138
138
hundred Yeomen of the Guard” ( Queen Victoria’s Journals , Royal Archives online). There is no copy at the British Library and an online search of institutional libraries shows six locations only: Society of Antiquaries, Royal Collection, BnF, Yale, Temple, and the Morgan Library. Landscape “octavo” (case measuring 122 × 200 mm), panorama loose in case. Original pale pink zig-zag grain cloth case, spine blind-tooled, front cover lettered within a border incorporating roses, thistles, shamrocks, and coronets, metal clasp. With 33 hand-coloured aquatint panels forming a continuous panel. Cloth case professionally refurbished and sections reattached, covers a little marked and soiled but the panorama itself bright and fresh; overall an attractive copy. ¶ Abbey, Life in England , 539. John Plunkett, Victoria: First Media Monarch , 2003. £4,500 [153193] 138 VICTORIA, Queen – MARTIN, Theodore. The Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1875–80 presented by queen victoria Presentation copies from Queen Victoria of this biography of her beloved husband, inscribed in three volumes to John Longden, one of the longest serving members of her household, who served the family for five decades. The queen has inscribed on the front free endpapers of vol. I, “To John Longden from Victoria RI Windsor Castle Dec. 24. 1877”; vol. IV, “To John Longden from VRI [Victoria Regina et Imperatrix] July 31. 1879”; vol. V, “To John Longden Esq from VRI June 1880”. The recipient “was successively and for upwards of 50 years in the services of George IV, William IV, and her Majesty Queen
Victoria” (obituary notice in Stamford Mercury , 26 August 1887). Between 1838 and 1853 the Royal Kalendar lists him as one of three groom porters, promoted to First Groom Porter (1854), Yeoman Porter (1855); by 1874 he had risen to the rank of First Gentleman Porter and in 1878 he is listed as one of two clerks. This extensive biography of Prince Albert (1819–1861) was begun in 1866 and originally intended to be a continuation of The Early Years of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort (1867) by Victoria’s private secretary Charles Grey. The queen interviewed Martin on 14 November 1866 and, finding him “very pleasing, clever, quiet, and sympathique ”, engaged him to write the biography, Victoria selecting the documents for use and intervening widely in the manuscript. “Martin’s Life is a goldmine of letters and papers and is less adulatory in tone than might be expected; its relative under-use by historians is a comment less on its content than on the absence of an index. A digest of it was published as ‘Martin’s memoir of the prince consort’ in the Dictionary of National Biography ” ( ODNB ). This set is comprised of mixed editions, as is usual for inscribed sets: vols. I and IV, fourth edition; vols. II and V, third; vol. III, first. Each volume was quickly reprinted and “was generally well received, to the queen’s delight” (ibid.). 5 volumes, octavo. Original reddish-brown cloth over bevelled boards, spines lettered in gilt, sides with frames stamped in black, black endpapers. Engraved portrait frontispieces to each volume, 8 other plates of portraits and views with tissue-guards; one a folding facsimile of a draft memorandum by Prince Albert to Lord Lyons in 1861. Light rubbing at extremities, a few small chips and patches of minor wear to cloth, light white marking to fore edges of boards, splits to rear hinge of vol. IV and front inner hinge of vol. V. A very good set. £4,000 [135698]
137
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
101
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker