A most felicitous pairing at every level. Herschel and Babbage 'met while undergraduates at Cambridge where they both studied mathematics. They remained lifelong friends. Herschel supported Babbage through personal encouragement, service on the Royal Society committees specially convened to advise on the utility of the engines [mechanical computing engines, or..... More
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..... More
Beecham toured Australia in 1940, and this portrait was presumably produced and signed then. Sir Thomas Beecham, the son of a wealthy industrialist, 'made his debut in 1905. In 1906 he founded the New Symphony Orchestra and in 1910 initiated a series of opera seasons at Covent Garden. The following..... More
![A typed letter signed ('Saul') to Leon [Edel], biographer and editor of Henry James. Saul BELLOW,...](/pictures/thumb/115600_00.jpg?v=1576806059)
'Dear Leon, Thank you for your note. It pleased me greatly, particularly since, as I take you to be a Jamesian through and through, you have probably had to overcome a considerable initial prejudice against so many violations of the good old canons. One can never predict the quarter from..... More
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 'The Contingent', presumably unpublished, is very much a product of its time and place..... More
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..... More
After his conquest of Italy, Napoleon appointed his sister Elisa as ruler of a client state in the north-western part of the peninsula. In this official letter, stamped 'Secret' and written soon after the departure of Napoleon on his ill-fated Russian campaign, Elisa informs the French Minister of War of..... More
In this very engaging and open letter, Brewster discusses his current travel plans with his daughter to the wedding of a relative, an impending visit to Hurstbourne Park to re-examine the papers of Sir Isaac Newton (on whom he wrote an authoritative life), and the completion of his latest book..... More
[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..... More
The lower portion of the image contains a caption in Czech: 'Alexander Dubcek, První Tajemník ÚV KSC' (First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia). Dubcek became 'Slovak Communist Party leader in 1963 and was Czechoslovak party leader 1967-69. After student riots in Prague in 1968..... More
Not having time to offer a full critique of a manuscript Vogel has sent him, Gorki writes that he will limit himself to a brief sketch of his own conception of religion, which is entirely contrary to Vogel's. 'La religion surgit de la sensation de la liaison entre l'homme et..... More
The eight-line poem is written on the verso and recto of consecutive leaves in the small autograph book; it is apparently unpublished. 'They've raised the fares by ten percent. | It leaves us in consequence, short of rent. | But if we raise the legal tender, | Be off to..... More
London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1931. This copy contains corrections and alterations to the text in the author's hand on 30 pages. Most of them (on 24 pages) are minor typos or changes from double to single inverted commas. However, in six instances (pages 4, 24, 26, 55, 60 and 82)..... More
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..... More
Undated, but perhaps the 'Thanks and greetings from H. Hesse' were called for after he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Provenance: Collection of The Hon Barry Jones AC. More
![An autograph letter signed to 'Dear Mrs Wholahan'; quarto, two pages, Ambleside [Hahndorf],...](/pictures/thumb/96028_00.jpg?v=1550893728)
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..... More
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..... More
Inscribed on a sheet of vellum, 355 × 215mm, 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..... More
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..... More
From the spring of 1931 until the end of his enlistment in February 1935, T.E. Lawrence 'was part of a small team that developed and perfected the new types of RAF boat. He worked on seaplane tenders and armoured target boats, general-purpose workboats, refuelling dinghies, bomb-loading dinghies and experimental craft'..... More
Louis Philippe instructs the Ambassador to Russia to attend the opening of the new session of Parliament in Paris after the fall of the second Thiers administration. The document is countersigned by the Garde des Sceaux, Alexandre-François Vivien. Offered with a small pen-and-ink botanical drawing (200 × 125 mm) by..... More
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;..... More
![An autograph letter signed ('Monty') to Rose and Harold [Sheard]; one page small quarto, undated...](/pictures/thumb/59935_00.jpg?v=1550893321)
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..... More
An apposite document relating to Mussolini, who was wounded on active service in the First World War. 'After the war, with the Socialist Party closed to him and Communism threatening disruption, he founded (1919) the first "Fascio di Combattimento", nominally to serve the cause of the neglected ex-servicemen. This proved..... More
The decree confirms the appointment of Georges Frédéric Fallot as Lutheran pastor in the parish of Dampierre-les-Bois near Audincourt, Doubs. It is countersigned by Hippolyte Fortoul, Ministre de l'Instruction publique et des Cultes. The decree was apparently cancelled soon after it was issued; it is crossed out, with the word..... More
