WORLD HISTORY

CHURCHILL TO LORD CECIL   ~~  PLANNING THE FUTURE COURSE OF ENGLAND’S AFRICAN COLONIES  —   “[YOU] WOULD BE THE BEST PERSON TO FILL THE GOVERNORSHIP OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA … A VAST NATIVE POPULATION, OF A CONSIDERABLE ASIATIC INFUSION, & OF A SMALL, BUT ALREADY POWERFUL COLONY OF SETTLERS … [WITH] GREAT POSSIBILITIES.”

CHURCHILL, WINSTON, S. (1874-1965). Prime Minister. Significant Autograph Letter Signed “Winston S. Churchill”, as President of the Board of Trade. 3 ½,  octavo pages on blindstamped “Colonial Office” seal embossed stationary, February 28, 1908.  Marked ‘Secret’ in Churchill’s hand at top. To Lord Robert Cecil, inquiring of him privately if he is interested in the Governorship of British East Africa, now Kenya. 

PAUL MAUSER, THE NOTED GUN DESIGNER AND DEVELOPER,  TRANSFERS 16 OF HIS GUN PATENTS TO A U.S. MANUFACTURER  ~~ AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AUTOGRAPH

MAUSER, PAUL   (1838-1914)   German weapon designer and manufacturer on verso. Surprizing scarce, Typed Document Signed twice “Paul Mauser,” and again as “P. Mauser.”   Five full pages, legal folio.  [8¼ x 13 inches].   Stuttgart, Germany with U.S. Patent Office stamp.  January 10, 1905.

QUEEN VICTORIA TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON  ~~ “The Queen quite forgets.”

VICTORIA, QUEEN (ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA).  (1819 –1901) Queen  of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.  Scarce, early Autograph Letter Signed, twice, in the third person, “The Queen”.

EXTREMELY-RARE DOCUMENT SIGNED BY KING HENRY VII  —  CHECKING THE ACCOUNT BALANCES OF THE ROYAL TREASURY,  OVER 515 YEARS AGO

HENRY VII.  (1457-1509).  First Tudor King of England. Extremely-rare Manuscript Document Signed, as King, with his monogram ‘HR’, in Latin. Two full pages, folio.  “Bawetre [Bawrtry], 22^nd year of Henry VII [1506-1507].

SCARCE LETTER OF SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE,  — THE BRITISH-JEWISH PHILANTHROPIST

MONTEFIORE, SIR MOSES.  (1784-1885).  British philanthropist, banker and financier of Italian-Jewish lineage; his promotion of industry and economic development in the Levant, and his relations with the British consul in Damascus, Charles Henry Churchill, was pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism.     Scarce Manuscript Letter Signed, “Moses Montefiore”, on his imprinted East Cliff Lodge, Ramsgate black-bordered mourning stationery.  One full page, octavo.  Ramsgate, May 9, 1881.

CHURCHILL’S SPECIALLY BOUND COPY OF ‘THE END OF THE BEGINNING’

SIGNED BY HIM — AS WAR-TIME PRIME MINSTER  —  IN 1944

CHURCHILL, SIR WINSTON S.  (1874-1965).  British statesman and author; served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955.  His book: The End of the Beginning, ‘War Speeches by the Right Hon[orable] Winston S. Churchill, C.H., M.P. – Compiled by Charles Eade’.  1943,  Cassell and Company Ltd., London.  First edition.  Boldly Signed on front free endpaper: “Winston S. Churchill / 1944”, as Prime Minister.

LINDBERGH RETURNS SOME AIR MAIL COVERS  —  THAT WERE SENT TO HIM EARLIER IN 1932, THE YEAR OF THE LINDBERGH BABY KIDNAPPING AND MURDER

LINDBERGH, CHARLES A.  (1902-74).  American aviator, engineer and Pulitzer Prize winner; the first person to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  Uncommon Autograph Letter Signed, “C.A. Lindbergh”, on his imprinted Charles A. Lindbergh, 39 Broadway stationery.  One page, small quarto.  New York, November 18, 1932.  Excellent condition.