Box 58

Scope and Contents

A collection of four photographs of noted American clergyman and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher and, presumably, two other members of his family. Three of the photos are in a cardboard frame: two are labeled “Mrs. Stuart, Ida, Mother” and “Henry Ward Beecher” while the third, a photograph of a woman in a patterned dress, is unlabelled. A fourth loose photograph of Beecher himself is also included.

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8 letters from American journalist James O’Donnell Bennett to a Mr. Hill, written on Chicago Record-Herald letterhead. Contents are variable but include references to the purchase of old prints and portraits, as well as Bennett sending Hill tickets to a number of shows. Undated.

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Three letters to various recipients from British poet Robert Bridges. The contents generally relate to his writing, from responding to comments on new work to discussing proofs. One undated, others 1922 and 1926.

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A letter from British archaeologist and printer Conant Broadribb to his brother, historian and archaeologist Gerald Broadribb. The contents pertain to several medieval manuscripts, images of which are included, that Conant suggests may relate to their shared interest in Book History, typography, and printing. Dated 1949.

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Six pieces of correspondence in the hand of American poet, journalist, and editor William Cullen Bryant. Contents are general, though one contains verses in Spanish, and one is written in French. Dated in the 1850s and 60s.

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A collection of 17 letters, notes, and fragments in the hand of James Silk Buckingham, British author and journalist, dated between 1826 and 1848, along with two printed portraits of the same. The recipients and contents are varied, ranging from various lectures, the sale of a periodical, a speech given by his son on temperance and so forth.

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A typescript of the first five chapters of what appears to be an untitled epic poem about two children traveling in Paradise, by American poet Danford Barney. Each chapter has a précis in prose, and is annotated in both pen and pencil, including notes for illustrations. A note in pencil in the upper margin of the first chapter reads “By Danford Barney. Illustrated by Lorraine Combs. about 1925”, though there is no evidence the work was ever published.

Scope and Contents An account book or ledger dating between November 1844 and December 1879, with entries not always in order. The transactions are for a variety of goods and services and are paid both in cash and by trade. Over time the hand becomes significantly shakier, until it is difficult to decipher. An inverted pencil inscription on the rear pastedown reads “B.P. Smith Fairmount Springs Luzerne Co. Pa” in what appears to be a child’s hand: it is unlikely this is the author of the book, but many of the...

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Two letters from George Byam-Shaw to two recipients (“Joe” and “Susie”) dated 1940 from France. Contents are chatty and personal. This is likely George Byam-Shaw, son of British actor and director Glen Byam Shaw (1904-1986), and grandson of the noted artist Byam Shaw (1872-1919) – or possibly Glen’s brother Major George Byam-Shaw who died 21st May, 1940, a few days after the later letter was written.

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Two letters addressed to American naval commander James Barron from two separate correspondents, one dated 1831 and the other 1835.

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Materials related to the 1968 British comedy film Decline and Fall…of a Birdwatcher, an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s 1928 novel Decline and Fall. Included is a biography of the French actress Geneviève Page (b. 1927) who starred as Margot Beste-Chetwynde, typed on letterhead for the film, a signed still of her co-star Australian actor Leo McKern (1920-2002) along with a typed blurb about his role in the film.

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Four letters in the hand of American writer George Henry Calvert dated between 1867 and 1874. The contents appear to be personal, and often relate to poetry, lecturing, or the arts.

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10 letters, 6 in the hand of Henry Charles Manners-Sutton, 4th Viscount Canterbury and 4 in that of his wife, Amye Rachel, Lady Canterbury, all addressed to a Mr. Chapman. The Viscount’s letters are dated between 1894 and 1895, and the Viscountess’ undated. The contents are largely personal.

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6 letters in the hand of American artist Frederick Stuart Church to Evelyn Baker Schley (“Dear Eve”) on various personal subjects. Three of the letters contain illustrations, caricatures related to various anecdotes directed at Schley’s children, including one about a bear loose in Central Park: “There were 500 people chasing him. If I had only known it I would have taken a plate of Turkey and a plate of Mince Pie and caught him at once.” Only one letter is dated, from 1906.

Scope and Contents 28 pieces of correspondence addressed to the British author and historian H.P. Collins, dated 1920-1973. The majority of the collection, 11 letters, are in the hand of the author, critic, and art historian James Laver, at that time Keeper of Prints, Drawings, and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 3 letters from literary critic and poet Hugh l’Anson Fausset are accompanied by copies also in his hand of what appear to be references for Collins, recommending him for a...

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Four pieces of correspondence from the archive of British naturalist C.J. Cornish, all dated 1897. 3 letters in his own hand, written to his publisher, a Mr. Seeley, concerning various writings and drawings, alongside what appears to be a mock-up of Cornish’s Nights with an Old Gunner, then forthcoming from Seeley and Co., London. A fourth letter is written to Cornish by an unidentified correspondent who seems to be an artist working on illustrations for one of his books.

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A document containing a supply list for the HMS Cornwallis, dated August 25th, 1778 in New York. The list, “received out of His Majesty’s Stores from Mr Thomas Man, Naval Ordinance Storekeeper,” consists of “Match”, “Spunge Tacks”, “Sheepskins”, “Oil”, and “Musquet Flints”. The Cornwallis was a British galley, purchased in the United States in 1777.

Scope and Contents Three pieces of correspondence in the hand of Irish poet and literary critic Aubrey de Vere. All three discuss literary matters to a greater or lesser extent: one mentions de Vere’s friend and fellow poet Sir Henry Taylor (1800-1886), and another is apparently addressed to a publisher submitting a manuscript on behalf of his brother, Major de Vere of the Royal Engineers, concerning “a short but interesting journal of a tour he made about the Crimea immediately before returning home.” One...

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Four letters in the hand of British author and philosopher Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, dating to between 1908 and 1914. The correspondence is addressed to mixed recipients and is largely personal in nature.

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A small bifold menu from French restaurant Le Coq d’Or in Piccadilly, London, apparently for a private dinner on April 7th, 1954. On the back are sixteen signatures in a variety of inks, including Richard L. Sykes and Walter R. Beardsley.