Congo / Kongo – Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909) – King of the Belgians and Owner / Absolute Ruler of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.

Collection of four very important and meaningful manuscript letters by Leopold II to his administrator and Foreign Minister of the Congo – Free-State, Baron Adolphe de Cuvelier (1860-1931) with a total of 16 pages filled with Leopold’s instructions on pressing issues regarding a warning about an imminent visit by the Rector of the Mill-Hill Missionaries [probably Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan (1832 – 1903)] and Leopold’s qualification of the visit of being detrimental to the Congo Free State (″ne travaillent pas pour l’État”). Leopold continues in another letter to talk about the hostile positions of english officials (consuls) and missionaries (″que les consuls anglais et les missionnaires anglais se conduisent bien mal envers l’État”). Interestingly, Leopold also touches on the nuisance of the german press criticizing Belgian Railway Lines and he is of the opinion that this is all happening in order to force the german parliament [″Reichstag”] to finance the building of the Tanganyika Railway [between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma]: (″cherche à effrayer l’opinion [en] Allemagne à propos de mes chemins de fer afin d’obtenir du Reichstag des fonds pour la ligne allemande vers le Tanganika”.

16 pages of MLS, Manuscript Letters (signed) on 10 leaves of Leopold’s official stationery “Château de Laeken” and “Palais de Bruxelles”. Laeken / Brussels, Château de Laeken [Palace of Laeken], 1901 – 1906. The leaves with different sizes (13,5 cm x 9 cm) and (18 cm x 11,5 cm). Excellent condition. Unsigned. Tremendously rare to find original letters by Leopold II on the open market in which the Colonial Free State and the protection against inquisitive visitors is discussed in such clear and instructive fashion. Leopold’s correspondence with Adolphe de Cuvelier shows how he is very much trying to still protect and influence the narrative of his Colonial Slavery Outpost even in the final years of his life.

[Foster, Sir Augustus] / Beale Davis, Richard.

Jeffersonian America – Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-6-7 and 11-12 By Sir Augustus John Foster, Bart.

San MArino / California, The Huntingdon Library, 1954. Octavo. Frontispiece – Portrait of Sir Augustus Foster, XX, 356 pages. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket. The dustjacket frayed and torn but most of it present (see images). The Volume itself in excellent, very clean condition.

[Foster, Sir Augustus] / [Madison, James / Monroe, James / Sir Augustus Foster – War of 1812]

“Three messages, from the President of the United States [James Madison], to Congress, in November 1811, together with Documents accompanying the same”. Washington; printed 1811. [Including very interesting exchanges of letters between Foster and Monoe regarding “The Floridas” / Further printed correspondence on “List of Vessels Condemned” / “Letter by Lord J. Townshend to Mr. Croker on His Majesty’s ship ‘Eolus’ – Signed by Herbert Sawyer and Rear-Admiral H.W.Somerville” etc. etc.].

London, J.Hatchard, 1812. Octavo. 260 pages. Softcover / Original, publisher’s interim-wrappers in its very rare and pure original form, even with the original, publisher’s printed spine-label. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only. Some minor signs of foxing. A publication of utmost rarity. With some interesting text-markings.

Luke, Sir Harry [Lukach, Harry] – ‘the most unwasted life of any man I have known’ – (Sir Ronald Storrs on Sir Harry Luke)

Large Archive / Collection of Sir Harry Luke’s personal letters, photographs and Ephemera from his 39 years of service for the British Colonial Office in Cyprus, Malta, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Fiji etc. etc., including working copies of his own publications, and sensationally his very valuable, handwritten manuscript-notebook of recipe-collections together with his working copy of the sought after cookery book “The Tenth Muse”. The recipe-book, written in the 1930s, includes several pages with historical recipes of Food prepared in Cyprus, with special recipes of “Kyrenia Salad”, “Apricot Brandy (Cyprus)”, “Kyrenia Tomato Paste”, Kyrenia Salad”.

England / Palestine / Israel / Malta / Cyprus, Fiji / Sierra Leone etc., 1905 – 1960. Octavo / Quarto / Folio. c.15000 pages (books) / Collection of Letters (see images) / Photographs and ephemera etc. Original Hardcover / Softover / Manuscript – Bindings (interim-bindings), often with the rare dustjacket in protective collector’s Mylar, some without dustjackets. Very good condition with only minor, some with stronger signs of external wear. Please request further details per email.

Stuart de Rothesay, Charles Stuart, Baron (1779-1845) / Hay, Robert William (1786-1861) / Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (1780 – 1831) [Baron de Rousseau – French Orientalist and French Consul at Tripoli] / Alexander Gordon Laing (1794 – 1826) [Scottish explorer and the first European to reach Timbuktu] / Hanmer Warrington / Foreign Secretary for Prime Minister Wellington, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen [Lord Aberdeen].

Original, unpublished and meaningful letter by British official and Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir Robert William Hay, addressed with urgency to former secret agent in Spain and Portugal, Sir Charles Stuart de Rothesay, Scottish nobleman, and English ambassador to France (1815-1830); alerting Ambassador Charles Stuart of Hay’s arrival in Paris and his wish to ask him if he has “anything to communicate to me in regard to that Royal [Baron] Rousseau, The Barbary Consul”. Hay is in this letter preparing Stuart in order to investigate the situation around the death of explorer Alexander Gordon Laing in Africa. Under-Secretary for the Colonies, Sir R[obert] W.Hay, who had been informed about the situation around Laing’s missing Journals per private letter from the British Consul in Tripoli, Hanmer Warrington, announces his arrival in Paris to protest to the French government and advices ambassador Stuart:″I conclude that he [Baron Jean-Baptiste Rousseau] is by this time out of guarantiae, but I hope that by ensuing at Paris he will only get out of the frying Pan with the fire”. Hay continues: “I hope you will go with me (in case it be necessary) to the Minister, whoever he may be, in [?] Departement this ….were incredibly false for it. The French Govt. are really disposed & prosecute the Enquiry bon a fide. I think that same may acq…[….]…..on the other hand, if the French Govt. do not enter into y. enquiry with a good spirit, it will be in Rousseau’s …..to baffle me with the utmost facility in all our attempts to get at the truth. I spoke to Lord Aberdeen [George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Foreign Secretary for Prime Minister Wellington] on the day I left London, & he gave me full permission to conduct measures with you for the …of this affair. Yours very truly R.W.Hay”.

[London], [1829]. 5 octavo – pages on 2 sheets, folded. Excellent condition. Signed by Hay and dated probably “Monday, 19 Oct. [1829]”.

Stuart de Rothesay, Charles Stuart, Baron (1779-1845) / Strangford, Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount (1780 – 1855).

Original, unpublished letter by Anglo-Irish diplomat, Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford, to Sir Charles Stuart [Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay], asking him for a favour to send a Lantern to an address in Paris [?]. Strangford writes from his post as British Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Stockholm, where he was posted between 1817 and 1820.

Stockholm, 1819. 2 octavo – pages on 1 sheet, folded. Excellent condition. Signed by Strangford.