little opportunity of saying anything about the varying prices of the
A.L.S. of American Presidents, or of the rise in value of the letters
of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant. I note, however, that a letter
of E. A. Poe has more than trebled in value since Mr. Haber acquired
it. Letters of Longfellow are still in demand, but those of O. W.
Holmes are somewhat at a discount and were not largely represented in
the Haber Sale, at which a fine specimen of Benjamin Jowett went for
4s. A 4-pp. letter of Mr. Thomas Hardy was sold for £1 19s., but a 1-p.
8vo of Rudyard Kipling brought £3 8s.! A verse by Mr. Andrew Lang, to
which his signature was appended, went for £1 4s. It was entitled "The
Optimism of an Undertaker," and ran:--
Ah, why drag on unhappy days
(This rede the undertaker says),
Misguided race of men!
Who handsomely interred might be
By Mr. Silas Mould (that's me)
For only three pound ten.
Twelve lines by Alexander Pope excited keen competition, and were sold
eventually for £29. It is evident that, in spite of the set back of
two years ago which brought a good many autographs back to England,
the American market is still higher than any other, and there is
every chance of its continuing so. On April 25, 1910, Mr. Frank Sabin
paid £8,650 at Sotheby's for the voluminous correspondence, chiefly
addressed to W. Blathwayt, Secretary of State and Commissioner for
Trade and Plantations, relative to the American Colonies, during the
last quarter of the seventeenth century. William Blathwayt (1649-1717)
served his political apprenticeship under Sir W. Temple, subsequently
filling the posts of Secretary at War (1683), Secretary of State to
William III. during the campaign in Flanders, Commissioner for Trade
and Plantations and Clerk of the Privy Council. Some years ago a parcel
of Blathwayt's own letters, which I used in extra-illustrating the
"Account of William III.'s Achievements at the Siege of Namur," cost
me 20s. Another interesting lot at the sale of April 25th consisted
of thirteen MS. and thirty-five early printed maps. This went to Mr.
Quaritch for £690--a price solely attributable to its unique American
interest.
[Illustration: EARLY WRITING OF THE LATE KING EDWARD VII., CIRCA 1850.
(By permission of Messrs. Harper Bros.)]
FOOTNOTES:
[66] See my article in _The Country Home_, March, 1910.
[67] See _post_, Chapter XII.
[68] Since 1896 Dr. T. A. Emmet has formed a second collection of
little less importance than the one now alluded to.
[69] Mr. T. Cuyler hopes some day to publish a "Visitation of the
Signers" which will comprise a complete transcript of all the principal
letters and documents collected under this head. The value and interest
of such a work will be of manifold importance. He has already made a
beginning.
[70] See _post_, p. 328.
[71] The original is now in the Emmet Collection, New York Public
Library.
[72] André's journals are now in the magnificent collection of Mr.
Bexby, of St. Louis.
[73] Cost is for letter only; sale price includes book.
XII
THE
PRICES OF
AUTOGRAPHS
AND THEIR
VARIATIONS
CHAPTER XII
THE PRICES OF AUTOGRAPHS AND THEIR
VARIATIONS
=William Upcott and his contemporaries--Sale prices 1810-1910=
Letters are the soul of trade.--JAMES HOWELL (1595-1666).
William Upcott, the conscript father of modern autograph-collecting,
was born in 1770, and lived until 1845. He was the natural son of the
painter Ozias Humphry, the maiden-name of whose mother he assumed. His
own mother was Dolly Wickens, the daughter of an Oxford tradesman. From
his father he inherited a taste for antiques of every description, as
well as a valuable collection of miniatures, pictures, and engravings.
The life-story of Upcott is told with unusual detail in the "Dictionary
of National Biography."[74] While acting as an assistant to the
well-known booksellers, Evans of Pall Mall and Wright of Piccadilly,
he attracted the attention of Dean Ireland and other _literati_. He
was appointed Assistant-Secretary to Porson at the London Institution
in 1806, and on his death continued to occupy the same post under
Maltby. Mr. H. R. Tedder tells us that "every inch of the walls in
his rooms, whether at the London Institution or in his subsequent
residence, was covered with paintings, drawings, and prints, most
of them by Gainsborough or Humphry, while all the drawers, shelves,
boxes, and cupboards were crammed with his [autograph] collections."
Upcott spent the evening of his useful life at 102, Upper Street,
Islington, naming his house "Autograph Cottage." In 1836 he published
privately a catalogue of his MSS. One of his greatest finds (and they
may be counted by scores) was the discovery of the MS. of Chatterton's
"Amphitryon" (now in the British Museum) in a cheesemonger's shop.
He never married. There is a capital portrait of Upcott engraved in
March, 1818, by T. Bragg, after a drawing by W. Behnes. My copy of it
is inscribed in minute but peculiarly clear handwriting, "Presented to
his much esteemed Friend and fellow-traveller Mrs. Robert Nasmyth of
Edinburgh. William Upcott," London Institution, August 26, 1833. By his
side is a cabinet of medals; in his hands a volume of "Topography," and
on the table a deed on which one at once recognises the sign-manual of
Queen Elizabeth.
It is impossible to over-estimate the value of the work done by Upcott
in providing sources of reliable information for future generations of
historians. In my own collection is the following interesting letter of
this collector, written nine years before his death:--
AUTOGRAPH COTTAGE, UPPER ST, ISLINGTON
_Sep 19 1836_
DEAR SIR,--When you favoured me with a visit to take a hasty
glance at my collection of autographs I was much pleased to
find that you were gratified by the inspection. I expressed a
wish, which I still entertain, that this collection--a labour
of more than 25 years--should be placed in the hands of those
who could appreciate its value either in a Public Library, or
with a private individual of acknowledged taste.
At present, it remains in the same state as when you saw it,
nor am I desirous to accede to its removal from my shelves
until you shall again repeat your visit, agreeably to your
promise.
When may I expect that gratification? Should you deem the mass,
as particularized in my printed catalogue, too voluminous to
purchase, what say you with possession of the 13 volumes in
folio _not_ noticed in my catalogue containing 2078 Autographs
including Letters and illustrated with 1000 portraits with
Short Biographical notices, subjoined, written by myself and
bound by Herring in morocco with leather joints. Their contents
comprise Sovereigns, Statesmen, Divines, Lawyers, Noble and
Military Officers, Medical men, Authors, Men of Science,
Artists, Actors, Musicians, Foreigners and celebrated Women
with property; printed Title pages and Indexes.
All the Autographs are mounted on tinted drawing paper and
those who have examined the drawings pronounce them to be
altogether unique. The collecting and writing of the Memoirs
cost me 3 years' labour. When my friend Dawson Turner inspected
them in 1830 he furnished me with his opinion of its merits of
which the following is a copy:--
MY DEAR UPCOTT,--You asked me as to the value of the 13
volumes of Autographs and I should be glad that, if you are
disposed to sell them, I might be allowed to place a price
upon them for I have often examined them as you know very
carefully, and now think that nobody is much better able
than myself to esteem property of this description. Pass on
a few short years and these volumes will be one of the best
Biographical Records in existence.
Considered in the four-fold character which they derive
from the interest of the individuals they contain, the
beauty of the portraits the care you have taken in
illustrating the history of the parties and the exquisite
beauty and taste with which they are put together:--I
certainly know no series of the kind equally desirable, and
I regard the whole as unquestionably unique. Such is my
idea of their merit, and their price I should say should be
_at least seven hundred pounds_.
I am a single man, without a relation possessing a
corresponding feeling with myself. My earnest desire therefore
is to see all my articles of vertu as well as Pictures,
Drawings, Autographs, and curiously Illustrated Books, pass
from me to other hands who can appreciate their works,
_without_ the notoriety of a public sale. My friend Turner's
valuation of the 13 volumes just alluded to has, I find, been
backed by the opinion of other collectors, yet if you should
entertain the idea of possessing them _I will part with them
for 500 Guineas_.
An early answer, stating when I shall be likely to see you will
be esteemed a favour, as my intention is to go to Paris for a
short time about the end of the month.
Believe me to remain, dear Sir,
Your ever faithful servant,
WILLIAM UPCOTT.
P.S.--Did you mention to your friend my small collection of
Original Pictures? You kindly told me you would favour me with
his company. My best compliments were on Mr. Lomax and Mr.
Bentley, your travelling companions.
It was to his brother autograph collector, Mr. Dawson Turner, of
Yarmouth, that Upcott dedicated in 1818 his standard work on the
literature of English topography. Mr. Greaves, of Isham Hall,
Manchester, apparently missed the chance of a lifetime. He might have
acquired for £500 what would be now worth £15,000 or even £20,000.
In 1846 Upcott's _rariora_ were sold by Sotheby at Evans's
auction-rooms, 106, New Bond Street, and realised £4,125 17s. 6d., and
that at a time when the science of autographs was in its infancy. In
the "Dictionary of National Biography" reference is made to the large
paper copy of the Upcott catalogue now in the British Museum as once
belonging to Dawson Turner. Numerous purchases were made for the
national collection, which now form the series known as additional
MSS. 15841 to 15957. Amongst these 116 volumes are the papers of John
Nicholas, the papers of Brown and Evelyn, Burton's diary, Curtius's
letters, the Dayrolles correspondence, the letters addressed to Sir
Christopher Hatton, Shenstone's poem, the "Snuff-Box," and many other
items of extraordinary interest, including Prior's papers while in
Paris, and the papers of the French Army in Italy.
The following are fair examples of the prices realised at this
memorable sale of January 22-24, 1846:--
LOT 43. _Dayrolles Correspondence._--1,368 Letters and
Documents and Diplomas (A.L.S. fr. Harley, Boyle, Bothmer,
St. John, Addison, Craggs, Stone, Holdernesse, George II.,
Newcastle, Chesterfield, Pelham, &c.)
£110 0 0
LOT 67. _Autographs of Kings of France_ on Vellum.--Original
Documents from Philip V., 1319, to Napoleon, 2 vols.
£7 10 0
LOT 140. _Navy._--535 Letters and Documents from Papers of
Adm. _Norris_ w. Portraits (_e.g._, Blake, Monk, Pr.
Rupert, Pepys, Byng, Rooke, Oxford, Lestock, Wager, Anson,
Sandwich, Warren, _Nelson_, Keith, Cornwallis, Popham, S.
Smith, St. Vincent, &c.)
£10 0 0
LOT 166. _Sidney Correspondence._--66 Letters addressed to Sir
Ph. Sidney and his family (_e.g._, Leycester, Danby,
Thanet, Ormond, Sir J. Temple, Robert Sidney, father of
Algernon, &c.)
£5 7 6
LOT 199. _Voltaire_--MS. copy of _La Pucelle d'Orleans_ w.
marginal notes by V., 1755
£2 3 0
LOT 211. _Napoleon_, as First Consul; _Do._ as Emperor from
Wilna and from Moscow, 1812; Portion of Las Cases' Life of
Napoleon corrected by N. at St. Helena; Marie Louise as
Regent, and various papers
£16 0 0
LOT 228. Letter of _Washington_, 1790. Letters and signatures
of Adams, Madison, Monroe, Jefferson, Von Buren, &c.
£3 10 0
LOT 421. 383 Letters of _literary_ men of XVI., XVII. and
XVIIIth centuries, most addressed to John Evelyn, w. 62
Portraits (Addison, Attenbury, T. Browne, Boyle, Congreve,
Marvel, _Pope_, Prynne, Newton, Flamstead, Pepys, Orrery,
Waller, Vanbrugh, Sloane, &c.)
£80 0 0
LOT 422. 752 Letters of _literary_ men of XVIII. and XIXth
Centuries, w. 181 Portraits (Boswell, Blair, Beattie,
Gifford, Herschel, Horne, Hoole, Percy, Wilkes, Young, &c.)
£33 0 0
LOT 423. 1,279 Letters of _literary_ men XVIII. and XIXth
centuries, w. 109 Portraits (Astle, _Byron_, Cary, Ducarel,
_Gibbon_, T. Paine, Pownall, _Scott_, White, &c.)
£42 0 0
LOT 424. 1,768 Letters of _literary_ men XVIII. and XIXth
centuries, w. 29 Portraits (Chalmers, Dibdin, _Foscolo_,
Hazlitt, Lort, _Malthus_, Pinkerton, Steevens, _Whalley_,
Dr. Parr, &c.)
£16 0 0
The examination of this truly marvellous catalogue not only shows the
extent of Mr. Graves's loss, but that the increase of prices between
1827 and 1846 had been infinitesimal. The earliest indications of a
noteworthy upward movement are discernible at the Donnadieu Sale of
1851, and still more markedly so at the dispersal of the collections
of Mr. Young and Mr. Dillon in 1869. It was reserved for the present
year of grace to see a Keats letter sell for £500, and one of Charlotte
Brontë for £50. My friend Dr. Scott is quite in despair over the prices
of February 28, 1910, and regards the figure at which the Brontë
autograph sold as "positively wicked"!
One of the most industrious (but not always discriminating) collectors
who followed was Sir Thomas Phillipps, of Cheltenham (1792-1872), who
not unfrequently acquired the whole contents of a dealer's catalogue
_en bloc_. Sales from the _Bibliotheca Phillippica_ have taken place
at intervals since 1892, and the store is not yet exhausted.[75] I
am personally grateful to this voracious accumulator of autographic
treasure, as I picked up at one of the sales seven volumes of
eighteenth-century water-colour sketches of Dorset buildings and
scenery for--_five shillings!_
In 1832 he wrote the following letter (now in my possession) to the
late Sir Henry Ellis:--
_February 16 1832_
DEAR SIR,--You expressed a wish that I would consent to part
with my Library of MSS to the British Museum. It cannot be
expected that I should make a gift of them after the enormous
sum I have paid for them, but I am willing to cede them, if
the nation will pay my debts, which I now owe. The number of
MSS I consider to be above 8000 Vols, containing probably
20,000 articles.
Believe me to be yrs truly
THOS PHILLIPPS
PS.--I must observe that the money thus paid, will not be lost
to the nation, while the manuscripts will be gained.
The priceless Morrison Collection has already been mentioned. Its
dispersal would certainly occasion a dislocation in autograph prices
throughout the world.
Since 1900 I have carefully noted the prices realised at all the
principal sales in London, and more recently in New York, and although
there has been a steady rise in prices for high-class autographs, not a
single sale has ever occurred at which some bargain or other might not
have been picked up.
The existing firm of Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, of 13, Wellington
Street, Strand (the premises, by a strange coincidence, once occupied
by the elder Ireland), was really founded as far back as 1696, when
Messrs. Cooper & Milling first began to dispose of MSS.--generally
in the evening. The business passed successively through the hands
of Messrs. Ballard, Paterson, & Baker. In 1744 Samuel Baker moved to
auction-rooms over "Exeter 'Change" in the Strand. At the death of Mr.
Baker he was succeeded by Mr. John Sotheby, when the firm became Leigh
& Sotheby. From 145, Strand, they removed to the premises in Wellington
Street, long familiar to buyers of MSS.
At the "Sotheby" sale of November 1, 1901, I note the following
prices:--
£ s. d.
Queen Henrietta Maria, D.S. 5 12 6
Queen Victoria, A.L.S., to Lady Dover 5 10 0
(Now in my collection.)
Sir Walter Scott, A.L.S., 2 pp. 3 10 0
Edmund Burke, A.L.S., 2 pp. 2 10 0
Several A.L.S. of Thos. Campbell, averaged 0 10 0
Several A.L.S. of Wm. Cowper, averaged 3 0 0
Several A.L.S. of Edwin Landseer, averaged 0 8 0
Several A.L.S. of Thomas Moore, averaged 0 11 0
A fine A.L.S. of William Pitt the elder 4 15 0
A whole series of A.L.S. of the Duke } From
of Wellington to Lord Beresford } 7 0 0
(over 50), nearly all written during} to
the Peninsular War } 0 7 0
At the sale of Colonel John Moore's autographs at "Sotheby's" (November
29-30, 1901), I note a magnificent series of Civil War MSS. Amongst the
letters sold were the following:--
£ s. d.
A.L.S. John Bradshaw (1644) 24 10 0
" Sir Wm. Brereton (1643) 8 0 0
" Lord Byron (1652) 7 5 0
D.S.O. Cromwell (1649) 8 0 0
" " (1649) 12 0 0
" " (1651) 10 12 6
A.L.S. William, Earl of Derby
(with other papers) (1672) 10 10 0
D.S. Thomas, Lord Fairfax (1643) 9 10 0
L.S. " " (1649) 13 0 0
A.L.S. Colonel John Hewson (1648) 8 15 0
D.S. William Lenthall (1645) 5 0 0
A.L.S. Sir Edward Massey (1660) 2 10 0
D.S. Colonel John Moore (1645) 7 0 0
A.L.S. " " " (1647) 11 0 0
" " " " (1646) 11 15 0
" " " " (1650) 8 5 0
A.L.S. Algernon Percy, Duke of
Northumberland (1645) 19 15 0
A.L.S. Sir Christopher Wren (1693) 49 0 0
The two days' sale of 318 lots realised £956 13s.
In the five-days' sale at "Sotheby's," which commenced on December 2,
1901, books and autographs were mixed. The total reached £6,216 11s.
6d. Amongst the autographs figured:--
MS. of Isaac Watts's Address to the
Church of Christ assembled £ s. d.
in Mark Lane (1702) 7 0 0
A.L.S. Isaac Watts (1735) 4 0 0
A.L.S. Thomas Gray (1758) 15 10 0
A.L.S. Thomas King, actor, to
Garrick (n.d.) 6 15 0
Holograph Prayer by Samuel
Johnson, Jan. 1 (1784) 13 0 0
A.L.S. Charles Lamb (n.d.) 6 0 0
A.L.S. Lord Tennyson, 2 pp., 8vo 7 5 0
"Gathered Leaves," collected by
Edmund Yates, including
about 100 A.L.S., including
two from Dickens and one
from Thackeray 49 0 0
(At the sale of Mr. Yates's Library in 1895 "Gathered Leaves" had
fetched £65.)
There was a two-days' sale on December 9 and 10, 1901, devoted solely
to autographs, in which 478 lots brought £473 12s.
£ s. d.
A.L.S. Allan Ramsay, 1 p. (1732) 7 5 0
A.L.S. Sir Walter Scott, 3 pp. (1811) 9 15 0
A.L.S. Lord Tennyson, 1 p. (1854) 3 17 6
A.L.S. Earl of Chesterfield, 2 pp. (1762) 7 10 0
A.L.S. Thomas Doggett, 2 pp. (1714) 5 2 6
A.L.S. Edward Gibbon, 4 pp. (1789) 13 5 0
D.S. Robespierre (M.) (1793) 4 15 0
Fifteen A.L.S. of Charles Dickens ranged in price from £6 to 10s.
Of the autograph sales at "Sotheby's" in 1902 the most interesting took
place on December 11, 12, and 13. The 865 lots sold realised a total of
£1,373 4s. 6d.
Amongst the MSS. sold may be noted:--
£ s. d.
A.L.S. Thomas Chippendale (1813) 5 5 0
A.L.S. Garrick to Hannah More (1777) 5 5 0
A.L.S. Mendelssohn, 3 pp. (1841) 6 5 0
A.L.S. W. M. Thackeray, 2 pp. (1849) 12 0 0
A.L.S. Samuel Foote, 4 pp. n.d. 8 0 0
A.L.S. David Garrick (1759) 5 5 0
A.L.S. Samuel Johnson, 2 pp. (1771) 11 15 0
A.L.S. Bishop Percy to S. Johnson (1783) 10 0 0
(The value of this letter was evidently
determined by the person to whom it
was addressed.)
A.L.S. Verdi (1863) 5 2 6
A.L.S. Sir T. Fairfax to Duke of
Buckingham (1663) 21 10 0
A.L.S. Hugh Peters, Regicide (1652) 11 0 0
A.L.S. George Eliot, 5 pp. (1859) 22 0 0
" " (1859) 9 0 0
" " (1863) 7 10 0
A.L.S. Samuel Richardson (1746) 4 18 0
D.S. William Penn (1682) 5 17 6
A.L.S. Sarah Siddons (n.d.) 10 0 0
A.L.S. Sir W. Scott (1814) 12 15 0
23 A.L.S. Thomas Campbell 14 0 0
There were several autograph sales at "Sotheby's" in 1903. The late Mr.
Frederick Barker was good enough to price for me the catalogue of the
sale of June 23rd-24th. On the first day five long letters of Samuel
Richardson to the Rev. Mr. Lobb (1743-56) averaged about £12 12s. A
conveyance signed by Guido Fawkes (reputed to have been picked up for
10s.) fetched £101, and a 6½-pp. letter of Nelson to Sir Alexander
Ball was sold for £30 10s. Throughout this sale prices ruled very
high--quite a short note of Thackeray's realising £7 5s. A fine series
of letters by Earl St. Vincent averaged about £2, but one of these
(dated January 17, 1801), in which he wrote: "Nelson was very low when
he came here, the day before yesterday, appeared and acted as if he
had done me an injury, and felt apprehensive that I was acquainted
with it. Poor man! he is devoured with vanity, weakness and folly,
was strung with ribbons, medals, &c., and yet pretended he wished to
avoid the honours and ceremonies he everywhere met with on the road,"
brought no less than £9 5s. A number of letters by Edward Fitzgerald,
the translator of Omar Khayyám, addressed to Joseph Fletcher ("Posh"),
averaged about 30s., and several letters of Charles Dickens £2 2s. each.
The two-days' sale of June 8th and 9th in this year brought no less
than £1,963 9s. 6d. for only 618 lots.
Amongst the autographs disposed of at this sale were:--
£ s. d.
A.L.S. Robert Browning, 2 pp. (1880) 3 18 0
A.L. Lindley Murray (1821) 7 0 0
A.L.S. John Boydell (1804) 5 5 0
12 D.S. Colley Cibber (bearing
also the signatures of Wilks
and Booth) 18 0 0
MS. Richard Cumberland, relating
to altercation between Dr.
Johnson and the Dean of Derry 9 0 0
A.L.S. William Herbert, Earl of
Pembroke (1619) 24 0 0
A.L.S. Thomas King to David
Garrick 12 10 0
A.L.S. Richard Porson (1807) 5 10 0
A.L.S. William Smith, actor (n.d.) 5 5 0
A.L.S. Lord Byron (1811) 12 15 0
A.L.S. Sir W. Scott to Southey 12 10 0
MS. Charles Lamb. Lines "The
First Leaf in Spring" 11 5 0
A.L.S. Shenstone (1750) 7 0 0
A.L.S. John Keats--28 in number 1,070 0 0
(purchased by Mr. Quaritch).
Several letters by De Quincey and
Carlyle averaged 3 0 0
Another autograph sale was held at "Sotheby's" on July 23, 1903, and
the following days, when some fine letters by Oliver Cromwell, Burns,
Dickens, and "George Eliot," were sold at good prices. The last sale of
this season took place in Wellington Street on the 19th of November and
two following days. The 738 lots in this sale brought a total of £971
12s. 6d.
Amongst the autographs sold were:--
£ s. d.
A.L.S. Lord Byron (1819) 10 0 0
D.S. Sir Francis Drake (1593) 18 10 0
D.S. Sir R. Hawkins (1615) 5 5 0
A.L.S. Elizabeth Browning (1844) 3 10 0
A.L.S. William Penn (1684) 34 0 0
Twenty letters of Charles Dickens
averaging only 1 0 0
A.L.S. Colley Cibber (1742) 5 0 0
A.L.S. Samuel Johnson 6 15 0
A.L.S. Walter Scott to Thomas
Moore (enclosing Notes on
Byron) (1829) 37 10 0
A.L.S. Marat 13 0 0
A.L.S. Andrew Marvel 11 0 0
The first autograph sale of 1904 in Wellington Street lasted two days
only (13th and 14th of May), but it included No. 218, the A.L.S. of
Nelson to Lady Hamilton (September 25, 1805), 4 pp. 4to, which realised
£1,030, possibly still the record price for a single letter. Other
letters of Nelson at this sale fetched £16, £13 (two), £6 15s., and £4
15s. A letter of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, beginning with the emphatic
words, "Ay, ay, as you say my dear, men are vile inconstant toads,"
was sold for 15s. only. A great many letters of great interest were
included in this catalogue. Amongst them may be noted A.L.S. Beethoven,
£30; A.L.S. Sir Stamford Raffles, nearly 25 pp. 4to, described as
"giving a most lively and interesting description of the interior
description of St. Helena with _Napoleon Buonaparte_, and Napoleon's
answers to certain charges commonly brought against him, etc., _marked
'private,' probably unpublished. Off St. Helena, May 20, 1816._" This
is now in my collection.
It was at this sale that a letter of the Duke of Wellington fetched the
record price (as far as his autographs are concerned) of £101. It was
thus described:--
127. EXTREMELY INTERESTING LETTER WRITTEN THE DAY AFTER THE
BATTLE OF WATERLOO. LETTERS WRITTEN AT THIS PERIOD BY THE GREAT
DUKE ARE EXTREMELY SCARCE.
Poor Canning had my small dispatch box in our battle yesterday
and when he was killed it was lost. I shall be very much
obliged to you if you will send me another of the same size
as the last with the same lock and key and leather cover,
&c., as soon as possible. Let it have in it a small silver or
thick glass inkstand with one of Braham's patent penholders
and one of his pens. What do you think of the total defeat of
Buonaparte BY THE BRITISH ARMY? Never was there in the annals
of the world so desperate or so hard fought an action or such
a defeat. It was really the battle of the Giants. My heart is
broken by the terrible loss I have sustained of my old friends
and companions and my poor soldiers. I shall not be satisfied
with the battle however glorious if it does not of itself put
an end to Buonaparte.
This letter was written at 4 o'clock in the morning after the
battle.
The letter before it (126) realised only 8s., and two letters sold
together (128) after it, only 9s., although both were excellent
specimens of Wellington's style.
There was another autograph sale at "Sotheby's" on July 18th and 19th.
In this sale the following prices were obtained:--
£ s. d.
Queen Elizabeth. Letter with
sign-manual 10 0 0
Henry VIII. Letter with sign-manual 8 10 0
A.L.S. John Keats, 3 pp. (1818) 35 10 0
A.L.S. Matthew Prior (1704) 10 5 0
Francis Bacon, note of 10 lines,
signed 30 0 0
One hundred A.L.S. of Dorothy
Wordsworth 26 0 0
By way of contrast the following letter of the late Sir H. M. Stanley,
addressed to the Secretary of the Temple Club, realised only _one
shilling_:--
I can assure you it is none the less welcome, on the contrary
when my eyes glance over the list of illustrious men composing
the Honorary Committee I am lost in admiration of the brilliant
prize I have so unexpectedly received. Where Froude and
Dickens, Dixon, Taylor, and Hood tread I am only too conscious
that very much greater men than myself ought to be proud to
follow.
The following A.L.S. of Lady Hamilton's was sold for £12 15s.:--
CLARGES ST., _May 8_, to:
MY DEAREST TYSON,--The long absence of our dearest Nelson makes
me apply to you. First I must tell you that what money I had in
my banker's hands, I have laid out at Merton, and Lord Nelson
thanked me in his last letter and said he would settle with me
with thanks when he came home. Could you then my dearest Tyson
either on my account or Lord Nelson's lend me a hundred and
fifty pounds.
I lately saw, in possession of Mr. Sabin, Nelson's private banker's
pass-book during the last eighteen months of his life. With two
exceptions every cheque he had drawn was in favour of his "dearest
Emma."
A one day's sale of 213 lots at "Sotheby's" on December 1, 1904,
brought £582 17s. An account verified by Henry VII. with his royal
initials realised £10, and a document with sign-manual of Henry VIII.,
£7 5s. A Privy Council letter from Whitehall (April 27, 1640) was sold
for £8 15s. A series of official papers signed by Bonaparte averaged
£3, but a certificate of service signed by Captain James Napoleon sold
for more than twice as much. One of the features of this sale was quite
a number of letters by Governors, Deputy-Governors, and Judges in
Australia. Many of these fetched £10 each. A letter of Colonel William
Paterson to Sir Joseph Banks (1805) went as high as £13 10s., and one
of David Collins, founder and first Governor of the Van Diemen's Land
Settlement, yielded the same price.
This was followed by the sale of December 5th and 6th, in which 4,116
lots brought £1,009 16s. Nelson's letter-book (1796-97) was sold for
£150.
A series of six holograph letters from Dr. Samuel Johnson to his friend
Sir Robert Chambers, afterwards a judge in Bengal, all said to be
unpublished, and extending from October 22, 1762, to April 19, 1783,
realised £125; the original galley and second proof sheets of "The
Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture," with numerous corrections and
alterations in the handwriting of Mr. Gladstone, £10 10s.; an autograph
letter of John Keats, June, 1819, to Miss Jeffrey, in which he says,
"You will judge of my 1819 temper when I tell you that the thing I have
most enjoyed this year has been writing an 'Ode to Indolence,'" 4 pp.
4to, £35 (Quaritch); and the autograph manuscript of W. Morris's "A
King's Lesson, an Old Story Retold," on six leaves of paper, £27 10s.
The second day's sale included a remarkable series of autograph letters
addressed to Mrs. Thrale and inherited by a descendant. Sixteen of the
letters were written by Dr. Samuel Johnson, chiefly to Mrs. Thrale;
two were from Boswell to the same, and there were others from Mrs.
Siddons, Garrick, Goldsmith, Burke, and various other celebrities of
the day. The Johnson letters for the most part possessed but little
literary interest, but in the longest one in the series, written
by Boswell and dated from Banff, August 25, 1773, he refers to his
journey in Scotland, and says concerning their arrival at St Andrews:
"The professors who happened to be resident in the vacation made
a public dinner and treated us very kindly and respectfully. They
showed us their colleges, in one of which there is a library that for
luminousness and elegance may vie with the new edifice at Streatham.
But learning seems not to prosper among them; one of their colleges has
been lately alienated, and one of their churches lately deserted." The
Johnson letters date from July 19, 1755, to April 15, 1784, and the
entire series was sold _en bloc_ for £300.[76] The sale also included
an interesting series of five autograph letters from S. T. Coleridge to
Thomas Poole, 1797-98, giving a history of his life, and covering 17
pages folio and quarto, which fetched £14 10s., and an autograph letter
from Charles Lamb to J. H. Green, August 26, 1834, which sold for £6
2s. 6d.
Allusion has been made elsewhere to the excitement caused at the
beginning of 1905 by the sale of January 25th, at which the 33 4to
pages, described as belonging to the original MS. of "Paradise Lost,"
were bought in, the reserve price of £5,000 not having been reached.[77]
From the 2nd to the 4th of March following there was a three-days'
autograph sale in Wellington Street, in which 905 lots brought £1,834
9s. 6d. A series of letters by General Gordon averaged £1 each; the
Dickens letters disposed of sold better than in 1903 or 1904, realising
from £2 to £6, and 52 letters of Gilbert White brought £150. Some
splendid musical and dramatic letters collected by the late Mr. Julian
Marshall realised high prices, showing a marked advance in this kind of
autographs.
£ s. d.
Dr. Arne A.L.S. (n.d.) 7 0 0
Brahms A.L.S. 4 16 0
Donizetti MS. 5 5 0
Handel Autograph on MS. 10 0 0
Haydn A.L.S. 10 10 0
Paganini A.L.S. 6 0 0
Schumann A.L.S. 7 5 0
Scarlati MS. signed 14 5 0
Schubert MS. signed 12 15 0
The one-day sale of April 13, 1905, was almost entirely devoted to
Civil War and Royal autographs, 205 lots (in striking contrast to the
Upcott Sale) making a total of £2,009--or nearly £10 each lot! Some of
the rarest items fetched the following prices:--
£ s. d.
Henry Jermyn A.L.S. (Feb. 22, 1649) 41 0 0
Charles II. L.S. (May 10, 1649) 15 10 0
James Graham, Duke of
Montrose, A.L.S. (Sept. 4, 1649) 48 0 0
William, Prince of
Orange, A.L.S. (Nov. 4, 1649) 27 0 0
Abraham Cowley A.L.S. (Jan. 8, 1650) 31 0 0
Queen Henrietta Maria
A.L.S. (Jan. 8, 1650) 31 0 0
Queen Henrietta Maria
A.L.S. (addressed to
Charles II.) (Jan. 25, 1650) 151 0 0
Queen Henrietta Maria
(addressed to Charles
II.) (May 20, 1650) 51 0 0
The late Mr. Frederick Barker showed me the whole of this collection
bound up in a shabby looking volume, with small rope and thick glue!
The separating them without injury was a matter of the greatest
difficulty, and the necessary operation was performed at Oxford.
This was the centenary year of Trafalgar, and its influence was soon
felt in the autograph market. The one-day sale at "Sotheby's" on May
17th offered abundant attractions to Nelson buyers; but the 226 lots
only fetched £397 10s. The Nelson items were somewhat over-catalogued,
and the results were probably disappointing. The highest price paid for
a Nelson letter was £25. Some went as low as £3 3s. Nelson's captains
fared badly. Letters of Berry, Bickerton, Brereton, and so forth went
for two or three shillings each, and Ganteaume, Decrès, and Gravina
were equally unfortunate. An order signed by Hardy, informing Admiral
Berkeley that three men had been lashed with the "cat-o'-nine-tails,"
was disposed of for 7s.
Far more important, however, was the sale of the previous week (May
11th, 12th, and 13th), which included the Bunbury MSS. In this sale 842
lots fetched £2,108. The Bunbury correspondence was quite as important
to the story of the days of George III. as the documents sold during
the previous month were to that of the Civil War. The dispersal of both
collections must ever be a matter of regret. I do not think the Bunbury
letters would have been sold at all in 1910.
Before the Bunbury portion of the sale was reached a series of
twenty-four letters addressed by Mrs. Siddons to Mrs. Pennington,
chiefly relating to the troubles occasioned by Thomas Lawrence's
courtship of her daughters,[78] was disposed of. They belonged to
Mr. Oswald G. Knapp and realised £100. As no letter of Sarah M.
Siddons was included in the lot, I do not regret having acquired the
letter catalogued in error as that of her mother. The letters of Mrs.
Piozzi to Dr. Whalley (twenty-five in all) published in the Rev. Hill
Wickham's book on his ancestor[79] were sold for £16. Mrs. Wickham
parted with them for £6, and got little more fifty years ago for Dr.
Whalley's correspondence with Mrs. Siddons. Two letters of Burns
brought £25 and £14 10s. respectively, and the buyer of the letters
written by Sir Thomas Noël Hill, K.C.B., during the campaign in the
Peninsula and in Flanders, possibly got a bargain. One Nelson letter
only was sold on May 11th. It was addressed to Lady Hamilton from the
_Victory_, on May 4, 1805, and realised £71. In my opinion it was far
finer than that for which £1,030 was paid. It ran thus:--
Your poor dear Nelson is my dearest beloved Emma very very
unwell, after a two years hard fag it has been mortifying
the not being able to get at the Enemy, as yet I can get no
information about them, at Lisbon this day week they knew
nothing about them but it is now generally believed that they
are gone to the West Indies. My movements must be guided by the
best Judgment I am able to form. John Bull may be angry, but
he never had any officer, who has served him more faithfully,
but Providence I rely will yet crown my never failing exertions
with success, and that it has only been a hard trial of my
fortitude in bearing up against untoward events. You my own
Emma are my first and last thoughts and to the last moment of
my breath, they will be occupied in leaving you independent of
the world, and all I long in the world that you will be a kind
and affectionate _Father_ to my _dear_ [a word obliterated]
DAUGHTER HORATIA, but my Emma your Nelson is not the nearer
being lost to you for taking care of you in case of events
which are only known when they are to happen and an all wise
Providence, and I hope for many years of comfort with you,
only think of all you wish me to say and you may be assured it
exceeds if possible your wishes. May God protect you and MY
DEAR HORATIA, prays ever your most faithful and affectionate
NELSON.
The Bunbury MSS. were included in the lots from 607 to 842. Considering
their great historical importance the total price paid for them--£896
19s.--can hardly be considered adequate. The Crabbe A.L.S. to Burke (6
pp. 4to), for which I subsequently gave £20, went for £14. Some very
important letters of General Dumouriez were sold for £6 10s. and £6
5s., and C. J. Fox's confidential letters to his brother, General Fox,
averaged less than £3.
Some important A.L.S. and L.S. of Frederick the Great brought from £6
to £20, and a letter from Oliver Goldsmith to Mrs. Bunbury, partly
in verse and extremely witty, was cheap at £82, although it made a
record as far as Goldsmith's letter is concerned. Another Goldsmith
letter to H. W. Bunbury about his "last literary effort" ("She Stoops
to Conquer"), fetched only £50. The letters of the third Lord Holland
(1773-1840) went for a song, although every page of them would
materially help the historian. The finest letter of Sir Hudson Lowe was
sold for £15, and three letters from Pope to Lord Strafford realised
£29 10s., £12, and £8 15s. respectively. Ten letters of Matthew Prior
in one lot were disposed of at £140. The letters of Charles, Duke
of Richmond (1735-1806), to Lady Louisa Conolly almost failed to
find buyers, although in reality they were little less historically
important than those of Lord Holland. It must not be forgotten that the
MSS. of Sir Thomas Hanmer were sold with those of the Hanbury family.
An A.L.S. of Sir Richard Steele to Sir T. Hanmer fetched £25 10s.,
and one of Swift £18 10s. I am quite unable to understand why a letter
of Benjamin West should have brought £24 10s., while a long political
letter of the Duke of Wellington to Colonel Bunbury sold for only £6.
In these two last lots there were the makings of two books, but Mr.
Quaritch obtained the whole of the MSS. relating to the affairs of the
Mediterranean, 1806-14, for £35, and those connected with the War in
Germany and in Belgium, 1813-15, for £5 more.
The next sale devoted solely to autographs took place at "Sotheby's"
on July 8, 1905. It was essentially a Trafalgar commemoration, and 215
lots made a total of £1,034 14s.
In this sale a very curious letter of General Dumouriez to "My good and
glorious Nelson," written in English, was purchased for the British
Museum by Mr. Quaritch at the low price of £3 7s. 6d.[80] I must
content myself with giving the price of the principal Nelson letters
now sold.
£ s. d.
A.L.S. of Lord Nelson (April 1, 1798) 11 0 0
" " " (October, 1798) 17 0 0
" " " (July 14, 1799) 8 0 0
" " " (July 19, 1799) 7 7 0
" " " (August 29, 1799) 13 10 0
" " " (September 13, 1799) 9 0 0
" " " (September 17, 1799) 8 10 0
" " " (October 11, 1799) 9 0 0
" " " (October 26, 1799) 12 0 0
" " " (November 12, 1799) 9 0 0
(All these letters are addressed to Sir James St.
Clair Erskine.)
£ s. d.
A.L.S. of Lord Nelson (February 14, 1801) 9 0 0
" " " (September 23, 1801) 15 10 0
" " " (May 18, 1803) 26 0 0
" " " (n.d.) 27 0 0
(These letters are addressed to Lady Hamilton.)
A.L.S. of Lord Nelson to Sir A. J. Ball (November
7, 1803) 50 0 0
The official dispatch announcing the Battle of Trafalgar and the death
of Nelson, from Lord Collingwood to the "Rt. Honble. Lord Robert
Fitzgerald, Minister Plenipotentiary, Ambassador at Lisbon," dated
October 24, 1805, was purchased by Mr. Sabin for £95. Five letters from
Lady Hamilton to Mr. George Rose, Mr. C. F. Greville, and Lord Stowell,
were sold for £12, £13 10s., and £27 respectively. Just at the end of
this sale two letters of Shelley realised £38 and £20 respectively.
There was another three-days' autograph sale at "Sotheby's" on the
24th, 25th, and 26th of July of this year. The 1,087 lots included in
it brought a sum total of £1,578 8s.
In the autumn of 1906 Mr. Frederick Barker, who was held in high esteem
as an autograph expert, died, and three sales were devoted to the
dispersal of his MSS., but these sales call for no note. In fact, they
were felt to be disappointing. Most of Mr. Barker's best "finds" had
been parted with during his lifetime. The first of the Barker sales
commenced on December 18, 1905. Almost simultaneously the Irving relics
were dispersed at "Christie's." Amongst them were a few autographs.
The death of the famous actor caused a sudden rise in the price of
his letters, but it has since subsided. On the night before his tragic
death Irving had signed a few portrait postcards for my friend Mr.
Peter Keary, who has very kindly given me one of them.
The three days of the Barker Sale, with 910 lots, only brought £916
12s. 6d. It should be noted that the price of Nelson autographs since
the centenary year of his death has been well maintained, and the
writer is well aware that some of the very best of his letters have
still to come into the market. Possibly they never will.
The sales of the following year opened with the dispersal of Mr.
Barker's Royal autographs on January 22nd. On February 19th, 279 lots
belonging to him and relating to Napoleon fetched only £147 5s. 6d.
There was another autograph sale at "Sotheby's" on February 26, 1906,
when 327 lots yielded £779 18s. Nelsonians were still very much to the
fore.
An important bundle of Temple-Greville-Lyttelton-Pitt MSS. was sold for
£10 15s. I also notice the following interesting items:--
£ s. d.
2 A.L.S. of Benjamin Disraeli about his
duel with O'Connell 10 12 6
26 other A.L.S. of Disraeli averaging 1 10 0
Naval document signed by Lord Nelson,
dated _Victory_, April 29, 1805, showing
disposition of ships and the historic
signal. (The date given in the catalogue
is manifestly absurd) 70 0 0
Lord Nelson A.L.S. to Lady Hamilton
(September 24, 1801) 7 10 0
MSS. relating to Keats 70 0 0
Lord Nelson A.L.S. to Horatia, dr. of Lady
Hamilton. "My dear Horatia, I send
you a watch which I give you permission
to wear on Sundays and on very
particular days, when you are dressed
and have behaved exceedingly well
and obedient. I have kissed it and
send it with the affectionate blessing
of your Nelson and Bronté" [_Victory_,
January 20, 1804] 51 0 0
Lord Nelson A.L.S. to Lady Hamilton
[_Victory_, June 16, 1805] 24 0 0
On the last day of a mixed book and autograph sale, March 27-31, 1906,
Ben Jonson's Bible with the words _Benedica Dominum in omni tempore
Semper laus eius in ore meo_ (Psa. xxxii.), fetched £320. A 2 pp. folio
A.L.S. of General Washington (July 20, 1788) was sold for £26 10s., and
a number of documents signed by Napoleon averaged about £3. One page of
holograph notes in pencil, made at St. Helena by Napoleon, and relating
to "Montholon's Mémoires," fetched £16 5s. and another £10. A series of
documents and letters signed by Napoleon III. averaged from 1s. to 2s.!
The autograph section of this sale, including only 123 lots, realised
£981 13s.
The autograph sale of May 19th, at "Sotheby's," was distinguished by
a wealth of English Royal autographs and a small series of letters by
Lady Hamilton:--
£ s. d.
Charles II. short A.L.S. in French
(April 11, 1670) 25 10 0
Richard Plantagenet, Regent of France.
Signature "R. York" to State paper 85 0 0
Edward VI., sign-manual to superb document
dated April 1, 1547 450 0 0
Disraeli, B., A.L.S. to the Duke of Wellington,
"Will you accept a mouthful of
Caviare? It comes direct from Astrachan.
I tasted it, but it seemed selfish
to eat it alone--it shall be shared with
a friend. But who has a friend? I
think I have and so send it to you" 2 2 0
In this sale 332 lots brought a total of £1,235.
The sale of July 9-10, 1906, attracted a crowd of Wesley autograph
buyers. The 296 lots sold realised a total of £1,069 17s. 6d. The seven
unpublished letters of Wesley fetched from £2 to £9 5s.--averaging
over £4. Oliver Goldsmith's desk-chair figured between some copies
of letters by Frederick the Great and the probate of a Wesley will.
It went for £39. Another sale on December 1st, comprising 242 lots,
brought a total of £725 14s. In this sale some letters of the actress
"Kitty Clive" were sold at £17 and £3 3s. respectively. The latter had
been mutilated.
The autograph season of 1907 began with a two-days' sale at
"Sotheby's"--January 21st-22nd. The 743 lots disposed of realised a
total of £1,210 14s. 6d. Another series of eleven Disraeli letters was
sold at good prices, ranging from £9 12s. 6d. ("Heard Macaulay's best
speech ... but between ourselves I could floor them all. This _entress
nous_ (_sic_). I was never more confident of anything than that I
could carry everything before me in that house. The Time will come,"
January 7, 1833) to £2 12s. In this sale Messrs. Maggs acquired a
series of twenty-five letters of Johnson to Mrs. Piozzi for £240. Mrs.
Mainwaring, of Brynbella, gave £94 for five volumes of "Piozziana,"
presented by the writer, H. L. Piozzi, in 1810, to her adopted nephew
and heir, John Piozzi Salusbury. At the sale of June 3-4, 1907, Messrs.
Sotheby disposed of 459 lots for £1,101 19s. A series of letters about
Keats, addressed to John Taylor the publisher, was sold for £44; a
notable advance was made in the price of Thackeray letters; Disraeli
letters showed a distinct fall, one selling for only 16s., and a very
fine letter of Samuel Pepys, covering four folio pages, went to Mr.
Sabin for £22. The 315 lots sold on November 8th realised £1,095.
For thirty-six letters addressed to Lady Blessington, by Thackeray,
Dickens, and others, Mr. Sabin gave £315. A single letter of Shelley's
brought £46, and six letters of Byron to Trelawny £70. A letter of
Charles I. to the Elector Palatine went to the late Mr. W. Brown for
£56.
On March 10-11, 1908, a two-days' autograph sale of 557 lots realised a
total of £1,191. A number of Nelson documents, the property of the late
Viscount Bridport, Duke of Bronté, were sold for £125.
Six days in June were taken up by the sale of autographs. On June
1, 254 lots realised £260. At this sale I secured for 5s. two most
interesting letters of Captain Wright, whose death in the Temple
(October, 1805) brought so much obloquy on Napoleon.
Messrs. Sotheby devoted no less than four days (June 15th-18th) to the
dispersal of another section of the Phillipps Library. The 855 lots
brought £3,796 19s. The sale was devoid of any sensational Incidents.
On July 3rd, 252 lots were sold in Wellington Street for £415 18s.
Sixteen important letters of Mr. Gladstone sold for £4 10s., and I
secured several very interesting Disraeli letters at prices varying
from 15s. to 21s. At this sale Disraeli letters went as low as 2s.,
3s., 5s., and 7s. A fine series of Thomas Carlyle letters varied in
price from £2 2s. to £8 15s. The Sir Arthur Vicars' sale of heraldic
and genealogical MSS. (July 27th-28th) excited some interest. The 671
lots brought a total of £1,571 10s. The sale of November 16-17, 1908,
was of more than ordinary interest, and the 334 lots of which it was
made up realised £1,007 9s. Amongst the interesting MSS. disposed of
were--
£ s. d.
Robert Burns, 34 lines of verse 25 10 0
Queen Henrietta Maria, A.L.S. (n.d.) 20 0 0
Keats, original assignment of poems 50 0 0
Cotton Mather A.L.S., October 10, 1720 38 0 0
Schiller A.L.S., January 27, 1791 10 10 0
Swift A.L.S. (short), June 1, 1737 14 15 0
The season of 1909 opened with the Stoddart Sale of historical MSS.
(February 22nd-23rd). In this sale 404 lots brought £510 6s. The fine
A.L.S. of Mrs. Siddons, now in my collection, fetched £12 5s., or £2
less than it did thirty years ago. The price of Nelson letters was
well maintained, a small collection of them, with portraits and sundry
relics, fetching £145. A letter to Lady Hamilton, dated March 23,
1801, although covering only half a page, went for £31. On March 1st
(a one-day's sale) 201 lots brought £798 2s. 6d. A short letter of
Keats sold for £25 10s., two A.L.S. of James Wolfe for £35 10s., and
a fine holograph letter of Raphael Sanzio d'Urbino for £41. A series
of MSS. relating to the American War of Independence (including four
letters and documents signed by Washington) was purchased by Messrs.
Maggs for £40. I have already alluded to the sale of June 9th-10th,
from which the Windham correspondence was withdrawn. The remaining 524
lots realised no less than £2,145 10s. 6d. A series of twenty-four
Nelson letters and other MSS. relating to him was purchased by Mr.
Sabin for £121, a very low price considering that fourteen letters of
Lady Hamilton went with the others, as well as Nelson's original will
and seven codicils, _from which eight signatures had been removed!_
Mr. Quaritch, at this sale, gave £275 for the correspondence of John
Robinson, Secretary of the Treasury, 1770 to 1782, which included 194
letters from George III. These MSS. have an important bearing on both
American and British history, and ought to have been acquired by the
nation along with the Windham papers. A one-day's sale on July 22nd,
consisting of only 269 lots, realised £1,113 14s. 6d., and another on
December 17th, composed of 269 lots, brought a total of £1,318 6s. A
rise in price at both these sales was very marked. In the first a song
of Burns (2 pp.) fetched £57, and two unpublished letters of Lord Byron
£17 10s. and £28 respectively. £20 was paid for some notes of Goethe in
pencil, and £40 for a 2 pp. 8vo letter of Shelley. It was in the latter
that the twenty-four letters of Beethoven were sold for £660. On the
same day Mr. Cromwell gave £31 for an exceedingly interesting letter
addressed to the Genevan Senate, signed by Oliver Cromwell.
On the 28th of January of the present year (1910) 264 lots realised
£742 13s. 6d. It was on this occasion that £50 was given for an 8½
pp. 8vo letter of Charlotte Brontë. It is doubtless a high price, but
only just before Mr. Sabin paid £17 10s. for a letter of Mr. R. Waldo
Emerson to Thomas Carlyle (October 7, 1835), and Mr. Quaritch gave
£56 for a 2 pp. 4to letter of George Washington to S. Powell (May
25, 1786). Within a few days no less than £81 was expended on a blue
Hawaian postage-stamp, in Leicester Square. About a quarter of that sum
gave Mr. Sabin, on February 28th, a long holograph poem of Frederick
the Great addressed to Algarotti, beginning with the lines:--
My trembling timid pen
Presents its first attempt
To the rigid public censor,
To assure it against attacks
May Minerva guide it.
The cost of the Hawaian "specimen" would have sufficed to buy both the
poem of the Prussian King and Charlotte Brontë's touching confession
that the "only glimpses of society she ever had were obtained in her
vocation of governess," and her earnest appeal to the necessity of a
creed.
FOOTNOTES:
[74] Vol. LVIII. pp. 36-7.
[75] A further Phillipps sale took place at "Sotheby's," June 6-9, 1910.
[76] A number of these letters, including that of Oliver Goldsmith, are
now in my collection, and were utilised in writing "Dr. Johnson and
Mrs. Thrale," 1909.
[77] See _ante_, Chapter I., p. 32.
[78] See _ante_, Chapter III., pp. 85-6.
[79] See "Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale," p. 59.
[80] See "Dumouriez and the Defence of England against Napoleon," by J.
Holland Rose and A. M. Broadley, p. 208.
INDEX
Addison, Joseph, 56, 341
Adelaide, Queen, 163-4
Agar, Welbore Ellis, 182
Albert, Prince, facsimile of letter of, 165
Aldrich, 340
d'Alençon, Duc, 34
Alexander of Battenberg, anecdote of, 144
Algarotti, letter to, 377
Alleyn, Edward, letter to, 109
_Amateur d'Autographes_, 58
Amelia, Princess, 134
American catalogues and books on autographs, 320, 322
American MSS., destruction of, 337;
prices, 341-2;
Civil War documents, 375
André, Major, 335-7
Arabi Pacha, 9, 11
Arago, E., 98-9
_Archivist, The_, 58
Arne, Dr., 365
Arnold, Christopher, 34-5
Austen, Jane, 341
Autographs, antiquity of collecting, 33-4;
tricks of collectors, 42-9;
hints to collectors, 53-9;
dealers, 60-1;
care and restoration of, 65-6;
royal, 118;
statesmen's, 172;
literary, 196-8;
naval and military, 238-41, 254;
music, drama, and art, 259-81;
collecting in America, 237-40
Bacon, Lord, quoted, 171, 361
Bailie, Mr., 37-9
Ball, Nelson's letters to Sir A. J., 370
Ball, Sir Alex., letter from Nelson to, 358
Banks, Sir Joseph, 362
Barker, Frederick, 110, 120, 197, 202, 357, 365, 370-1
Barnard, Fred, illustration by, 281
Bathurst, Earl, 111
Beaconsfield, Lord, 39, 187, 189-92, 371, 373-5
Beattie, James, 39
Beecher, H. W., 341
Beethoven, L. van, 257, 360
Belvoir, discovery of letters at, 100-1
Benjamin, William Evarts, 124
Berry, Miss, 65, 311
Bindley, James, 36
Bismarck, Prince, 40
Blackburn, Douglas, work by, 81
Blackmore, 341
Blake, William, 341
Blathwayt, R. W., 60
Blathwayt, William, 343
Blessington, Lady, 374
Blott, Mr., 38
Blücher, Marshal, 254
Bodleian Library, the, 36
Books on Autographs, 56-9, 69
Boswell's correspondence, discovery of, 96;
letter to Mrs. Thrale, 363
Bousy, Charles de, 35
Bovet, Alfred, collection of, 58-9, 69, 292
Boydell, John, 358
"Boyhood of a Great King, the," 154-5
Bradshaw, John, 355
Brahms, 365
Brandling, W., letter of, 98
Brébion, Edmund, 293
Brereton, Sir William, 355
Brewster, Sir David, 88
Bright, John, 341
Brontë, Charlotte, 353, 376, 341
Brougham, Lord, 98-9, 185
Broughton, Lord, 111
Brown, John, 341
Browne, Hablot K., illustration of, 286
Browning, E. B., 340-1
Browning, Robert, 56, 358-9
Brueys, Admiral, facsimile of letter of, 310
Bryant, W. C., 340
Buckingham, Duke of, letter of, 54;
letter to, 357
_Bulletin d'Autographs_, 57, 60, 292
Bunbury sale of MSS., 110-11, 366, 368-9
Burckhardt's Journal, 100
Burke, Edmund, sale of poem by, 12;
letter to from Crabbe, 65;
letter to Mrs. Montagu, 211-12;
value of autograph of, 355, 363, 368
Burns, Charles de F., 13
Burns, Robert, 341, 359, 367, 375-6
Burr, Aaron, 338
Burroughs, John, 341
Byng, Admiral John, 241-2
Byron, Lord, 69, 76, 78, 99, 341, 355, 359, 376
Caddell, Captain W., work by, 81
Cain, George, 58
Camolin Cavalry Detail Book, the, 112
Campbell, Thomas, 355, 357
"Canadie, La," 54-5
Carlyle, James, 229-30
Carlyle, Thomas, 56, 229, 341, 359, 375-6
Caroline, Queen, 139-43
Catharine of Aragon, 56
Catharine II. of Russia, 129-33
Cawdor, Lord, 105
Chamberlain, Joseph, 47
Chambers, Sir Robert, 363
Chambord, Comte de, 164, 306
Chapman, Frederic, work by, 142
Charavay, Étienne, works by, 58-9, 69, 87, 90
Charavay, Mme. Veuve G., 57, 60-1
Charavay, Noël, 13-14, 57-8, 60-1, 118, 129, 257
Charavay, the house of, 291-2
Charles Edward Stuart, 61
Charles I., 61
Charles II., 56, 365, 372
Charlotte, Queen, 162-3
Chasles, Michel, 88-9
Chatham, Lady, 38
Chesterfield, Lord, 12, 181-5, 341, 356
"Chesterfield's Letters," 67
Child, Mr., 335
Chippendale, Thomas, 357
Churchill, John, 56
Cibber, Colley, 358-9
Cleopatra, copy of forged letter from, 89
Clive, Kitty, 373
Cobden, Richard, illustrated letter of, 281;
facsimile of letter of, 287-8
Coburg, Duke of, 35, 40, 148-9, 166
Coleridge, S. T., 56, 341, 364
_Collectanea Napoleonica_, 110
Collingwood, Lord, 370
Collins, David, 362
Connaught, Duke of, 148
Conolly, Lady Louisa, letters from Duke of Richmond to, 368
Cooper, 341
Corot, 15
Cowley, Abraham, 365
Cowper, William, 355
Crabbe, George, 65, 100, 110, 210-11, 368
Cranmer, Archbishop, 56
Crawford, Earl of, 296
Cromwell, Oliver, 56, 120, 125, 355, 359, 376
Cruikshank, George, 277-8
Cumberland, Richard, 358
Cuyler, T. C. S., 13, 320-4, 329, 336-7, 339
Damer, Arne, 65
Darwin, Charles, 342
Davey, Samuel, 57-8
Davy, Sir Humphry, 97
Dayrolles Correspondence, 351
Deffand, Mme. du, 61
De Quincey, 341, 359
Derby, Earl of, 355
Desaix, Marshal, 303
Dibdin, Charles, discovery of songs by, 105-7
Dickens, Charles, 15, 42, 44, 56;
forgeries, 82, 84;
letters of, 220-6, 356;
value of autograph of, 356, 359, 364, 374, 341-2
Digby, Colonel, 107-8
Dillon, John, 120, 353
"Diplomatique, Manuel de," 117
Disraeli, _see_ Beaconsfield
Doggett, Thomas, 356
Donizetti, 365
Donnadieu Sale, the, 353
Doyle, Richard, 342
Drake, Sir Francis, 359
Dreer, Ferdinand J., 338
Dryden, John, 56
_Dumouriez and the Defence of England against Napoleon_, 105, 369
Dumouriez, General, MS. by, 101, 102, 105, 368-9
Edward VI., 56, 372
Edward VII., facsimile of bulletin of birth of, 116;
facsimile of the early writing of, 344
Elgar, Sir Edward, facsimile of bars of a song by, 49
Elizabeth, Queen, 56, 361
"Elliot, George," 40, 357, 359
Ellis, Sir Henry, 353
Emerson, R. Waldo, 341, 376
Emmet, Dr. T. A., 13, 321-2, 324, 327, 336-7
Erskine, Nelson's letters to Sir J. St. C., 369
Evelyn, John, 201, 352
Extra-illustrating, 66-8
Facsimiles, how to obtain, 55-6
Fairfax, Lord, 355
Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 357
Fawkes, Guido, 357
Fénelon, Archbishop, 14
Fishguard Invasion, correspondence regarding the, 105
FitzGerald, Edward, 358
FitzGerald, Lord Robert, 370
FitzGerald, Pamela, 54
FitzRoy, Lord William, 38
Fletcher, Joseph, letter to, 358
Flint, Sir Charles, 129
Foote, Samuel, 357
Forbes, Archibald, 303
Forgeries, 75-91;
how to detect, 80-2, 90-1
Forster, John, 210
Fox, C. J., 111, 368
France, Anatole, 58
France, autographs of Kings of, 351
"Frank," the, 36-9
Franklin, Benjamin, letter of, 332;
facsimile of letter of, 334;
value of autograph of, 342
Frederick, Duke of York, 156
Frederick, Empress (of Germany), 168
Frederick the Great, 368, 373, 377
French autographs, 292-3
Frowde, J. A., 41
Garrick, David, 262-3, 357-8, 363
Garrick, Mrs., 263
Gascoyne, Bamber, 243
"Gatty," _see_ Agar
Geoffrin, Mme. de, 61
George III., 56, 119, 137-42, 155, 278, 376
George IV., 161
George V., facsimile of letter of, 167
Gerothwohl, Prof., 13, 131
Gibbon, Edward, 356
Giry, A., work of, 117
Gladstone, W. E., 187-8, 342, 363, 374
Goethe, W. von, 213-4, 216, 376
Goldsmith, Oliver, 363, 368, 373
Goodspeed, C. E., 339
Gordon, General, 56, 364
Grangerising, _see_ Extra-illustrating
Gray, Thomas, 356
Greaves, Mr., 350
Green, J. H., 364
Grenville Library, 55
Greville, C. F., 370
Greville, J., 243
Greville, Hon. Charles, 249
Grimston, Sir Harbottle, 37
Guizot, F. P. G., 40
Gulston, Miss E., 57
Gurwood, Colonel, 237
Gwinnett, Button, 321, 323-5;
facsimile of writing and signature of, 326
Haber, Louis J., sale of library of, 12-3, 211, 216, 320;
catalogue of, 340-2
Hamilton, Lady, 56, 360, 362, 367, 370, 375-6
Handel, 365
_Handwriting of Kings and Queens of England, The_, 117
Hanmer, MSS. of Sir Thos., 368-9
Hardy, Captain T. M., 249-50
Hardy, T., 341-2
Hardy, W. J., work by, 117
Harley, _see_ Oxford, Earl of
Harris, J. C., 341
Harte, Bret, 341
Hawaian postage stamp, 377
Hawkins, Sir R., 359
Hawthorne, N., 341-2
Haydn, Joseph, 257, 260, 365
Hayes, William, 257
Hearne, Thomas, 36
Heber's hymn, discovery of Bishop, 96
Henrietta Maria, Queen, 355, 365, 375
Henry VII., 362
Henry VIII., 56, 118, 361-2
Heralds' College, 36
Hewson, Colonel John, 355
Hill, Sir Thomas Noël, 367
_History of the Festivals of the Three Choirs_, 257
Hobhouse, _see_ Broughton
Hogarth, William, 270, 273
Holdernesse, Earl of, 155-61, 173
Holland, Lord, 368
Holmes, 341
Holmes, Thomas Knox, 263
Holst, Duke of, 34
Hood, Lord, letter of George III. to, 137-8
Hooper, correspondence of Bishop, 96
Hortense, Queen, 303
Ibrahim, Hilmy, Prince, 11
"Iconographies," the, 59
Illustrated letters, 278
Ireland, finds relating to rebellion in, 112
Ireland, W. H., forgeries of, 75-6, 196;
facsimile of, 77
Irving, Sir Henry, 341, 370-1
Ismail Pacha, 9, 11
_L'Isographie des Hommes Célèbres_, 58, 292
James II., 125
James Stewart, 56
Jay MSS., the, 100
Jeffrey, Miss, letter from Keats to, 363
Jekyll, Joseph, 39
Jermyn, Henry, 365
John II. of France, 118
_Johnson, Dr., and Mrs. Thrale_, 364, 367
Johnson, Samuel, 76, 206-10, 342, 356-7, 359, 363-4, 373
Joline, Adrian, quoted, 10, 33, 41, 66, 117, 144, 196, 337
Jones, Charles C., Jr., 338
Jonson, Ben, 372
Joseph Bonaparte (King of Spain), facsimile letter of, 299
Kean, Edmund, 80, 264
Keary, Mr. Peter, 371
Keats, John, sale of letter of, 12, 62;
facsimile of, 56;
forgery, 87;
discovery of letters of, 100;
letter of, 215;
value of autograph of, 341, 353, 359, 361, 363, 371, 374, 375
Kemble, J. P., 269
Kent, Duke of, 156
King, Thomas, 356, 358
Kipling, Rudyard, 342
Knapp, O. G., collection of, 366
Lacordaire, 42
Lamb, Charles, 216, 356, 359, 364
Landseer, Edwin, 355
Lang, Andrew, signed poem by, 343
Lansdowne, Marquis of, 80
Larochejaquelein, Louis, 110
Latimer, Bishop, 56
Lavoisier, 133-4
Lawrence, Thomas, 366
Lechmere, Captain William, 248-9
Le Neve, Peter, 36
Lenthall, William, 355
Lescure, M. de, 59
Lewes, 342
Lisbourne, Lord, 243
Liszt, facsimile of letter of the Abbé, 258
Literary Letters, value of, 352
Lloyd, Thomas, 78, 80
Lobb, Rev. Mr., 357
Lockwood, Sir F., 278;
illustrations by, 282, 285
Longfellow, H. W., 40
Longwood Household, expenses book, 111, 292
Louis XVI., 133-4
Louis XVIII., 294
Louis Philippe, 278
Lowe, Sir Hudson, 111, 254, 368
Lynch, T., 321, 323-5, 327;
facsimile of letter of, 328
Lyte, Sir H. Maxwell, 100-1
Mackey, George, discoveries amongst the MSS. of, 105
Macpherson, James, forgeries of, 75-6, 87, 342
Madan, F., 152
Mainwaring, Mrs., collection of, 373
Majendie, Dr., letter to from Prince William (William IV.), 143
Manby, Charles, 277
Marat, J. P., 359
Marie Antoinette, facsimile of letter of, 312
Marlborough, Duke of, correspondence of, 96
Marryat, Captain, 342
Marshall, collection of Mr. Julian, 364
Martin, Sir Theodore, 65, 210
Marvel, Andrew, 359
Mary, Queen, facsimile of letter of, 168
Mary, Queen of Scots, 56
Massey, Sir Edward, 355
Masson, Frédéric, 10
Mather, Cotton, 375
Mathews, Charles, facsimile of letter of, 266
Mauritius Post Office, stamps of, 31-2
Mee, Dr., work of, 259
Mendelssohn, F., 357
Meredith, George, 217, 342
Milton, John, 32, 35, 201-3, 364
Molé, Count, 309
Monmouth, Duke of, 56
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, 360
Montchenu, Marquis, 111
Montesquieu, Abbé de, 294
Montrose, Duke of, 365
Montrose, Lord, 253
Moore, Colonel John, 355
Moore, Thomas, 355, 359
More, Hannah, letter of Walpole to, 206;
value of letter of Garrick to, 357
Morland, George, 274
Morris, W., autograph MS. of, 342, 363
Morrison, Alfred, collection of, 36, 68, 294, 354
Mount Norris, Earl of, 112
Mulgrave, Lord, letter to, from George III., 140
Murray, Lindley, 358
Napoleon I., 32, 62, 105;
facsimile of letter of, 123;
illustrated letter of, 278;
as letter-writer, 293-6;
value of letter of, 352, 362, 372
"Napoleon and the Invasion of England," 105
"Napoleon, Last Reign of," 111
Napoleon II., facsimile of letter of, 305-9
Napoleon, Captain James, 362
Napoleonic Correspondence, 110-11
Napoleon III., forged letter of, 90;
birth of, 303
Nelson, Lady, 244-7
"Nelson, Life of," Clarke and McArthur's, 67;
Churchill's, 78
Nelson, Lord, 32, 56, 78-80, 237, 243-9, 358, 360, 363, 366-72, 374-6
"Nelson's Hardy," 249
Nethercliff, Joseph, work by, 57
Newman, Cardinal, facsimile of autograph of, 43
Ney, Marshal, facsimile of letter of, 304
Nichols, John Gough, work by, 56
Norris, Admiral, 351
Northumberland, Duke of, 355
Norton, Hon. Mrs., 226
O'Connell, Daniel, 185-6
Oldys, William, 100
Oxford, Robert Harley, Earl of, 36
Paganini, 365
Paine, Thomas, 342
Palloy, M., 180-1
"Paradise Lost," 32, 364
Paris, Comte de, 164
Parnell Letters, forged, 90
Paston Letters, the, 99
Paterson, Colonel William, 362
Paul, Emperor of Russia, 62
Pembroke, Earl of, 358
Penn, William, 357, 359
Pennington, Mrs., letter from Mrs. Siddons to, 366
Pepys, Samuel, 374
Percy, Bishop, 357
Peters, Hugh, 357
Philbrick, Judge, K.C., 31
Phillipps, Sir Thomas, 89, 353-4
Picard, Ludovic, 42
Pigott, Richard, 90
Piozzi, Mrs., 13, 342, 363, 367
"Piozziana," 373
Pitt, William (the elder), 56, 80, 173-5, 355
Pitt, William (the younger), 175, 179-80
Poe, E. A., 41-2, 342
Pollapiolo, Antonio del, 15
Poniatowski, Marshal, 292, 303
Poole, Thomas, letter to, 364
Pope, Alexander, 202-5, 342, 368
Porson, Richard, 359
Porter, Jane, 342
Portland, Duke of, 105
Powell, S., letter to, 377
Pretyman, Bishop Tomline, 99
Prior, Thomas, 181, 361, 368
Privy Council Letter, value of, 362
Raffles, Dr., 96, 323
Raffles, Sir Stamford, visit of to St. Helena, 110;
value of autograph of, 360
Rambaud, M., 129
Ramsay, Allan, 356
Reade, Charles, 342
Reed, Lady, 138-9
_Revue des Autographs_, 57, 60-1, 292
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 64
Richard Plantagenet, 372
Richardson, Samuel, 342, 357
Richmond, Duke of, 368
Robertson, Ross, 55
Robespierre, 356
Robinson, John, 376
Robinson, Memoirs of Mrs., 108
Romney, George, facsimile of letter of, 274
Rose, George, 370
Rose, Dr. Holland, 10, 105, 175, 180, 293, 295
Rosebery, Lord, 41, 46
Rossetti, D. G., 342
Royal autographs, value of, 118-25;
sale of, 164
Ruskin, John, 48
Russell, G. W. E., work by, 144
St. Vincent, Earl, 358
Sala, George Augustus, 231-3
Sandby, Paul, 262
Sandeau, Jules, 42-3
Sandwich Islands stamp, 32
Scarlati, 365
Schiller, F. von, 375
Schubert, 365
Schumann, 365
Scott, Dr. H. T., 13, 57-8, 60, 65-6, 109, 201, 353
Scott, Sir Walter, 335-7, 359
_Sévigné, Letters of Mme. de_, 57, 76
Shakespearean forgeries, 75-9;
Wilson's letter, 109-10;
documents, 195-6
Shelbourne, Lord, 61
Shelley, P. B., 342, 370, 376
Shenstone, William, 359
Sheridan, R. B., facsimile of letter of, 265
Siddons, Sarah Martha, 84-6, 264-9, 357, 363, 366, 375
Sidney, Sir P., 351
_Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Lives of the_, 322
Simonides, Dr. Constantine, 89
Sims, _see_ FitzGerald
Sloane MSS., 34
Smith, Charles John, work by, 56
Smith, William, 359
Sophia of Hanover, 126
Sotheby's, the firm of, 354-5;
notable sales at, 355-65, 369-70, 372-4
Southey, William, letter to, 359
Sprague, Rev. Dr. W. B., 323, 325, 338
Staël, Mme. de, 65
Stanhope, Lord, 180-1
Stanley, Sir H. M., 361
State Papers, 376
Steele, Sir Richard, 368-9
Stevenson, George, 98
Stevenson, R. L., 41, 342
Stoddart Sale of MSS., 375
Stowell, Lord, 370
Strafford, Lord, 368
Strode, William, 125
Sussex, Duke of, 161
Swift, 375
Swinburne, Algernon, 342
Sydney, Lord, 139
Talleyrand, C. M. de, 300-3, 311
Tayleure, William, 38
Taylor, letter to John, 374
Tedder, H. R., quoted, 348
Tefft, Israel K., 321, 323, 338
Temple, Rev. W. J., 96
Tenniel, Sir John, 44-5
Tennyson, Alfred, 216-17, 342, 356
Thackeray, W. M., 42, 56;
forgeries, 81-3;
letter of, 198, 217-20;
value of autograph of, 342, 356-8, 374
Thatcher, Benjamin B., 323
Thibaudeau, M. A. W., 68
Thiers, 40
Thoresby, Ralph, 36
Thrale, Mrs., _see_ Piozzi
_Three Dorset Captains, The_, 249
Tonson, Jacob, 32
Turner, Dawson, 350
Twain, Mark, 229, 341
Tyndall, correspondence of, 96
Upcott, William, 120, 347-50;
sale of collection of, 351-3
d'Urbino, R. S., 375
Value of autographs:
Royal, 118-25;
diplomatic, 172;
literary, 196-8;
naval and military, 23-8, 41, 254;
musicians', 259;
dramatic personages, 263-4, 269;
artists', 270;
French, 303-11;
American, 342-3;
variations in, 356-77
Verdi, G., 357
Vicars, Sir Arthur, 375
Victoria, Empress of Germany, 168
Victoria, Queen, 56, 144-7, 355
Villeneuve, Admiral, 311
Voltaire, 311, 315, 355
Vrain-Lucas, 87-9, 90-1
Wallace, Dr., 110, 195
Waller, John, 120, 124-5, 238
Walpole, Horace, quoted, 8, 133-4, 205-6, 342
Washington, George, 56, 325, 329-32;
value of autographs of, 352;
facsimile of letter of, 333;
portfolio of, 372;
documents signed by, 375;
letter of, 377
Watson, G. L. de St. M., 214
Watts, Isaac, 356
Wellington, Duke of, 56, 64, 237, 253-5, 360-1, 369, 373
Wesley, John, facsimile of letter of, 232;
value of autograph of, 373, 342
West, Sir Benjamin, 369
West, James, 36
_Wexford, the War in_, 112
Whalley, Dr., 367
Wheeler, H. F. B., works by, 105, 112
Whistler, J. Arch., 229
White, Sir George, collection of, 68, 76, 125
White, Gilbert, 364
Whitelock's MS., discovery of, 99
Wilkinson, Miss Patty, 85
William III., 56, 126
William IV., 143, 156
William of Orange, 365
Wilson, William, 109
Wolfe, James, 375
Woollan, B. M., 248
Wordsworth, Dorothy, 56, 361
Wren, Sir Christopher, 355
Wright, Captain, 374
Yates, Edmund, 233, 356
York, Cardinal, MSS. of, 96
Young, Mr., 120, 353
* * * * *
UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note--The following corrections have been made to this text:
Page 81: "nowledge" to "knowledge"--an expert knowledge of
Page 111: "Gourgarid" to "Gourgaud"--opinion of Gourgaud
Page 129: "Bielka" to "Bielke"--Madame de Bielke
Page 220: "colletion" to "collection"--from the splendid collection
Page 374: "Thackerary" to "Thackeray"--Thackeray, Dickens, and others
Page 378: "von" to "van"--Beethoven, L. van,
Page 379: "Etienne" to "Étienne"--Charavay, Étienne, works by
Page 381: "Iconographics" to "Iconographies"--"Iconographies," the,
End of Project Gutenberg's Chats on Autographs, by Alexander Meyrick Broadley