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Dear Friend,
I have loved annotated books since my earliest encounters with them at university. Incredibly, the first one I saw was Thomas Browne's annotated copy of the 1642 edition of his Religio Medici. I hope you welcome this rather less grand assemblage of books with jottings and notes, stealthy crossings out, paste-overs and other readers' marks.
Best wishes,
Christian
THE OATH OF A PRIVY COUNSELLOR Chronological Tables of Europe; From the Nativity of Our Savour to the Year 1703. Engraven on 46 Copper-Plates, and Contriv’d in a small Compass for the Pocket — Colonel [William] Parsons — 1707
Chronological tables with two highly interesting passages of annotation: across two of the blank pages is a manuscript ink copy letter in a contemporary hand, addressed “Most dread Sovereign” which relates to Henry Sacheverell’s submissions during his trial of 1709 following his Gundpowder Plot sermons: “Having lately incurred the displeasure of the honourable H of Com. by preaching a sermon on the 5th November I have no appeal to make but to your gracious goodness…”. This is signed of with Sach…… Read more
ANNOTATED BY AN ANTIQUARY: A List of The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1785 - and 21 other Imprints including: A Copy of the Royal Charter and statutes; A Description of an Antient Picture in Windsor Castle; A speech delivered by Edward King etc — [Benjamin Way; Edward King] Philip Webb, John Topham, Joseph Ayloffe, John Fenn — 1777
Lightly annotated collection of imprints gathered by Benjamin Way FSA (1740-1808) that records among other things the short-lived and disastrous presidency of his friend, Edward King. Way who was MP for Bridport and Director of the South Sea Company was elected to the Royal Society in 1771 and Society of Antiquaries in 1776 and preserved as well as annotated a sequence of imprints that relate to the election and dismissal of Edward King who had attempted far-reaching administrative reforms to th…… Read more
ANNOTATED PRESENTATION COPY Sketches of the Origin, Process, and Effects of Music with an Account of the Ancient Bards and Minstrels — Rev Richard Eastcott — 1795
Annotated presentation copy of the third edition with an affectionate note about the author’s life in Exeter, ‘now (1823) quite blind’ written by the book’s recipient, George Westlake. Half calf binding overlaid and strengthened with red cloth at some later stage - over marbled boards. Westlake’s bookplate appears on the front pastedown with offsetting opposite recording the gift of the book from his blind friend. Westlake has written on the first flyleaf: ‘George Westlake the gift of the Rev.d…… Read more
ANNOTATED BY A DERBYSHIRE FARMER The Commercial Ledger: or, Gentleman’s, Merchant’s, and Tradesman’s Complete Annual Memorandum-Book, for the Year of Our Lord 1828 — [John Kniveton] — 1828
The Commercial Ledger with the contemporary ownership inscription for “John Kniveton” in black ink to the front free endpaper, with 27 pages subsequently filled out in his hand. Kniveton’s notes detail his accounts, including his expenses (“missionary money”, “flowers and washing”, a “glazier’s bill”, meat, butter, salt, pig feed, “a portion of laudanum”, chimney sweeping, and the building of a wash house), as well as recording the deaths of family members. Making frequent reference to the selli…… Read more
WELL TRAVELLED COPY ANNOTATED WITH ITS OWNER’S TRAVELS - Pitcairn: The Island, the People, and the Pastor; with a short account of the Mutiny of the Bounty. — Rev. Thos. Boyles Murray — 1854
The book bears the ink inscriptions of three previous owners across the front pastedown and the rear of the frontispiece: the first states “William Galthans[?] / His Book No.23”; the second, in a bold calligraphic hand, declares “J. S. Sanders / New York USA”; and the third, more curiously, “C. E. M. – Valparaiso, Chili / 157 So 9th St. / Brooklyn N. York / USA”. This same inscription by the somewhat mysterious third owner is repeated at numerous points throughout the book, always taking the sam…… Read more
WITH CHARLES KINGSLEY’S NOTES ON KANSAS & NEBRASKA - The Law of the Territories — Sidney George Fisher [Charles Kingsley] — 1859
Charles Kingsley’s annotations to this book, made during the second year of the American Civil War, see him tread a fine and sometimes confused line as he wrestles with the contrary arguments raging around slaveholding and abolition in the new states of Kansas and Nebraska. The British novelist was broadly in favour of abolition but attached to the Southern cause by ties of family and birth - Kingsley’s grandparents were themselves slave-owners in the Caribbean - Kingsley begins his jottings in…… Read more
ETONIAN ANNOTATIONS BY GLADSTONE’S NEPHEW - The Medea of Euripides — Euripides [John Robert Gladstone] — 1865
Exuberant Eton-annotated copy owned by a member of the Gladstone clan, mostly likely John Robert Gladstone (1852-1926), son of Sir Thomas Gladstone (the P.M.’s elder brother). An interleaved copy previously owned and annotated by Eton College schoolboy John Ewart Gladstone in 1866/1867. Front endpapers inscribed ‘Gladstone Joynes’ Eton College 1866/1867. Collections. Summerhall. Division VII’. Academic annotations combine alongside lively doodles, handwriting and mark making throughout. Contains…… Read more
WITH CORRECTIVE PASTE-OVERS Books Belonging to the Settle Literary Society together with A Copy of the Rules and a List of the present Subscribers with pasted in supplements — Settle Literary Society [Dr James Edgar] — 1887
Lightly annotated and with corrective pasteovers, Copac locates one copy only (York) of this library catalogue. Very good condition in publisher’s embossed cloth binding with gilt titling to cover. Corners very minimally bumped, a couple of spots of candle wax to upper board. Endpapers clean front and rear. Contemporary ownership inscription reads ‘James W Edgar M.D.’ to front free endpaper - a physician practising in Settle and listed among the book’s subscribers - Settle itself is a town locat…… Read more
ANNOTATED BY A FUTURE PRIME MINISTER - Essays Literary and Critical. — Matthew Arnold — 1906
Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s copy with critical notes in pencil, with verbal annotations, underlinings, marginal lines, asterisks, crosses and question marks, across around a third of the text. The verbal annotations range from a simple “Ha!” to lengthier commentary on the subjects under discussion. These are almost entirely focused on the introductory chapter concerning “the function of criticism” and the sections concerning the translation of Homer and Arnold’s scholarly rivalry with Francis…… Read more
A GIFT FROM NOEL COWARD, ANNOTATED WITH ESME WYNNE TYSON’S PUBLICATIONS The Writers’ and Artists’ Year-Book 1919. A Directory for Writers Artists and Photographers. — [Noel Coward, Esme Wynne Tyson] — 1919
Esmé Wynne-Tyson’s copy containing a detailed manuscript list of her early publications. The yearbook was given and inscribed to her by Noël Coward using his nickname of the time, in black ink to the head of the preface “To Leette Mother[?] / with appropriate affection / Poj / 29/6/19”. To the rear of the book is a blank table across nine pages designed for writers to record the progress of their manuscripts through the publication process (title, where sent, when sent, returned or accepted, pay…… Read more
‘THE ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM’ - ANNOTATED IN THE 1930S Autobiography. With an Appendix of Hitherto Unpublished Speeches. — John Stuart Mill, preface by Harold J Laski — 1924
Sir Albert Charles Seward’s copy, with his printed bookplate to the front pastedown and scattered pencil annotations in his hand throughout. These largely compose marginal lines, although there are also ten pages with verbal annotations (“the gloom”, Seward notes besides a passage on Malthus’s population principle, elsewhere he perceives “the elements of Nat’l Socialism” in the ideas of John Austin, and ponders whether “Bentham & Jas. Mill [would] have been what they were if they had had women i…… Read more
POET GEORGE MACKAY BROWN’S COPY - The Week-End Book — [George Mackay Brown]; edited by Vera Mendel; Francis Meynell and John Goss — 1926
George Mackay Brown’s copy, inscribed by him in blue ink to the half title page: “George M Brown / April 1952 / Newbattle”. One of the leading Scottish poets of the twentieth century, Brown has annotated the book towards the rear, adding three manuscript poems in blue ink. The first of these is ‘Epitaphs’ by Eza Pound, the second a fragment from the ancient Greek poet Alcman, and the third ‘The Late Swallow’ by fellow-Orcadian poet Edwin Muir, who had been a great influence on Brown. Pleasingly,…… Read more
DRASTICALLY CUT BY PLAYWRIGHT LAWRENCE LANGER - The Unknown Warrior: A Tragedy in Three Acts — PAUL RAYNAL; translated by CECIL LEWIS — 1928
Anti-war play Inscribed by the British fighter ace, author, founding executive of the BBC, and translator of the present work Cecil Lewis (1898-1997) to the playwright, author, and producer Lawrence Langer (1890-1962) in black ink on the front free endpaper: “For / Lawrence Langner / 12.1.30 / Cecil Lewis”. Langer has subsequently annotated the book in pencil to virtually every text page, preparing it for a stage adaptation. These extensive annotations mostly consist of deletions, with large sec…… Read more
THE PRESIDENT’S MOTHER’S COPY: Franklin Roosevelt His Life and Achievement — [SARA DELANO ROOSEVELT]; Basil Maine — 1938
Sara Delano Roosevelt’s copy of her son’s biography with her initials, “SDR”, in pencil to the front free end paper, from the collection of Frederick Baldwin Adams, a relative of FDR and his mother. Sara Delano Roosevelt clearly read the book with close interest, as indicated by the marginal pencil lines scattered throughout the text. As these annotations are fairly extensive, albeit heavily concentrated in the latter two-thirds of the book, which concentrate on F.D.R.’s political career (1910s-…… Read more
HAROLD WILSON’S COPY - Phaethon and Other Stories from Ovid — Ovid, G.M. Edwards [Harold Wilson] — 1932
Future Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s school copy in near very good condition with his expert annotation to the Latin text. A charming little volume in red cloth boards titled to front and spine. Very lightly bumped to corners, very modestly worn boards to rear. A sound and square copy which is crisp and clean throughout. Front free endpaper is inscribed in pencil ‘H. Wilson 6’. Occasionally and expertly annotated in pencil. 132 pp. collated and complete.
PRESENTATION COPY SUBSEQUENTLY ANNOTATED Friends of a Lifetime: Letters to Sydney Carlyle Cockerell. — [SYDNEY CARLYLE COCKERELL]; edited by VIOLA MEYNELL — 1940
Inscribed by Sydney Cockerell in black ink to the front free endpaper: “To Brian S. Cron / from Sydney Cockerell”. Two-sided manuscript letter in black ink addressed to Cockerell from the palaeontologist Arthur Smith Woodward (1864-1944) on British Museum, Natural History Department headed notepaper, dated May 4th 1885, discussing an upcoming exhibition of fossils at the museum, to which Cockerell has donated some specimens. The text of the work is annotated in pencil, possibly in Cockerell’s ha…… Read more
PROMPT COPY WITH EXTENSIVE ANNOTATION - Here and Now. A Play in Three Acts — Lionel Brown — 1943
A prompt copy, with extensive annotations throughout, adapting the text for use in a performance of the play. The annotations consist of numerous pencil underlinings, highlighting the various printed stage directions in addition to scattered verbal additions and alterations to these, as well as prompts for sound, lighting, and visual effects, and for stage curtains. These are boldly highlighted using pasted-in squares of paper with red typed text bearing phrases such as “Clock strike eleven. Lig…… Read more
The 'Piping Times' JEFFREY FARNOL’S ANNOTATED PROOF — Jeffery Farnol — 1945
The author’s own proof copy of a novel written to provide escapism from the harsh realities of war, with manuscript corrections in pencil, and occasionally ink, throughout in Farnol’s hand. These begin on the title page with an elaborate alteration of the work’s subtitle (which was ultimately accepted) from “A Sentimental Romance” to “A Sentimental Romance of Those days when there was less Heroism but more of everything else than in these death-filled, deathless years of Grace, Grief & Glory”, a…… Read more
ANNOTATED FOR A RADIO 4 DRAMATISATION - Bright Day — J. B. Priestley [Diana Griffiths] — 1951
Novelist Stan Barstow’s copy, annotated by his writer partner, Diana Griffiths, for her 2010 Radio 4 dramatisation of this novel, with Barstow’s blind ownership stamp to the first leaf and “Diana Griffiths” in pencil at the head of the page. Griffiths has gone through the entire text adding commentary, marking plot points and underlining dialogue suitable for radio use. There are cross references to related sections of text – “p.155-156 for more detail on names” and suggestions for reorganisatio…… Read more
FIRST EDITION SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR - Sigmund Freud: Life and Work. Volume One: The Young Freud 1856-1900 — Ernest Jones — 1953
Signed and inscribed by Ernest Jones in black ink to the front free endpaper: “Paul the connoisseur / Ernest Jones”. The work has been heavily annotated to certain sections – most likely by the recipient, Paul – with many bold underlings and marginal lines, crosses and question marks, as well as occasional verbal notations, in pencil and black, red, and green ink. The chapter concerning “Self-Analysis” (discussing Freud’s Oedipus Complex) has garnered the annotator’s closest attention, along wit…… Read more
[S]TRUMPETS FROM MONTPARNASSE — Robert Gibbings — 1955
Cartoonist John Ryan’s copy (“ex John Ryan” in pencil to the front free endpaper). Although without annotations to the text itself, Ryan, best known as the creator of Captain Pugwash, has, for his own amusement, added the letter S to the beginning of the title on the dustwrapper, thus re-naming the work “Strumpets from Montparnasse”. A simple, yet bold, example of book annotation that still raises a smile more than sixty years later. A beautifully illustrated account of the artist-author Robert…… Read more
CHILDRENS’ GAMES CHECKED AND COMPARE: The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren; Children’s Games in Street and Playground — Iona and Peter Opie [Nigel and Mary Hudleston] — 1959; 1969
Two Hardback First Editions of these seminal works in the field of folklore and children's studies based on many years of research involving contributions from over 10,000 children across England, Scotland, and Wales. Owned and annotated by folk lore researchers, Nigel and Mary Hudleston of Rillington in north Yorkshire. Laid in is a handwritten letter and envelope from Iona Opie to Nigel Rillington discussing ‘the game “rag a dell” (even if a school dell’, adding ‘your recollections of Scarboro…… Read more
AUTHOR’S ANNOTATED COPY Prolegomena to the Study of Yeats’s Plays — George Brandon Saul — 1958
Owned and inscribed by the author, composer, and Professor of English at the University of Connecticut George Brandon Saul (1901-1986) in red ink on the front free endpaper, and with his detailed verbal annotations in red, green, and blue ink scattered throughout. These comprise meticulous bibliographical corrections and additions, numerous quotations from other scholarly and original sources, as well as the occasional new insight: for example, “Query: Is there a vague possibility that Y[eat]’s…… Read more
SHAKESPEARE CRITIC G WILSON KNIGHT’S ANNOTATED COPY: The Strength to Dream: Literature and the Imagination — Colin Wilson [G Wilson Knight] — 1962
Signed and inscribed by Colin Wilson to the literary critic G. Wilson Knight (1897-1885) in black ink on the title page “For G. Wilson Knight / warm regards & / admiration / Colin Wilson / Exeter 13-4-62”. Wilson Knight has subsequently added numerous pencil annotations to the text, often quizzical or critical in nature, comprising underlinings, marginal lines, question marks, and occasional verbal notations. Like Wilson, Knight was fascinated by the mystical and spiritual, as clearly indicated…… Read more
ANNOTATED FOR SCREEN ADAPTATION - Nerve — Dick Francis [Hugh Whitemore] — 1964
Screenwriter and playwright Hugh Whitemore’s (1936-2018) annotated working copy, from his library. The text has been extensively annotated throughout in green and red ink, in preparation for an unrealised screenplay, with numerous marginal lines, underlinings, and verbal notations. The underlinings are generally used to indicate important information regarding characters, settings, and key plot points (“thick Norfolk accent”; “important material about Pip”), whilst the verbal annotations provide…… Read more
AUTHOR’S ANNOTATED COPY - The Pocket Poets — Laurie Lee — 1965
Laurie Lee’s own copy with his verbal annotations in blue ink to the contents page denoting the copyright holders of the poems included in the present selection (“Hogarth Press”, “Deutsch”, “Self”), and with “Copyright Reference” in manuscript to the front cover in the author’s hand. In addition, there are two single word ink annotations in the author’s hand to two text pages (one changing a word in opening line of the poem ‘Milkmaid’), and two numerical notations in pencil. Also loosely laid in…… Read more
THE PRINTER’S COPY The Pantechnicon — Lionel Miskin — 1969
Proofed and covered with typographic instruction, a bound typescript of Miskin's novel inspired by Andreyev's short story with additional double page spreads on tracing paper showing the layouts for the half title, title page, chapter headings and sample text page, annotated 'Specimen pages for Willmer Brothers Ltd for Weidenfeld & Nicolson Limited' with exact dimensions given and dated by hand, October, 1968. An additional page printed on yellow foolscap of 'Setting Instructions for printers' h…… Read more
TRAVEL GUIDE WITH MANUSCRIPT INTINERARY Hachette World Guides: Turkey — ROBERT BOULANGER; translated by J. S. HARDMAN; general editor, FRANCIS AMBRIÈRE — 1970
Inscribed “C. J. Klyberg: Ankara; 1975” to the front pastedown, and subsequently annotated with the detailed itinerary of three separate trips to Turkey in 1975, 1976, and 1986, densely written in black and blue ink across the front and rear endpapers, the half title page, and pp.759 and 762 (eight sides in total). Two further single-word annotations updating/correcting the text to pp.615-616. Manuscript list providing a translation of the months of the year from Turkish to English loosely laid…… Read more
SCOTTISH ARTIST & NOVELIST ALASDAIR GRAY’S COPY - The Enlightenment: An Interpretation. Volume II: The Science of Freedom. — Peter Gay; [ALASDAIR GRAY] — 1977
Alasdair Gray’s copy, with an original manuscript poem in red ink and pencil to the half title page and continuing on the final index page. The poem (potentially a work in progress, as indicated its numerous corrections) considers the nature of power and wealth, beginning: “The loneliness of power / self pity for the / many hearts you broke / neglect of friends / such bitter sauces make your feasts taste sweeter”, apparently inspired by his reading of the text, dealing as it does with the birth…… Read more
PETER MEDAWAR’S ANONYMOUS SCIENTISTS REVEALED Advice to a Young Scientist — Peter Medawar — 1979
The book’s dedicatee has annotated this inscribed copy of Medawar’s Advice by revealing the names of the otherwise unnamed scientists cited by Medawar in his text. Alongside the relevant sections Todd has added the names Herman Kahn, Harry Johnson, Herbert Samuel, R E Billingham, effectively decoding Medawar’s anonymised text. Medawar has inscribed the book warmly to its dedicatee, from one Nobel Prize winner to another on the first flyleaf: ‘To Alex Todd who started all this by inviting me to g…… Read more
AN ASTRO-PHYSICIST’S COPY - Black Holes A Traveller’s Guide — Clifford A Pickover — 1996
Mathematically annotated volume, containing additional leaves tipped in, which comes from the collection of a Yorkshire engineer, chess enthusiast, amateur magician and scholar of the science of black holes. In very good, crisp condition. Boards wrapped in a securely attached home-made mustard jacket designed and annotated in black ink by previous owner. Front endpapers covered in meticulously written formulae and constants used in classical and quantum mechanics which continue throughout within…… Read more
‘EVEN STEPHEN [SPENDER] DEFERRED TO AUDEN’ - The Purer Lover: A Memoir of Grief — David Plante — 2009
First edition, signed, inscribed with teasingly private annotations intended for the book’s recipient alone. Plante has written on the half title “To Frank / with countless / years of devotion / and love! / David / Cambridge, 2009”, and again in blue ink to the title page: “To Frank once / again, with even / more devotion and / love, / though we / may[?] say[?] also / a lover! / and, ok, love, too, / to Heather and Muir / our first meeting! / David (Plante) / Cambridge, 2010”, along with several…… Read more
Dr. Christian White
Christian White Rare Books
287 Leeds Road, Ilkley, LS29 8LL
07811 455398
info@christianwhiterarebooks.com
www.christianwhiterarebooks.com
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