Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 8.djvu/46

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NOTES AND QUERIES. pi s. vn. jA3f. . 19J3.

MB. JAMES G. COMMIN of Exeter has sent us the list of Topographical Works relating to th< British Isles which forms his Catalogue 289 Under the heading ' General Topography ' we observed several good books, such, for instance as a copy of Leland's ' Itinerary,' 1710, i.e., the first edition, offered for 31. 15s., and the Lysons's ' Magna Britannia,' bound in 8 vols., 1806-22 12Z. 12s. For 51. may be had Speed's ' Theatre in the first (1611 ) edition. Coming to the separate counties, we find that there are a good copy of the original (1819) edition of Ormerod's ' History of the County Palatine and City of Chester,' 9Z. ; Polwhele's ' History of Cornwall,' 1803-8, 51. ; Crabbe's ' Account of the Monumental Brasses remaining in the Churches of the County of Devon,' which is offered for 3Z. 10s. ; a Hutchins's ' His- tory and Antiquities. . . .of Dorset,' best edition, priced 111. 11s.; and a "best edition" copy of Wood's ' Athenee Oxonienses,' with the addition "by Bliss, 1813-20 two copies, the better 6?. 15s., the other 4Z. 15s. Nor must we forget to mention that Harris's ' History of Kent,' 1719, is here offered for 5Z., and Hasted's ' History and Topo- graphical Survey of Kent ' for 81. 8s.

MB. FBANCIS EDWABDS has sent us his Cata- logue of the Geographical Library of Mr. E. G. Ravenstein, which contains a large number of valuable and instructive works in English, Ger- man, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, and other languages. There are a copy of Servetus's edition of Ptolemy's ' Geographicse enarrationis, Libri VIII.,' 1535, 6Z. 10s.; the 'Asia Portuguesa' of Faria y Sousa, 1666-75, 5Z. ; Cavazzi's ' Istorica De- scrizione de tre Regni Congo, Matamba et Angola . . . .e delle Missioni Apostoliche esercitateni da Beligiosi Capucini,' a folio, vellum, Bologna, 1687, 2Z. 10s. ; Ogilby's ' Africa : Description of the Begions of Egypt, Barbary, Lygia, and Billedulgeria,' &c., 1670, 3Z. ; Herrera's ' His- toria general de los Hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas y Tierra Firina del Mar Oceano,' Madrid, 1730, 10Z. under black

tions,' 1599-1600, 20Z. ; and PurchasV Hakluytus Posthumus,' otherwise ' Purchas his Pilgrimes,' in 5 vols., folio, having the genuine engraved title to the first volume and the rare maps, 1625-6, 70Z. We may also mention that for 50Z. is offered Christopher Saxton's ' Collection of Maps of England and Wales,' which is dated 1573-9, .and consists of 35 folding coloured maps, folding plates of arms, catalogues of counties, and a frontispiece of a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, beneath which are eight Latin lines.

IN Messrs. Maggs's Catalogue 299 of Auto- graph Letters we noticed an interesting letter of Tolstoi's, to be had for 6Z. 6s., addressed in 1907 to one Ivan Fyodorovitch, promising to send money to two prisoners. There are two of Voltaire's letters ; three or four of Thackeray's, as well as a pen-and-ink drawing of his coat of .arms, with a note below (26Z.) ; a letter of Steele's ; a good one not yet published of Stevenson's ; and a collection of 24 letters, some of which contain drawings by Pugin. 185Z. is the price of a collection of " souvenirs," i.e., an autograph letter of each and a miniature of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Wagner, a curious trio. They are contained in a sumptuously bound volume,

and two particularly good items the heading of Collection of Voyages : a - letter Hakluyt, ' The Principal Naviga-

which has also some illuminated pages of bio- graphical notes. We may also mention a letter by Madame de Maintenon, apparently to one of the sisters at St. Cyr, of unusual intrinsic value, 12Z. 12s. ; a letter of Charles Lamb's to Serjeant Talfourd, 18Z. 18s. ; a letter written by Heine from Paris to Campe, librarian at Hamburg, 1854, 8Z. 8s. ; two great seals, Henry VIII.'s 1544, 15Z. 15s., and Elizabeth's, 1595, 10Z. 10s. ; and letters of Byron's, the one dated April 12th ' 1822, to Capt. Hay, 12Z. 10s. ; the other from St. James s, 3 Dec., 1813, on the subject of ' The Giaour,' 31Z. 10s.

MESSBS. SOTHEB.VX'S Catalogue 730 gives us a ' Bibliotheca Criminalis et Juridica ' which may well claim the attention of those who are interested in criminology and the light which it throws on civilization. Most of the items are within the reach of purses moderately supplied; in fact, bhe most expensive that we noticed are a ' Collec- tion of Seventy-four Interesting Trials for Murder, High Treason, &c.,' 80 vols., 1770-1865, 12Z! 12s. ; a ' Large Collection of the Perjured Narratives, [nformations, Speeches, Confessions, Broadsides, Trials, &c., relative to the Popish Plot,' 150 pieces n 5 vols., folio, 1678-86, 21Z. ; and ' The Grand Pyrate : the Life and Death of Capt. George Cusack, the great Sea-Robber,' 1675-6, 11. Is. These items, however, seem to us by no means more interesting than many others offered for a )ound or two, in some cases for shillings. Thus, vith English and French on opposite pages, there- are the original pieces relating to the trial of Oalas ; the trial of the " Wicked " Lord Byron, he poet's great-uncle, for killing William Cha- vorth ; some score of papers relating to Eliza- )eth Canning ; the proceedings printed for Elizabeth Cellier connected with her accusation of complicity in what was known as the " Meal- tub Plot," and her deliverance, under the title of ' Malice Defeated ' ; the trial of Mary Ann Clarke (" with pensive and comely folding portrait front." ) with the Wrights for conspiracy against Col. Wardle ; and the report of the important Yelver- ton marriage case, which brought on the much- needed reform in regard to the validity of the Scotch and Irish marriage laws. There are several interesting newspaper libel actions, of which we may mention that against John Magee of The Dublin Evening Post for publishing a review of the Duke of Richmond's Irish ad- ministration, in which Daniel O'Connell was counsel for the defence (1813) ; and that of Hodgson against John Walter in 1821 for trade defamation, when The Times lost its case.

to (K0msp0ntonts,

ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

WE cannot andertake to answer queries privately, nor can we advise correspondents as to the value of old books and other objects or as to the means of disposing of them.

E. WTLSON DOKBS. Many thanks. The query was answered at 11 IS. vi. 355. A. C. C. Forwarded.