CHAPTER XII

THE PRICES OF AUTOGRAPHS AND THEIR VARIATIONS 345

William Upcott and his contemporaries--Sale prices 1810-1910.

INDEX 378

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A.L.S. of William Wilson, an Actor of the "Fortune" Theatre, to Edward Alleyn, of Dulwich, 1620 _Frontispiece_

PAGE

Signatures of the Egyptian Clients of the Author, 1882-1888, H.R.H. the Khedive Ismail; H.R.H. Prince Ibrahim Hilmy, his Son, and Arabi Pacha 11

Last page of A.L.S. of Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, at St. Petersburg, to Miss Chudleigh, at Bath 29

Warrant signed by Warren Hastings, Philip Francis, Edward Wheeler, and Eyre Coote, May 31, 1780 30

A.L.S. obtained from Cardinal Newman by an Autograph-hunter, September 4, 1870 43

Two pages of A.L.S. of Sir John Tenniel, of _Punch_, obtained by an Autograph-hunter, October 13, 1903 45

From the Prelude of "Gerontius," MS. Bars signed by Sir Edward Elgar, September, 1900 49

Facsimile of the Historic Letter from George Crabbe to Edmund Burke 63

The Autograph of Ludwig van Beethoven 64

First page of A.L.S. of Dr. Johnson to Sir Joshua Reynolds on the subject of Crabbe's Poems, 1783 74

Lines of Thomas Chatterton on Horace Walpole, which cost Sir George White, of Bristol, £34 74

A Specimen of Ireland's Shakespearean Forgeries attested by himself 77

William Ireland's Attestation of his Forgeries of Shakespeare's Signature 79

Forged Letter of W. M. Thackeray, in which his later Handwriting is imitated 83

Two pages of a Letter by Lord Brougham to E. Arago, offering to become a Naturalised Frenchman and a Candidate for the French Chambers 99

Specimen page of the Dumouriez MS. discovered by the Writer 102

Original Dispatch of Lord Cawdor to Duke of Portland describing the Landing and Surrender of the French at Fishguard, February, 1797 103

MS. Verses on Trafalgar in the Handwriting of Charles Dibdin, 1805 107

Bulletin issued a week after the birth of King Edward VII. and signed by the Medical Men in attendance, November 16, 1841 114

Order to the Duke of Beaufort to destroy Keynsham Bridge, near Bristol, on the approach of Monmouth, signed by King James II., June 21, 1685 115

A.L.S. of the Electress Sophia of Hanover to the Duke of Leeds, October 19, 1710 116

A.L.S. of King George III. on the Subject of the Defence of England in the early stages of the Great Terror of 1796-1805 119

Commission signed by Oliver Cromwell, October 20, 1651 121

Signature of Lord Protector Richard Cromwell to a Commission, January, 1658 122

Fourteen lines in the Writing of Napoleon on Military Order, with his Signature, July 3, 1803 123

Autograph of Henry VII., King of England (1456-1509) 127

A.L.S. of King William III. from Camp before Namur, July 13, 1795 128

Last page of A.L.S. of Empress Catherine of Russia to Mrs. de Bielke, of Hamburg, July 28, 1767 128

One of the earliest Signatures of Louis XIV. (aged six) 135

Interesting A.L.S. of Louis XVI. to the Chemist Lavoisier on the subject of the Discovery of Inflammable Gas, Versailles, March 15, 1789 136

A.L.S. of King George III. to Sir Samuel Hood (afterwards Lord Hood), June 13, 1779 137

A.L.S. of King George III. written four days before the Battle of Trafalgar 141

A.L.S. of Queen Alexandra to Mrs. Gladstone, December 7, 1888 145

Queen Victoria's Order on a Letter of Sir Henry Ponsonby, April 26, 1894 146

One of the last Letters written by Queen Victoria, addressed to General Sir George White, of Ladysmith 147

Autograph Telegram from the late Prince Albert Victor of Wales to his Grandmother, Queen Victoria 149

Holograph Telegram of the Duke of Connaught to Queen Victoria, St. Petersburg, May 26, 1896 150

One page of A.L.S. of Queen Victoria to her elder Daughter, aged six, October 21, 1846 153

First page of A.L.S. of the Duchess of Kent to her Grandson, King Edward VII., aged eight, August 26, 1849 154

First page of A.L.S. of Queen Adelaide to her Great-niece, the late Empress Frederick of Germany, circa 1848 157

Page of Register containing the Signatures of Contracting Parties and Witnesses at the Marriage of King Edward VII. and Queen Alexandra, 1863 158

Page from the MS. Remark-book of Prince William Henry (afterwards King William IV.), in which he begins to describe New York, January, 1781 159

Page of Exercise Book of King George IV. at the age of twelve 159

Drawing by Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, dated Lacken, 1850 160

A sheet from the Copy-book of the Emperor Alexander II. of Russia when a boy 160

A.L.S. of Queen Charlotte to Mr. Penn, of Portland, November 19, 1813 163

First page of A.L.S. by Albert, Prince Consort, to General Peel, 1858 165

Exercise of the late King Edward VII. when ten years old, December 17, 1851 166

Exercise of the late Duke of Coburg (Prince Alfred) at the age of eight 166

One page of A.L.S. of King George V., when Duke of York to the late Duchess Dowager of Manchester, February 22, 1886 167

One page of A.L.S. of Queen Mary, while Duchess of York, to a friend, May 24, 1900 168

First page of A.L.S. of the Empress Frederick of Germany to Mr. Prothero, February 22, 1889 168

Last page of unpublished Holograph Poem in Handwriting of William Pitt, May, 1771 177

Last Whip issued by William Pitt and signed by him, December 31, 1805 178

Signature of Sir Isaac Heard, Garter, on Card of Admission to the Funeral of William Pitt, 1806 178

A.L.S. of Earl of Chesterfield, October 8, 1771, describing the Inaugural Ball at the new Bath Assembly Rooms 183

One page of A.L.S. from Mr. W. E. Gladstone at Balmoral to Cardinal Manning, n.d. 188

One Page of A.L.S. of Mr. Disraeli (afterwards Lord Beaconsfield) on Church matters, n.d. 191

The Signature of Shakespeare on the last page of his Will 196

Deed containing the Signature of Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, and nearly all the Members of his Family, temp. James I. 199

A.L.S. of John Evelyn to Samuel Pepys, Deptford, September 25, 1790 200

Early Signature of John Milton on Documents now in possession of Mr. Quaritch 203

Page of Dr. Johnson's Diary recording his impressions of Stonehenge, &c., 1783 207

The two last pages of the MS. Journal of Mrs. Thrale's Tour in Wales, July-September, 1774, describing the Dinner at Burke's 208

Holograph lines by Goethe on Blücher, circa 1812-13 213

A.L.S. of John Keats (three pages) to J. H. Reynolds, February 28, 1820 214

Letter of Lord Tennyson to Mr. Moxon 217

A.L.S. of Lord Byron to Mr. Perry, March 1, 1812 217

Illustrated Letter of W. M. Thackeray from Glasgow 218

Lines from the "Iliad." Specimen of the MS. of the late Mr. George Meredith 219

A.L.S. of W. M. Thackeray to Count d'Orsay on fly-leaf of circular announcing the Publication of a Picture, n.d. 221

Early A.L.S. of W. M. Thackeray to Mr. Macrone, Publisher, discovered by Mr. George Gregory, of Bath 222

First page of one of Charles Dickens's last Letters, May 15, 1870 225

A.L.S. of Honourable Mrs. Norton containing an invitation to meet Charles Dickens, the author of "Pickwick," at dinner 226

Early Letter of Charles Dickens to Mr. Macrone (1836) from Furnival's Inn 227

A.L.S. of "Perdita" (Mary Robinson) to George, Prince of Wales, January 19, 1785 228

Holograph Order of Admission of Thomas Carlyle to his Rectorial Address at Edinburgh University, dated March 23, 1866 230

A.L.S. of John Wesley, June 14, 1788 232

A.L.S. of Duke of Montrose to the King 239

Part of A.L.S. of Earl Howe to Earl Spencer after his great Victory of June 1, 1794 239

Official MS. Account of Expenses incurred at Funeral of Queen Anne 240

One page of A.L.S. of General Byng, October 27, 1727 242

Signature of Admiral Byng on his Will a few days before his death, March, 1757 242

A.L.S. of Lord Nelson to Earl Spencer, written with his right hand, _Theseus_, May 28, 1798 245

A.L.S. of Nelson to Lady Hamilton about his wife, written with his left hand, January 24, 1801 245

First page of A.L.S. of Lady Nelson to her Husband, December 10, 1799 246

Naval Commission signed by Lord Nelson, April 25, 1781 246

A.L.S. of Sir Thomas Hardy about Lord Nelson's Beer, Torbay, February 20, 1801 251

Letter of Duke of Wellington to Mr. Algernon Greville, October 24, 1841, speaking of the necessity of his being present at the Birth of King Edward VII. 251

Envelope directed by Duke of Wellington to Lady Sidmouth enclosing lock of Napoleon's hair, 1821 252

A.L.S. of the Abbé Liszt to Secretary of Princess of Wales (Queen Alexandra), April 16, 1886 258

A.L.S. of Joseph Haydn, the Composer, June 5, 1803 260

Signature of the nonagenarian Mrs. Garrick a few days before her death 263

A genuine short Note signed by Edmund Kean, afterwards imitated 264

A.L.S. of R. B. Sheridan asking for time to pay a draft 265

A.L.S. of Charles Mathews, the Actor, proposing his son for election to Garrick Club, n.d. 266

Last page of A.L.S. of Mrs. Siddons to Mrs. Piozzi after the Fire at Covent Garden Theatre 268

Letter of the Chevalier d'Éon to Colonel Monson, Bath, January 7, 1796 271

Account for Supper given by the Chevalier d'Éon to Prince Henry of Prussia, August 15, 1784 271

One of the last Letters ever written by Grimaldi, the great Clown, December 20, 1829 272

A.L.S. of William Hogarth to his Wife, January 6, 1749 273

Last page of an A.L.S. by the painter George Romney 274

A.L.S. of Sir Joshua Reynolds to George Crabbe, March 4, 1783 275

A.L.S. of George Morland 275

Two pages of Illustrated Letter from the Honble. Mrs. Norton to a Sister, July, 1854 276

Portion of Illustrated Letter by John Leech 279

Page of Illustrated A.L.S. from Mr. Wheeler to Sir F. Burnand 280

Illustrated A.L.S. of Fred Barnard relating to the plates of "Dombey and Son," n.d. 281

Portrait of Charles Peace, the murderer, on A.L.S. of Sir Frank Lockwood, who defended him, written in 1888 282

A.L.S. of George Cruickshank, September, 1836, about Dickens's first call on him 283

Postcard of James Whistler from Lion Hotel, Lyme Regis, circa 1888 284

First page of A.L.S. of the Painter Meissonier, July 25, 1861 284

Portraits of Sir R. Reid (now Lord Loreburn) and the late Sir Frank Lockwood on an Illustrated Letter written by the latter during the Parnell Commission 285

Two pages of Illustrated Letter by Hablot K. Browne 286

Two pages of a Letter from Richard Cobden in "The Forties" 287

Early Signature of Napoleon I. as "Buonaparte" on Military Document, dated February 1, 1796 297

First page of A.L.S. of Admiral Villeneuve announcing to the French Minister of Marine the Disaster of the Nile, September, 1798 297

Signature of Empress Marie Louise as Regent, July, 1813 298

A.L.S. of Joseph Bonaparte, afterwards King of Spain, January, 1806 299

A.L.S. of Talleyrand in Paris to Napoleon I. at Bayonne congratulating him on the Birth of Napoleon III., at which he had been present, April, 1808 301

Letter signed by the Empress Josephine, 3 ventose an x [February 22, 1802] 302

A.L.S. of Marshal Ney, Paris, December 23, 1813 304

Exercise of the King of Rome, Duke de Reichstadt, circa 1827 305

Portion of Essay on Gunnery written by the late Prince Imperial of France while a Cadet at the Woolwich Military Academy 307

Page of A.L.S. of Napoleon III. to Dr. O'Meara, March 9, 1836 308

Sketch by the late Prince Imperial, circa 1866 308

A.L.S. of Admiral Brueys, the French Admiral Commanding-in-Chief, who was killed at Trafalgar, dated May 25, 1797 310

Two Signatures of Marie Antoinette on a Warrant, October, 1783 312

A.L.S. of Napoleon III. to Lord Alfred Paget from Wilhelmshohe, October 29, 1870 313

First page of Letter in English from Voltaire to Earl of Chesterfield, Ferney, August 5, 1761 314

The Signature and Writing of Button Gwinnett, the rarest Autograph of the "Signers" 326

The last page of the Letter of Thomas Lynch, jun., one of the American "Signers," which fetched 7,000 dollars 328

The last page of George Washington's splendid A.L.S., now published through the kindness of Mr. T. C. S. Cuyler 333

A.L.S. of Benjamin Franklin to George Washington, March 2, 1778 334

Early writing of the late King Edward VII., circa 1850 344

I

ON AUTOGRAPH COLLECTING GENERALLY

CHATS ON AUTOGRAPHS