Doyle provides an insight into his new novel –‘I think I have done it in such a way that it is picturesque and not offensive, though I have two big fights in the book’DOYLE ARTHUR CONAN: (1859-1930) Scottish author, creator of Sherlock Holmes. A very fine A.L.S., A Conan Doyle, four pages, 8vo, Maloja Hotel, Maloja [Switzerland], 1st August 1895, to [James] Payn. Doyle's unusually lengthy letter begins in a social vein, 'How I wish I could waft you up here, for it is a very charming place, but decidedly inaccessible to any man who is not very robust….I see from the Illustrated that your wit and cheeriness never fail you, but I know that in your case that is no proof of health or strength', before continuing on the subject of his present literary endeavours, 'I have been very busy on the…..prize fighter book of which, I think, I said something to you. I think it will work out fairly well, but I dare not be too sanguine. I remember that you were disposed to think that I was dealing with an unsavoury subject in the prize ring……But I hope that it may justify itself. I think I have done it in such a way that it is picturesque and not offensive, though I have two big fights in the book. It has never yet been done, as far as I know, and yet the Ring is the one typical Anglo Saxon sport which has never existed outside English speaking countries, and which has now, I believe, a very deep hold of the people - in spite of the unspeakable state to which it has been reduced. In the old days it stood for chivalry, gallantry & fair play, and I am sure I would rather fight in the lists with lance and sword than stand up to a good man for a hundred rounds, as far as the bravery & endurance which is needed goes. I hope when it comes your way that you may think I have made it interesting.' The author returns to his social and sporting activities, 'Our chief amusement here is to play golf, but as the grass is very thick & long the game gives you a lot of fresh air with very little exertion, for at your first drive you lose your ball, and then you spend your day, with intervals for meals, in walking round in circles and looking for it. [John] Hare is here and I believe [Squire] Bancroft & [Arthur Wing] Pinero are expected, so we feel that we are quite a dramatic centre', and also comments on his holiday reading, 'Of course you have read Morrison's “Mean Streets”. It seemed to me to be very good indeed. I have just finished “The Honour of Savelli” but did not care for that so much….Books are the great difficulty out here, for the hotel library has only got as far as Bulwer Lytton'. In concluding Doyle refers to the health of his wife ('very well & bright') and their plans to have their own house built by the end of the next summer, 'I bought the land, but the Tyndalls now claim that there is a right of way through it. I recall a painful story I read somewhere of a man who had actually finished his house when such a claim was made & proved. As a result he had the whole parish continually passing in at his back door and out at the front one. Warned by it I shall settle this matter before I build - and I have no doubt we shall arrange it all right'. A letter of excellent content, not least for its rich literary references to Doyle's novel Rodney Stone. Some light overall age wear, minor creasing and a few small, neat tears to the edges of some folds, about VGJames Payn (1830-1898) English novelist and editor of periodicals including Chambers's Journal and the Cornhill Magazine.John Hare (1844-1921) English actor and theatre manager.Squire Bancroft (1841-1926) English actor and theatre manager.Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934) English playwright.Doyle's Gothic mystery and boxing novel Rodney Stone was first published in TheStrand Magazine from January to December 1896. As well as the author's depictions of prize fighting and the famous bare-knuckle boxers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Rodney Stone also includes narratives of thuggery, gambling, cheating and of dangerous horse-drawn chases. The work was adapted into a stage play, The House of Temperley, in 1909 and into a silent movie in 1913.
We found 235346 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 235346 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
235346 item(s)/page
CHARLES XV OF SWEDEN: (1826-1872) King of Sweden, and King of Norway as Charles IV, 1859-72. A good A.L.S., Charles, one page, small 8vo, n.p., 6th August [1870], to Monsieur Fournier, French Minister, in French. The King refers to the Wissenbourg affair stating `Here you have the telegram about the Weissebourg affair. The third Regiment division Douay and the first Brigadier Law forced back after several hours of fierce combats.. General Douay killed!..´ With blank integral leaf. Accompanied by the original envelope bearing a fine red wax seal to the verso. Small overall minor age wear and creasing, otherwise G The Battle of Wissembourg, during the Franco-Prussian War, took place on 4th August 1870. The battle saw the unsupported division of General Douay of I Corps, which was posted to watch the border, attacked in overwhelming fashion by the German. Charles Abel Douay (1809-1870) French General during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. During the Wissembourg battle Douay held a very strong position initially, but his force was too thinly stretched to hold it. Douay was killed in the late morning when a mitrailleuse battery exploded near him. The fighting within the town had become extremely intense, becoming a door to door battle of survival. The people of the town of Wissembourg finally surrendered to the Germans. The French troops who did not surrender retreated, leaving behind 1000 dead and wounded and another 1000 prisoners.
DIMAGGIO JOE: (1914-1999) American baseball player, the second husband of Marilyn Monroe for just 274 days from January - October 1954. An unusual T.L.S., Maggio, one page, slim 4to, Beverly Hills, California, 9th April 1954, to John, on the printed stationery of Frank Sinatra. The letter is completely typed in lower case and states, in full, 'my paisan mr Sinatra is still on cloud nine and the bum refuses to come down…he's so thrilled he's ridiculous - - i wish i had as many nice friends and relatives as he has - - thanks for making him happy - - '. A letter with unusual associations signed by DiMaggio during his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe. A couple of very light, minor stains to the lower right edge, otherwise VGFrank Sinatra (1915-1998) American singer and actor, Academy Award winner.On 5th November 1954 Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra, two American icons of Italian descent and with friends in the mob, were involved in what has become known as the 'Wrong Door Raid' when they accompanied several other men, including private detectives, to a three unit apartment building in West Hollywood. DiMaggio, although by now divorced from Monroe, believed that his ex-wife was having an affair and wanted to catch her in the arms of her paramour. DiMaggio, Sinatra and the others entered the two-storey building and broke down the door of one of the three apartments and rushed into the bedroom with a cameraman expecting to find Monroe in bed. Instead, the lights from the camera's flash revealed the terrified occupant to be Florence Kotz Ross, a 37-year-old secretary. The men quickly fled from the building and the police were called although Kotz Ross was unable to identify the intruders and the LAPD closed the case. Monroe had been in the building that evening, although in a different apartment visiting her friend Sheila Stewart. It was not until September 1955 that the entire incident was revealed in an issue of Confidential, and immediately became a legendary story of Hollywood gossip to the embarrassment of DiMaggio and Sinatra. Kotz Ross sued the two men for $200,000 and they settled out of court.
Having survived two near fatal air crashes in Africa, Hemingway asserts –‘….tell the boys nothing is bad if you say to it go fuck yourself’ HEMINGWAY ERNEST: (1899-1961) American novelist, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, 1954. An excellent A.L.S., Papa, two pages, (separate leaves), 4to, Gritti Palace Hotel, Venice, 8th April 1954, to Leonard Lyons ('Dear Lenny'). Hemingway writes a detailed letter, just a few months after having been almost fatally injured in two successive plane crashes with his wife, 'Miss Mary is fine now. Her ribs ok. She was banged worse than she knew but she is very brave and has the guts of a badger. After a proper examination they found I bought it pretty thoroly (sic) Full concussion; loss sight left eye (optic nerve is regenerating ok) loss hearing left ear, ruptured right kidney, ditto liver and spleen, intestines collapsed, paralysis of sphincter etc. couldn't shit for 22 days then I had 62 movements (complete with cramps in 20 hours) all standing up. If sit down lower intestine comes out…..was urinating kidney cells that looked sort of like black quill tooth picks. Only semi soft. So will skip the atrocities. But tell the boys nothing is bad if you say to it go fuck yourself', adding that he would have appreciated joking with Lyons ('Lenny you get very fond of your friends when you are up shit creek'), continuing with a further account of his recent misfortunes, this time during a fishing expedition undertaken in February, '….Ray [Marsh, his pilot] and [I] land on a beach with the Cessna. This is a little show boat but a little bit good too. So what happens? It is very dry again and wind force 7 and I am in bed and a bush fire starts right behind the camp and will burn out a place……so we have to turn it and try to canalize it. You know that is very rough with primitive methods. But the system is the same. So I get 2nd degree burns on legs, abdomen, chest and mouth. Had burned on left hand and right forearm. You can see the tendons and the bone. We keep this out of the papers on acct no reporters……and we don't have to make a report because we win. But everything breaks loose inside again and everyone is judging how we do on the burns by how I smell. Patrick [Hemingway's son] has shoved back to Tanganyika. Young Denis, my partner has an attack of amoebic and can't move, Miss Mary is crazy as a goat but doesn't know it. It is a magnificent situation. So Miss Mary takes the safari to Mombassa (sic). At this time she is in her watch buying epoch and she gives a watch to every game scout and gun bearer that is worth more than they make in a year. They are all in love with her anyway and she doesn't have to give watches. But she has just pranged in a couple of kites and burned in one and watches are the smallest things she can think of. She starts with Omegas and goes through the Rolex Oyster perpetuals', and also writing of his passage to Europe and future travel plans, 'I bring the chartered ship back….in to the old anchorage at Fort Jesus (very easy) and stay aboard 4 days while we wait for the Lloyd Triestino boat. It is very pleasant in the old harbour. Never thought would make Venice but made it OK. All wounds healed good and sound. Here there exists always certain problems. Fine, beautiful, lovely problems. Tomorrow we go to the country. Then Paris to pick up a couple of clothes and bet 6 horses. Then to Spain to try to get in shape. Very good RAF doctor told me I could live 2 months if I kept my mind on it. Could live 2 years if I made it a career. We figure to beat him by ten. But lost so much blood, internal, that must pace myself and so will skip NY and come straight home. Tell Toots and the mob that will come up quiet, I don't want to see some jerk like Billy Rose when I still have a concussion and think you can use the portable gallows. The objectives now are Paris, Madrid, Santiago de Compostella (sic) and the Finca [Vigia] and Black Dog…..Read this letter to Toots would you mind, or Sherm too. Fuck 21 and all their…..air-force colonels'. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by Hemingway and signed ('E Hemingway') by him in the upper left corner above the printed emblem and name of the Gritti Palace Hotel. A letter of rich content written in the year that the writer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. VGLeonard Lyons (1906-1976) American newspaper columnist for the New York Post where his columns, The Lyons Den, became a New York institution covering theatre, movies, politics and art. In January 1954 Ernest and Mary Hemingway were on safari in Africa when the novelist chartered a sightseeing flight over the Belgian Congo as a Christmas present to his wife. The plane made an emergency landing and a report printed in the New York Times at the end of January declared the cause of the crash in the blue and silver single-engine Cessna to have been a result of the pilot having to dive at low altitude to avoid hitting a flying flock of ibises - jungle birds large enough to smash the canopy of the aircraft. The article continued 'Mr. Hemingway said that to miss the ibises the plane had to land either on a sandpit where six crocodiles lay basking in the sun or on an elephant track through thick scrub. Mr. Marsh chose the scrub and landed the plane with minor damage. They spent Saturday night around a camp fire surrounded by the elephant herd and caught a ride yesterday morning in a launch filled with tourists back to Butiaba on Lake Albert. When the second plane ground-looped and caught fire Mr. Hemingway said he butted open the rear door and scrambled out. His wife and the pilot also escaped, but all their luggage was destroyed. Even when the first crash stranded them overnight in the jungle, Mr. Hemingway said he was not worried. "We had emergency goods, but were short on water," he said. "We took turns going to the river, but the elephants were very stuffy about it. There were a lot of hippos and crocs wandering around the river bank."'Hemingway's two plane crashes had brought about worldwide press coverage, including reports of his death, and whilst spending two weeks recuperating the writer read his erroneous obituaries. Hemingway's biographer, James Mellow, wrote that the novelist 'had coveted the Nobel Prize', which he received in October 1954, but that 'there must have been a lingering suspicion in Hemingway's mind that his obituary notices had played a part in the academy's decision'. Still suffering from pain from the African accidents, Hemingway decided against travelling to Stockholm to be presented with the Nobel Prize.
RUSSELL ROSALIND: (1907-1976) American actress, an Academy Award nominee for Best Actress on four occasions. An excellent vintage signed 8 x 10 photograph of Russell in a head and shoulders pose. Signed in bold black fountain pen ink with her name alone to a clear area of the image. An annotation to the verso in the hand of a collector indicates that the signature was obtained in person at a stage door on 27th October 1936. About EX
Quantity of mainly Matchbox Superfast, to include ISO Grifo, light blue with white interior, Rolls Royce silver shadow, metallic yellow, white interior, Dodge dragster, Pontiac Firebird, Metallic blue, amber windows, Racing mini in orangy red, and another in copper, Road Dragster, pink, Mercury estate car, red, Dragon wheels VW Beetle, Baja buggy, VW 1600 TL, Lotus Europa, missing passenger door, Rolls Royce silver shadow coupe, metallic blue, Lamborghini Miura, Ford Cortina, metallic blue, Ford GT, Turquoise base, Mustang wildcat Dragster, GMC tipper truck, Field car in yellow, and another in military finish, VW Flying bug, Military bulldozer, missing detachable cab, Dump truck in Military finish, Range Rover police patrol rollamatics, Saab Sonnet 3, metallic blue, DAF truck, silver cab, yellow body, Mercedes truck with trailer, Both in military finish, and a Mercedes Unimog green windows, yellow plastic wheels with tyres. Including some Japanese issues. All loose. GC-VGC £70-100 (29)
A quantity of unmade Plastic Kits. 2x Curbside Dioramics 1930-31 Model A Pickup 1/24 scale: Street Rod Body Only Kit and Curbside Street Rod Kit. Together with a 1956 De Soto 4-door Sedan SP-1956 Unassembled Promo. 2x Revell 1:200 scale Miniships, both 'Bismark'. Tamiya 1:48 scale V-1 Rocket (Fieseler Fi103). Condor 1:72 scale A4/V2 Rocket. Taniya 1:35 scale German Machine Gun Crew on Maneuver. 2x Airfix 54mm figures: Cavalier/Roundhead and George Washington. Also in the Lot are 2x AMT Ertl die-cast Cars: 1953 Corvette Convertible and 1966 Fairlane GT/A. Plus an Ertl Coca-Cola Vintage Van die-cast metal Bank. All boxed, kits arrear complete. Other items VGC. £50-70
4x American 1:25 AMT/ERTL Plastic Car Kits. Dick Tracy Ford V8 2 door coupe (#6107). Customising Series 1950 Ford Convertible (#6831). A Plymouth Rocker '41 Plymouth Street Machine (2902). Plus a 1927 Model T Ford (#6582). All boxed, minor wear/creasing. 3 still sealed, other appear to be complete. £60-80
An Edwardian bow fronted satinwood and inlaid standing corner cabinet, with pear drop cornice and ogee-and-oval pattern glazing bars with carved centre, the lower part with drawer to the frieze with floral mosaic tablet above glazed door, on dwarf square tapered feet, key, 212cm h; 58 x 86cm, lock stamped C & T LONDON Good original condition
A Victorian cast iron ram door stop, 25cm w, another, smaller, 24cm w, a matched pair of 19th c wheat sheaf door stops, stepped rectangular plinth bases, 19.5cm h, (4) The first slightly askew, rust spots here and there. The second with a repaired base section, some rust spots. The matched pair generally good.
![An oak eight day longcase clock, [Edward] Owns [Wymeswold], mid 18th c, the 12" brass dial with matted centre, ringed winding](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/045ed6bc-d8a7-4468-818f-afba010a7ec5/8679e8dd-e2d5-4c61-89fd-afba0118d833/468x382.jpg)
An oak eight day longcase clock, [Edward] Owns [Wymeswold], mid 18th c, the 12" brass dial with matted centre, ringed winding squares, date sector, signature disc and rococo spandrels, in flat topped case with cavetto cornice, brass mounted pillars and full length ogee door to the trunk with inlaid star flanked by pilasters, pendulum and weights, 205cm h Good restored retail condition
An English satinwood timepiece, Durant, London, early 19th c, with painted dial, fusee movement with shouldered plates, pendulum and stay, in three pad breakarched case with scale pattern brass frets, on ogee feet, 25cm h excluding handle Some restoration, veneer chipped on one side of base and one side of door
A Victorian mahogany and line inlaid eight day longcase clock, W Bucknall Burslem, the breakarched and painted dial with brass ringed winding squares, date sector and subsidiary seconds dial, pierced brass hands, painted to the spandrels with colourful figures emblematic of the four quarters of the globe, lunar work above, the case with swan neck pediment and fluted pillars, trunk enclosed by a gothic niche door, on panelled base and ogee feet, pendulum and weight, 223cm h Good restored retail condition
Moses Griffith (1747-1819) - The Door and West Window of Crowland Abbey Church Lincolnshire, inscribed verso, numbered 26 lower left, pen, ink and wash, en grisaille, 39.6 x 17cm (sheet 46 x 24cm), collector's label, unframed Provenance: Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) thence by descent to the 8th Earl of Denbigh; Collection of Sir Geoffrey Harmsworth Bt (1904-1980) Slight stains mainly upper centre and light foxing mostly clear of image in border, not laid down, hinged to a window mount
![An oak eight day longcase clock, [Edward] Owns Wimeswould [sic], late 18th c, the painted 12" dial with brass ringed winding](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/045ed6bc-d8a7-4468-818f-afba010a7ec5/729ed793-2d02-40b3-af21-afba0118dc5e/468x382.jpg)
An oak eight day longcase clock, [Edward] Owns Wimeswould [sic], late 18th c, the painted 12" dial with brass ringed winding squares and date sector, decorated with festoons, cherries and roses, the case with open triangular pediment and dentil cornice, turned pillars and shaped door to the trunk, pendulum and weights, 231cm h Good restored retail condition
![An English oak thirty-hour longcase clock, Ed[ward] Owns Wimeswould [sic], early 18th c, the 10" brass dial with matted centr](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/045ed6bc-d8a7-4468-818f-afba010a7ec5/932467d4-e317-4d7a-b45f-afba0118d990/468x382.jpg)
An English oak thirty-hour longcase clock, Ed[ward] Owns Wimeswould [sic], early 18th c, the 10" brass dial with matted centre, silvered chapter ring and cherub and crown spandrels, the polished brass movement with outside countwheel and arched cut-out to the plates, the slotted, flat topped hood with four turned pilasters, the trunk enclosed by a full length plain moulded door, pendulum and weight, 194cm h
An Edwardian painted satinwood standing corner cabinet, crossbanded in rosewood and line inlaid, painted with an oval medallion and a barefoot classical maiden with flowers and festoons, oval paterae and husk pendants, the top to the lower part with rinceaux on a green band, 189cm h; 38 x 67cm Good original condition, pleasing old colour and patina, only minor knocks and scratches, no warping of doors, upper door lacking brass keyhole, locks original
Mainline Airfix and other makers 00 gauge boxed and unboxed freight wagons some modified, comprising Mainline 37154 Cattle wagons (2), LMS sliding door van (1 in wrong box), open minerals (12), tankers (6), vans (6), brakes (5), Airfix 54363 GW Brake boxed, 54371 20 ton mineral boxed, Weltrols (6), Open minerals (3), Express Dairy egg vans (3), Brake (1), Farish boxed vans in Gibbs, Sportsman and John West colours (3), early Farish open (1), Peco tanker (1), Lima brakes (2) Shell tanker (1), ARC bogie open (1), Playcraft Jouef assorted all-plastic wagons (11), F-G all sold as found, some may have hidden damage/faults, boxes G, (67)
Britains Hugar or similar wooden Farm Buildings and Accessories, Farm House with Door, window and open out back, stamped The Elmwood Landscape Series, Terrace of three Farm workers Houses with fencing stamped Made in England (some damage to fencing), two storey Farm House, straw roof, crudely painted, Fence front (damaged), Two storey Stable block with screw roof, Small Pig Sty with 1/- underneath, flat wooden 3.5 x 3.5 inches square with straw top to make a field (1) and grass topped to make a lawn (8), generally F-G, some damage mainly to fencing (qty)
Tri-ang and other boxed and unboxed Tin plate Ambulances, Tri-ang Ranger 10 estate Ambulance Car (lacks lower rear door), Roman, Hospital General 422 battery operated saloon car, Hospital General 251 battery operated Hatchback, Greek AA 19740 battery operated Toyota Crown MS 75 Ambulance Car, all four in original boxes, unboxed Tonka white/orange Jeep and Rico Sanson Bravo 24hrs Service Ambulance, generally G, boxes P-F (6)
Postwar and Later Playworn/Unboxed Diecast Vehicles, private and commercial vehicles in various scales, includes, Dinky, Corgi, Charbens (trailer with elephant), Spot On, Matchbox Lesney, Morestone, Budgie and others, a Matchbox 1969 catalogue, Corgi kits/figures boxes containing some Corgi plastic figures and pieces and a Siku plastic garage, minus one door, P-F, (80+) in two boxes
Loading...-
235346 item(s)/page