Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 5.djvu/196

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. v. FEB. 24, 1912.

of France, 51. 5s. ; a collection of deeds (c. 1240- 1352) relating to property in Middleton and other places in Essex, 6?. 10s. ; an English Armorial composed between 1550 and 1565, 121. ; a collec- tion of original MS. heraldic treatises belonging to the later years of the sixteenth century, 15Z. ; an inventory, on a long vellum roll, dated 1496, of the contents of the house of a country gentle- man of the period, 51. 10s. ; a collection of charters on vellum relating to lands in Charing in Kent, beginning in 1306, 12Z. ; a collection of 13C charters on vellum (14th-16th centuries) relating to Willesborough in Kent, 251. ; and a MS. on vellum (about 1390), with statutes of Edward III. and Richard II., and containing a contemporary portrait of Richard II., 10Z. 10s.

IN Messrs. Maggs's Catalogue of Historical and Topographical Engravings (No. 280) we note an interesting view of the Falls of Niagara in winter, c. 1840, 211. ; a pair of Maori portraits in oil ly Lindauer, 1878, 60 guineas ; a set of four aquatints in colour by F. Jukes after R. Dodd, representing the destruction of H.M.S. Ramillies and her convoy and prizes in the hurricane of 16 Sept., 1782, 1795, 211. 10s. ; an exceedingly curious etching by M. Darly, ' Bunker's Hill ; or, America's Head-dress,' a woman wearing an enormous head-dress composed of hills, forts, flags, and caricature emblems, 101. 10s. ; and Ratzer's Plan and View of New York, engraved on two large sheets which have never been joined up, with a panoramic view of the city in the lower half of the second sheet, 1776, 55Z.

IN Messrs. Maggs's Catalogue (No. 281) of Auto" graph Letters and MSS. perhaps the most interest" ing item is a long autograph draft letter written by Capt. John Paul Jones to the Hon. Jas. Hewes, Esq., Philadelphia, 31 Oct., 1776, upon the need of remodelling the American navy, and creating " an impartial Board of Admiralty competent to determine the merits and abilities of every officer," with the intention of making "our fleet.... formidable even to Great Britain," 150Z. There is also a letter of Capt. Jones's to Hogstead Hacker, Esq. (1 Nov., 1776), giving sailing and signalling directions, 501. Other American items are a letter of George Washington's to Robt. Cary & Co., his London agents/ 1773, 68Z. ; a letter of Benjamin Franklin's, written the year before he died, to " My dear old Friend," concern- ing the settlement of some debt, 1789, 251. ; and a report to William Penn from his secretary, James Logan, upon the affairs of Pennsylvania, 1704, 25Z. We noticed a Royal Sign Manual (possibly an impressed stamp) of Mary Tudor to an Order on paper, 1554, 211. 10s. ; and observed a considerable collection of autographs of members of the House of Stuart, among them a letter from Henrietta Maria to the Due de Savoy e, 1628, 30Z. ; a private letter from Charles II. " For my Lord Hide," evidently relating to debts [ due from the King, 1681, 151. ; a letter to the Comte d'Estree by James II. when Duke of York, 1673, 21Z. ; and a long letter, in French, written at St. Germain by Mary of Modena to De Lauzun, on the occasion of the French victory off Beachy Head, 1690, 251. There are two noteworthy De Witt letters : one from Cornelius to his wife, 1672, IQl. 19s. ; the other, written about a month later by Jan to the same lady, giving her news of her husband, then serving with the Dutch fleet against France, 1672, 121. 12s. A letter by Sir

Edward Coke to Sir Nathaniel Bacon is 48/. ; and 7 letters of Lady Hamilton's to Mr.?. Walcot are 381. 10s.

Musicians figure prominently in this Catalogue : there are letters of Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Chopin, Rubinstein, and several others, but the most important items are two communications from Beethaven to Charles Neate of the Crystal Palace : the first, accepting 100 guineas from the London Philharmonic Society for his trio of string quartettes, and expressing his willingness to visit England, " as I feel that I shall never make anything in Germany," 1823, 181. ; the second, in French, comprising corrections to the Ninth Symphony, with some bars of music in Beethoven's hand, 1825, 85Z.

In Foreign Literature and Science we noticed a letter from Voltaire to Frederick the Great, 1757, 32Z. ; one from Linnaeus to the Lord High Chan- cellor of Sweden, 1753, 211. ; and one from Schiller to G. F. Goschen, 1791, 35Z. Admirers of Lord Byron have offered them a collection of relics of the poet, Countess Guiccioli, and Lady Caroline Lamb, consisting of autograph letters, miniatures, and ringlets of hair, arranged in an elaborately bound volume which preserves the two envelopes and two paper wrappers which contained the hair; these last bear authenticating inscriptions, of which the most interesting is that written by Mrs. Shelley on the paper which held Lord Byron's hair, 250Z. There are the autograph draft MS. of Meredith's ' " Jump-to-glory " Jane,' a version which differs considerably from the published one, 1501. ; the autograph MS. of Stevenson's poem ' A Mile an' a Bittock,' 68Z. ? and the MS. of Swinburne's ' Emperor's Progress,' 301.

WE have received from Messrs. C. J. Sawyer iheir Catalogue No. 29. It includes, besides hoice items for the collector, a large assortment of miscellaneous literature offered at low prices. We notice a remarkably fine MS. Book of Hours, written on vellum by an English scribe, and illus- * crated with miniatures in gold and colours ; a full page of the Catalogue is devoted to this rarity, which is priced at 250?. Other items are an unpublished MS. ' History of Kent,' by Cozens, 351. ; a collection of early coloured caricatures and original drawings, 40J. ; two collections )f franks and autographs ; a collection of windings, including specimens of Roger Payne's work and some old English morocco bindings ; tnd a magnificent extra - illustrated copy of Boydell's 'Thames.' There are also some highly curious coloured paintings of Chinese Tortures ; and rare coloured-plate books, including Cruik- hank's ' Sketch-Book,' Williamson's ' Oriental Tield Sports,' and Sullivan's ' Picturesque Tour hrough Ireland.'

to

E. A. P. Anticipated 11 S. iv. 515. Many thanks.

MR. SYDNEY HERBERT. Many thanks for photograph of the Jennens tomb.

J. ST. V. C., Odessa (" O.K.' ). See MR. ALBERT MATTHEWS'S article at 11 S. iii. 390.

E. A. B. We would suggest application direct to the publishers in the case of works so recently issued.