After Two Years by Graham Greene

Jonkers Rare Books Booth C2

Handpicked by famed British author and journalist Graham Greene from the effusion of poetry that he wrote about his affair with American-born Catherine Walston, this booklet celebrates a relationship of great literary importance. As few as six of the twenty-five published copies of After Two Years survive, and none are housed in a UK institution. This significant acquisition would critically support the extraordinary Greene materials currently at the British Library.

$39,500

Collection of 22 works on mental health hospices in England

Librairie Paul Jammes Booth E18

Gathered by the French psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol, this bound collection of scarce 18th and 19th-century pamphlets describes the state of mental health treatment in England and Scotland, from its financing to the abuses happening in hospices. In documenting UK mental healthcare in this period, this acquisition would help the Library broaden its documentation of underprivileged and less well-represented groups in its collections. 

$13,000

1833 Broadside of An Authentic Account of the Proceedings of the Coroner's Inquest on the Body of Robert Cully

The Lawbook Exchange Booth C29

Broadsides are a major area of interest to the Library as they often chronicle the experiences of those who are less privileged, and scarcely survive due to their ephemeral nature. This document details the inquest into the death of a police officer in 1833 following the suppression of a protest of working-class people.

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Held on May 16, 1833, the Coldbath Fields Riot began as a public meeting of the National Union of the Working Classes at Coldbath Fields in Clerkenwell, an area of central London. Batons drawn, the police marched on the 1,000 attendees at the meeting. In the violence that followed three policemen were stabbed. One of them, Robert Culley (or Cully), died from his wounds. The subsequent inquest showed that the protestors were overwhelmed in number by the police. More important, no officer issued a call to disperse. Based on those facts, the jury returned a verdict of lawful homicide. This broadside advertises a subscription for a series of medals to be minted for the men of the jury “as a testimonial of their firmness and integrity.”

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The Library holds other broadsides which document this event, giving this item excellent research value as a companion piece for those studying these historic moments. Having collected newspapers from the UK and overseas for over 200 years to preserve everyday accounts of life in Britain and beyond, this item would strengthen the Library’s archive of over 60 million individual newspapers.

$2,000

Pamphlet on the Public Opinion in India of the Trial of Captain T. N. Howard  

The Lawbook Exchange Booth C29

This pamphlet has extremely high research value in what it can tell us about colonialism in India and the attitude of the English at that time. It contains extracts from Indian newspapers discussing the flashpoint case of Harward, a decorated officer who was accused of disposing of weapons in an improper manner. This would be the only copy available in public institutions in the UK, and the Library is eager to have it housed alongside its extensive India Office archive.

$950

The Story of Rosalynde, bound by Jessie M. King for Cedric Chivers 

Jonkers Rare Books Booth C2

This beautiful, 1902 work is one of just 30 copies, and is an example of the extraordinary bindings crafted by groundbreaking British female book artist Jessie M. King. Printed on Japanese vellum with intricate ink and watercolour designs, this stunning work would be the first of King’s bindings to enter the Library’s collections. 

$18,200

The Good Boy’s Soliliquy: Containing his Parent’s Instructions Relative to his Disposition and Manners 

Bromer Booksellers C28

A little volume that includes over a dozen engraved images depicting a “good boy” misbehaving and accompanied by witty couplets, this book is one of only two other known copies in public institutions, and represents a contrast to more moralistic 19th-century children’s books. This text would be a valuable addition to the Library’s wonderful and rare collection of early children’s books.

$3,000

1831 Broadside of the Execution of "James" Any Bird Bell

The Lawbook Exchange Booth C29

Broadsides are a major area of interest to the Library as they often chronicle the experiences of those who are less privileged, and scarcely survive due to their ephemeral nature. This document covers the execution of “James” Any Bird Bell in 1831, the youngest person executed in England in the 19th century. Fourteen-year-old John Any Bird Bell confessed to killing Richard Faulkner Taylor, thirteen, presumably for the small sum of money Taylor was carrying home. His younger brother, James (with whom John Any Bird is often confused in contemporary accounts), apparently a witness to the crime, testified against him at trial, where he was convicted of murder.

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The Library holds other broadsides which document the same event, giving this item excellent research value as a companion piece for those studying these historic moments. Having collected newspapers from the UK and overseas for over 200 years to preserve everyday accounts of life in Britain and beyond, this item would strengthen the Library’s archive of over 60 million individual newspapers.

$3,000

The Environs of London: Being an Historical Account of the Towns, Villages, and Hamlets, within Twelve Miles of that Capital by Daniel Lysons

Maggs Bros. LTD Booth A4

As well as being an antiquarian and topographer, Daniel Lysons was a prolific scrap booker. The Library has one of the strongest collections of his folios in the world, which shed light on early 19th-century Britain through maps, illustrations, and everyday ephemera. This detailed and wide-ranging topographical account would strengthen the Library’s collection of Lysons’ works and be a valuable resource for those searching for historical accounts of Surrey, Middlesex, and Essex in the early 1800s. 

$29,000