is captioned<br />
New Holland, the former name for Australia.) Folio.<br />
Purpose made volume, half burgundy morocco over<br />
brown marbled boards, "Sea-Weeds" titled in gilt to<br />
spine. Volume measures approximately 28 x 45 cm.<br />
Specimens vary greatly in size, the smallest measuring<br />
approximately 2 x 2 cm, and the largest spanning<br />
approximately 42 x 20 cm. Minor wear to boards,<br />
occasional creasing to album leafs, otherwise in very<br />
good condition, specimens retaining vivid colour and<br />
form, a noteworthy seaweed herbarium.<br />
A large volume houses this fine herbarium of over 100<br />
impressive marine species, large and small benthic<br />
macroalgae mostly growing in the English Channel, some<br />
having been discovered not long before, the lot skilfully<br />
harvested by a nineteenth century botanist who sometimes<br />
managed to extract even the root system intact.<br />
8
(HERBARIUM – MEDICINE)<br />
19th Century Herbarium<br />
Edible and Medicinal Interest<br />
Collected by a German Botanist<br />
US$1,250<br />
[Germany, circa 1870s] - Herbarium of 89 authentic<br />
botanical specimens, edible and medicinal, neatly<br />
mounted to individual leafs with small paper strips, most<br />
identified in manuscript captions in German and in Latin,<br />
some in fine calligraphy, some also with classification<br />
numbers, the lot contained in purpose made string-tied<br />
continental boards. Folio. Item measures approximately<br />
37 x 23 cm. Wear to extremities of boards, chips to a<br />
scant few leafs, otherwise in very good condition.<br />
Specimens are in excellent condition.<br />
Harvested by a meticulous German botanist and focusing<br />
largely on medicinal and herbaceous plants, this collection<br />
includes one nightshade, a purple orchid, the now<br />
endangered cornflower, and a specimen from the poppy<br />
family.<br />
A few examples of the specimens found in this 19th century<br />
herbarium:<br />
Fumara officinales - an herbaceous annual flowering plant in<br />
the poppy family, commonly known as fumitory, drug fumitory<br />
or earth smoke. It was traditionally thought to be good for the<br />
eyes, and to remove skin blemishes. In modern times,<br />
herbalists use it to treat skin diseases, and conjunctivitis, as<br />
well as to cleanse the kidneys.<br />
Centaurea cyanus, - "Kornblume" or Cornflower, which today<br />
is endangered in its native habitat owing to agricultural<br />
intensification with over-use of toxic herbicides. In herbalism, a<br />
decoction of cornflower is effective in treating conjunctivitis,<br />
and as a wash for tired eyes. They are often used as an<br />
ingredient in some tea blends and herbal teas, most famously<br />
in the Lady Grey blend of Twinings.<br />
Solanum nigrum - the non-poisonous European Black<br />
Nightshade. Parts of this plant can be toxic to livestock and<br />
humans. Nonetheless, ripe berries and cooked leaves of<br />
edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant<br />
parts are used as a traditional medicine. S. nigrum is a widely<br />
used plant in oriental medicine where it is considered to<br />
be antitumorigenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective,<br />
diuretic, and antipyretic.<br />
A nicely presented early herbarium.<br />
9
(PHOTOGRAPHY - DARWIN )<br />
Original Sepia Photographs<br />
Charles Darwin<br />
Thomas Huxley and John Tyndall<br />
With Lecture Reviews<br />
US$1,250<br />
[London, 1876] - Three (3) original small sepia<br />
photographs of English naturalist Charles Robert Darwin,<br />
biologist Thomas Henry Huxley, and physicist John<br />
Tyndall, with two (2) articles describing lectures held at<br />
the Royal Institute, these published in January and<br />
February 1876 as captioned by a contemporary hand.<br />
Photographs measure approximately 6 x 8.5 cm, upper<br />
corners trimmed for style, captioned in manuscript, and<br />
mounted together with clippings onto a cardstock leaf<br />
measuring 40 x 26 cm. Very good condition.<br />
A contemporary nineteenth century supporter of so-called<br />
radical scientific theories has preserved and displayed three<br />
photographs of remarkable scientists and spearheading<br />
evolutionists, Darwin, Huxley and Tyndall, along with reviews<br />
of two memorable lectures on controversial scientific subjects<br />
of the day. As these lectures were taking place and reviews<br />
published Darwin was working on nature's process of fertilizing<br />
plants. Interestingly, the first of these makes reference to the<br />
initial resistance to evolution by our traditionally creationist<br />
civilization, and marks the beginning of a shift of belief from<br />
creation to evolution, beginning with a "scant few" scientists.<br />
Very well written, the first newspaper article is titled "Professor<br />
Huxley at the Royal Institution" and describes a most exciting<br />
evening and stimulating lecture by Huxley, on the differences<br />
between animal and vegetable kingdoms. A manuscript<br />
pencil annotation on this account states its publishing date as<br />
Jan 9th 1876, only seven after Darwin published "Insectivorous<br />
Plants" which Huxley referred to in his lecture. Tyndall is<br />
mentioned among the notable men of science present.<br />
Darwin's "Insectivorous Plants" was published on 2 July 1875,<br />
selling faster and better than "Origin of Species". In the winter<br />
"The Various Contrivances by which Orchids are Fertilized by<br />
Insects" and "The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilization in the<br />
Vegetable Kingdom" were both published.<br />
10
(ARCHIVE – TRAVEL DIAIRES)<br />
BECKETT, Ernest<br />
MP of Whitby Grimthorpe Peerage<br />
Voyage Around the World<br />
Rome - Hong Kong - Yogyakarta - Honolulu<br />
US$1,250<br />
[Italy, England, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, America,<br />
1882-1902] - Archive of manuscript diaries, 8 volumes,<br />
penned by British peer and aristocrat Ernest William<br />
Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe (1856-1917), mostly<br />
written during his tenure as MP of Whitby, also at the<br />
time of his affair with Alice Keppel who would later<br />
become the favourite mistress of King Edward VII and<br />
who is mentioned in at least one of the journals. Content<br />
deals extensively with his travels around the world, the<br />
earliest volume also containing social observations and<br />
reflections, which reveals his character in the making.<br />
Includes a yearly diary for 1882, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896,<br />
1898, 1899, and 1902, respectively, with varying<br />
amounts of entries. Seven are small 8vo. leather bound<br />
volumes titled in gilt by the publisher, and measuring<br />
approximately 9 x 13,5 cm. The earliest is an 8vo. diary<br />
in green cloth boards, measuring approximately 13,5 x<br />
20,5 cm. Very minor age-toning to boards, otherwise all<br />
volumes are in very good condition.<br />
Eight years in the life of a widely travelled and wellconnected<br />
British banker and politician are offered up in the<br />
personal diaries of Baron Ernest William Beckett, which<br />
features innumerable important colonial names, travels to<br />
some of the world's most exotic and remote locations,<br />
confirmation of a romantic affair with a royal mistress, some<br />
parliamentary duties, and glimpses into an intermittent family<br />
life.<br />
The earliest and most detailed journal was penned in 1882,<br />
the Baron being twenty-five years of age. A most interesting<br />
read, with this diary we can see Beckett developing theories<br />
of what life ought to be, in terms of relationships and society.<br />
He learns about banking and politics through his father's work,<br />
and by attending political meetings. His passions include<br />
travel, theatre, literature, (including Ruskin, Byron, etc),<br />
socializing with upper class families, and learning Italian. He<br />
ascends Mount Vesuvius, and tours the Vatican, including the<br />
Sistine Chapel. This volume also contains excellent<br />
descriptions of Italy as he travels extensively, perhaps for the<br />
first time as an adult.<br />
11
(PHOTOGRAPHY – BRIDGE BUILDING - PAKISTAN)<br />
Original Photos of Bridge Building<br />
North-West Frontier - Khajuri Plains<br />
Annexation of Tribal Pakistan<br />
During Afridi Rebellion Era<br />
US$975<br />
[Khajuri Plains, North-West Frontier of British India, 1930-<br />
1931] - Archive of 115 original snapshot photographs of<br />
the North West Frontier operations of 1930-1931,<br />
specifically the construction of bridges, camps, and<br />
water supply systems, which would sustain British troops<br />
in the region, and facilitate punitive expeditions against<br />
offending Pashtun and Afridi tribe uprisings. Comprises<br />
113 gelatin silver print photographs mounted onto paper<br />
leaves, captioned in manuscript by an officer of the<br />
King George's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners who<br />
participated in construction and possibly in battle. With<br />
2 additional photographs attached but not mounted to<br />
front leaf, one of which has a very detailed caption to<br />
verso. Photographs vary in size, the smallest measuring<br />
approximately 5,5 x 8 cm, and the largest 14,5 x 8,5 cm,<br />
most being large size prints. The lot contained in a<br />
string-tied folio manila folder measuring approximately<br />
35 x 23 cm, and stamped to front with the emblem of the<br />
Royal Engineers. Creasing to leafs, otherwise in Very<br />
Good Condition, photographs remaining crisp and vivid.<br />
Provenance: From the Corps of Royal Engineers Library, as<br />
annotated to front.<br />
The National Army Museum holds a photograph album of the<br />
bridge under construction, and after completion, 1930-1931,<br />
compiled by C. G. S. Clarke, of the 1st King George's Own<br />
Bengal Sappers and Miners.<br />
Contemporary to the Afridi Rebellion and the Red Shirt<br />
Rebellion (1930-1931), the present volume of original<br />
photographs provides a rare visual chronicle of a notable<br />
undertaking by the Royal Engineers (RE), developing bridges<br />
and water supply in a geographically and politically hostile<br />
region then known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)<br />
of colonial British India, the objective being permanent<br />
occupation of the Khajuri Plain.<br />
12
(PHOTOGRAPHY – KHYBER PASS - PAKISTAN)<br />
Photo Album with Negatives<br />
North West Frontier<br />
British Ruled Pakistan<br />
US$1,975<br />
[Peshawar, Khyber Pass, North West Frontier Province<br />
[Pakistan], 1907-1916] - Album of snapshot photographs<br />
taken by an officer of the Indian Army, conceivably<br />
Major George Weston, surgeon for the Royal Army<br />
Medical Corps, who, at Dagshai, constructed the<br />
famous and fabled grave memorial to his wife Mary<br />
Rebecca Weston. Contains 163 vintage gelatin silver<br />
print photographs printed in postcard format, measuring<br />
approximately 12,5 x 7,5 cm, neatly ensconced behind<br />
window mounts, recto and verso onto 35 thick leaves.<br />
4to. album, illustrated green cloth boards, measuring<br />
approximately 35 x 20 x 5 cm. Album is wrapped in<br />
brown paper with mailing label addressed to Miss M.<br />
Dunford, 41 Victoria Road, in Frome, England. Together<br />
with 101 original film negatives, some of which are<br />
captioned and dated 1910, contained in a separate<br />
purpose-made 'Eastman Negative Album' with tissue<br />
sleeves for each one. Negatives album measures<br />
approximately 7,5 x 10,5 x 3 cm. Sage cloth titled<br />
boards with folding envelope style spine and snap<br />
closure. Most negatives measure approximately 14 x 9<br />
cm, a scant few varying slightly in size. Several<br />
photographs faded, although the original negatives<br />
facilitate reprinting, the lot otherwise in Very Good<br />
Condition.<br />
Uncommon pre-independence views of the northern reaches<br />
of present-day Pakistan, these original photographs and film<br />
negatives demonstrate the resolute efforts to maintain<br />
supremacy over the trade route region, and thus a great<br />
advantage for the British Empire.<br />
13
(MANUSCRIPT - US CIVIL WAR)<br />
PECKHAM, Private William C.<br />
US Civil War Eyewitness<br />
New Bern and Roanoke Island<br />
Union Army Field Journal<br />
Excellent Content<br />
US$2,950<br />
[North Carolina, Virginia, 1862] - Manuscript war diary of<br />
private William C. Peckham, of the 23rd Massachusetts<br />
Infantry Regiment, Union Army, containing daily entries<br />
written during the American Civil War as campaigns<br />
unfolded, featuring a firsthand account of the Battle of<br />
New Bern, the Battle of Roanoke Island, a description of<br />
Fort Monroe, and an eloquent oration read to an<br />
audience in 1863, describing the Battle of New Bern.<br />
8vo. 123 pages. Quarter calf over marbled boards,<br />
lacking spine, ink faint, otherwise very good condition,<br />
internally bright, an engaging firsthand account from the<br />
Civil War.<br />
In this rare surviving Civil War diary, the Battles of Newbern<br />
and Roanoke Island are recounted firsthand by a Union Army<br />
soldier, who further includes descriptions of Fort Monroe, the<br />
various war camps he stayed at, and a brief account of his<br />
return voyage to New York city. Entertaining and<br />
introspective, this discerning young man makes rational<br />
observations on the war and the antics of his comrades. Not<br />
surprisingly, after the war he would have a successful career<br />
as a college professor.<br />
An introduction provides the unique circumstances of<br />
Peckham's acquisition of the volume itself immediately<br />
following the Battle of New Bern, 14 March 1862, its first owner<br />
being a soldier of another regiment. He then recounts the<br />
arrival at New Berne on the evening of the 12th, wheeling<br />
guns and setting up artillery and camp on the 13th, African<br />
Americans rejoicing at their presence, abandoned<br />
Confederate barracks, and rebel actions. As well as jotting<br />
the daily events surrounding this historic campaign, Peckham<br />
composes an eloquent and moving monologue recounting<br />
the theatre of war on this day in North Carolina, which,<br />
according to an annotation, was read to an audience.<br />
The soldier's account of the Battle of Roanoke Island is<br />
especially lively and detailed, describing not only the<br />
engagement of fire between Confederate and Union armies,<br />
but also peripheral incidents such as a mass plundering of<br />
sweet potatoes from a farmer who had fled.<br />
14
(MANUSCRIPT – SLAVE TRADE – TOBAGO)<br />
Belmont Estate<br />
Two Plantations - St. George Parish<br />
Owned by a “Free Man of Colour”<br />
US$2,750<br />
[London, 10 July 1829] - Signed manuscript document<br />
being an annual return to record the increase and<br />
decrease of slaves, by births and deaths, in the year<br />
1827 at Belmont Estate, a sugar plantation in the parish<br />
of Saint George, Tobago, under the management and<br />
possibly the ownership of a Mr. McEwen Folio. 1 page<br />
manuscript text on one large double-leaf, laid<br />
watermark paper made by J. Green & Son and<br />
featuring a large fleur-de-lys emblem. Leaf measures<br />
approximately 48 x 33 cm. Clerical annotations to<br />
verso. Signed in the original 10 July 1829, by Thomas<br />
Amyot, the Registrar of Colonial Slaves in Great Britain.<br />
A scarce surviving illustration of the great fortune available to<br />
the "Free Man of Colour" in contrast to the enslaved man, this<br />
uncommon manuscript provides invaluable answers<br />
regarding the history of a sugar plantation estate in Tobago,<br />
an estate for which there seems to be little else for conclusive<br />
documentation.<br />
With two plantations operating under the same name on the<br />
island of Tobago, and most of the surviving records naming<br />
Belmont Estate being ambiguous as to its district, the present<br />
document differs, and is most instrumental in determining the<br />
accurate history of one of the plantations. This is a slave<br />
register for "Belmont Estate... in the Parish of St. George,"<br />
therefore representing the Belmont Estate, which was owned<br />
by a "Free Man of Colour" - Robert Crooks, later a civil servant<br />
and police inspector who resided and worked in that parish.<br />
This Belmont estate is situated near Hope and Mesopotamia<br />
in Hillsborough Bay.<br />
Fascinating details pertaining to this plantation estate can be<br />
found in the digital database of the University College of<br />
London, UCL Department of History 2016, titled "Legacies of<br />
British Slave-ownership."<br />
This primary source document provides and elucidates<br />
previously unknown ownership history, of the Belmont Estate<br />
in Hillsborough Bay, St. George Parish, Tobago, thereby<br />
completing the timeline between the original purchase of<br />
1765, and the recipient of the slave compensation awarded<br />
in 1836. Rare and unique!<br />
15
(ARCHIVE - CHINA)<br />
MULLEN, Dennis Joseph<br />
Complex Property Claim in Nanking<br />
Subject to Communist Extortion<br />
During Chinese Revolution<br />
With Large Survey Map on Silk<br />
US$975<br />
[China, 1947-1956] - Archive of papers pertaining to the<br />
Estate of Dennis Mullen, Deputy Postal Commissioner of<br />
Shanghai, Peking, Jiangxi, Henan, Anhui, Shanxi in the<br />
north, and other regions in China, during his forty-two<br />
year career as foreign staff, largely dealing with a title<br />
dispute over a property in Tung Chi Men near Nanking,<br />
attempts to prove rightful ownership, and the complex<br />
legalities surrounding the sale of the property and the<br />
transfer of funds to England. Documents and letters<br />
range in size. Some are in manuscript, some typed,<br />
some printed. Several are signed in the original.<br />
Occasional creasing, otherwise in very good condition.<br />
Maps measure approximately 40 x 29 cm, and are in<br />
very good condition.<br />
The present archive records an exhaustive process of<br />
complexity and confusion, tainted slightly with political<br />
corruption and unauthorized representation - not to mention<br />
the distraction of China's Civil War which was then underway -<br />
as a British judge attempts to claim his inherited property in<br />
Nanking and convey funds to England, with still no funds in<br />
hand after nine years.<br />
The restrictions and politics of Chinese Property Laws,<br />
especially in the case of foreigners, is well-illustrated in this,<br />
one man's personal archive, which features a manuscript<br />
map on silk made by a Chinese surveyor, a detailed land<br />
survey map in English, an original will and testament made in<br />
Ningpo in 1902, a probate engrossment to the will made in<br />
October 1946, the deceased's lengthy record of civil service<br />
throughout China, and numerous letters of correspondence<br />
disputing and defending the rightful ownership of a land title<br />
on the infamous Yantse Bund in Hsia Kwan, Nanking.<br />
16
(ARCHIVE - LAW - ETHIOPIA - WOMEN)<br />
MULLEN, Leonard & Agnes<br />
Document Archive of a<br />
High Court Judge and<br />
Female Founder of<br />
Abyssinia's First Law School<br />
US$475<br />
[Addis Ababa, Abyssinia (Ethiopia), 1948] - Archive of<br />
papers pertaining to the loss of two individuals of<br />
influence in Abyssinia's then recently restructured legal<br />
system, including the resignation of a British judge<br />
serving in Ethiopia's High Court, and the death of the<br />
female solicitor who founded the first law school for<br />
indigenous attorneys to receive proper legal<br />
qualifications, the latter two being Mr. and Mrs. Mullen, a<br />
husband and wife from Liverpool, each engaged by the<br />
Ethiopian Ministry of Justice. Includes the judge's travel<br />
passport with photograph, his Allied Force permit, an<br />
Ethiopian form of photographic identification, letters<br />
from the British Foreign Office and the Ethiopian Minister<br />
of Justice and others, an official stamped Ethiopian<br />
manuscript letter, together with a newspaper<br />
announcement and other papers addressing the<br />
solicitor's death, and the couple's original marriage<br />
certificate. Documents and letters range in size. Some<br />
are in manuscript, some typed, some printed. Several<br />
are signed in the original. Slight loss to the Ethiopian<br />
documents, some creasing, otherwise the lot in very<br />
good condition.<br />
Providing a glimpse into the judicial system of Ethiopia during<br />
the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I as he endeavoured to<br />
modernize Ethiopia, and also of the influence of English Law,<br />
these papers are from the personal archives of Ethiopia's High<br />
Court Judge, the Right Honorable Leonard Mullen, and his<br />
wife Agnes whom in her own right made a positive impact to<br />
the community by founding the very first law school in the<br />
country.<br />
17
(MANUSCRIPT DIARY – SCOTLAND)<br />
FAIRFAX, Joan<br />
Little-known Yorkshire Painter<br />
Bilbrough Manor in York<br />
Connected to Scottish Peerage<br />
Lords Fairfax of Cameron<br />
US$375<br />
[Bilbrough, York, London, 1901] - Manuscript journal of<br />
Joan Evelyn Jane Fairfax who was born into a<br />
baronetcy, and in 1899 married Guy Thomas Fairfax, a<br />
descendent of the Scottish Fairfax peerage and ancient<br />
English lineage. Text reveals a child that is not recorded<br />
on peerage websites, Joan's work as a painter, and the<br />
couple's preparations for their new home - the historic<br />
Bilbrough Manor built in 1902. Small 8vo. diary by T.J. &<br />
J. Smith of London, green leather boards, gilt edges,<br />
measuring 9,5 x 13,5 cm. Approximately, 228 pages of<br />
entries. Fading and wear to boards, otherwise in very<br />
good condition.<br />
This is the personal diary of Hon. Joan Evelyn Jane Fairfax<br />
(1880-1960, née Wilson), wife of Guy Thomas Fairfax, who is in<br />
the lineage of the Scottish Peerage Lords Fairfax of Cameron,<br />
a notable ancient Yorkshire family. Joan and Guy are also<br />
connected with the Bilbrough Manor near York, which they<br />
had built as their residence in 1902, on the site of the original<br />
manor built by Rear Admiral Robert Fairfax three centuries<br />
earlier.<br />
Little is known of the diarist apart from genealogical<br />
information, and what she divulges in the present journal,<br />
which reveals that she was an artist, and evidently had at<br />
least one child more than is commonly known.<br />
Blessed with the life of a peer, her pastimes include playing<br />
bridge and croquet, cycling, luncheons and tea with friends<br />
and associates, the opera, hopping the train to London for<br />
shopping, and caring for her baby of course. As was invogue<br />
in the early 1900s she is frequently hunting and<br />
shooting, a favourite British sport, which was gaining<br />
popularity among women at the time. As expected, the<br />
couple had affluent friends, several of whom are mentioned.<br />
The diary also reveals that Guy Fairfax was an avid<br />
shooter/hunter.<br />
18
(BROADSIDE – BULLFIGHTING – SPAIN)<br />
Bullfighting in Spain<br />
Unique Illustrated Broadside<br />
Early Custom of the Mounted Matador<br />
US$575<br />
[Seville, 1843] - Uncommon original broadside for two<br />
bullfights taking place at the Seville Plaza 16-17 April<br />
1843, with very detailed programme information and a<br />
beautiful steel cut engraving which illustrates the sport in<br />
its traditional form - the matador being mounted. Printed<br />
by De Velez Bracho. Text is in Spanish. Folio. Single leaf<br />
measuring approximately 28,5 x 39 cm. Mounting paper<br />
to left margin, unobtrusive to text, otherwise in very<br />
good condition, clean and bright.<br />
"Con el Correspondiente Permiso<br />
Se Egecutarán Dos Vistas de Toros<br />
en los tardes del Domingo 16 y Lunes 17 del presente mes de<br />
Abril<br />
La Plaza será mandada y presidida por la Autoridad<br />
competente"<br />
[With permission two bullfighting events will take place<br />
in the afternoons of Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th of<br />
April this year<br />
The Plaza will be directed and chaired by the competent<br />
authority]<br />
Especially interesting about this document is the woodcut<br />
illustration of a matador de toros (bullfighter) mounted on<br />
horseback while lancing his behemoth opponent. From<br />
ancient times to mid-nineteenth century, a bullfighter was<br />
mounted on a highly trained horse; while mounted he<br />
confronted and killed the bull. With skilled cape work, a man<br />
on foot aided the horseman in positioning the bull. The cape<br />
man, in his precarious proximity to the bull, began to draw<br />
more attention from the crowd however, and the modern<br />
style corrida de toros (running of bulls) subsequently took<br />
shape, the bullfighter being face to face at ground level with<br />
the raging bull.<br />
The two famous and accredited matadors are named,<br />
including D. Francisco Taviel de Andrade, who had been<br />
performing at the Seville bull ring since 1832 .<br />
A rare survivor of what once would have been an advertising<br />
pasted to a wall !<br />
19
(ARCHIVE - REVENUE STAMPS - PORTUGAL)<br />
Rare One-Off Archive<br />
Extremely Scarce Revenue Stamp Proofs<br />
Presentation Album for King Dom Luiz I<br />
Kingdom of Portugal - House of Braganza<br />
US$3,750<br />
[Lisbon, 1872] - A one-off presentation album of Portuguese<br />
duty / revenue stamps, featuring two very early examples<br />
from 1663 and 1667 respectively, and numerous proofs from<br />
the treasury, presented by the Directors of the National House<br />
of Minting and Paper Seals to King of Portugal Dom Luis I, with<br />
a printed dedication page, and a preliminary leaf featuring<br />
the royal heraldic shield. Contains 381 specimens, including<br />
impressed stamps, engraved stamps, a scant few in two-tone<br />
ink, tinted and illustrated printed stamps, beautifully preserved<br />
and mounted within a gilt border onto 36 numbered heavy<br />
cardstock leaves separated with tissue guard. With 2 page<br />
index at rear of the volume stating dates issued. All text is in<br />
Portuguese. Oblong 8vo. purpose made quality morrocco<br />
album, gilt tooled with the shield of a Portuguese monarch<br />
and ornate borders, 4 raised bands, satin endpapers, titled to<br />
spine "Album de Provas de Sello," measuring approximately<br />
35 x 22 x 3,5 cm. Stamps vary in size, the smallest measuring<br />
approximately 3 x 2,75 cm, and the largest 19 x 4 cm. Mild<br />
wear to boards and age-toning to satin, otherwise in Very<br />
Good, Original Condition, stamps in superb condition and<br />
retaining strong impression.<br />
Taxation history of Portugal from 1663 to 1872 is beautifully<br />
preserved in an album of exceedingly rare ephemeral duty<br />
stamps of a now obsolete currency, the volume originally<br />
presented to the King of Portugal, directly from the<br />
government house of mint and paper seals.<br />
A fine presentation made expressly for the king, a one-off<br />
volume, 381 unique stamps are systematically organized and<br />
dates of issue identified, including ink woodcuts, steel<br />
engravings, impressed stamps, and coloured printed varieties.<br />
Some these "imposto" or tax stamps were made specifically<br />
for the customs house "alfandegas." Only 2 examples are<br />
"imposto do sello licenças" and thus would apply a tax<br />
specifically for a license or permit document. Others bear text<br />
to indicate its very specific purpose, including 16 that read<br />
"causa pública junta dos juros" [public cause - joint interest],<br />
at least 6 that read "segurança publica" [public safety], and<br />
12 colour-tinted stamps that read "letra de câmbio" for a bill<br />
of exchange.<br />
20
(MANUSCRIPT – BURMA)<br />
Second Anglo-Burmese War<br />
Testimonial Signed by an American<br />
Missionary on Commodore Lambert's<br />
Action Against the King and Court of Ava<br />
Battle in Rangoon - Civilians Evacuated<br />
US$1,950<br />
[Port of Rangoon (Yangon), 12 January 1852] -<br />
Manuscript signed letter by American missionary<br />
Eugenio Kincaid, describing the event that started the<br />
Second Anglo-Burmese War, as it unfolded. 8vo., 4<br />
pages. Double leaf measuring approximately 19,5 x<br />
12,5 cm. Very good condition, a very rare firsthand<br />
contemporary account.<br />
Amidst the thick of it, Kincaid provides a vivid au-courant<br />
description of a fateful conflict where pride superseded<br />
reason, of an aloof and deceptive dynastic Burmese king<br />
and his menacing officers, of Commodore Lambert's wanton<br />
naval confrontation which ultimately led to the Second<br />
Anglo-Burmese War, and finally, of the chaotic exodus of<br />
Rangoon civilians.<br />
This letter to a colleague in New York, some ten weeks prior<br />
to the Second Anglo-Burmese War (5 April 1852 - 20 January<br />
1853), Kincaid's account was penned whilst seeking<br />
refuge onboard the HMS Duchess of Argyle, a British<br />
merchant ship, anchored at the mouth of the Rangoon River<br />
and at the time being used by his and others' families when<br />
the King of Ava, Pagan Min (1846-1852), threatened to<br />
destroy the city altogether.<br />
The King of Ava, Pagan Min (1846-1852) who had made<br />
claims of extortion against British merchants, and<br />
Commodore George Lambert (1796-1869), who effected a<br />
retaliatory port blockade at Rangoon, were the parties<br />
directly at odds in this confrontation, with Lord Dalhousie<br />
playing a significant role from India. The incident described<br />
herein is that which in fact caused the war to erupt.<br />
Primary Source material such as this is quite rare!<br />
21
(MANUSCRIPT – FIREARMS)<br />
BLAKE, William Edward, Inventor<br />
Rare Victorian Vellum Gun Patent<br />
Huge 6-Inch Double Sided Wax Seal<br />
Improvement in Firearms issued to<br />
New York City Inventor<br />
US$1,750<br />
[England, 25 July 1872] - Manuscript Victorian patent<br />
document on vellum, folded and docketed, a rare and<br />
excellent example of a patent of invention for guns,<br />
granted to William Edward Blake of New York City.<br />
Large printed document completed in manuscript and<br />
measuring approximately 76 x 51 cm, with original blue<br />
paper revenue stamp for five pounds, and a doublesided<br />
yellow wax seal measuring 16 cm (6.5 inches) in<br />
diameter. Small perforation at fold, age-toning to verso,<br />
otherwise in very good and original condition, a lovely<br />
and bright document, as issued, with a scarce large<br />
Victorian wax seal in its original round tin case.<br />
A round black tin container houses the massive double-sided<br />
yellow wax seal, diameter 16 cm (6.5 inches), attached to<br />
the document by original red plaited cords, one side being<br />
the Great Seal of the Realm, the other being Queen Victoria<br />
seated on a fully caparisoned royal horse. Diminutive fissures<br />
to sides of seal, otherwise in very good original condition, with<br />
vivid and crisp wax impression.<br />
The Commissioners of Patents' Journal, September 1872 issue,<br />
records this patent, no. 2224, being granted provisional<br />
protection for six months, as also stated in the document<br />
itself.<br />
Rare official patent document for an invention for<br />
"improvements in fire-arms" valid for fourteen years and issued<br />
to William Edward Blake, an inventor from New York<br />
City. Patent number 2224 was valid in the United Kingdom of<br />
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of<br />
Wight, with the condition that the specified stamp duty<br />
payments were remitted at the times specified, one hundred<br />
pounds being payable in the seventh year after the initial<br />
patent issue date, for example.<br />
A patent issued to an American for Firearms ! Rare.<br />
22
(MANUSCRIPT - ATLAS - MAPS)<br />
PONA, Julea<br />
During the European Revolutions of 1848<br />
Uncharted Alaska<br />
Historic Austrian Empire<br />
Obsolete Kingdoms<br />
US$750<br />
[France, 1848-1849] - Manuscript atlas, “Petit Atlas<br />
Géorgaphique”. Skilfully hand drawn and coloured by<br />
a young lady named Julea Pona, comprising 15 maps<br />
with manuscript border, an astrological diagram, an<br />
altitude chart of the world's highest mountains and<br />
notable rivers, and a manuscript title page. Text is in<br />
French. Signed to front endpaper by the author. 8vo. 34<br />
pages. Navy blue cloth boards. Tear to one leaf at<br />
bottom margin, otherwise in very good condition, a<br />
pleasing volume.<br />
Contemporary to the European Revolutions of 1848, the<br />
geographical content herein largely reflects European<br />
boundaries, which were established at the Congress of<br />
Vienna 1814-15 and the fall of Napoleon, while also<br />
highlighting territorial changes resulting from the then current<br />
Revolutions. With the Congress of Vienna, France lost all of its<br />
recent conquests, while Prussia, Austria and Russia made<br />
major territorial gains. The maps pre-date the construction of<br />
the Suez Canal (1859-1869), the charting of Alaska (began in<br />
1859), some highly significant polar explorations such as the<br />
discovery of the discovery of the Northwest Passage (1851),<br />
and the entire Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (ca. 1895-<br />
1917). The volume begins with a visual illustration of<br />
geographical terminology, an altitude chart of the world's<br />
highest mountains and notable rivers, as well as, most<br />
appropriate for the time, a detailed astrological chart.<br />
A lovely presentation, the amateur geographer's work also<br />
illustrates what was known and what was yet unknown of the<br />
world some 165 years ago.<br />
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the<br />
Spring of Nations, People's Spring, Springtime of the Peoples,<br />
or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals<br />
throughout Europe in 1848, largely Republican revolts against<br />
European monarchies. Beginning in Sicily, and spreading to<br />
France, Germany, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, they all<br />
ended in failure and repression. It remains the most<br />
widespread revolutionary wave in European history.<br />
23
(MANUSCRIPT - TRADE)<br />
MEYER & MORTIMER LTD.<br />
Original Tailor's Ledger<br />
Uniform Details and Fittings<br />
Dressing Royal Forces and Foreign Diplomats<br />
Large Photographs of Uniformed Models<br />
US$575<br />
[London, 1930s] - Original ledger of Meyer & Mortimer<br />
Ltd. Tailors and Military Outfitters, whilst business was still<br />
conducted from the first established office of 36 Conduit<br />
Street, featuring excellent tailoring and fitting details for<br />
elite regiments of the British Forces, gentlemen in<br />
foreign diplomatic service, Scotland's Royal Company<br />
of Archers. The Ledger includes much detail of<br />
customer orders and prices charged. Together with a<br />
large photograph of a male model demonstrating the<br />
uniform of a colonial administrator. Together with an<br />
engraved sketch of an officer of the 60th Rifle Brigade in<br />
the uniform worn during the Crimean War and evidently<br />
made by the firm, accompanying a typed letter,<br />
addressed to Mr. Frank Lovett, long-time expert fitter of<br />
British Army brigade uniforms, from B. Grahame Craig,<br />
editor of Style Magazine based at Drury House in<br />
London. Royal Quarto burgundy cloth binding by H. J.<br />
Ryman of London, with alphabetized index tabs,<br />
measuring approximately 33 x 25 x 3,5 cm.<br />
Approximately 55 pages of entries, on wove<br />
watermarked leafs, with impeccable tailoring details,<br />
including typescript specifications, manuscript invoice<br />
calculations. Wear to boards, otherwise in very good<br />
condition, a unique and informative volume.<br />
Frank Lovett spent 58 years fitting bespoke (custom-made)<br />
uniforms for the British Army Brigade of Guards at the firm of<br />
Meyer & Mortimer, retiring in 1986.<br />
Uniforms represented here, and thus the many great men<br />
who served the British Empire, in war and in civil duty, include<br />
the Scots Guards, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards,<br />
Scots Guards, Highland Regiments, Gordon Highlanders,<br />
Blackwatch Highlanders, Cameron Highlanders, the Seaforth<br />
Highlanders, the Dorset Regiment, a 1938-1939 Royal Air<br />
Force Flight Lieutenant, Pilot Officer, a brigadier's full dress,<br />
service dress, mess kit, and more.<br />
A fascinating volume !<br />
24
(MANUSCRIPT – TEXTILES – TRADE)<br />
ARNOLD, Ludwig<br />
Dye Recipes<br />
Rare Organically Dyed Samples<br />
Natural Textile Tinting Before Synthetics<br />
US$975<br />
[Germany, 1836-1838] - Two manuscript journals of<br />
recipes and instructions for dyeing textiles by organic<br />
means, featuring tipped-in coloured thread and yarn<br />
swatches, compiled by a German cloth dyer named<br />
Ludwig Arnold, during the European Industrial<br />
Revolution. 2 vols. 8vo. Approximately 160 pages<br />
combined, one of the volumes with author's signature to<br />
front endpaper. Additional miscellaneous notes loosely<br />
placed within the volumes; all text is in German. Small<br />
8vo. Manuscript labels to front of both volumes. Wear to<br />
boards, otherwise in very good condition.<br />
Featuring 11 unique coloured thread samples tipped into the<br />
1838 volume, the pre-synthetic treatment of cotton and other<br />
natural fibres is very specifically unveiled in this volume. At the<br />
time of its making, these journals would have been carefully<br />
guarded from others in the highly competitive market. With<br />
numerous recipes and profuse annotations, the 19th century<br />
cloth dyer, or textile colorist, has recipes for dyeing soft and<br />
vibrant colours, the latter coming more into vogue during this<br />
period. Recipes include royal blue, various shades of green<br />
and even white, possibly to brighten natural cotton. Samples<br />
include three unique shades of green, which was popular at<br />
the time, blue, amber, reddish browns, and most advanced<br />
for the period - a peach or flesh hew and a mauve. The writer<br />
seems to have travelled on the continent for his profession,<br />
Regensburg and Leiden, appearing in his notes.<br />
Prior to 1856, all textile dyes were derived from natural<br />
sources such as plants, insects, and minerals. Principal<br />
organic dyes were indigo blue, made from plants, kermes<br />
derived from dried insect bodies, madder which was also red<br />
but made from vegetables, brown made with walnut roots<br />
and shells, yellow made from willow trees and such.<br />
A unique glimpse into continental textile dyeing in the early<br />
1800's!<br />
25
(MANUSCRIPT – TRADE)<br />
Notebook of a German Glazier<br />
Traditional Blown Glass Windows<br />
US$375<br />
[Germany, 1832-1896] - Glazier's manuscript notebook,<br />
with information pertaining to his profession fitting glass<br />
into windows, and possibly some on the making or<br />
coloring of glass, as well as jottings of personal<br />
importance such as family events and some recipes.<br />
Approximately 77 pages in manuscript, on<br />
watermarked leafs, and featuring one burgundy colour<br />
sample pasted within. Text is in German, a scant few<br />
entries made in a different hand. Small 8vo. Quarter<br />
calf over brown marbled boards. Wear to boards,<br />
otherwise in very good condition.<br />
This irregular volume offers a glimpse into the life and trade of<br />
a 19th century glazier, of either German or Bohemian decent,<br />
and warrants further delving into. The entries span more than<br />
60 years, suggesting that the writer was a reputable glass<br />
craftsman, active in the trade from the start of the stained<br />
glass revival era sweeping Western Europe, to the early<br />
stages of industrial manufacturing of glass. Understandably,<br />
little to no entries were made during the European Revolution<br />
of 1848-49.<br />
At the time of this man's work, German glass was of high<br />
repute, glass of various forms and mirrors being exported as<br />
far as America by the 1830s. In the mid-1800s, German<br />
craftsmen were making captivating and superlative pictorial<br />
style windows, such that caught the attention of British lawyer<br />
Charles Winston, who wrote a book on the subject and<br />
encouraged his countrymen to produce similar works. Glass<br />
produced in Germany in the late 19th century was<br />
characterized with especially intricate and fluid designs.<br />
Master craftsmen rarely duplicated their patterns. Superior<br />
workmanship, even in the making of round pieces of polished<br />
glass for jewellery, is the hallmark of the era.<br />
After 1890, the development and manufacture of glass<br />
evolved through advancing technologies, and uses for it<br />
increased rapidly. Technology for mass production began in<br />
the latter stages of the Industrial Revolution.<br />
26
(MANUSCRIPT – TOBACCO)<br />
Italian Monasteries<br />
Rare Primary Source Documents<br />
Monasteries Engaged in Tobacco<br />
Cultivation & in Trade of “Holy Grass”<br />
Accusations of Fraud<br />
US$5,000<br />
[Palermo, Sicily, Naples, 1752-1777] - Archive of 47<br />
manuscript documents, pertaining to production and<br />
trade of tobacco, sometimes herein referred to as "holy<br />
grass" in which are revealed specific practices and<br />
regulations including contraband, cultivation<br />
undertaken by monasteries, leases, and disputes. Mostly<br />
penned in 1776-1777, text in Latin, Italian or Spanish,<br />
approximately 190 pages combined, written in various<br />
neat 18th century clerical hands. Laid paper, some with<br />
exquisite watermarks, some with paper seals, one with<br />
original silk band. A contemporary keeper of the<br />
documents, possibly a government clerk, numbered the<br />
first 40 in manuscript. Documents range in pagination<br />
and in size, the smallest measuring approximately 24 x<br />
17 cm, and the largest approximately 37,5 x 24,5 cm.<br />
Contained in a recent, purpose-made clamshell box,<br />
blue cloth boards, label to spine, measuring 26 x 39 x 5<br />
cm. The lot in very good condition, a unique and<br />
valuable primary source.<br />
An important primary source for the history of the production<br />
and trade of tobacco in Europe, this is an exceptionally<br />
informative archive comprising 44 documents on the<br />
practices, disputes and regulations for the cultivation of<br />
tobacco. Several documents bear the original signature of<br />
officials in charge of tendering and approving contracts, and<br />
of senior members of monasteries in Palermo, Cefalù,<br />
Alcamo, Trapani and other parts of Sicily.<br />
Herein, we find witnesses’ testimonies confirming the scale<br />
and extent of the practice, formal accusations of abuse and<br />
fraud, and statements regarding the "overflowing quantities<br />
of said Grass". The picture, which emerges is that of a thriving<br />
economy with plenty of interests touching individual friars and<br />
Franciscan monasteries as a whole, several categories of<br />
traders, and ultimately the Kingdom in its capacity to levy tax,<br />
grant and administer privileges and dispense rights. Rare!<br />
27
(ARCHIVE - BOLSHEVISM - RUSSIAN REVOLUTION)<br />
BECKETT, Ralph W.E. - 3 rd Baron Grimthorpe<br />
British Noble Connected to Russian<br />
Revolutionaries<br />
Letters - Photographs - Personalia<br />
US$1,750<br />
[Italy, Russia, France, 1914-1917] - Archive of British peer<br />
Ralph William Ernest Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe, at<br />
the time serving in France as an officer of the Yorkshire<br />
Hussars, comprising 30 manuscript letters, 3 postcards,<br />
several receipts, 1 expense journal, and 5 photographs.<br />
Letters are all addressed to Beckett and penned by<br />
various family and friends, several from his wife, largely<br />
pertaining to the First World War and his father's exquisite<br />
estate in Italy, and features one letter with excellent<br />
content of his sister's Russian connections and<br />
participation in the Revolution. Most letters are<br />
accompanied by the original covers, most are 8vo.<br />
double-leafs. A large portrait photograph of Beckett<br />
taken circa 1914, shows him in formal Yorkshire Hussars<br />
uniform, the photo measuring 13,5 x 19,5 cm and<br />
mounted on thick cardstock. Also including two original<br />
photographs of Russian Prince and painter Pierre<br />
Troubetzkoy (1864-1936), who was in London in 1914<br />
and who was most certainly affiliated with Ralph's sister<br />
the revolutionary enthusiast. The lot in very good<br />
condition.<br />
Letters from his sister Lucille prove to be especially interesting<br />
as she was quite preoccupied with Russia and most<br />
enthusiastic to work alongside her Revolutionary Russian<br />
friends. In 1917 she was "in the know" of secret plans being<br />
conjured by radical youths; she was actively involved in<br />
promoting a propaganda magazine in Italy; she was<br />
invigorated by the revolutionary campaigns and envisioned<br />
her future in Russia endorsing change.<br />
Sir Winston Churchill was a guest at the Beckett's Italian<br />
villa and provided some good information regarding Italian<br />
law when Ralph inherited the historic property from his father,<br />
the latter being mentioned in a letter from Ralph's wife in<br />
1917.<br />
Excellent content and a treasure trove for research !<br />
28
(MANUSCRIPT - BOLSHEVISM - RUSSIAN REVOLUTION)<br />
RUFFO-SASSO, Elisabetta Grand Duchess of Russia<br />
Bolshevik Terror during Russian Revolution<br />
From the Archives of Russian Nobles<br />
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna<br />
Grand Duchess Elisabetta Ruffo-Sasso<br />
Romanov Imperial Family in Exile<br />
US$2,950<br />
Koreiz, Odessa, Biarritz, 1916-1919. Manuscript day<br />
journal from the personal archive of a Russian noble and<br />
refugee Elisabetta Ruffo-Sasso (1886-1940), Grand<br />
Duchess of Russia, featuring a disturbing and graphic<br />
peasant's firsthand account of Bolshevik regime terror<br />
inflicted upon common folk in Ukraine, recounted to the<br />
writer who was herself fleeing from Russia to live in exile.<br />
Entries showing a connection to Scandinavia, as well as<br />
the specific period described for the peasant's account<br />
which correlates directly with her escape route from<br />
Saint Petersburg, and the timing of the journey to<br />
France, reveal that the volume is in fact that of Grand<br />
Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890-1958).<br />
Containing poems, contemplations, recipes, inscriptions<br />
made by others, text is mostly in Russian, with some in<br />
French and English. 8vo. Approximately 31 pages<br />
written in English pertain to the 1918 peasant's account<br />
of Bolshevik torture and murder in Odessa, and 9 pages<br />
written in Russian pertain to the 1919 journey to Biarritz.<br />
Black leather boards, a scant few leaves loose at hinge,<br />
otherwise in very good condition, a most interesting<br />
volume warranting further investigation.<br />
Provenance: From the estate archives of Elisabetta<br />
Fabrizievna Ruffo (1886-1940), Grand Duchess of Russia, and<br />
wife of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (1897-1981) who<br />
is second cousin to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia<br />
(1890-1958), both being great-grandchildren of Emperor<br />
Nicholas I (1796-1855). The archive was held by the family of<br />
Elisabetta's daughter from her first marriage (Elisabeth<br />
Alexandrovna Friderici) and surfaced in 2015. The collection,<br />
which surfaced in October 2015, contained numerous family<br />
letters, photographs, journals, writings or articles by herself<br />
and/or the Prince, her mother's watercolour art, and a few<br />
items from other family members.<br />
29
Most importantly however, is the eyewitness record of<br />
Bolshevik terror in Odessa, by a young lady whose family was<br />
grotesquely victimized. To escape Bolshevik wrath, which had<br />
recently claimed the lives of many of the 'Romanov' line of<br />
family members, Duchess Maria, left Tsarkoie Selo near Saint<br />
Petersburg in July 1918, with her second husband Prince<br />
Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin. They travelled by way of Orsha,<br />
Kiev, Odessa, and Kishinev, finally arriving in Bucharest in<br />
January 1919. While staying at the prestigious Hotel London<br />
[now the Bristol Hotel] built in 1899, in Odessa in November<br />
1918, shortly after the German army had evacuated to<br />
Bolsheviks from the city, Maria spoke with a hotel servant girl<br />
named Niouscha who described violence and killing by the<br />
revolutionaries, and the loss of her family at their merciless<br />
hands. The account is 31 pages in length, with segments<br />
crossed out and edited, as if considered for publication.<br />
".. don't mention those bloodthirsty murderers - they have<br />
reduced my father to poverty, they have killed my brother for<br />
not enlisting in the Red Army and they have taken the man I<br />
loved away from me by making him a brute such as they<br />
themselves...."<br />
"... came the sudden news of the revolution, of our czar<br />
having been dethroned... bloodshed going on in the<br />
capital."<br />
"... I got a letter from my father saying that my brother had<br />
been killed and the mill burned down with all the flour in it...<br />
called my father names ..... saying that he was part of the old<br />
regime and that he will have to certainly pay the price for<br />
it..."<br />
"... calling him a contra-bolshevik and his son a deserter,<br />
pulled them out of the house and tied my mother and father<br />
together and they burned my brother... After that they set fire<br />
to the house and mill and left my father and mother together<br />
helpless seeing their son and all their fortune burned....<br />
This manuscript volume, which has been safe-guarded for<br />
100 years, represents the displacement of the distinguished<br />
Russian Imperial family during the Revolution, and reveals<br />
specific Bolshevist terrorist acts inflicted upon innocent<br />
civilians in the Ukraine - No person being exempt to the<br />
extremists unrelenting appetite for totalitarianism, neither<br />
royalty nor commoner!<br />
30
(MANUSCRIPT – PRIVATEERING – JAMAICA)<br />
Mistaken Act of Piracy During<br />
Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins Ear<br />
Neutral French Ship and Cocoa Cargo<br />
Plundered by British Man-of-War<br />
US$4,750<br />
[St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town), Jamaica, 16<br />
January 1755] - Substantial manuscript court document<br />
prepared for a trial held at the Jamaican High Court of<br />
Chancery concerning a French ship named Santa Rosa<br />
and the profits from the sale of her cargo of cocoa. The<br />
Santa Rosa was erroneously mistaken for a Spanish<br />
enemy vessel in 1742 during the War of Jenkins' Ear,<br />
captured by British Commander John Draper and his<br />
schooner HMS Adventure, confiscated and sold by<br />
British authorities. Herein the French are laying claim for<br />
due compensation of their financial losses. Signed in<br />
the original by Jamaica's Governor Charles Knowles,<br />
and by Robert Pringle, a plantation owner serving as<br />
court registrar.<br />
Complete with an extremely scarce large wax seal,<br />
being the double-sided Great Seal of Jamaica from the<br />
time of George II, the last Hanoverian British Monarch<br />
born outside of Britain. Seal measures approximately 10<br />
cm in diameter. The document contains 57 pages in a<br />
fine hand, string-tied in simple paper wrappers. Folio,<br />
laid paper, measuring approximately 27 x 23 cm,<br />
watermarked with initials CR and a crest with powder<br />
horn. Chips and spotting to leafs, loss to lower half of<br />
wax seal, otherwise in very good condition, a very rare<br />
survivor of eighteenth century West Indies privateering.<br />
A miscalculated incident of piracy and its consequences are<br />
transcribed by the High Court of Jamaica in these original<br />
eighteenth century manuscript trial documents, together with<br />
the exceedingly scarce original Great Seal of Jamaica that<br />
was appended to the document by Governor Knowles.<br />
This document was prepared by Scottish plantation owner<br />
Robert Pringle, whose signature and seal are present, and<br />
who was appointed Registrar of the High Court of Jamaica<br />
by Royal Navy Admiral and Governor of Jamaica Sir Charles<br />
Knowles (1704-1777) who endorses and signs the same.<br />
31
In this ongoing case, the Kingdom of France, a neutral party<br />
not involved in the war between Spain and England, sought<br />
redress for the confiscation and disposal of one of their West<br />
Indies trade vessels and valuable cargo, from the British<br />
Admiralty who captured and condemned the ship believing<br />
it to be from Spain.<br />
“<br />
Seemingly not recorded elsewhere, this scenario illustrates just<br />
how fervidly the colonial trading nations protected their sea<br />
trade routes. The French vessel, La Santa Rosa; was captured<br />
by the British in 1742, at the height of the War of Jenkins' Ear,<br />
a conflict between Britain and Spain for trading opportunities<br />
in the Caribbean. When war broke out in 1739, both Britain<br />
and Spain expected that France would join the war on the<br />
Spanish side. There was heavy privateering on both sides,<br />
hundreds of vessels being captured with the Spanish convoys<br />
proving almost unstoppable. It stands to reason that when a<br />
vessel was captured, the prize was immediately sold for profit,<br />
which presumably funded the war.<br />
This manuscript begins by recording the previous claims<br />
made in St. Jago de la Vega [Spanish Town] at the British<br />
Court of Admiralty, from 1751 to 1754, including the initial "Bill"<br />
or charges filed, followed by several answers by both plaintiff<br />
and defendant, and a verdict for payment to the French.<br />
Interesting to note, the nine-year delay from the time of the<br />
ship's capture (1742) to the initial claim (1751) shows how<br />
long it took for overseas communication, and therefore how<br />
long it could take to solve such a question as a missing vessel.<br />
A rare document with an interesting Provenance, and little to<br />
no information to be found in any of the major institutional<br />
holdings!<br />
Provenance:<br />
Phillipps MSS Collection Item No. 36094 (uncatalogued)<br />
32
(MANUSCRIPT – TIMBER TRADE – BOSNIA)<br />
LASLETT, Thomas<br />
Unpublished Manuscript Journal<br />
Search for Shipbuilding Timber<br />
for Royal Navy during Balkan Civil War<br />
US$1,750<br />
[Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1860-1861] - Unpublished<br />
manuscript fair journal of an expedition to Bosnia and<br />
Herzegovina in 1860, with a brief tour to Albania in<br />
January 1861, by Thomas Laslett, a leading timber<br />
purveyor for the Royal Navy's Admiralty, seeking a<br />
further supply of oak for building large frigates and<br />
wooden battleships. Penned in 1881 "in a readable<br />
form" after retiring from active service, and drawing from<br />
this original journal. 8vo. 179 pages in manuscript, plus 3<br />
single page preface signed by the author. Volume<br />
measures 18 x 22 cm. Boards marked by other papers,<br />
otherwise volume in very good condition, internally<br />
bright, a fascinating account of the 19th century timber<br />
trade entering Turkey.<br />
Pressed for prolific supplies of timber for shipbuilding to<br />
maintain naval supremacy, and ultimately commercial<br />
advantage over competing nations, the Royal Navy<br />
dispatched their leading purveyor/inspector into an unsettled<br />
nation of civil turmoil - to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the<br />
Serbian insurrection, which had been ongoing since 1852.<br />
With notable diplomatic contacts to assist and influence his<br />
mission, and surely with handsome recompense, Laslett<br />
agrees to undertake the task of locating, inspecting, and<br />
securing untapped sources of high quality timber, therefore<br />
venturing into the unsettled and remote wilds of the Balkan<br />
Peninsula, where thieves and anarchists thrived. The instability<br />
of the nation, coupled with the challenges of travelling where<br />
foreigners are scarcely seen, results in a riveting travellogue,<br />
far more so than a survey report. Most often sleeping in the<br />
rudimentary Turkish inn of sorts, known as khan or a<br />
caravanserai, Laslett and his party frequently sleep in<br />
intervals, each rotating as a watchman due to the high<br />
numbers of vandals lurking about. Fascinating!<br />
33
“To a man who deals with history, letters contemporary with the<br />
events he is studying are frequently valuable material. Accounts<br />
written later are usually coloured by the knowledge of what<br />
actually happened and are distorted by later prejudices and<br />
legends. Wartime letters may be distorted too, admittedly,<br />
through the necessity of obeying wartime censorship regulations,<br />
and also because husbands and wives often wished to appear<br />
more cheerful than they actually were. But even the letters that<br />
are distorted badly convey an atmosphere, a mood, that is hard to<br />
recapture otherwise, and which is important when reconstructing<br />
a period; and sometimes they at least give clues that lead to the<br />
unearthing of forgotten facts.”<br />
C.S. Forester - The Man in the Yellow Raft<br />
4927 Edendale Court . West Vancouver, BC . Canada . V7W 3H7<br />
Tel: 1.604.720.2000 . E-mail: info@voyager-press.com<br />
Cataloguer: Linda Montpetit<br />
Production: Cathy Marumoto<br />
© 2016