[BEDFORD, Rev. William (1702-1783) of Bekesbourne]. Autograph journal with accounts entered in The Daily Jourmnal, London, 1768, comprising 84 printed text pages, and 52 journal pages with daily manuscript entries from 1st January to 31st December 1768, recording visitors, engagements, domestic matters, correspondence and accounts, with over a hundred individuals mentioned. Measuring 4 x 6 inches, bound in recent leather preserving the original rear board. The title page with chipped edges, but the contents in good condition. PHOTO

£500

Internal evidence of named family members, the writer's activities, and their home at Bekesbourne (Kent) identifies the writer as the Rev William Bedford (1702-1783). Bedford was vicar of Bekesbourne from 1723 until his death in 1783. He married Susanna Knowler in 1730, the only child of the natural history illustrator Susanna Lister (1670-1738) who was the daughter of the naturalist Martin Lister (1639-1712). William and Susanna had 15 children, of whom 10 survived into adulthood. Seven are mentioned in the journal, five evidently still living at home (Elly, Molly, Olly, Gilly, Sally), while Billy and Thomas live elsewhere. Billy frequently corresponds with his father and visits the family home. Bedford's wife Susanna died on 3rd January 1768, and she was buried on the 10th. Bedford simply records on the 3rd January "I wrote to Billy", and on Sunday the 10th writes "Mr Taylor preached in ye afternoon" (presumably in Bedford's place). Probably related, are entries in January 1768 of a letter of attorney, and early in February a funeral bill appears in his accounts.

Several people cited in the journal are immediately identifiable, including the Bishop of St David's Charles Moss (1711-1802); Sir Thomas Pym Hales 4th Bt MP (c1726-1773) and his wife Mary (nee Heyward); Lady Deborah Dering (d.1818); and the Revd Edward Taylor (1734–1798) of Bifrons, Kent (whose son Jane Austen was enamoured with). There remain many possibilities of identifying more individuals through local research.

 

COMMISSION SIGNED BY SIR JOHN BARROW

CHAMBERLAIN, William Charles (1818-1878), Rear-admiral. Commission to Mr W.C Chamberlain as Mate of Her Majesty’s Steam Vessel Stromboli, 10th September 1840, printed with manuscript insertions on parchment sheet (11 x 13 inches), with the autograph signature of John Barrow. With folds, but otherwise in extremely fine condition.

£100

William Charles Chamberlain was the eldest son of Sir Henry Chamberlain and his second wife, Anne Eugenia née Morgan. Shortly after this commission, Chamberlain was promoted Lieutenant on board the Stromboli for service in the Mediterranean. He become Commander in 1847 of Britomart serving off the west coast of Africa, and held further commissions as Commander and Captain; was Superintendent at the Devonport dockyard; and finally attained the rank of Rear-Admiral.

Chamberlain married firstly Elizabeth Jane Hall in 1845 (daughter of Captain Basil Hall, R.N.), by whom he had 3 sons: Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850-1935), a Japanologist; Henry Chamberlain (1853-1923), a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy; and Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855-1927), a racialist writer. He married secondly in 1872, Sarah Morgan Holroyd.

The signatory, Sir John Barrow (1764–1848), was a great promoter of exploration and was a pre-eminent author of travels and the lives of explorers. He held a secretaryship of the Admiralty for forty years up to his retirement in 1845.

LECTURE NOTES OF JOHN FLAXMAN

FLAXMAN, John (1755–1826), sculptor, decorative designer, and illustrator. Autograph manuscript lecture notes with corrections, signed, 2 sides, folio plus integral blank.On the first side Flaxman draws attention to the “beautiful & striking” windows of New College, Oxford, questioning why such work has not been followed in London, and while he draws attention to the Crucifixion in the east windows of St Margaret’s Westminster, comments on “how much more beautiful & admirable is the Nativity from Sir J.R’s painting in New College Chapel …….. it may surely be pronounced one of the finest decorations of our Island”, and why nothing worthy of notice has appeared in the Metropolis since the St Margaret’s Crucifixion “among a people who profess to love the fine Arts, who subscribed so many Thousands of Pounds to form a Gallery of Pictures, from Shakespeare, who are never backward in giving towards any great & useful work who will over subscribe 100s at a time to build & decorate a Theatre”.

On the second side Flaxman comments on pulpits in churches “we must confess, that for clumsiness & ugliness worse could scarcely be devised ……… what a difference between the miserable pieces of joiners work & the fine ones of bronze & Marble in some of the Churches of Italy……” and suggests how church interiors can be enhanced “with harmony of forms, effect of light & shadow & all the most finished beauty & grace of Sculpture, Sepulchral Monuments as they are always works of experience & of course ought likewise to be works of great beauty, afford an extensive field for the exercise of the imagination & judgement …… the subjects presented by Religion & the Choicest objects of the Natural World……… by insulated groups, compositions of figures on walls & various architectural forms, assisted by the effect produced by bronze & variegated Marble, what miracles of Fine Art might our Churches become.”

Lower portion of the document damaged, with repairs to the right hand corner. PHOTO

£450

In his early career Flaxman was inspired by medieval art found in the tomb sculpture, decorative carving, and paintings in cathedrals, which helped lead him later to play an important role in the development of the British Gothic revival. The other great formative part of his life was his sojourn in Rome between 1787 and 1794 which was to transform him into a major international figure with proven ability in monumental and free-standing sculpture and in graphic design.

Flaxman was appointed the first professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy in 1810, and although his lectures were criticized by contemporaries for their gravity and scholarly earnestness, they reveal how important he considered British monumental sculpture in the history of artistic commemoration. He was wary of promoting his ideas in public and his lectures on sculpture were not published until after his death in 1829.(ODNB)

AN ARMY OFFICER'S DIARY 1853-54   

[GRACE, Sheffield Hamilton (1834-1915)] Autograph diary, measuring 4.5 x 7 inches in soft leather covers (worn), commencing January 1^st 1853, and ending February 28^th 1854, with daily close written entries in ink filling 80 pages describing military duties, social engagements, family affairs, etc based variously in and around Dublin, and the south of England (London, Folkestone, Portsmouth, Bath). PHOTO

January 3^rd. Two Court Martials Regimental & District, Subscription for the wreck 10s : & £1 for the Wellington Memorial.

January 18^th. Went out marching in the morning ……. In the afternoon saw Mary Jane in the garden. Went to the Electric Biology meeting in the evening at the Town Hall …….. I saw Mary Jane at her door coming home & stopped & talked till past 12. I got a valentine in the morning.

February 3. Went out driving in the afternoon with my Aunt Mariana very slow indeed. Went to see Lady Douglas who yelled at me. Left Portman Sq by the 8 o’clock train in the evening slept, arrived at Holyhead at 6 3/4 in morning.

February 5^th. Went to Somerstown with Mrs Brooke saw uncle Percy [Grace] there. Selina & Georgina were very shy I did my feet – could not do more.

March 12^th Had Mama & the kiddies dagerotyped & they had me done. Saw in the paper that the Depot had moved to Fort Cumberland – so sorry to go as I have had such a jolly leave – it was arranged that I go tomorrow in the evening.

June 2^nd [Fort Cumberland] We were inspected this afternoon by Genl Simpson & dined with the Marine Artillery & 93^rd  Highlanders.

July 16^th. I went with Herring to see the Queen embark for Osborne ……...

Nov 2^nd …… went to dine a Sir John Hanbury’s in the evening I met Gen Simpson & Lady Hope[?] & a Miss Abbott. We had a very good dinner & tried table turning afterwards. They could not succeed in turning it & gave it a violent kick. They all exclaimed there it goes round - but afterwards they said it was my fault as I leaned too heavy on it.

Dec 9^th. …… in the evening I went to dine at Genl Frederick’s where I met Miss Fry & Fellows & Prettyman, Radcliff & Kerr of the 20^th where they & I met the Dean of Winchester who offered to take me home in his carriage & I got an invitation to dine with him on 20^th December which I refused in consequence of my going on leave ….

Dec 16^th. I breakfasted at Portman Square alone with Uncle James and then went to Genl Yorke who agreed to go with me to Sir James Kempt. I called on my Uncle Percy who told me that he had told Mr McGregor[?] to return my name for purchase for a Lieut.

Feb 9^th. [Dublin] We had an early breakfast and went to the Puxley’s & Edw Johnstone to the Four Courts to hear Mr Whiteside speak and I was nearly crushed to death.  

£200

The author of the diary can be identified as Sheffield Hamilton Grace (1834-1915) from references to his siblings (“Harry” and Emily), members of the Grace and Hamilton families, the Brooke family of Summerton,  Dublin (eg Francis Brooke), and his military details. Born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1834, he was the only son of the historian Sheffield Grace (1788-1850) and Harriet Georgiana, daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir John Hamilton (see ODNB).

Amongst the many individuals cited in the diary, mentions are made of numerous army officers, notably: General Simpson, probably Sir James Simpson (1792–1868) of Crimean war fame; Sir John Hanbury (1782–1863); Sir Charles Yorke (1790–1880); and Sir James Kempt (1763/4–1854). Other mentions of interest include dinner with the dean of Winchester, Thomas Garnier (1776–1873), and attendance to hear “Mr Whiteside” at the Four Courts – the judge and politician James Whiteside (1804–1876).

Shortly after the diary was written Grace joined the 68^th Regiment as Lieutenant and was sent to the Crimea where he saw action at Sebastopol. By his retirement he had attained the rank of Colonel. He married Anne Smijth-Windham in 1875, and they had at least two children, Harriet and Raymond.

MITCHELL, Sir Andrew (1708–1771), diplomatist. Manuscript Bill submitted and signed by Sir Andrew Mitchell, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of Prussia, detailing expenses of £150, countersigned Rochford, 1 side folio, Whitehall 19^th May 1769.

 £100

Sir Andrew Mitchell (1708–1771) was the most successful British representative in Berlin during the eighteenth century, notable in particular for developing a friendship with Frederick the Great, and cementing the Anglo-Prussian partnership during the early years of the Seven Years' War. Relations deteriorated in the 1760s, and during this final decade of his life, Mitchell enjoyed the company of the wide circle of academic and literary friends he had built up in Berlin, and retained the respect and grudging friendship of the king. (ODNB)

William Henry van Nassau van Zuylestein,, fourth earl of Rochford (1717–1781), was an effective diplomatist and politician. Following appointments as ambassador to Spain 1763-1766 and ambassador to Paris 1766-1768, he was named secretary of state for the northern department on 21 October 1768. Foreign diplomats in London found Rochford more accessible and better informed than his predecessors, while British diplomats abroad were relieved and delighted to be instructed by an experienced former ambassador. As northern secretary (1768–70) Rochford was particularly scrupulous in his conduct of the routine correspondence and gave more coherence to British foreign policy than had been evident during the Chatham administration. (ODNB).

LOWESTOFT EXCISE OFFICER / CONSTABLE / SURVEYOR 1789-1805

WEBB, George of Lowestoft. Manuscript notebook of George Webb, variously describing himself as Officer of Excise, Constable and Surveyor of the Highways for the Parish of Lowestoft, with 174 pages of close-written manuscript (5 leaves with no MS entries) bearing dates ranging from 1785 to 1805. The contents cover notes and tables relevant to Webb's duties under subjects including window taxes; turnpike trustees; repair of roads; accessories; shop tax; male and female servants; carriages; search warrants; seized goods; proclamations; selling beer without a licence; bread assizes; auction duties; justice's clerks fees; pawning; duties on spirits; militia; surveyor of highways matters; hawkers & pedlars; stamps on receipts, and more. He includes many sample forms of legal documents, judgements etc mostly actual cases including the names of the individuals involved. A highly interesting working notebook relevant to Lowestoft and the wider county of Suffolk, citing a very large number of names of local people. Bound in contemporary full leather (neatly rebacked), with one of two brass clasps still preserved. PHOTO

£600

George Webb identifies himself as an Officer of Excise in several of the earlier entries bearing a date of 1785. In entries dated 1789 he is identified as a constable and a Surveyor of the Highways, evidently performing two or more parish officer roles. Constables were elected by the parish and had a wide range of duties including the levying of taxes. The Surveyor of Highways was an unpaid officer chosen by Justices from a list of landowners in the parish, who was obliged to survey the highways three times a year and organise road repairs. It is very interesting to find Webb occupying appointments as Excise officer, constable and Surveyor of Highways, apparently concurrently.

This may be the George Webb found in the IGI, born in Lowestoft in 1727, who died 27th May 1812. He married Hannah Taylor, and had at least two children, Lewis (born about 1752, died 1 April 1790) and Charles (born 12 January 1771, died 1 October 1771).