1. [Cyprus Content] – [Luke, Harry Charles].

Manuscript Letter Signed (MLS) / Autographed Letter Signed (ALS) from Harry Charles Lukach (Sir Harry Luke) to his father. Luke writes on October 4th, using Stationery of “Government House, Cyprus” from his posting as Private Secretary of Governor Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams in Cyprus, where Luke was posted between November 1911 – c. October 1914. At this time Luke is awaiting a promotion [it will come a few weeks after this letter was written and he is updating his father]: “My dear Father, yours of 27 Sept from Vienna just received…..This is our last week on Troodos…in 5 days we go down to Nicosia, where it will be hot for another 3 weeks or so after we get there. I have not yet said anything to Sir H[amilton Goold-Adams] about the S.A.offer; I think that the best opportunity to do so would be when he actually recommends me for a higher post here. This cannot be done at once, as he will first have to get rid of the present holder (the Asst. Secretary), wh[ich he will try to do when he goes on leave. But don’t mention this, as he has not yet tackled the C.O. I enclose a photo taken lately of a shooting match here between Soldiers & Civilians. Sir H[amilton Goold-Adams] shot for the latter, & I was a spectator (in Colonel Glasses). The Soldiers won. Much love to you three – Your loving son Harry”.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Cyprus / Government House, 4 October 1912. Octavo. Bifold Octavo, all four pages with manuscript handwriting, signed. Very good condition. From the personal collection of Sir Harry Luke.

2. [Cyprus Content] – [Luke, Harry Charles].

Manuscript Letter Signed (MLS) / Autographed Letter Signed (ALS) from Harry Charles Lukach (Sir Harry Luke) to his Father & Mother. Luke writes on August 29th, 1913, using Stationery of “Government House, Cyprus” from his new administrative posting within Government House, Cyprus, where Luke was posted between November 1911 – c. October 1914, still under Goold-Adams. Luke writes: “….the Goold-Adams’ landed in Limasol yesterday….Their new P[ersonal] Sec[retary] is a young Oxford Man called Cunningham – that is all I know about him as yet. I am staying on as Gov[ernment S[ecretary] as guest of the GA’s till I go on leave; I shall probably go down to N’sia to pack next Thursday. My Steamer goes on Sat.8th from Larnaca to Meronia.”

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Cyprus / Government House, 29 August, 1913. Octavo. Bifold Octavo, all four pages with manuscript handwriting, signed. Very good condition. From the personal collection of Sir Harry Luke.

3. [Cyprus Content] – [Luke, Harry Charles] /

Manuscript Letter Signed (MLS) / Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) from Lieut – Col. Charles William Henry Sealy (‘CWHS’) to Sir Harry Charles Lukach (later Sir Harry Luke), addressed to Luke as Lieut-Commander H. C. Lukach – Chief Secretary’s Office – Troodos, Cyprus). Sealy apologises profoundly for not writing and informs Luke about prices for certain stamps. But the main reason for the letter seems to be an item Luke had waited for from Sealy, an enclosed Manuscript-Family-Tree of the orientalist James Justinian Morier [Author of ‘The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (1824)’ and fellow Traveller of the Levant and also emplyed as Diplomat]. he letter was obviously started twice by Sealy, at different dates but the letter was finally finished and sent 25th of July, 1916: “Dear Luke, I am a pig not to write – I’m sory & tomorrow I swear I will sit down & [write] you the letter of the year – / Dear Luke, here is some Morier stuff – if you want any more let me know, there is a reasonable notice of him in DNB. Prices of Salonikas are good – a man has offered twenty guineas for a complete set used on an envelope – and one such envelope has actually been sold for £20 and another – just the same – for £25….Long Island overprinted on Turkish – they ask £15 each ! – No job yet – but I worked at Admiralty yesterday to please a pal. Best salams CWHS”. / The enclosed Family Tree tree begins with James Morier’s father Isaac Morier, and his maternal grandfather David Van Lennep, ‘Dutch Consul general in Smyrna President of Dutch Levant Co’. At the foot is a list of seven works by James Morier, with dates. The Morier – Family Tree also includes Clara van Lennep.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. [London], [on stationery of Charles William Henry, 6 Priory Grove, The Boltons, [London], 25 July, 1916. Octavo. 2 pages. Very good condition. From the personal collection of Sir Harry Luke.

4. [Cyprus Content] – [Luke, Sir Harry / Lukach, Harry] Storrs, Sir Ronald Henry Amherst.

Typed Letter Signed (TLS) from Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs to Sir Harry Luke. The two – page letter was written by Storrs during the finalization of his posting in Jerusalem as Governor of Jerusalem and Judea and reached Sir Harry while he was still Colonial Secretary in Sierra Leone. The Letter touches on the uprooting Storrs and his family feel after 9 years of ‘anchors and tentacles’ [in Jerusalem]. In the letter, which is marked ‘Private – Pl[ease] destroy’, Storrs reports somehow cryptic on a project to get Luke somehow to Cyprus so they can work together again. Storrs reminisces how he looks back with gratitude, pleasure and regret to his collaboration with Luke. Storrs also reflects on a journey: ‘We came out by Paris (where I saw the finest collection of Rhodian plates in the world), Assisi (having named the street here after St. Francis in the spring), Rome (heard Mussolini and saw Gasparri), Athens (warned one or two prominent Cypriots against any political back-chat), Alexandria (to pack my collection of icons and alabaster) and finally Jerusalem whence, on the 29th, H.M.S. Cornflower will remove my wife, self, A.D.C. and about 70 packing cases to Famagusta which we hope to reach on the Feast of St.Andrew, he being, I believe, the Patron Saint of the Island”. In a Post Scriptum Storrs reports.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Jerusalem, 11th November 1926. Folio. 2 pages with original envelope. From the private collection / library of colonial governor, diplomat and historian, Sir Harry Luke.

5. [Education of Sir Harry Luke] – [Luke, Sir Harry] Lukach, Harry Charles / [Claude Delaval Cobham (British Colonial Official in Cyprus (Larnaca)] / [Guy le Strange (British Orientalist).

Manuscript letter by british colonial officer Claude Delaval Cobham to Harry Lukach, [later Sir Harry Luke] in which Cobham reflects on a manuscript Luke had sent him for analysis: “My dear Lukach, I return the Ms. I lent it to Guy le Strange who showed it to Ellis [possibly Sir Ellis Hovell Minns], of the B.M. [British Museum] [who are] both skilled analysts”. Cobham continues about the manuscript: “It is a kind of Hagiology, but written by a Druze – hence the [?] of the mad Khalife Hakim bin amr allah as a Saint, and spells Salih, which is a Druze Mack. There are similar Mss. in the B.M. library but Ellis [?] not a Druze one – but they are of no great interest or Value. The writing is neat and very legible….I hope you are well and enjoying yourself. I start, I think, on Thursday for Coblenz and S. Blasien [that is St. Blasien], returning at the very end of August. Yours very truly – C. Delaval Cobham”.

S. James, July 27 (no year but c.1906). Small Octavo. 2 pages filled on one bifolium / Plus Letter from British Museum to Harry Charles Lukach regarding Admission to the Reading Room (19th of July 1906). Excellent letter by British Colonial official in Cyprus, Claude Delaval Cobham. Important letter which states the early influence of Luke in his love for Cyprus because by the time this letter was written and Luke had a relationship with this important scholar, Cobham had already written the important “Excerpta Cypria”. The ALS by Cobham came with a letter by the Director of the British Museum to H.C.Lukach regarding admission to the Reading Room of the B.M.

6. [Palestine Content] – [Luke, Harry / Lukach, Harry] / Pirie-Gordon, Harry.

Fantastic letter from Harry Pirie-Gordon to Sir Harry Luke’s father, helping him to solve an issue regarding a Napoleon-letter / Correspondence between Professor Jean la Cecilia (Professeur d’Anglais au Lycee de Foix), J.H.Luke, the editor of THE TIMES and subsequently a letter from J.H.Luke reporting the outcome to Sir Harry Luke, regarding an original Napoleon – letter, and Napoleon’s Services to European Peace. Interesting correspondence and newspaper – clipping of the published article as a consequence of the correspondence. With some interesting, patriotic remarks. Also included a wonderful letter from J.H.Luke to his son Harry Luke in Palestine on occasion of Luke regarding the Napoleon-letter-incident Priri-Gordon helped him with and to express his disappointment that Harry and family can not holiday with him because he is succeeding (or standing in for) Lord Plumer [that is Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer] in his role as High Commissioner of the British mandate in Palestine: “The one …i can find in that ‘acting’ for a man like Lord Plumer at the outset will add to your prestige…”.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. London / Cap de la Ville (Foix), 1928. Octavo. Five letters in total. From the private collection / library of colonial governor, diplomat and historian, Sir Harry Luke.

7. [Palestine Content] – [Luke, Sir Harry / Lukach, Harry] Storrs, Sir Ronald Henry Amherst.

Manuscript Letter Signed (MLS) marked “Destroy” from Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs to Sir Harry Luke. The two – page letter was written by Storrs in June 1925, during his posting as Governor of Jerusalem and Judea and reached Sir Harry while he was still Colonial Secretary in Sierra Leone. Storrs asks Luke “If you can, extract from Co [possibly Colonial Office] who is responsible for the dirty work over my leave, & how the Thane of Roach behaved [that is Edward Keith-Roach, British Colonial administrator and later Governor of Jerusalem].

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Jm [Jerusalem], 12 VI 25 [1925]. Octavo. 1 sheet (2 pages filled with red ink manuscript handwriting by Storrs, with original envelope). From the private collection / library of colonial governor, diplomat and historian, Sir Harry Luke.

8. [Sierra Leone Content] – Luke, Harry Charles.

Collection of ninetythree (93) [Multi-Page] Manuscript Letters Signed (MLS) / Autographed Letters Signed (ALS) – from Harry Luke sent home in the years 1908 – 1911 to his Father, Mother & Sister during his posting as Private Secretary to the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Leslie Probyn. With private but also lots of official news from the Colonies and including strong impressions by Harry Luke on his very first posting as an official for the Colonial Office. A fantastic collection of letters, re-introduced into Harry Luke’s private library after the death of his parents. Of great interest regarding the becoming of a colonial officer, Luke shares in these letters his adventures as much as his thoughts and worries about which career-path to take. These 93 letters give an extraordinarily detailed insight into the career of an Etonian and Trinity College Oxford Alumni, turning Colonial Officer, just prior of The Great War at the time of the ascent of contemporaries as eminent as Churchill & Bonar Law.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. Freetown / “S.S.Nigeria”, November 1908 – January 1911. Octavo. From the personal collection of Sir Harry Luke.