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The Principal Speeches and Addresses of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort.
Presentation Copy from The Queen of England
To The Queen of France
[VICTORIA, Queen of England]. ALBERT, Prince Consort of England. The Principal Speeches and Addresses of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. With an introduction, giving some outlines of his character. London: John Murray, 1862.
First edition. Presentation copy, inscribed by Queen Victoria to Marie Amélie of Bourbon, Queen of France, on the front flyleaf: "A/ma chère Sur/la Reine Marie Amélie,/En Souvenir/des meilleurs des/[illegible]/de [illegible]/de sa malheureuse/Veuve/Victorially/Osborne/29 Dec: 1862" (""A / my dear Sister / Queen Marie Amelie, / In Remembrance / of the best of / [illegible] / of [illegible] / of his unhappy / Widow ..."). Octavo. 268 pp. Leaves G2 and G3 ("Contents," pp. [77]-[80]) bound following title. Engraved frontispiece portrait by W. Holl from the photograph by Myall.
Publisher's presentation binding by Edmonds & Remnants (stamp-signed on rear free endpaper) of brown hard-grain morocco over bevelled boards. Covers stamped in gilt with triple-rule border and the name "Albert" and his coat-of-arms, spine panelled and lettered in gilt in compartments, board edges and turn-ins decoratively tooled in gilt, all edges gilt, dark green coated endpapers. Ink stamp of the Bibliothèque de S.A.R. Mgr. Le Comte de Paris on title-page. Slight offsetting from the frontispiece to the title. Occasional light foxing, heaviest to endpapers and to frontispiece. Leaves K2 and K3 (pp. 125-128) slightly browned in the gutter from ribbon marker. Otherwise a very fine copy. Housed in the original brown hard-grain morocco jewel case lined with velvet and silk, and with royal coat of arms stamped in gilt to upper left corner.
Laid in are two Autograph Letters Signed, the first from Eric Phipps [to Charles Maas], dated April 13, 1909, on British Embassy, Paris, stationery: "I am directed by His Majesty's Ambassador to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 29th ultimo respecting the book entitled The Principal Speeches & Addresses of H.R.H. The Prince Consort.' Sir Francis Bertie would like to purchase this book and to present it to The King if he can obtain it at a moderate price. I shall therefore be glad if you will let me know the cost of the volume in question. I am, Sir, your most obedient, humble Servant. Eric Phipps."
The second Autograph Letter Signed is from a Chas. Maas to a Mr. Thomas, dated October 12th 1928. "Years ago a slight disagreement occurred between you and I. You esteemed a book would have been well placed in your hands, while I thought I would have same offered to the King of England. As you will see from the enclosed letter, no serious value was attached to the book, and I could not agree on that point with the then English Ambassador. Long time since I had arrived to the conclusion that the book would have been better placed in your hands than in mine. Will you allow we to present same to you now as a souvenir of former years. Some time ago I wrote to Mr Geo. Weston, V.P. & Treasurer, to convey to him my intention to approach you, in order to find out whether I could be useful to the Company. Would you kindly fix an appointment to me?"
Price: $0
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