Search Results: Authors starting with N from Sky Duthie Rare Books

[Original manuscript], [c.1805]. Original ink manuscript letter. 30 x 22.2cm. The paper watermarked with a French imperial eagle and the name of the papermaker "Poviata". Small ink stamp "Bibliotheca Lindesiana" to the lower-right corner, indicating that the letter was once part of the great library formed by the Lindsay family, Earls of Crawford and Balcarres. Condition is very good with a couple of minor chips to the blank lower margin, two light diagonal creases to the top-right corner, and an old linen mount to the left-hand margin where the letter was once inserted into an album. An unusual and evocative letter in which the young Dominique Joseph Robaglia, aged just sixteen and a half, from Napoleon's own birthplace of Ajaccio, Corsica, asks the emperor to admit him to the school of Artillery (presumably at the École Militaire in Paris, where Napoleon had himself trained to become an artillery officer as a young man).Addressed "Sire", the letter states: "Robaglia (Dominique Joseph) aged sixteen… Read More

London: W. P. Griffith and Sons, Ltd., 1888. Printed broadside (34.4 x 20.5cm). Minor contemporary manuscript correction to one of the printed height/chest measurements. There are three neat horizontal filing folds and a minor nick to each end of one of the folds, otherwise condition is very good. An uncommon late nineteenth-century naval recruitment broadside, boldly titled: "Wanted for the Royal Navy, Stout Healthy Boys, of Good Character, from 15 to 16 1/2 Years of Age". The broadside begins by setting out the various requirements for new recruits, such as height and chest measurements, as well as the stipulation that they "must be able to read and write, must have the written consent of their Parents or Guardians, and must sign an engagement to serve for 12 years from the date of attaining the age of 18". It then moves on to outline scales of pay, allowances, pensions, periods of leave and other arrangements (for example, "boys after 6 months' service can send money home to their parents or… Read More

Alnwick: Printed by W. Davison., 1811. First edition. 12mo. Publisher's original printed paper wrappers. Woodcut frontispiece portrait of Robert Burns and title-page vignette. 48pp. A very good copy, the binding firm with a little chipping to the spine ends. The contents with a faded contemporary ink inscription to the front cover verso are otherwise in very good order throughout. The first part (complete in itself) of this collection of folk songs from Northumberland and Southern Scotland, including a number by Robert Burns ('Banks of Doon', 'Caledonia', 'The Land O' The Leal', 'From Thee, Eliza, I Must Go', 'The Peck O' Maut', 'My Nanie, O'', 'A Man's A Man, For A' That', 'Farewell to Ayrshire', and 'John Anderson, My Joe'), as well as contributions from Thomas Campbell and Allan Ramsay. The work also contains three anti-slavery ballads, including 'The Negro Boy', 'The Galley Slave', and 'The Negro's Complaint'.Fairly scarce, with Library Hub recording only three copies (Newcastle, Leeds, Oxford;… Read More

London: The Pilot Press., [1942].. First edition. Original stapled paper wrappers. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs. 48pp. A good copy of a somewhat fragile production, the binding secure with a faint vertical fold, some minor nicks to the edges, a minor chip to the bottom corner of the rear cover, and a couple of small marks to the covers. The contents with a previous owner's name to the inside of the front cover, toning to the pages (due to the wartime paper quality), a small mark to a handful of page margins, and a small crease to the bottom tip of the corner of pp.35-48, are otherwise in very good order. A detailed account of the activities of the Norwegian government and armed forces in exile during the German occupation of Norway in the Second World War. Published in Britain, the work includes details of the escape of Norwegians from the Nazis, and the efforts of both those remaining in the country and Norwegians now overseas to fight back against the occupying forces.An… Read More