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Manuscripts

Results 1 - 25 (of 29)

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[Bank of South Australia]

Two early items associated with the Bank of South Australia are offered together. (1) A manuscript personal promissory note (90 x 167 mm) dated Adelaide, 24 October 1840 - 'Three months after date pay to my order Thirty Pounds value received. F.W. Allen. To C.W. Stuart Esqre'. Stuart has written across it 'Accepted Payable at the Bank of South Australia'. It was subsequently stamped by the Bank of South Australia, Adelaide when it was paid on 27 January 1841. The verso is endorsed by F.W. Allen, C. Crispe and 'For the Bank of South Australia Edwd Stephens Manager'. Apart from two vertical creases and a tiny spike hole, it is in fine condition. (2) A printed Bank of South Australia cheque (80 x 180 mm, printed by Batho and Bingley, London) with manuscript insertions - 11 February 1841, from C.W. Stuart to Harry Lechahdee[?] for 3 pounds. A bank stamp on it indicates it was paid out in Adelaide on 15 February 1841. It is endorsed on the verso by Robert Champlay, an indecipherable signature and three small Xs. It is lightly creased, with a tiny spike hole; on the verso, there is a discoloured band denoting the outer surfaces when the item was originally folded; essentially it is in excellent condition. It goes without saying that these are utterly rare ephemeral items, dating from when the colony was barely four years old. However, because of this, we are able to identify most of the signatories, thus giving these trifles much greater weight

Edward Stephens (1811-1861) was appointed cashier and accountant of the South Australian Company in 1836; he arrived in the 'Coromandel' on 17 January 1837 at Holdfast Bay. 'There he set up his office in a tent but at first business was slight. He was induced to sign a letter to...

Price: $1,100.00

BEECHEY, Frederick William (1796-1856), British rear-admiral and Arctic explorer

An autograph letter signed (small quarto, 2 pages; Holyhead, 12 January 1840) to an unidentified recipient

The late arrival of the Commissioners of Railroads to a meeting has delayed Beechey's arrival in London, where he has 'an interview with the treasury on the subject of appropriating the remainder of the money' for a colleague's publication. In fine condition.

Price: $750.00

BERNHARDT, Sarah (1844-1923)

An 1887 autograph note signed by this famous French stage actress to 'Mon cher Paul', mentioning her pretty niece, and trying to arrange a suitable time to catch up

Offered together with a photographic portrait of Bernhardt as 'The Lady of the Camellias' (a vintage cabinet card, image size 140 × 85 mm, circa 1881), and five ephemeral portraits (vintage trade cards and an early commemorative postage stamp).

Price: $750.00

[Boer War]. 'FERRES, Arthur' [John William KEVIN]

'The Contingent.' A manuscript patriotic poem about the Second Boer War

A lengthy patriotic poem (twelve four-line stanzas) dated at the end 'Italia March 1900'. Under the pseudonym 'Arthur Ferres', John William Kevin (circa 1843-1903) wrote several Australian boys' adventure books and published one volume of verse. 'The Contingent', presumably unpublished, is very much a product of its time and place...

Price: $550.00

BOETTGER, Otto (1842-1907), Adelaide optician and instrument-maker

Two very detailed manuscript ledgers from Boettger's practice as an optician (1886-1894), together with approximately 275 invoices covering importations for his extensive engineering, surveying, optical and scientific instruments business (1892-1900)

The foolscap folio ledgers are uniformly bound in half suede and cloth (with the letters A and B respectively on the spines); the covers show signs of wear, but the volumes are very sturdy, with the contents in excellent condition. The first one contains 21 pages of index and 102...

Price: $7,500.00

[Chamberlain Case]

Chamberlain Innocence Committee. New Forensic Evidence in support of an Inquiry into the Convictions of M. and L. Chamberlain [cover title]

[Sydney], Chamberlain Innocence Committee, [1985]. Loosely inserted is a two-page ALS (folded once, with a few tiny light marks) from Dr Norman H. Young, 'Senior Lecturer in New Testament, School of Religion, Avondale College, Cooranbong' (where Michael Chamberlain studied in the late 1960s). The first paragraph of the letter, addressed...

Price: $400.00

[Christian IX, King of Denmark (1818-1906)]

A collection of documents relating to the career of Peter Frederik Koch (1832-1907), sometime Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Denmark, and his son Svend Koch (1867-1943), an engineer and Member of Parliament

The archive includes: (A) Five documents (foolscap folio, each one a bifolium, dated 1864, 1871, 1878, 1885 and 1897, with the florid printed introduction: 'Vi Christian den Niende, af Guds Naade Konge til Danmark ...') completed in a secretarial hand and signed 'Christian R' (Christian IX, King of Denmark from...

Price: $1,650.00

GAVASKAR, Sunil Monahar (Bombay, Somerset and India)

An autograph letter signed (Sunil Gavaskar) to Srikantan Ramamurthy. Octavo, one page on his personal letterhead, 21 January (1982). Greetings and familiarities plus a little more: "I am delighted to know that you have found some films on Bradman. I have a VHS format video so would be glad if you could send it across. Also the Lillee - Miandad kick .." To put it into perspective: "Gavaskar was for most of his long career the best and most consistent opening batsman in the world" (Martin-Jenkins). A little creased, otherwise in very good condition

Price: $110.00

HART, Pro

A short autograph letter signed by the artist, illustrated with a small signed ink drawing of a mining scene. Three intersecting diagonal creases; in very good condition

The letter, on the Pro Hart Gallery letterhead, states in full: 'Dear Collector, I hope you get as much enjoyment from these prints as I did when I painted them for the Lawson book of poems'. The letter is undated, but Hart's illustrated 'Poems of Henry Lawson' was published in...

Price: $400.00

HEYSEN, Sir Hans (1877-1968)

An autograph letter signed to 'Dear Mrs Wholahan'; quarto, two pages, Ambleside [Hahndorf], Sunday (undated, probably 1930s, but not later than 1936 when Ambleside reverted to its original name); creased where folded for posting; in fine condition. After arrangements for an impending visit are discussed, Heysen writes 'It is good to feel someone has a heart for the Struggling Art Student.. I shall be very glad to fulfill the position of Trustee .. The time is still fresh in my memory when I felt the need of a "leg-up", and lucky for me it came, and just at the right time, when my mind was most receptive and I could paint & study with peace in my heart'

The artist and arts benefactor Elizabeth Maud Wholohan, nee Vizard (1875-1950) was a lifelong friend of Hans Heysen, exhibiting with him at an early age. On her death she bequeathed a substantial sum of money to establish the Maud Wholohan-Vizard Art Prize, awarded first in 1957. Offered together with two...

Price: $350.00

HUMBOLDT, Alexander (1769-1859, Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer)

An autograph letter signed ('Le Bn de Humboldt') to an unidentified 'Monsieur le Duc'; it is a letter of introduction for the geologist [Alexandre] Brongniart. Paris, 27 March 1820; small quarto, 2 pages, with a conjugate blank leaf; thin strip of tissue-paper on the outside rear page, and minimal loss to this blank leaf near the centre of the hinge (both as a result of having been mounted in, then removed from, an album); light creases where folded in four for posting; in excellent condition

Humboldt remembers with gratitude the assistance rendered by le Duc to himself and his friends and collaborators, [Louis Joseph] Gay-Lussac and [Christian Leopold von] Buch. He hopes that M. Brongniart, 'l'homme célèbre', who wishes to visit Vesuvius and the lava flows of Ischia [a volcanic island near Naples], will be.....

Price: $2,500.00

[Illuminated Address]

'To W.B.T. Andrews Esquire, J.P. Registrar-General of Deeds. Dear Sir, on the eve of your departure for England, we the Officers of your Department, desire simply and sincerely and with unaffected unity of feeling, to wish you a prosperous voyage and a hearty God-speed. We trust that though your visit may be overshadowed by affectionate anxiety for the health of your daughter, it will nevertheless fulfil your hopes, and we assure you we shall look forward to the day when you will once more resume your official duties as one worthy to be celebrated amongst us. We have the honor to remain, Dear Sir, Your obedient servants .. Lands Titles Office, Adelaide, 1st July, 1882'

Inscribed on a sheet of vellum, 355x215mm, with the recipient's name and the initial letter of the text highly decorative, and all other capitals ornamental. Running the full length of the left-hand side is a standard with a twirled ribbon, captioned 'The Deeds Themselves, Though Mute, Speak Loud The Doer'.....

Price: $1,500.00

[KAVEL, Pastor August]

A manuscript petition signed by 54 'householders and members of the German Lutheran Congregations of Klemzig and Hahndorf' on 26 May 1842, seeking to have Pastor Kavel licensed as an Officiating Minister under a new 'Act for Regulating Marriages in the Province of South Australia'

The Act came into operation on 1 July 1842. It called for Ministers of Religion to be registered, or any marriages they performed would be deemed invalid. Automatically eligible under the Act were 'clergymen of the United Church of England and Ireland and of the Church of Scotland'. Section XXXII...

Price: $15,000.00

KOKOSCHKA, Oskar (1886-1980, Austrian artist, poet and playwright)

A UNICEF Christmas card (printed on paper, unfolded dimensions 220 × 155 mm); on the blank verso is an autograph letter signed from Olda (Mrs Kokoschka). It is also inscribed and signed at the foot of the letter 'Love and kindest wishes for 1977, yours, Oskar Kokoschka'. The letter, to unnamed recipients, contains season's greetings and thank yous for various kindnesses; we know it to be addressed to one of his former students, Ernest Roth, and his wife in Adelaide, South Australia

It is offered together with another eleven letters and an aerogram (seven in German, five in English, dated between 1974 to 1980), all written and signed by Olda Kokoschka to the Roths. The content tends to be routine and repetitive, but it is not without appeal. For example, in November...

Price: $750.00

LA TROBE, Charles Joseph and John Leslie Fitzgerald Vesey FOSTER

A land 'Grant by Purchase' to John Hamilton McLachlan for a 'Town Lot' in the Colony of Victoria, dated 2 February 1854, and signed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, Charles Joseph La Trobe, and the Colonial Secretary and Registrar, John Foster

John Hamilton McLachlan purchased land in Wickliffe, still a small settlement (it may have even been larger in 1854) about 225 kilometres west of Melbourne on the Glenelg Highway. Hamilton is probably the Reverend John Hamilton McLachlan who emigrated with his family from Scotland and 'first went to Geelong upon...

Price: $450.00

MEULEMAN, Kenneth Douglas (Victoria, WA and Australia)

An autograph letter signed (Ken Meuleman) to Srikantan Ramamurthy. Folio, one page, on Meuleman's business letterhead, 21 April 1983. Routine content regarding autograph hunting, with a couple of interesting observations: "the other photo is of pure gold cuff links personally presented to all players who participated in Sir Donald Bradman's testimonial in 1949". Meuleman, an accomplished right-handed batsman born in 1923, played his sole Test in Wellington in 1946; his "Test hopes were frustrated by the heavy run-scoring of Sid Barnes, Arthur Morris and to a lesser extent Billy Brown" (Pollard). A couple of tiny tears to the bottom edge, otherwise in fine unfolded condition

Price: $55.00

MOUNTFORD, Charles Pearcy (1890-1976)

An autograph letter signed ('Monty') to Rose and Harold [Sheard]; one page small quarto, undated but 1964 from the content

Mountford has been busy in the eastern states: 'Ayers Rock is in the hands of the publishers, the last volume of the Arnhem Land reports is almost complete, and I am going to get my M.A. Apparently the last examiner (undoubtedly Stanner) was much fairer in his criticisms than the.....

Price: $400.00

NIXON, Richard

A typed letter signed (with his familiar monogram) to Frank C.P. McGlinn, Fidelity Bank, Philadelphia, on White House letterhead, 3 March 1969. The letter, written during Nixon's presidency, is short but oh so sweet: 'Dear Frank / Rose Mary brought my attention to your / thoughtful note of January 24 and the enclosed / cartoon. It is always good to look at the light / side! / With appreciation and warmest personal regards'

Rose Mary [Woods] (1917-2005) was Nixon's private secretary from 1951 until the end of his political career in 1974, and she became a close family friend. She was fiercely loyal, and more - as the Washington Post obituary put it, 'Miss Woods was Nixon's gatekeeper. Reporters said she controlled who...

Price: $2,500.00

OWEN, Lady Janie Kirk Gibson

A collection of ephemera relating to Lady Owen, Mayoress of Exeter, and her services to Australian troops in the First World War. Exeter saw more overseas soldiers than any inland town in Great Britain, and Lady Owen and her committee reportedly met all trains carrying troops passing though Exeter with complimentary food and drink, no matter what the hour

Some idea of the extent of her prodigious efforts may be found on the 'exetermemories' website: 'The Mayoress was a formidable fund raiser and organiser, having raised £400 since the outbreak of war, to purchase bags of food for the soldiers passing through Exeter by rail. In February 1915 she...

Price: $1,800.00

[Port Phillip Settlement Pioneer]. WOODRIFF, Daniel (1756-1842)

A series of eight coastal profiles, mainly of the Turks and Caicos Islands (an Atlantic archipelago approximately 900 kilometres south-east of Florida), nearby Mayaguana, Cuba and Jamaica, drawn in July, August and October 1790. Some (but probably not all) of them were drawn by Lieutenant Daniel Woodriff

There are three of Mayaguana (in the Bahamas) dated 16 July (black ink and pencil, on wide strips of paper, 120 × 400 mm, torn from a ledger with columns and headings printed in red). One of them is recorded as being drawn from HMS 'Endymion'. A thinner strip (50...

Price: $5,000.00

[Ports and Harbors]

Two volumes of nineteenth century South Australian Parliamentary Papers relating to ports and harbors, together with a small quantity of related manuscript material, collected by Geoffrey Ingleton. They are uniformly and handsomely bound in quarter morocco and buckram, with contrasting title-labels on the spines ('Early Port of Adelaide Parliamentary Papers, 1869-1878' and 'Early South Australian Ports. Parliamentary Papers, 1869-1880'); typed title leaves (signed by Ingleton) and lists of contents are included

The first volume contains eleven Parliamentary Papers (in all, 98 pages plus 7 plans or charts) plus a printed broadside and 11 manuscript documents totalling 19 pages. The documents, all dated 1878, include a proof copy of the Report of the Board of Advice (one page foolscap folio, signed in...

Price: $2,000.00

[Promissory Notes]

Approximately 160 attractively printed nineteenth century South Australian promissory notes, with relevant particulars completed in ink, are offered as a collection. They are drawn mainly on Adelaide banks and business houses in the 1860s and 1870s, with payees generally in the Clare region (including Clare, Mintaro, Spalding, Yatina, Watervale, Auburn, Rhynie, Broughton, and Bungaree)

All are bank-stamped. Recognisable payees' signatures (written on both sides of the notes) include Benno Seppelt, Albion Tolley, George Wood, and Philip Santo. Local well-known businesses represented include Simpson, James Martin, Faulding, Wills, William Morgan, Fowler, Harris Scarfe and Duncan Fraser. Offered together with 50 or more similar but lesser...

Price: $4,500.00

REES, Lloyd

An autograph postcard signed by Lloyd Rees (both sides of a plain postcard with the letterhead of the Sesame Pioneer and Lyceum Club, Grosvenor St, London, 17 September 1973)

'Dear Jan, We heard of your illness with deep concern from Marjorie Barnard ... I'm sure you will be interested to know that the exhibition opened to a packed gallery and even at this early stage I think it can be accounted a success. Nearly all the large oils have...

Price: $330.00

SAINT-SAENS, Camille (1835-1921)

An autograph letter (in French) signed by Saint-Saëns, to Edmond Hippeau, editor of 'La Renaissance musicale: Revue hebdomadaire de critique, d'esthétique et d'histoire', severing his connection with the publication

The catalyst for the split appears to have been Hippeau's biting lampoon of Gounod in the issue of 29 October 1882. Saint-Saëns had hitherto been listed prominently on the covers as an official collaborator of the magazine; his name is absent from the issue of 13 November. His relationship with...

Price: $4,500.00

SAINT-SAËNS, Camille (1835-1921)

An autograph letter signed to Baroness Caccamisi (Blanche Marchesi, mezzo-soprano and voice teacher [1863-1940]) seeking to find a convenient time to visit her in between his many rehearsal commitments

Three pages octavo (in French), undated but with the original stamped addressed envelope postmarked London, 2 July 1898. They had appeared together on the same program on Thursday 23 June. Offered with a vintage gelatin silver photographic portrait (postcard-format) of Saint-Saëns.

Price: $1,000.00

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