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[ROBIN HOOD]: EYRE ADAM (1614-1661) British Yeoman and Parliamentarian Army Officer. D.S., Ad Eyre, one page, folio, n.p., 1st June 1659. The manuscript document refers to a warrant issued by Sir Thomas Andrewes, Alderman of London, dated 4th March 1658, authorising a payment of £200 to Eyre 'for surveying ye Forrest of Sherwood in the Countyes of Notingham and Derby' and for his 'rideing charges and salary', further 'clearly and absolutely' assigning the said warrant to Adam Baynes. Signed by Eyre at the foot alongside a small blind embossed paper seal and countersigned by two witnesses, Ellinor Richardson and Jonathan Hardy. With blank integral leaf. An attractive document relating to Sherwood Forest, famous for its historical association with the legend of the heroic outlaw Robin Hood. VG Sir Thomas Andrews (d.1659) English Financier who supported the Parliamentary Cause during the English Civil Wars. Lord Mayor of the City of London 1649-1650. Adam Baynes (c.1622-1671) English Politician and Parliamentarian Army Officer. Adam Eyre kept a 'dyurnall' of great interest to social historians which covered the period 1647-49. Amongst other details of his life, it records Eyre's mediation in local quarrels and assistance to needy neighbours - somewhat reminiscent of Robin Hood himself who is often portrayed as 'robbing from the rich and giving to the poor'.

GODOLPHIN SIDNEY: (1645-1712) 1st Earl of Godolphin. British Politician who served as First Lord of the Treasury 1700-01 and was instrumental in negotiating and passing the Acts of Union (1707) with Scotland, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. Bold ink signature (‘Godolphin’) on a slim oblong 8vo portion of a document, Whitehall Treasury Chambers, 3rd October 1709. The portion of the document bears four lines of manuscript text to the verso and is addressed to Lord Charles Halifax and to the recto appears thirteen lines of printed text relating to an Act of Parliament entitled ‘An Act for Granting an Aid to Her Majesty, to be raised by a Land Tax in Great Britain’. Some slight traces of former mounting and age wear, not affecting the text or signature, otherwise VG Charles Montagu (1661-1715) 1st Earl of Halifax. English Poet & Statesman, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1694-99, First Lord of the Treasury 1697-99, 1714-15 & Auditor of the Exchequer 1699-1714

SAINT-EXUPERY ANTOINE DE: (1900-1944) French Aviation Pioneer & Author of The Little Prince. Autograph Manuscript notes, unsigned, one page, 4to, n.p., n.d. Saint-Exupery has penned a series of calculations and formulas in his hand, seemingly as a method to work out how long it would take to travel a certain distance. With several lines of holograph text at the conclusion. Some pinholes to the upper left corner, not affecting the calculations or text, about VG

WELLINGTON DUKE OF: (1769-1852) Anglo-Irish Field Marshal & British Prime Minister 1828-30, 1834. Signed Free Front envelope panel, addressed in his hand to His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence at Bushey Park, marked Private at the head and signed by Wellington with his initial to the lower left corner. Trimmed to the edges, just touching the signature and text, and neatly laid down. Together with a portion of an autograph letter (signature not present), one page, 8vo (trimmed), Walmer Castle, 15th November 1840, informing his correspondent when he will be in town and suggesting a meeting with Mr. Wright, further adding 'I am quite well; and I trust that you will find that I have followed your directions'. Large, neat tear to the base, just affecting a few letters of text. Also including Lord George Russell (1790-1846) British Soldier, Politician & Diplomat, Aide-de-Camp to Wellington in 1812 & 1817. L.S., G W Russell Lt Col, one page, 4to, Brighton Barracks, 30th July 1826, to the Quarter Master General of the Forces. Russell requests his correspondent to 'forward a Route to Major Badcock at Canterbury Barracks for the march of two convalescent men and two horses of the Royal Irish Hussars from thence to Brighton'. Further including John Gurwood (1790-1845) British Colonel who served under Wellington and was severely wounded in the early stages of the Battle of Waterloo. Gurwood also served as Wellington's private secretary and edited the Wellington Despatches. Portion of a D.S., J Gurwood, one page, oblong 8vo, n.p., 24th September 1836. The manuscript relates to a package of books in the Kings warehouse, having arrived from Gibraltar, and states, in part, 'Lieut. Colonel John Gurwood declares that the books….were purchased in this country in the fair way of trade, were sent out of this country & now returned…' Neatly mounted and with a few small areas of paper loss. Generally G to about VG, 4

NAPOLEON I: (1769-1821) Emperor of France 1804- 14, 1815. A.N.S., Approuve, NP, in the left margin of a L.S. Bertrand, by Henri-Gatien, Comte Bertrand (1773-1844) French General who accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena, one page, 4to, Portoferraio, Elba, 12th January 1815, in French. The manuscript letter is a Report for the Emperor regarding the terms of a debt repayment which must be completed 'with the Royal obligations payable in three years, with a loss of 3 2/3 %, in addition to interest' and asking whether an agent should sell some bonds. Bertrand, for his part, believes that the Mayor will soon be affected. Napoleon has approved the contents of the report in the left margin. The paper features an attractive circular watermark of Napoleon's bust. About EX

GORDON CHARLES GEORGE: (1833-1885) British Army officer, known as Chinese Gordon. A good, interesting series of sixteen A.Ls.S., C G Gordon, thirty one pages (total), mainly 8vo, various places (Mauritius, Jerusalem, Cape Town, Southampton etc.), November 1881 - November 1882, all to Charles Button in the Seychelles. The letters relate to the botany of the Seychelles, in particular the Coco de Mer and tortoises, and state, in part, ‘I got your paper on the Coco de Mer…if it was you who sent me the little tortoise, many thanks for it’ (20th November 1881), ‘I sent your remarks on to Mr. Broome about the Coco de Mer, and he writes that he takes the greatest interest in them. The great officials at Kew are also very much interested in the subject and you may expect that orders will come out, for a much more careful surveillance over there….I have asked Mr. Brodie to do some commissions for me, and feel sure you will help him’ (20th December 1881), ‘I am also glad that you are looking after the Coco de Mer….Glad to hear of your success in curing Cocoa Nut tree disease by the tests. Get the case or any you have given Brodie, for me, for he is too busy to attend to anything. Look after the two tortoises in the Govt. Plot…’ (5th February 1882), ‘I want the four little tortoises alive not dead. You may have to pay more for them than I put down however I will repay you. I send you a little box enclosing two brooches (neither the box or brooches still present) for Mrs. Button, one is the arms of the Seychelles when it gets free of the Mauritius, the other is the Hindoo representation of Universe. The Hindoos think that Curuman one of the incarnations of Bhudda, and which name signifies Tortoise when the flood came took the form of a tortoise and placed the Ark on his back & took it to Ararat with Noah. The tortoise eggs take six months to hatch. The flood lasted four months so that I think the flood covered them and that when it subsided, the eggs were hatched, they never could have walked down from Ararat. You see none of these isles have much animal life on them. NB. I forgot to ask you to get me in a bottle of spirits one of the little snakes, which are found on Praslin’ (10th February 1882), ‘I want the two or four Tortoises to be little ones and alive’ (16th February 1882), ‘Your letter was very interesting and I hope you will keep an eye on everything connected with the Coco de Mer, especially its mode of germination….this will be closely looked into….’ and ‘I would like a short bit of Common Cocoa nut wood, as well as of the Coco de Mer wood’ (both 7th March 1882), ‘If I do not come, keep the little tortoises for me. I may send for them at some future time’ (15th March 1882), ‘The vessel for Zanzibar which I had hoped to catch has not been able to await the coming in of mail, so that I may after all, have to come by the April mail. Please have everything ready….’ (19th March 1882), ‘I hear all the first class passages are taken for the mail leaving here on 18th April, so I may consider it almost certain I cannot come through Seychelles, so kindly see the things packed safely and ready to go….Mr. Broome….has no objection to you making the collection of things I want, and of taking specimens from the Govt. lands. I fear you will have trouble to get the two roots. If you have enough money, get a double set of each….’ (21st March 1882), ‘Many thanks for all you have done for me….Let me know how you go on at Seychelles in which place I take a great interest….This colony is a smart one & there is plenty of vigour in it’ (Cape Town, 17th June 1882), ‘Tell me about the Coco de Mer and anything you can think of in the way of curious things, for I shall take a great interest in Seychelles & Praslin….How is the Coco de Mer in the Govt. garden….and how are the Tortoises. I hope that they are looked after. Remember you are to keep two little ones for me of the Brood which came out last October. I wish I could come and settle out at Seychelles but it is too far off and I am thinking of settling down in Palestine’ (22nd October 1882), ‘Here is a letter (no longer present) from Mr. Dyer who evidently considers you to be what I know you are, a most valuable botanical ally….You know the buds sprout [here Gordon has illustrated his letter with two small ink drawings of clusters of buds]…put some of these up for me, but do not send them…for fear they should be stolen. I am sorry I lost the small cooped backed tortoise, in fact all the small things were stolen….Write me how the two big Tortoises are, also anything new about Coco de Mer’ (25th November 1882), ‘Thanks for your kind offer of the small Tortoises. I hope you will not give any away at all. A time will come when they will be very valuable and it is a great pity to give any of them away, they are only neglected’ (n.d.). Also including an autograph manuscript, unsigned, in Gordon’s hand, one page, 8vo, n.p., n.d. The manuscript is a list of seven numbered repairs which Gordon wishes to be carried out, including fixing roofs to outbuildings, repairing water pipes, placing double sashes in the windows, fixing an iron stove and slightly expanding a stable for three horses etc. A small original ink drawing in Gordon’s hand appears to the verso, detailing the rooms of the buildings and identifying the kitchen and stables. With some further pencil calculations and a small diagram in an unidentified hand. A fascinating archive of letters. Some of the letters have small, neat splits at the folds (a few slightly more extensive, and with contemporary repairs with small pieces of tape) slightly affecting some words of text, a few letters with small holes just affecting a few words of text etc. FR to generally G, 17

Einstein, Gandhi, and a remarkable host of other famous individuals AUTOGRAPH ALBUM: A fine oblong 8vo (5 x 4) leather bound autograph album containing over 140 signatures by an outstanding selection of famous individuals of the 1920s and 1930s, including (listed in order of appearance within the album) - Edward C. Elliott (1874-1960) American Educational Researcher & Administrator. John J. Pershing (1860-1948) American General of World War I James H. Doolittle (1896-1993) American Aviation Pioneer who also served in World War II as Commander of the Doolittle Raid Nancy Cox-McCormack (1885-1967) American Sculptor, Writer & SocialiteCharles A. Lindbergh (1902-1974) American Aviator who made the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, 20th - 21st May 1927.Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890-1958) Granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and cousin of Tsar Nicholas II.Emile Coue (1857-1926) French Psychologist & Pharmacist; Autograph Quotation Signed, 'Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux' (Translation: 'Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better'), dated Nancy, 1st July 1924 in his hand)Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) French Sculptor and Painter; Autograph Quotation Signed, 'Tous les jours a tous les points de vue jewie plus et mieux de moi' (Translation: 'Every day, in every way, I demand more and better of me'), dated Paris, 1924 in his hand and with a small additional drawing of a star alongside his signature) Ezra Pound (1885-1972) American PoetWilliam Williams Keen (1837-1932) American Surgeon, the first brain surgeon in the United States. Keen attended to six American PresidentsJames Rowland Angell (1869-1949) American Psychologist & Educator, President of Yale University 1921-37.William Tilden (1893-1953) American Tennis Player, Wimbledon Champion 1920, 1921 & 1930.Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) Russian Ballet Dancer.Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981) American SopranoPhilip Merivale (1886-1946) English ActorJane Cowl (1883-1950) American ActressAdolphe Menjou (1890-1963) American ActorW. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English Playwright & Novelist.Walter Hampden (1879-1955) American Actor & Theatre ManagerAmos 'n' Andy - Freeman Gosden (1899-1982; Amos) and Charles Correll (1890-1972; Andy) American Radio Comedians famous for the Amos 'n' Andy show.Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) American Actor, Academy Award winnerHenry Morgenthau (1891-1967) American Politician, US Secretary of the Treasury 1934-45.Mary Pickford (1892-1979) American Actress, Academy Award winnerRoy Byford (1873-1939) English ActorElias Burton Holmes (1870-1958) American Traveller, Photographer and Filmmaker who coined the word travelogue.Mischa Elman (1891-1967) Russian ViolinistElena Vladimirovna (1882-1957) Russian Grand Duchess, wife ofPrince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (1872-1938) Cousin of Tsar Nicholas II and husband of Elena VladimirovnaManuel II (1889-1932) King of Portugal 1908-10Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956) French Composer; A.M.Q.S. of one bar from his most famous opera Louise.Emile-Rene Menard (1861-1930) French PainterLouis Bleriot (1872-1936) French Aviator, the first man to fly across the English Channel, 1909.Sheila Kaye-Smith (1887-1956) English WriterEdith O'Shaughnessy (1876-1939) American Journalist & BiographerNoel Eadie (1901-1950) Scottish SopranoHenri de Regnier (1864-1936) French Symbolist Poet.Herbert Witherspoon (1873-1935) American Bass Singer & Opera ManagerCosmo Hamilton (1870-1942) English Playwright & Novelist.Maurice Rostand (1891-1968) French Author, son of Edmond Rostand; attractive A.Q.S. from La Gloire.George Santayana (1863-1952) Spanish-born American Philosopher & Novelist; a good A.Q.S., eight lines of French text, with an holograph explanation in English beneath, 'I wrote these words of Le Misanthrope in my first manuscript book of verses, and I think they still apply to my poetry and to that of most other people', August 1926.Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935) Polish SopranoAlbert Spalding (1888-1953) American Violinist.Emilio de Gogorza (1872-1949) American BaritoneNoel Coward (1899-1973) English Actor & Playwright, Academy Award winner.Ferdinand I (1861-1948) Tsar of Bulgaria 1908-18.Frieda Hempel (1885-1955) German SopranoMrs. Patrick Campbell (1865-1940) English Stage ActressSybil Thorndike (1882-1976) English ActressWalter Damrosch (1862-1950) German-born American Conductor & Composer; an attractive A.M.Q.S., four bars, with words, 'To Wagner the prize!', beneath, Paris, 1927.Clara E. Laughlin (1873-1941) American Writer & Radio Personality.Josef Hofmann (1876-1957) Polish-American Pianist; A.M.Q.S.Connie Mack (1862-1956) American Baseball Player & Manager.Titta Ruffo (1877-1953) Italian Opera Singer.Helen Hayes (1900-1993) American Actress, Academy Award winner.Ernest Dimnet (1866-1954) French Priest & WriterHenri Bremond (1865-1933) French Literary Scholar, one of the Theological Modernists.Ganga Singh (1880-1943) Maharajah of Bikaner 1888-1943, the only 'non-white' member of the British Imperial War Cabinet during World War I.Nellie Melba (1861-1931) Australian Soprano.Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967) American Soprano.Feodor Chaliapin (1873-1938) Russian Opera SingerJohn Drinkwater (1882-1937) English Poet & DramatistLeopold Godowsky (1870-1938) Polish American Pianist & Composer; A.M.Q.S., Paris, 1929Howard Chandler Christy (1873-1952) American Artist & Illustrator. Original pencil drawing of the head of a Christy Girl in profile, signed and inscribed in pencil, November 1928.Richard Strauss (1864-1949) German Composer.Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) Russian-born American ViolinistFerdinand Foch (1851-1929) French Marshal of World War I; vintage signed postcard photograph of Foch's birthplace at Tarbes, signed in blue crayon with his name alone to a light area at the base of the image.Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) American Writer & Novelist, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, 1938. Ink signature with an oval red ink stamp featuring Chinese characters beneath.Margaret Matzenauer (1881-1963) Romanian Mezzo-Soprano.Jose Iturbi (1895-1980) Spanish Conductor & Pianist.Ethel Leginska (1886-1970) British Pianist; attractive signed image of a silhouette of a pianist.Mahatma K. Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian Political and Spiritual Leader during the Indian Independence Movement.Rene Lacoste (1904-1996) French Tennis Player, Wimbledon Champion 1925 & 1928Alfred Noyes (1880-1958) English Poet.Ernest Schelling (1876-1939) American Pianist, Composer & Conductor; A.M.Q.S. from his most popular work A Victory Ball.Marcel Dupre (1886-1971) French Organist & Composer.Violet Oakley (1874-1961) American Artist, the first American woman to receive a public mural commission.Olga Samaroff (1880-1948) American Pianist, wife of Leopold Stokowski.Walter E. Edge (1873-1956) American Politician, Governor of New Jersey.Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948) American Statesman, Governor of New York.Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937) American Banker, Industrialist, Philanthropist & United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom.and many, many othersOWING TO RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY THE-SALEROOM WE CAN NOT PUBLISH A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT - PLEASE CONTACT IAA LTD DIRECTLY FOR A FULL DESCRIPTION  

Chamberlain - .- Hills [Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler at Berchtesgaden 15... (Neville, prime minister, 1869-1940).- Hills (Mary, wife of John Waller Hills ) [Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler at Berchtesgaden 15 September 1938], autograph manuscript signed by Mary Hills, 6pp., 8vo, 11th November 1938; and a quantity of others, correspondence to John Waller Hills and his wife, Mary, including: 9 letters from Neville Chamberlain (including 1 ofering him a baronetcy), 3 letters from Brendan Bracken, and others, including: Norman Wilkinson, Nancy Astor, Sybil Colefax, Lord Halifax, Stanley Baldwin, Clement AttleeSamuel Hoare etc., many offering condolences on the death of JW Hills etc., folds, v.s., v.d., 1911-30s (qty). An account of Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler at Berchtesgaden. "Neville Chamberlain came to tea with Jack last Friday 11th November 1938. He spoke freely of his interview at Bertchesgarden [sic] Hitler soon got very excited shook his hands in the air & cried, my Germans in Sudetenland are being totured & murdered. Then he said 'Well Mr. Chamberlain what terms have you come to propose?' I said, 'No, Fuehrer I have not come to offer terms, but merely to take back a message to my government, which will be discussed.' 'Well' said he 'would you be prepared to consider "self determination?"' Mr. Chamberlain also told me & Jack that he saw Goering whom he described as a big vulgar man who slapped people on the backs & told coarse stories . That Goebels was unpleasant but not so powerful as he had been. That he did not meet Himmler for which he was very glad. He said that Hitler is a man who only sees facts through blinkers like a horse & that when he calls Winston Churchill Jew-ridden he is really not thinking of Winston but of some German in Germany." - Mary Hills. "On 13 September [1938] [Chamberlain] decided to activate a plan already conceived at the end of August; he would see Hitler personally, and on 15 September he flew to Germany, where he met Hitler at Berchtesgaden. It was the first time in his life that he had flown. At Berchtesgaden he accepted in principle the proposition of self-determination and secession of non-Czech areas, subject to endorsement by the cabinet, and Hitler agreed to refrain from using force." (Oxford DNB). The Munich Agreement was settled on 29-30 September.

Augsburg.- - Grant of freedom of city of Augsburg to Marx Fugger Grant of freedom of city of Augsburg to Marx Fugger, manuscript in German, on vellum, 60pp., slightly browned, 18th century vellum wrappers, lettered direct on upper cover, folio, Augsburg, 9th February 1585. Marx Fugger (1529-97), merchant, trading with Spain.

Ireland.- Charles II - Letters Patent to Stephen Ludlow granting him land and tenements... ( King of England, Scotland & Ireland, 1630-85) Letters Patent to Stephen Ludlow granting him land and tenements in Julianstown, East Meath, D sealed, large engraved initial "C", portrait of Charles II and with engraved decoration at head including the Royal arms, manuscript on vellum, 2 sheets, large remains of Great Seal, broken with loss but with strong image (Face smoothed), some wear along folds with small loss but most clearly legible, folds, slightly browned, 645 x 700 & 430 x 700mm., 10th January 1684; and another, a Chancery document, v.s., v.d. (2). Stephen Ludlow (d. 1721), six clerk in the High Court of Chancery, Ireland; MP Irish House of Commons; grandfather of the first Earl Ludlow. Provenance: Reginald Walter Gibson, bibliographer of Sir Thomas More and Francis Bacon; worked at B.H. Blackwell.

Royalty.- - George III Order to pay "Our late Regiment & Independent Company... George III ( king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and king of Hanover, 1738-1820) Order to pay "Our late Regiment & Independent Company of Invalids", D.s. "George R", manuscript on paper, folds, slightly browned, folio, 5th December 1798 § Frederick ( Prince, duke of York and Albany, army officer and bishop of Osnabrück, 1763-1827) Letter signed "Frederick" to Lt. Col. Anstruther, Quarter Master General, 1p. with conjugate blank, folio, Head Quarters, [Holland], 28th October 1799, "In consequence of the great hardship & fatigue sustained by the Troops, I am directed by the Commander in Chief to desire that you will issue to the several Regiments, the shoes received from England at the Rate of one Dollar for each Pair", folds, browned ; and 7 other pieces relating to Royalty, including a commission signed by George IV, as Prince Regent, v.s., v.d. (8 pieces).

Egypt & elsewhere.- - [?Hills ] [Diary of a journey to Egypt, Malta, Europe etc.], 2 vol [?Hills (William)] [Diary of a journey to Egypt, Malta, Europe etc.], 2 vol., manuscript, c. 188pp., 1 vol. (Egypt) stained at beginning, slightly browned, modern ink inscription: "Diary kept on his travels by, I think William Hills MFH", 1 vol. original half staight-grained morocco, other vol. original half morocco, all rubbed, 8vo, 1826-27. A wonderfully evocative diary of two young men on a tour of the archaeology of Egypt. Hills, in the company of William Railton [(1801-77), architect; designed Nelson's column] have crossed from Greece, visit Alexandria, Cairo, the pyramids, and take a boat trip down the Nile. Extracts include: " saw several crocodiles. Railton fired at one, and at about 5 oclock, just after we had passed Hiam, I got a shot at one, and hit him, he immediately jumped into the water"; "we met two Englishmen Hayes (Hay) & Benomy they are 6 days from Thebes where they have been with Burton [Haliburton, formerly Burton, James (1788 1862), Egyptologist], for some length of time " etc.

Jewish & Islamic.- - Parkes The Opinions of the Jews and Mahomedans Concerning Our Lord... Parkes (David, Professor of Hebrew at the Wesleyan College, Sheffield, 1811-1906) The Opinions of the Jews and Mahomedans Concerning Our Lord Jesus Christ. A Lecture, manuscript fair copy, title and 38pp. excluding blanks, ruled in red, ink inscription: "Fair Copy completed 1852 Jan 20 A.D. Jr.", contemporary half morocco, slightly rubbed, 1852; and 4 others, manuscripts, sm. 4to (5).

Sassoon (Siegfried) - The Path to Peace: Selected Poems, number 80 of 500 copies, printed in blue and black, initials supplied by hand by Margaret Adams, the first in gold, the rest in red and blue, with the additional poem 'Awaitment' loosely inserted (often missing), and with 3 other additional Sassoon poems printed by the press ('A Prayer at Pentecost', 'Nativity' and úith Unfaithful') tipped into wrappers and loosely inserted, original vellum-backed patterned-paper boards, transparent wrapper, Worcester, Stanbrook Abbey Press, 1960; Something about Myself, reproduction of illustrated calligraphic manuscript by Margaret Adams, printed in blue and brown, original cream wrappers, cat in gold on upper cover, spine soiled, Worcester, Stanbrook Abbey Press, 1966; Satirical Poems, first edition , light browning to half-title and final leaf, original cloth, dust-jacket, a little soiled, spine browned, 1926; and 4 others by or about Sassoon, 4to & 8vo (7)

Hunt - Autograph Letter signed to Francis Turner Palgrave, 1p., 8vo, "Thos (William Holman, painter, 1827-1910) Autograph Letter signed to Francis Turner Palgrave, 1p., 8vo, "Thos. Combe's Esq.", Oxford, 22nd July 1872, "I would gladly come on Thursday and dine with you for the sake both of seeing Mrs Palgrave and having a chat but I cannot manage to be in town early enough," folds, tipped-in on an album f .; and 10 other pieces, including: an ALs from John Everett Millais, 4 ALs.s. from Walter Crane, a manuscript Christmas card from "The House of the Crane" and a printed greetings card designed by Crane, an ALs from Laurence Binyon, an ALs and ANs from Muirhead Bone etc., some tipped-in on album ff., v.s., v.d. (11 pieces). Francis Turner Palgrave (1824-1897), anthologist and art critic.

Hermeticism.- Sibley - The Clavis or Key to Unlock the Mysteries of Magic of Rabbi Solomon (Ebenezer, translator ) The Clavis or Key to Unlock the Mysteries of Magic of Rabbi Solomon, manuscript fair copy, 300pp., hand-coloured frontispiece ("The Grand Pentacle of Solomon"), title and numerous drawings in the text, slightly browned, original half calf, rubbed, joints splitting but holding, lacks part of spine, sm. 4to, n.d. [c. 1880]; and 2 others Hermeticism, including a modern printed copy of the first, 4to (3).

Parkes - Otto the Wehrwolf and Other Poems. Thoughtful and Humorous, 2 vol (Alfred Joseph, poet, of Broomfield, Glossop Road, Sheffield, b. 1862) Otto the Wehrwolf and Other Poems. Thoughtful and Humorous, 2 vol., autograph manuscript, titles and 136pp., 2 wood-engraved frontispieces, ink inscription on front free endpapers: "Presented to David Parkes on his 72nd birthday by his loving son Alfred July 14th 1882", original plum morocco, gilt, t.e.g., 116 x 90mm., 1883-[84]. This title not known; Parkes published, The Sundial, and other poems, Oxford : A. T. Broome & Son, [1946].

Illustrated song.- - The Song of the Quartermaster, manuscript, 1p The Song of the Quartermaster, manuscript, 1p., 7 watercolour initials and 6 watercolour illustrations, slightly browned and faded, framed and glazed, 335 x 535mm., [ late 19th century].

Churchill - Typed Letter signed to "My dear Mrs. Williams", 1p ( Sir Winston Leonard Spencer, prime minister, 1874-1965) Typed Letter signed to "My dear Mrs. Williams", 1p., 8vo, Chartwell, Westerham, Kent, 6th July 1957, "Thank you for your kind letter about Lord Cherwell. I so much appreciate your thought in writing to me at this time", folds; and 2 others, a typed letter from Chartwell and signed on behalf of Churchill and a typed note with autograph manuscript note signed by Clementine Spencer-Churchill, v.s., v.d. (3).

Howard (H.Eliot) - The British Warblers, A History of Problems with their Lives, 2 vol., first edition, presentation copy from the author inscribed at head of half-title of vol.1, 35 chromolithographed plates including 3 of eggs and 51 photogravure plates, all after Henrik Gronvold, 12 maps, errata leaf in vol.1, plates and leaves numbered in pencil in upper outer corner, foxing to photogravures but chromolithographs generally clean (a few occasional spots), endpapers foxed, original buckram, t.e.g., others uncut, slightly rubbed, [Anker 213; Nissen IVB 454], tall 8vo, 1907-14. Originally issued in 10 parts, hence the numbering in manuscript. "The coloured plates are excellent, and the same applies to the photogravures." Anker

Lang - .- Hills A Booke of Witte and Wisdome, contributions including (Andrew, anthropologist, classicist, and historian, 1844-1912).- Hills (Anna, wife of Herbert Augustus Hills 1837-1907, friend of Andrew Lang, of Highhead Castle, Cumberland, d. 1909) A Booke of Witte and Wisdome, contributions including: Andrew Lang, Herbert Augustus Hills, Sir Francis (1822-1911), biostatistician, human geneticist, and eugenicist; letters, manuscript notes, watercolours, drawings, manuscript commonplace book, 49pp. excluding plates, numerous items loose in pockets at beginning and end, original vellum, lettered direct on upper cover, brass clasp, slightly yellowed and soiled, sm. 4to, 1889-97.

King (Lord) - The Life of John Locke With Extracts From his Correspondence Journals, and Common-Place Books, portrait frontispiece, foxed, contemporary calf, rubbed, Henry Colburn, 1829 § Moore (Thomas) Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: with Notices of his Life, 2 vols., frontispiece to vol. 2, foxed, contemporary half calf, rubbed, joints cracked, lacks letter piece to spine of vol. 1, John Murray, 1830, Bryan (Margaret) Lectures on Natural Philosophy, portrait frontispiece and 36 plates, old staining throughout, book-plate of F. William Cock, manuscript author biography tipped to front free endpaper, contemporary half calf, rubbed and dry, For the Author, 1806; and 6 others, 4to & 8vo (10)

William Linton (1791-1876) A Roman River Scene Oil on board Manuscript pen and ink label on reverse "Painted by W. Linton, 7 Lodge Place" 30.5cm x 41.5cm £300-400

Mauritius : 1891 Postal Stationery envelope surcharged 50c. on 1878 8c. Pale grey (H & G milky blue) hexagonal frame type around Queen's bust, P.O control mark in red "GENERAL POST OFFICE MAURITIUS" in crowned double circle with manuscript control signature "L.M.C.P." of Louis Martin Colonial Postmaster, Higgins and Gage B (Envelopes) 14, used envelope, cancelled by the barred numeral "B32", with red oval "Registered / Mauritius No. 22 AU 1891" alongside and large "R" in black, addressed to Marseille, France with appropriate arrival datesatmp of Marseille of September 20 (?) on reverse, Sismondo 2002 colour photo-certificate states in good condition and genuine in all respects. H&G state about 50 envelopes were prepared, Sismondo states "only 36". Extremely rare in used condition Mauritius specialist piece (image available) [US5]

St. Helena : (SG 34ba) 1884 QV Crown CA ½d on 6d emerald with part original gum showing DOUBLE SURCHARGE - ONE WITH N Y SPACED - extremely rare with probably only two examples known - complete with 1975 BPA cert stating it to be genuine but not recognising the NY variety and unkindly describing it as 'soiled' whereas this adhesive is of very good to fine appearance, of fine colour and well centred for this issue. Upon the reverse we note trivial imperfections, small blue manuscript (not affecting appearance), partial hinge remnant and light pencil / gum bend. Possibly unique mint part o.g. Cat £11000 (image available) [US2]

Arabic Jewish Calendar and Astronomy Manuscript, Late 19th Century. 56 leaves. Judaica. 23cm X 17cm / 9in X 6.7in.

Rabbinical Manuscript, Germany 19th Century, Judaica.Hebrew. including prayers after meal (grace) and Blessings for Bride and Groom. 8 pages. 12cm X 8cm / 4.7in X 3.15in.

Oriental gilt decorated snuff box and lid, the top decorated with a seated Scholar reading a manuscript 1.1/2" long 1" wide 1/2" tall

100 Book of Hours, - Use of Rome, with numerous other devotional texts  Use of Rome, with numerous other devotional texts,   in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Southern Netherlands (Bruges),   c  .1460]  313 leaves (including 9 leaves added at end in sixteenth century, and plus two paper endleaves at front and back), too tightly bound too collate, but wanting approximately 7 text leaves (see below), single column, 18 lines in two sizes of a fine and regular Burgundian lettre bâtarde with ornamental penwork cadels, red rubrics, Calendar leaves (24 in total) in gold, blue and red, with every leaf in this part of text opening with a 3-line initial  KL  in blue or pink with foliate infill on bright gold grounds and a single decorated border panel of single-line foliage ending in coloured flowerheads and gold bezants, every line of Calendar beginning with a gold initial on burgundy and blue grounds, main text with same initials (often several per page) from one to 4-lines in height, the larger accompanied by single border panels (approximately 250 of these), eleven leaves with similar borders which extend down outer edge and halfway across top and bottom margins, thirteen leaves with 5-line illuminated initials with full-borders of acanthus leaves and other foliage (including realistic studies of sprigs of hazelnuts) enclosing drolleries, animals, birds and a   bear and a monkey playing chess ,   thirty-eight historiated initials enclosing portraits of saints by a follower of William Vrelant , initial on fol.47v smudged, slight wear and thumbing to edges in places, occasional offsetting, sections of borders of fols.122 and 305 cut away, remnants of sale ticket once pasted to front endleaf, marks showing original leaves at each end once pastedowns in earlier binding, else in bright and sparkling condition on excellent parchment with wide and clean margins, 175mm. by 121mm., seventeenth-century French mottled calf with floral gilt spine in six compartments, spine restored, marbled endleaves, in fleece-lined brown morocco box with gilt title by the Lakeside Press, Chicago  Provenance:  (1) Almost certainly written and illuminated in Bruges for a married couple who were close to the family of the Burgundian dukes: with prayers in both masculine and feminine forms, and in some cases asking for blessings for  famulos tuos   and  servos tuos   ( your servants , fols.254r-255v). The Bruges saint, Basil (who had a chapel dedicated to him on the central square in the city, which abutted up against the ancestral comital residence) is highlighted in gold on 3 April in the Calendar, and there are other local saints, such as Omer, Bertin, and Bavo in the Litany. The presence of SS. Iodocus or Josse (after whom Philip the Good named his second son, the boy sadly dying only days after birth in 1432) and Louis (patron of the French royal family and their descendants) points towards the Burgundian court, and this impression is confirmed by the inclusion of Anselm s meditation on chastity on fols.268r-76r    and a series of the saints commemorated in the last part of the book. Anselm s text also appears in the prayer book of Philip the Bold, the first Valois duke of Burgundy (Brussels, Bibl. Royale MS.10392), and among the saints here are Adrian, Gregory, Claud, Bernadino (canonised in 1450), Anne and Barbara, who were added to Philip the Bold s book when it was later enlarged for the personal use of his grandson, Philip the Good (see S. Panayotova and N. Morgan,  A Catalogue of Western Book Illumination in the Fitzwilliam Museum and Cambridge Colleges  , I, 2009, for Fitzwilliam, MS 3-1954). There are no arms or heraldic devices in the book, and it would appear that the original owners were trusted (but perhaps not noble) servants of the Burgundian court. It may even have been a commission by a member of the ducal household for these recipients.  (2) Within a few decades, the volume would appear to have been in the hands of an owner from the house of Luxembourg (whose title passed to the Burgundian dukes in 1467), and it was then that the last gathering was added with a suffrage to St. Peter of Luxembourg (fol.306r), and a prayer in French for one to whom God has entrusted rule of a kingdom but who has children (fol.308r). This owner presumably added the prayer to St Edmund of England in a fifteenth-century hand before the calendar, most probably in response to either the marriage in 1464 of Edward IV of England to Elizabeth Woodville, daughter from the second marriage of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, or the marriage of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York in 1468. Edward IV was briefly exiled in 1470 and took refuge in Flanders with the celebrated bibliophile Louis de Gruuthuse ( c  .1422-92) whose house in Bruges stills stands and is the site of a museum. It is more than likely that the owners of this book met the English king during his sojourn there.  (3) H.R.H. Frederick Augustus, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), the rebellious sixth son of George III who secretly married Lady Augusta Murray in Rome in 1793, clandestinely renewing these vows in  St. George's, Hanover Square (a few metres from our rooms) later that year, and continuing to live together despite the king s disapproval and parliamentary annulment of the union:  his printed bookplate inside front cover. The book was catalogued by T.J. Pettigrew ( Bibliotheca Sussexiana  , I:1, 1827, no.136, pp.cxci-cxcii,  beautifully written … on thin vellum … there are various beautiful little miniatures of saints   dispersed throughout the volume ), when in the library of Kensington Palace.  (4) Edward Hailstone (1818-90) of Walton Hall, near Wakefield, Yorkshire antiquarian and book collector; his sale, Sotheby's, 23 April 1891, lot 1394. A late thirteenth-century Bible from the  Bibliotheca Sussexiana   also passed to him, re-appearing in Sotheby s, 2 December 1986, lot 38.  (5) Alfred Higgins F.S.A. (d.1902), antiquarian and collector; his sale, Sotheby's, 2 May 1904, lot 91, thence Quaritch, cat.237 (1905), no.337, and then Hiersemann, cat.330 (1906), no.31.  (6) Isabelle Corwith Cramer (1861-1954), the second wife of Ambrose Cramer of Chicago: her inscription on label on book box and loose paper note recording gift of book in 1920 to her daughter, Isabelle Ryerson.  (7) Christies, 2 June 2010, lot 207, for £32,450.  Text:  The Burgundian court in the fifteenth century was the scene of opulence, art patronage and conspicuous consumption of wealth on a scale never seen before or perhaps after. Breathtakingly large sums were regularly spent on single illuminated volumes, and Phillip the Good added 600 such books to the ducal library during his reign, as well as commissioning tapestries, jewellery and other artworks. He funded lavish tournaments, banquets and other forms of entertainment, founded the Burgundian school of music and sent no less than Jan van Eyk to Portugal in 1428 to paint an accurate portrait of Princess Isabella in advance of his betrothal to her. Any artwork produced in this environment is a testament to this abundance of wealth and power, and this book would appear to have belonged to a couple at the very centre of this world.  It is a highly individual volume, with many more texts than are usually found in a Book of Hours. It comprises a Calendar (fol.2v); the Hours of the Passion (fol.15r, with matins wanting end and compline wanting opening); the Hours of the Cross (fol.32r); the Hours of the Holy Spirit (fol.39r, wanting terce, and prime wanting end); the Mass of the Virgin (fol.43r); Gospel Readings (fol.47v); the Hours of Virgin  secundum usum romanum  (fol.52r), with matins (fol.52r), lauds (fol.70r), prime fol.81r), terce (fol.85r), sext (fol.89r), none (fol.93r), vespers (fol.97r), and compline (fol.104r); the Hours of the Compassion of the Virgin (fol.108r), followed by prayers of compassion to the Virgin at the seven hours (A. Wilmart,  Auteurs spirituels .........

Strip cut from a Carolingian - liturgical manuscript, quoting Luke 15:29-30 and Ephesians 5 liturgical manuscript, quoting Luke 15:29-30 and Ephesians 5:6-9, in Latin, manuscript on parchment [probably East Frankia, late ninth or tenth century] A strip, with 3 lines of mature and angular Carolingian minuscule on each side, with a strong st-ligature and written with a wide-nibbed pen, four simple penwork ornamental capitals, recovered from a binding and so with splits, small holes and a fold running along middle of length of strip causing damage to central line of text on both sides, but still legible, 185mm. by 28mm. Affordable examples of Carolingian script are not common on the market. The hand here is close to that of Fulda, Hochschul- und Landesbibliothek, MSS. B1 (ninth century; Fuldische Handschriften aus Hessen , 1994, no. 40, note tall capitals) and Marburg, Stiftsarchiv, Hr.5.fasc.7 (tenth century; ibid, no. 44, note wide pen nib and rotund aspect).

The relic list of Bishop Werinharius of Merseburg, - single leaf from a Romanesque manuscript, in Latin single leaf from a Romanesque manuscript, in Latin, on parchment [east central Germany (Merseburg), c.1060] Single leaf (once perhaps the last endleaf from a manuscript), ruled for single column of 20 lines within two boundary lines, the lowest 12 of these filled with a lengthy inscription in a fine mid-eleventh century hand with an extended ct-ligature and detached cedilla, wormholes and small stains in places, slight folds from once having been folded, small section of bottom outer corner of border missing (without loss to text), 295mm. by 188mm. This is an important record of Early Medieval Merseburg, written around the time of the Norman Conquest of England Provenance: From a group of leaves evidently sold by Charles Hamilton Jr. (1914-96) to a now-deceased American collector. Text: Relic lists were among the most important records of all medieval communities. The belief in the sanctity of objects owned by saints or parts of their bodies goes back to the dawn of Christianity, and for the Early Medieval Church these lists were often an inventory of their hidden spiritual guardians (hidden both in a spiritual and physical sense as relics were frequently kept away from public view - the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 decreed that they were not to be displayed outside their containers, for fear of losing their potency). Communities waged lengthy legal battles over who had the true relics of a particular saint, or who had the most substantial corporeal relics. Following the Reformation and the Secularisation, such lists are often the only record of the full range of saints worshipped by that community. The list here details the numerous relics to be kept in a golden box studded with gemstones which was presented to the community by Bishop Werinharius (Wirinher or Werner of Wolkenberg, held office 1063-93). He was a leading light of the German church and a key member of the highly-charged tussle for power between the emperor, the senior clergy and the Pope. He led missionary efforts against the Slavs, and is recorded as having some of their works translated into Latin so that he could understand them. He was also an important military leader, commanding a force at the Battle of Mellrichstadt in 1078, at which his associate Archbishop Werner of Magdeburg was killed, and some of that cleric s followers, including the author Bruno the Saxon, subsequently transferred their allegiance to Werinharius. Bruno later dedicated his principal work, De Bello Saxonico , to him. The hand here appears to be mid-eleventh century, and perhaps this large and ostentatious gift was made by Werinharius to Merseburg Cathedral on his appointment as its bishop in 1063. To the best of our knowledge, there is no copy of this record in German archives, and with the sole exception of a fifteenth-century relic list offered by Sotheby's, 10 July 2012, lot 29, no other such list has appeared before on the open market.

Two leaves from a Lectionary, - decorated manuscript in Latin, on parchment [Low Countries decorated manuscript in Latin, on parchment [Low Countries (probably Stavelot), eleventh century] Two leaves, double column, 33 lines in a two sizes of a good pre-Gothic bookhand much influenced by Carolingian letterforms, with an 'r' that often descends below the line, an occasional 'g' with an angular bowl, an angular 'f' which is shaped like a fish-hook and stands completely above the line, capitals and small initials in red (now faded in places), rubrics of ornamental capitals in same, one small initial in same with another initial within its body (following the style of the ninth and tenth centuries), both recovered from a binding and with stains, scuffs, small holes and trimmed at edges (damaging a single line at top of one leaf), overall fair and presentable condition, 297mm. by 205mm. Recovered from an early printed book from the library of Stavelot monastery, with an inscription there: Liber m[ona]sterij Stabulen[sis] , and almost certainly from the early medieval library of that house. The monolithic Stavelot Bible (British Library, Additional MSS. 28106 and 28107, from c . 1093-97, and in a hand clearly much later in that century than this here) includes a booklist of that house which lists an item 147. Lectionarius ( Revue d'histoire Ecclésiastique 39, 1933, p.95), which may well be the parent volume of these leaves.

Strip from a very early copy of Corpus - Iuris Civilis , manuscript in Latin on parchment [probably France... Iuris Civilis , manuscript in Latin on parchment [probably France or Germany, first half of eleventh century] Two fragments making up a single strip used around the spine of a binding, with remains of 5 well-spaced lines in a late Carolingian minuscule with parts of XXXIV:6-7 of the text, K. SEP. VIMI in ornamental capitals, numerous late twelfth- or thirteenth-century marginalia, 7 lines in same on reverse, mostly overwritten and with red initials 'C' and 'I' added over the top of existing initials, twelfth-century marginalia, spots, stains and remnants of binding attached, in total 113mm. by 40mm. The Corpus Iuris Civilis is the fundamental bedrock of Western law. It was issued from 529-34 by order of Emperor Justinian I, but was neglected in the Middle Ages, only returning to the limelight in the eleventh century (see C.M. Radding and A. Ciarelli, The Corpus Iuris Civilis in the Middle Ages: Manuscripts And Transmission , 2007, pp.67-110, with list of handful of other eleventh century manuscripts on p.86, and note only one of those: Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, MS. Jur.1, dates to the first half of the eleventh century and is thus contemporary with this fragment).

Eleven decorated initials on cuttings - from a Romanesque Bible manuscript, in Latin, on parchment [France from a Romanesque Bible manuscript, in Latin, on parchment [France (probably the north), c . 1150-60] Eleven cuttings with readings from the Old Testament: nine approximately square (c. 40 mm. by 40mm.) with 3-line initials in red, blue and green with delicate multi-coloured floral infill in facing or mirrored patterns, cut almost to edges of initial (with only a few words or characters of text remaining, at least two scribes writing excellent and precise early Gothic bookhands with no biting curves), and two others with similar initials but with 5 lines from whole column of text (c. 40mm. by 130mm., indicating an original double column layout and a written space of c. 330mm. by 220mm.), the latter with red capitula numbers inset into column on righthand side, all laid down on a nineteenth-century brown card, that somewhat torn at edges, one initial with text ink flaked away, but still legible, else in fine and presentable condition Another such card with nine initials from the same manuscript and by the same scribe and artist were sold as part of an album of cuttings by Sotheby s, 10 December 1996, lot 6 (illustrated full-page there), and this is almost certainly a fugitive leaf from that collection. There they were identified as not the Bible itself, perhaps Josephus , presumably as the chapter numbers on two of the cuttings here, as well as one of those sold in 1996 are inconsistent with the standard numbers for the Old Testament. They are, perhaps, in fact numbers taken from the capitula -lists which precede each book, and as such this must have been a transitional version of the text, in which its copyists attempted to harmonise the numbering of these prefatory lists with the sections of the main text.

Two leaves from a Lectionary, - in Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment [northern France or... in Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment [northern France or Low Countries, mid-twelfth century] Two contiguous leaves from the text, with 25 lines in a fine early Gothic bookhand with a joined 'pp' but no biting curves, and a broken ct-ligature in which the 't' curves back but does not touch the 'c', five sections of music with neumes arranged around a red clef-line, rubrics in red, three simple red initials (one with a bauble mounted in its body), and four large initials in red, green or pastel blue with contrasting floral flourishes, later medieval folio nos. Ìclxiiii' and Ìclxv', edges slightly torn where cut from book, remnants of tape at edges from previous mountings, now in card mounts, good condition, 252mm. by 160mm.

Collection of leaves and fragments of - leaves from medieval manuscripts , in Latin leaves from medieval manuscripts , in Latin, on parchment [twelfth to fifteenth century] 26 leaves and fragments, comprising: (a) small fragment cut from a Bible (Luke 22:23-25), with remains of 8 lines in angular early Gothic script with biting curves (from a double column manuscript), recovered from a binding and hence with concomitant damage, France, c.1200, 63mm. by 45mm.; (b) leaf from the Interpretations of Hebrew names from an unusually large medieval Bible, double column, 30 lines, initials and paragraph marks in red, 205mm. by 125mm., natural flaw in parchment with signs of contemporary repair, probably France, thirteenth century; (c) cutting from a thirteenth-century Latin wordlist (most probably Balbus, Catholicon) with entries for m , double column, remains of 27 lines in a fine and angular hand, reused later as an endleaf and with addition in Low German Die iaren ons heren Mcccc en xxxvi dating its reuse to 1436, and with further inscriptions with notes on saints, such as the translation of the relics of the Three Kings and Bridget, which suggest a use in Cologne, 155mm. by 105mm.; (d) 3 cuttings from a collection of ecclesiastical statutes, those here citing the Synod of Cambrai (c.1310) and the Synod of Tournai (1366), all three together with remains of 29 lines from a single column, capitals touched in red, rubrics, paragraph marks and simple initials in red, 175mm. by 110mm. France, second half of fourteenth century; (e) bifolium from a noted Breviary, double column, at least 14 lines of text in a rotund script with music on 4-line red stave, capitals touched in red, 310mm. by 210mm., Low Countries, late fourteenth century; (f) 2 leaves from a tall and thin Renaissance Book of Hours (one text leaf and another from calendar with November/December), single column, 26 lines in a fine humanist script with a pronounced ct-ligature, initials in liquid gold on burgundy or blue grounds, probably French, c.1500, each approximately 155mm. by 70mm.; as well as a leaf from a thirteenth-century copy of a work of moral exhortation with a large angular red and blue initial, 3 leaves from a prayerbook and 5 from various Books of Hours, as well as 8 other smaller fragments

Two leaves from John of Bury, Pupilli Oculi - , in Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment [England (on the administration of the Sacraments in confession), in Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment [England (perhaps York), late fourteenth or early fifteenth century] Two leaves, double column, 38 lines in a professional English bookhand much influenced by cursive and with many abbreviations, quotations underlined in red ink, paragraph marks in blue, capitals touched in red, contemporary foliation 'C XII' and 'C VII', small spots, else good condition, 260mm. by 190mm. John of Bury (d. after 1398), was the chancellor of Cambridge University and a doctor of Divinity. This work, which he completed c .1385, was a revision of William of Paull's Oculus sacerdotis . It was originally written for the needs of a small circle of York residentiary canons who had been educated at Cambridge and served Thomas Arundel, and circulated first among them. It quickly became popular in English theological use, and replaced William of Pagula's work as the most widely used Latin manual. Some 40 copies survive, but only one has ever been recorded on the market (a mid-fifteenth century copy from the collection of Sir Francis Powell, last appearing in Maggs, cat.542, 1930, no. 154).

Polyphonic music on a cutting - from a leaf from a decorated musical manuscript on parchment... from a leaf from a decorated musical manuscript on parchment [probably Low Countries, first half of sixteenth century] Top quarter of a leaf, with 8 lines of text in a fine late Gothic bookhand much influenced by lettre bâtarde, with diamond-headed music notes on a 5-line brown stave, reverse with two initials in blue and pale pink with white scrolling brushwork, enclosing sprays of foliage and flowerbuds, recovered from a binding and hence with small holes, stains to edges, and rubbing to face with initials with losses to them, overall fair and legible condition, 305mm. by 195mm. This is probably the only surviving piece from a large polyphonic music manuscript, equal in size or larger than the Old Hall manuscript (British Library, Additional MS. 57950, c .1410-20, and perhaps used in the Chapel Royal) and Royal MS. 8G VII ( c .1513-44, made in the southern Netherlands probably for Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragorn). The text here is from the end of the Office of the Dead and the opening of the Credo . Manuscripts with polyphonic notation are exceedingly rare. Only two more-or-less complete manuscripts including substantial medieval polyphony have been offered at auction in the last century, and both passed to the British Library (Sotheby's, 21 October 1920, lot 124; and 9 July 1973, lot 41). To these should be added an Antiphoner with two leaves of polyphony which was sold in Sotheby's, 29 June 2007, lot 29. Fragments occasionally emerge, including a wrapper around a Dominican Book of Hours (last sold in Sotheby's, 7 December 1992, lot 57); a fifteenth-century paper fragment, sold Sotheby's, 12 December 1967, lot 58 (now also British Library); and two half-leaves in Sotheby's, 22 June 1982, lot 5 (now Bodleian), as well as 25 April 1983, lot 117 (now British Library).

Frisket fragment, - a cutting from a liturgical manuscript with music a cutting from a liturgical manuscript with music, with red ink added during early printing process [France, thirteenth and fifteenth/sixteenth century] Rectangular fragment, 15 lines in a fine Gothic hand, some with music on 4-line red stave, ornate tall penwork initials, small 4mm. by 15mm. pillar-box-like window cut out of parchment, large area of red ink (115mm. wide) on reverse, with traces of printed letter-forms in this ink, splits and cuts concomitant with subsequent second phase of reuse in binding, approximately 155mm. by 43mm. Friskets are an important witness to the early printing of books in both red and black ink. As they were so frequently discarded, they now survive in tiny numbers. The frisket itself is the sheet of material which lies between the paper and the print block on an early printing press, and which masks off all but the red rubrics (which are printed through the small pillar-box-like holes as here), leaving these guard-sheets covered in red ink. Early printers frequently reused medieval manuscript leaves for this purpose, and some then set aside the discarded leaves for drying and reuse by binders. They were first discussed in print by Margaret Smith ('Fragments used for Servile Purposes: The St Bride Library Frisket for Early Red Printing', in Interpreting and Collecting Fragments of Medieval Books ), and more recently comprehensively studied and surveyed by Elizabeth Upper ('Red Frisket Sheets, c.1490 - 1630', Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 108:4 (2014) , who lists 21 in total; not including this one). No other example has been recorded on the open market.

Three leaves from the Chronique dite - de Baudouin d’Avenes, in French, illuminated manuscript on... de Baudouin d Avenes, in French, illuminated manuscript on parchment [northern France (Therouanne), c .1300] Three leaves, double column, 35 lines of a skilled French vernacular hand (written space 190mm. by 125mm.), ten illuminated initials enclosing portraits of men and women, one a monk in orange robes reading from a book, initials with coloured and gold border extensions terminating in fleshy orange and white flowers, linefillers in same, contemporary foliation 'cxxxiii', 'xviii' and 'lviii' at the head of the recto of each leaf, all recovered from bindings and somewhat rubbed and cockled with flaking from initials, and with small fragments of paper from printed pages adhering, two leaves roughly stitched together, fair condition, 290mm. by 185mm. Acquired in Sotheby's, 25 April 1983, lot 78. These are three of the missing leaves from Arras, Mediatheque municipale, MS. 863 (recently catalogued by A. Stones, Gothic Manuscripts, 1260-1320, Part I , 2013, no. III-82, pls. 618-20, and with many further reproductions on the BVMM website), which evidently was being cut up in the sixteenth century for reuse on bindings. The text is that of an early universal chronicle, the so-called Chronique dite de Baudouin d'Avesnes . The first version charted history from the Creation up to 1278/81, and was complete by the death of the patron after whom it is named in 1289. The Arras manuscript extended the text up to c .1300, and the leaves here are from the as yet unpublished section of Old Testament history, narrating part of the stories of the children of Israel in the desert, Balaam and the ass, the battles of Saul and David and ending with the death of Brutus en la grande bretaigne . The Arras manuscript is probably from the medieval library of the Abbey of Saint-Vaast, Arras (founded 667, suppressed 1798 and chattles sold 1838). This lot, and the six following, are included here as affordable examples of European vernacular languages

Leaf from a Censier, a book of rents, - owed to the lordship of La Chapelle, in French owed to the lordship of La Chapelle, in French, decorated manuscript on parchment [fourteenth century, France (most probably Brittany)] Single leaf, ruled for 30 long lines, with six original lines of entries on recto, and nine on verso, in an extremely fine and ornate bookhand, nine further near-contemporary lines added to the second entry on the recto in a similar hand, three initials in red or blue with undulating penwork in contrasting colours, some initial letters touched in yellow and two letters extending into upper margin with ornamental cadels, small stains to edge, with slight affect to penwork of uppermost initial, good condition, 290mm. by 260mm. This was clearly a splendid copy in an extremely large format of this practical record, quite apart from working tools such as charters and terriers. It may have been produced as the personal copy of the seigneur. The site is likely to be identifiable as La Chapelle-Gaceline (Morbihan) in Brittany. The placenames here, Caro, Le Tay and perhaps also La Gaial (perhaps La Gacilly ), point to the immediate surroundings of La Chapelle-Gaceline.

Capbreu, a list of feudal obligations, - of the Parochial Church of St. Boi de Lluçanès, Catalonia of the Parochial Church of St. Boi de Lluçanès, Catalonia , in Old Catalan on parchment [the parent manuscript dated 4 September 1329] Leaf with single column, 10 lines in the fine vernacular bookhand of Pere de Zafala, rector and notary, small spots and stains, pencil notation at base in hand of B. Ferrini, else good condition, 153mm. by 102mm. Early medieval witnesses to any form of Spanish are of extreme rarity. The first sentence in Catalan (recorded in a now-lost manuscript) dates to the eighth century, but the earliest substantial records are documents of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the language entered a golden age with the work of Ramon Lull and its use for literary composition. The parent manuscript was drawn up in 1329 as a final record of the settlement of a disputed ownership claim over the fortress of nearby Montorroell (named on both sides of the present leaf), which was eventually granted by Marchesia de Portella, wife of the lord of Lluçà, to Galçerandus de Bisaura in fief to her. The whole manuscript was in the collection of Herman Scheuch, US Consul in Barcelona (1874-1892). Parts of the collection passed to Georgetown University and the Smithsonian, with this book acquired by Ferrini, who cut it up and sold a handful of leaves before a private European collector bought the bulk of it. There is a single folio in a private collection in Princeton.

Leaf from a copy of the glosses - to the Sachsenspiegel-Landrecht in Low German with occasional... to the Sachsenspiegel-Landrecht in Low German with occasional Latin quotes, on knighthood and Morgengave ( the medieval dowry given by a husband to his wife after the marriage ceremony), from a decorated manuscript on parchment [northern Germany, fifteenth century] Single leaf, double column, 42 lines in a practised angular vernacular hand with swooping descenders in lowermost line, capitals touched in red, paragraph marks in red, running titles in larger script in upper border ruled through in red, recovered from a binding and hence with scuffs, stains, folds and small holes affecting text in places, but overall mostly legible, 279mm. by 196mm. The text here is a close variant of that known as the Buch'sche Glosse recently edited in MGH . Fontes Iuris NS. VII (2002), pp.239-40. With the blossoming of law-practise in German in the fourteenth century came a need for vernacular texts and extensive explanatory glosses such as the present manuscript. The focus here on the actions of knights ( ridder ) as well as the Morgengave , also locates its use within the chivalric societies of Germany, which formed in the same period to protect aristocratic interests and hold jousts and tournaments.

Three small fragments most probably - from the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine in Old Czech... from the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine in Old Czech translation, manuscript on parchment [Bohemia, probably fourteenth century] Three small binding fragments (once used as spine supports), with remains of 6 lines in a prickly vernacular hand with parts of the legend of St. Jerome visible here, 2 pieces darkened on one side, all pieces torn at edges and with impressions of gathering-edges in lines along parchment, but legible and in fair condition, 50mm. by 38mm., 40mm. by 35mm., and 40mm. by 29mm. The Old Czech translation of the Legenda Aurea as known from the Staročeský passioniál, was made in the fourteenth century as a gift for Charles IV. It was printed twice in the late fifteenth century, the second time with additions for the Utraquists adding Jan Hus into the corpus of saints. Manuscripts in Old Czech are of breathtaking rarity on the market. A Book of Hours in Czech, dated 1466, was sold in the Dysons Perrins sale at Sotheby's, 9 December 1958, lot 24; an Antiphoner in Czech of c .1600, was sold by Christie's New York as part of the Cornelius J. Hauck collection on 27 June 2006, lot 266; and two cuttings from sixteenth-century choirbooks with Old Czech text on their reverses were sold by Sotheby's, 5 July 2011, lot 26, and 8 July 2014, lot 31. These fragments here appear to be the earliest to ever be offered for sale.

Leaves from a liturgical volume, probably a Missal - Missal or Lectionary, in Glagolitic, from a decorated manuscript... Missal or Lectionary, in Glagolitic, from a decorated manuscript on parchment [Croatia, fifteenth century] A bifolium, each leaf with double column, 30/31 lines in a tall and angular glagolitic bookhand, elaborate paragraph marks and rubrics in bright red, remains of 8 large initials in line-drawn ropework and acanthus leaf designs on iridescent red grounds, reused on a binding of a printed copy of Perfectissimus Calepinus Paruus, Venice, 1684, as a bifolium with its inner gutter running up the spine of the printed book and the boards preserving the whole of the text block of the manuscript page and some of lower margin, hence scuffed and with stains and small holes and splits, however the turned over edges on inside of boards indicate clean condition of leaf when used on binding, and presumably the innerside of these leaves if lifted from binding are in fine and presentable condition, board size: 245mm. by 165mm. Provenance: The parent codex was presumably carried in the fifteenth or sixteenth century from Croatia to Venice by traders or immigrants. Once there and out of the hands of readers who were familiar with its script, it appears to have been set aside, and by 1688 it was being reused as binding material: with ownership inscriptions dated 1688 and 1691 on title pages, the later naming a Professor Petrus Baculisti as its owner then; another undated but contemporary inscription of Andreas Batistinus upside-down in same place. Recently discovered by the present owner in the German trade. Text: This strange script is entirely a medieval creation. It was invented by SS. Cyril and Methodius, brothers from Thessaloniki, when they were sent to Great Moravia (modern Czech Republic and Slovakia) in 862 by the Byzantine Emperor who wanted to weaken the dependence of Moravia on East Frankish missionaries and priests. In 886, the East Frankish bishop of Nitra banned the script and jailed 200 of Methodius' followers (who later were sold into slavery). Refugees reached Bulgaria and were commissioned by Boris I to instruct his clergy there in Slavic language worship. From there these refugees spread to Croatia and established it as the heartland of the script. In 1248, Pope Innocent IV granted the Croats of southern Dalmatia the unique privilege of using a translation of the Roman Rite in their own script. Glagolitic is as rare a script on the market as Early Uncial (see lot 8 here), Visigothic and Luxeuil minuscule, with examples appearing only once a generation or so. To the best of our knowledge only three codices (all ex collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps) and two sets of fragments have been offered for sale in the last two hundred years (codices: Missal of c .1400-10, bought in the Guildford sale at Evans, 8 December 1830, lot 460, for the vast price of £168, and among his proudest possessions, exhibited at dinner parties among his Þsserts of manuscripts', sold Sotheby s 29 November 1966, lot 162, and now Pierpont Morgan Library; a fifteenth-century priests manual, sold Sotheby s, 28-29 June 1976, lot 4040; and a copy of patristic texts dated 1602, lot 1240 in same sale; fragments: two leaves from a fifteenth-century illuminated Missal, sold Sotheby s, 16 December 1970, lot 5; two further leaves from a contemporary copy of the same text, sold in Hartung in 2012, and now in two private UK collections); and to these should be added the small fragments in the binding of a Glagolitic printed book offered by Christies later this month with the estimate £40,000-60,000. However, this has not dampened academic and collecting interest in the script, and in 2001 Trinity College Dublin held an exhibition dedicated to it.

Gospel of John, in - Armenian, fragment of a leaf from an early Biblical codex on... Armenian, fragment of a leaf from an early Biblical codex on parchment [Armenia, ninth or tenth century] Top half of a leaf, with part of John 10-11, two columns of 9 lines in monumental erkat'agir majuscules (the so-called Iron Writing , the earliest Armenian script to survive in manuscript) with capitals with long trailing descenders, similar to British Library, Add. MS.21932, trimmed to edges of text, Armenia, probably ninth or tenth century, some stains, small holes and losses at edges with damage to a few lines (all from reuse in a binding), else fair, 233mm. by 157mm. This is the other half of a leaf sold by Sotheby's, 3 December 2013, lot 2, as part of a small group of leaves (the whole group realising £8750, with the other half of this leaf illustrated in catalogue there). Armenia was the first nation to officially adopt Christianity (in the early fourth century), and the Bible was the first text translated into that language in characters reportedly created by the scholar-translator St. Sahak (d.439) for the task. Few Armenian manuscripts predate the present example: a handful of books survive for the later ninth and tenth century (see Sacred: Books of the Three Faiths , 2007, p.74), but they are not common until the thirteenth century.

Plea to an Oracle from an immigrant to Egypt, - in Greek, manuscript on papyrus [Egypt, first century BC in Greek, manuscript on papyrus [Egypt, first century BC.] Papyrus fragment (with small losses at upper right and lowermost edges), remains of 13 lines in Ptolemaic diplomatic cursive, reverse blank, small cracks and rubbed areas with losses but quite legible and in fair and presentable condition, 103mm. by 67mm., framed in Perspex From the collection of Anton Fackelmann (1916-86), conservator of the Vienna Papyrus Sammlung, and recovered by him from mummy cartonnage. This is one of the two earliest extant examples of a breathtakingly rare text from antiquity - an address to an Oracle by a supplicant seeking their aid or advice. Other examples show that when seeking an Oracle s advice in the Ancient World, you often gave your questions to the priests in a written form, receiving a document in reply. Almost all include just brief questions, such as should I go? , giving us little information about the lives of those who asked the questions, but here there is much information and a heart-wrenching question which still touches its reader emotionally some two millennia after it was written. The writer calls himself Ptolemaios and states that due to a lack of the bare necessities of life, I have left my homeland, taking my children with me, and I now ask you to show yourselves to be merciful towards me and my children, and to return to me this sheet [with a reply] if it is useful to me to continue to live with them . Publications: H. Bannert and H. Harrauer in Wiener Studien, N.F. 14, 1980, pp. 37-9 (wrongly identified there as a court speech); M. Gronewald and D. Hagedorn, Eine Orakelbitte aus Ptolemäischer Zeit , Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik , 41, 1989, pp. 289-93

Miniature Passional, - in Russian Church Slavonic, decorated manuscript on paper [Russia in Russian Church Slavonic, decorated manuscript on paper [Russia, sixteenth or perhaps seventeenth century] 116 leaves, wanting gathering at end, else apparently complete, single column of 11 lines in tiny but precise Slavonic script, running titles and rubrics in red, stained at edges and damage to first few leaves at front of volume, a few later marginalia, overall fair and readable condition, 46mm. by 40mm., contemporary binding with leather spine and wooden boards (these later overlaid with buckram), outer leather split halfway along length of spine This is a charming Russian Church Slavonic book on a truly miniature scale. The text is that of a list of saints according to the Calendar for ordinary and leap years, including readings for SS. Theodotus, bishop of Cyrenaea (March), Romanus the Melode (October) and Savva of Vishera, a Russian saint who died in 1460.

Octoechos and Psalter, - in Church Slavonic, decorated manuscript on paper [Russia in Church Slavonic, decorated manuscript on paper [Russia, end of the eighteenth century] 102 leaves (including 4 leaves at front from another manuscript), lacking leaf at end, else complete, single column, 11-13 lines in an accomplished Church Slavonic semi-Uncial hand, headings and initials in red, nine ornamental headpieces in Neo-Byzantine designs with floral patterns in muted red, blue, green, brown and purple, heightened with precise white penwork, watermarks close to those in Uchastkina, History of Russian Paper-Mills, 1962, nos.707 (1786) and 122 (1795), ownership inkstamps on fol.45r, leaves stained in places, with small tears and upper outer corners affected in past with water damage (now woolly at edges), overall fair condition, 195mm. by 110mm., contemporary blind-tooled panel-stamped binding of dark leather over wooden boards, damage to edges and half of back cover missing, loose in binding, section of spine torn away and loose in volume From the collection of Paul M. Fekula, his MS. 602 (and listed in his catalogue, The Paul M. Fekula Collection , 1988, as well as Slavic Manuscripts from the Fekula Collection , 1983, no. XXXV). His sale at Sotheby's, 29 November 1990, lot 90. The Octoechos was an eight-mode system used for the composition of religious chant in Byzantine, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Slavic churches since the Middle Ages.

Four charters recording - a lease of meadow land in Menston, Yorks., and a grant of Nicholas a lease of meadow land in Menston, Yorks., and a grant of Nicholas, son of John Adamson, of all the worldly goods and chattels whether living or dead in nearby Ottley to pay off his debts, in Latin, manuscript on parchment [northern England (Menston and Ottley, Yorks.), dated 11 November 1310, 10-11 November 1314 and 15 August 1415] Four documents: (a) 14 long lines in a fine early fourteenth-century secretarial hand, witnessed by Walter de Middelton, Walter de Hukeswrd, Alexander de Mensington, William the son of Constancte de Heukeswrd and William clericus, indented at top with remains of CHIROGRAPH inscription, dated 11 November 1310, 160mm. by 86mm.; (b) two copies of same agreement, 14 lines in good secretarial hand, witnessed by Walter de Meddylton, Walter de Haukesworth, Alexander de Menyngton and others, indented at top with remains of inscription as above, seal tags with remains of white wax seal, the tags of the two documents bound together with contemporary fibrous twine, dated 10 and 11 November 1314; (c) 7 long lines in a small and flowing secretarial hand with long ascenders and abbreviation marks, witnessed by Richard the vicar of Ottley and two local residents, William Barker and John Grene, parchment tag present but seal wanting, some folds and small spots, else good condition, 60mm.+20mm. by 245mm.; all with small spots and folds, else excellent condition This small archive contains three charters which clearly record related property arrangements. The first records a lease of meadow in Menston between Le Lange Sike and the land of Walter of Hawkesworth for 6 years at 5sh. annually (dated 1310), and the conjoined pair are continuations of this arrangement, extending the lease for another 16 years for the symbolic rent of one rose annually if requested (dated 1314). The final document is a grant of all the worldly goods of a man from neighbouring Ottley to his creditors, and contains a form of debt settlement not commonly recorded in medieval documents.

Pope Pius II, Bull in favour of the Hospital - for the Poor, Seville, manuscript on parchment [Rome for the Poor, Seville, manuscript on parchment [Rome, dated 13 June 1460] Single sheet, 23 lines in an elegant and professional secretarial hand with numerous ornamental cadels, one large initial 'P' with an initial line in long tall ornamental capitals (some with penwork foliage), worn in places, with small holes, folds and slightly cockled, else fair condition, 270mm.+55mm. by 485mm., with lead bulla on plaited silk tags (now detached) This papal bull was issued by Pope Pius II (previously Enea Silvio Piccolomini, 1405-64) who in his youth was a scholar and author of erotic poetry, and held office as the poet laureate and private secretary to Emperor Frederick III). He turned to Holy Orders only later in life, and was sent on a secret mission by Cardinal Albergati to the north of England and Scotland in 1435, permanently damaging his feet and legs after having declared he would walk barefoot from the shore to the nearest shrine (Dunbar to Whitekirk, some 10 miles inland). He left an unfavourable account of Scotland, declaring it wild, bare and never visited by the sun in winter , and celebrating his southward journey to Newcastle as a return to a civilised part of the world and the inhabitable face of the Earth . This document was issued for the Hospital for the Poor in Seville, founded by Bishop John of Ostia, and it grants to the chaplain of the hospital the right to administer the sacraments to those under his care and to bury them in the adjacent cemetery.

Academic diploma from University of Harderwijk - for Amandus Francicus van Bawstette, manuscript on parchment for Amandus Francicus van Bawstette, manuscript on parchment, with institutional seal [Guelders (Harderwijk), dated 1755] Single sheet, with 18 lines of a fine calligraphic hand, names in larger script, first line in very large scrolling script, signatures by four senior academics (John Christoph Struchtmeyer, Joannes Wilhelmus Marekart, Joannes Henricus van Lom, and Theodorus Scheltinga, the last also endorsing the turn-up), 330+50mm. by 540mm., suspended red wax seal of university on blue silk cord in brass case with lid, small hole in centre of document from folding, cracking to edge of seal; in cast brass chest with medieval scenes in panels on outside (probably nineteenth century)

Compendium of extracts of Church doctrine, - manuscript in Latin on paper [Italy , seventeenth century] 357 leaves manuscript in Latin on paper [Italy (Rome), seventeenth century] 357 leaves, approximately 38 lines in loose secretarial hands copying extracts from other sources and volumes, index inserted on thicker paper leaves near end, vol. no. cclxxxviii on spine (of 257 numbered volumes from a number of Roman archives, all containing extracts from the Papal State archives), large section of pages of volume with shine-through due to ink-burn, but no holes in leaves, some ink spots and edges bumped, some gatherings loose in volume, else fair condition, 315mm. by 210mm., sewing structures intact, but book block now loose in contemporary limp parchment binding with yapp edges, title on spine in ink; Kraus' sale document interleaved This stout book is from a series of volumes containing extracts on Church doctrine, which were acquired by the greatest manuscript collector to have ever lived, Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), in the sale of the library of Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford , in Evans, 8 December 1830. This was Phillipps MS. 7372: his label on spine and pencil note inside front board; and on the dispersal of his library by Sotheby's it passed with the bulk of the residue to H.P. Kraus of New York, who then sold them individually.

The Annunciation to the Virgin, - large miniature on a leaf from the Upholland Hours large miniature on a leaf from the Upholland Hours, illuminated manuscript in Latin on parchment [northern France (Amiens), c .1430-40] Single leaf, with half-page arch-topped miniature with the Virgin kneeling and reading within a detailed Gothic interior as the angel enters from the right pointing to the Holy Spirit as it descends in the form of a dove, a starry night s sky above, all within thin gold frame, above 2-line initial in pink with white penwork and floral infill and on burnished gold ground, 5 lines of tall and angular text with 2 illuminated initials on coloured grounds and linefillers in same, full border of acanthus leaves and foliage, some forming scrolling interlacing patterns with gold infill, enclosing coat-of-arms in bas-de-page (lion gules rampant with bands vair all on or, charged with cross moleyn or on gules on sinister side), some slight water damage to top of leaf with slight cockling and discolouration, else good and presentable condition, 170mm. by 115mm., framed From an Book of Hours already missing a number of leaves, sold in Christie s, 2 December 1987, lot 33, as the property of Upholland College, Wigan, and sold again in Sotheby s, 5 December 1994, lot 94, and soon after dispersed with this leaf in Maggs cat.1283 (1999), no.7. This is the sole armorial leaf of the manuscript, which was part of a well defined group of Amiens manuscripts from the second quarter of the fifteenth century, closely centring on the Hours of Raoul d Ailly (Sotheby s, 11 July 1978, lot 48). Another member of this group, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, McClean MS.77, has a near identical miniature to this one (M.R. James, Descriptive Catalogue of the McClean Collection of Manuscripts , 1912, pl.XLVIII). The style developed as a local offshoot of the Boucicaut Master s work, standing immediately before the emergence of the young Simon Marmion (who was born in the city c .1425, where both his father and elder brother were painters). Exhibited in J.J.G. Alexander, Medieval and Renaissance Treasures in the North West , 1976, no.30, p.24, and briefly alluded to in Ker and Piper, Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries IV, 1992, p.503

A tonsured Benedictine monk holding a book, - large historiated initial on a single leaf from a Psalter large historiated initial on a single leaf from a Psalter, illuminated manuscript, in Latin, on vellum [probably Rhineland or perhaps England, late thirteenth century] Single leaf, with 20 lines in a good Gothic hand, 1-line initials in blue or liquid gold with blue or red penwork to contrast, numerous highly decorative line-fillers in a wide variety of styles (with flowers, stylised leaves and a repeating series of three-lobed patterns enclosing a small blue geometric shape, perhaps that of a castle), a blue penwork dragon with a red tongue, one 4-line historiated initial 'D' (but apparently not opening anything, perhaps a mistake by the illuminator who was meant to fill the space left with an 'F' to open the next line Fili redemptor mundio ) in orange heightened with circles, enclosing a tonsured monk in dark blue robes standing and holding up a long thin book, all on a brightly burnished gold ground, initial terminating in long thin blue tendril with a gold three-lobed flower, modern pencil notes 3' and d3' on verso, good condition, 178mm. by 135mm. This leaf is from a well-known and richly illustrated liturgical Psalter, which apparently included the Hours of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead. It was broken up, perhaps in France in the 1960s, and leaves first appeared in England in the Folio Fine Art cat.43 (February 1967), Maggs Bulletin 5 (April 1967), and Alan Thomas cats.19, nos.17a-e and 21, nos. 22 and 22a (see The Rendells cat.146, lots 85-6; Sotheby's, 17 December 1991, lot 4, and 7 December 1992, lot 6, and 5 December 2006, as part of lot 52, and 4 December 2007, lot 19, for more recent sales). Three leaves were described in detail in J.M. Plotzek, Andachtsbücher des Mittelalters , 1987, p. 84, no. 8, relating them to Rhenish work of c . 1260. The penwork drollery-creature line-fillers have their closest parallels to the Salvin Hours (British Library, Addit. MS.48,985) and are similar to those in an English Psalter in Krivoklát Castle in the Czech Republic and the Windmill Psalter in the Morgan Library (N. Morgan, Early Gothic MSS, II, 1250-1285 , 1988, p.150). All of the leaves which have come to light have a number of penwork drollery-creatures, but few have any historiated initials (for another see that in Sotheby's, 4 December 2007, lot 19, which made £3750), and to find one with burnished gold is rare.

Adam and his descendants, - large historiated initial on a bifolium from a monumental... large historiated initial on a bifolium from a monumental illuminated bible, in Latin, manuscript on vellum A bifolium (second leaf trimmed vertically to edge of text), with a large initial 'A' (opening "Adam Seth Enos Cainan Malaleel " the beginning of I Chronicles; initial: 95mm by 77mm.), in blue with delicate scalloped shading heightened with white, with two orange dog-heads, enclosing Adam as a standing bearded figure holding a scroll, before his descendants (here as robed men before a burnished gold background), all on tessellated orange ground with burnished gold frame, blue, pink and gold decorative-bar down entire length of page with bird sitting on top of it, two comical drolleries in bas-de-page, perhaps mocking Franciscan friars (both half-human and wearing friars' habits, one with the legs of a blue horse with orange wings and waving a bifolium from a document and a club, chasing the other who has the legs of a deer), double column, 36 lines in black ink in a good Gothic bookhand, initials touched in red, rubrics in red, title and numbers in red and blue, two 2-line initials in red or blue with penwork extensions up and down margin to contrast, recovered from a binding and hence discoloured and somewhat rubbed, with ink eating through small areas of text (now repaired in places), overall in fair condition, framed, 420mm. by 315mm. Once in the collection of T.F. Flannery Jr., and sold in Sotheby's, 6 December 1983, lot 14, to Dr. Jossi of Chur, Switzerland, again his sale in Sotheby's, 4 December 2007, lot 20, for £8125 to the present owner. Illumination from the southern Netherlands from this period is rare. The present leaf compares closely with a copy of Bernard of Clairvaux's sermons, probably made in a convent in Cambrai c .1300 (now ÖNB, s.n.12771: O. Pächt, et al., Die Illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabeln der Österreichschen Nationalbibliothek, Flämische Schule I , 1983, i:162-4 & ii, pl. 1), and to another manuscript of the same text (now Brussels, Bibl. Royale, MS.1787: ibid., i, fig. 1) which may be from the same workshop as the ÖNB manuscript. If the drolleries were intended as comic portraits of members of the community, then this may indicate an origin in the Franciscan convent at Cambrai. The fact that one clutches a bifolium from an apparently unfinished manuscript might suggest that these are whimsical caricatures of members of the scriptorium which produced the original volume.

God creating the stars, - historiated initial on a leaf from an illuminated Hymnal, in Latin historiated initial on a leaf from an illuminated Hymnal, in Latin, on parchment [northern Netherlands (perhaps Haarlem), mid-fifteenth century] Single leaf, with large initial C (opening the hymn Conditor alme syderum … typically sung at Vespers during Advent) in blue with scalloping white penwork, set on burnished gold grounds with large oval notches at corners, enclosing God the father as a bearded and haloed figure in red robes standing in a stylised grassy landscape pointing up at five gold stars (illustrating the text Creator of the stars at night … ), fine sprays of angular burgundy and muted green and blue acanthus leaves with single line foliage leading to golden buds and flowerheads in same colours as before in upper and lower margins, these joined by a single decorated bar of compartments of blue, gold and burgundy in the inner border, simple initials in red or blue, red rubrics, capitals touched in red, 15 lines in a strong and formal bookhand on obverse with mixed text and music on a 4-line red stave, small marks at corners of reverse from previous mounting, slight oxidising and flaking to face of saint, else good condition, 342mm. by 215mm. The exaggerated white penwork of the initial, the multi-coloured text bar and angular acanthus leaves in muted colours point towards the northern Netherlands. The shape of the initial and its grounds are near-identical to those in a copy of Dirc van Delft, Den Boeck Vanden Kersten Ghelove , dated 1455 (Brussels, Bibl. Royale, MS.21974, see Manuscrit à Peintures di XVe Siècle , 1987, no.21), and the radiating straight single line foliage is very close to the takkenbossen motif as employed by the Master of the Haarlem Bible (see J. Marrow, The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting , 1990, pp.234-5), and this leaf was probably also produced by him or a member of his workshop.

The Annunciation to the Shepherds, - large miniature from an illuminated Book of Hours, in Latin large miniature from an illuminated Book of Hours, in Latin, on parchment [southern Netherlands, c .1460-80] Leaf with full-page miniature with composite border, the miniature a large arch-topped miniature containing a finely executed image of the Angel descending on a sheep covered hillside to a group of amazed shepherds, who gaze upwards or fall to their knees in prayer, all before a finely painted rocky landscape with medieval town in background, borders of realistic flower studies on pale mustard-yellow grounds enclosing an urn, snails, flies, butterflies, a running hound and a lion who irreverently walks away, casting a look at the miniature while waving aside his tail to expose his bottom to the viewer, the border evidently trimmed as in previous lot and so skilfully repaired with a cutting from another leaf, thus reverse mostly blank, but with remains of text and initials on one side, with nineteenth-century red cloth mount, holes punctured at regular intervals around frame of miniature and edge of border (perhaps from reuse as a free-standing devotional image, see Kren in Illuminating the Renaissance, 2003, pp.480-1), some spots and small scuffs, else good and presentable, 193mm. by 155mm. From the same parent manuscript as the previous lot. The scene here is well executed and the disdainful lion in the border adds great charm.

A warrior with a sword and buckler, - on a cutting most probably from a legal manuscript on parchment... on a cutting most probably from a legal manuscript on parchment [northern Italy (probably Bologna), late thirteenth or early fourteenth century] A cutting, with a standing figure of a naked warrior, wearing only a blue cloak lined with white trim, one arm raised with a scimitar-like sword above his head, the other holding a buckler before him, skintones in pale green-blue, heightened with orange hairline strokes, all on a brightly burnished gold ground, small chip from brow of figure's nose and flaking from gold at lowermost part of cutting, 52mm. by 15mm., laid down in a card mount Similar tiny figures set within initials or in the margins can be found in copies of Justinian produced in Bologna in the last quarter of the thirteenth and the first quarter of the fourteenth century (see Illuminating the Law , 2001, pl.12e, showing a knight with a sword; and Avril and Gousset, Manuscrits Enluminés d Origine Italienne II, 1984, no.141).

Leaf from the Llangattock Breviary, also - known as the Breviary of Leonello d’Este, in Latin known as the Breviary of Leonello d Este, in Latin, exquisitely illuminated manuscript on parchment [north east Italy (Ferrara ), c .1441-48] Single leaf, with double column, 30 lines in an excellent late Gothic bookhand, capitals and prominent letters touched in yellow, rubrics in red, small initial in burnished gold on blue or burgundy grounds with white penwork tracery, both sides of leaf with full-length text borders on lefthand side of each column (three gold and coloured bars with coloured ornamental knots mounted within their bodies, the fourth instead in delicate scrolling foliage with coloured flowers and foliage terminating in bezants, similar sprays of foliage atop and at base of each decorative bar, one with a skilfully executed drollery with a human head with a furrowed brow and haggard cheeks, and a beard touched with gold hairline strokes, slight cockling, else in excellent condition, approximately 270mm. by 200mm., framed in glass so as visible on both sides From an opulent manuscript produced as the sister-codex of the missal from the private chapel of Borso d Este, marquis and then duke of Ferrara (Modena, Biblioteca Estense, MS. OE W.5.2, Lat.239), or his successor, Leonello d'Este, the grand bibliophile and one of the most prominent art patrons of Renaissance Italy. It has been identified, probably rightly, as the breviary recorded in the Este accounts as produced between 1441 and 1448 for Leonello by Giorgio d'Alemagna, Bartolomeo di Beninca, Guglielmo Giraldi and Matteo de Pasti (see F. Toniolo, La miniatura a Ferrara dal tempo di Cosmè Tura all'eredità di Ercole de' Roberti, 1998, pp.19-20 and 76-7). The book re-emerged lacking many of its miniatures in the library of John Allan Rolls, 2nd Baron Llangattock (and one half of the founders of Rolls-Royce), and was sold by his heirs in Christie's, 8 December 1958, lot 190, to a Boston bookshop and dispersed. The largest surviving part is at Harvard, with individual leaves now scattered worldwide across an array of institutional and private collections (see Les Enluminures du Louvre: Moyen Âge et Renaissance , 2011, pp.84-88, for recent discussion and full page reproductions of their leaves).