Autograph collection.

 i) Red morocco gilt album labelled on spine "Autographs. Composers, Poets, Authors, and Bishops", including letters by: COMPOSERS: Rossini (fragment); WRITERS: Charles Dickens (to William Empson, 2 pages, 8vo, 24 September 1857), Amelia Opie, Robert Browning (signature), George Crabbe, Thomas Carlyle (to Empson, giving his response to a book, 4 pages, 8vo, 24 March 1852), Thomas Hughes, Wilkie Collins (signature), C.L. Dodgson (fragment), Maria Edgeworth, Alphonse Lamartine (letter signed), John Keble, Thomas Arnold; OTHER: W.C. Macready, Michael Faraday (brief note), Charles Bell
ii) Red morocco gilt album labelled on spine "Autographs. Royalty. Statesmen", including letters by: ROYALS: Edward VII as Prince of Wales (3 pages, 8vo, 1 Feb 1863), the Duc D’Orleans (1866),William III as Prince of Orange (portion of a DS), and cut signatures of William IV, George III and IV; POLITICIANS: James Brooke Rajah of Sarawak, William Cowper-Temple, Francis Jeffrey, Francois Guizot, G. Garibaldi, Talleyrand (document signed), Robert Walpole (document signed, 1741); MILITARY FIGURES: Sir John Burgoyne, Sir Henry Storks, Lord de Saumarez (document signed, fragment), and a group of naval signatures from the age of Nelson including Nelson (signature with his right hand), Collingwood, Howe, Jervis, T.M. Hardy; ARTISTS: William Holman Hunt, Frederick Lee, J.D. Harding, D. Maclise, George Cruickshank, Paul Naftel, Thomas Phillips, James Sherwood Westmacott, A.E. Chalon, John Mogford, James Sant, John Everett Millais, John Pettie, Val Princep, F.L. Chantrey; OTHER: John Ruskin (2 pages, 8vo), E.M. Ward
iii) Brown roan album lettered in gilt "Autographs" on the upper cover, including letters by: ROYALS: Edward, Duke of Kent, Victoria of Prussia, Frederick the Great (DS), Friedrich Wilhelm Karl of Prussia; POLITICIANS: Joseph Hume, Wellington, Disraeli (signed “D”); ARTISTS: Holman Hunt (fragment), W.P. Frith, James Sant, John Everett Millais, Richard Ansdell, Charles Kingsley; OTHER: Thomas Campbell
iv) loose letters, including by: Edward Benson (Archbishop of Canterbury), W.C. Macready, Richard Monckton Milnes, Princess Sophia, Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh, John le Capelain

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Many of the letters in this collection were written to members of the Empson and Rawson families - for example, artists' letters are mostly to Mrs Rawson and concern purchases and visits to galleries - although a few were written to Edward Lear. It is likely to be the collection of Constance Ellen Rawson (1850-1925) of Halifax, who was closely related to the Empsons. Edward Lear, a family friend, promised Constance items for her autograph collection (see lot 304).