Military

The Theory and Construction of Fortification by Lieutenant Charles Bisset printed for the author and sold by A. Millar opposite to Katherine Street; D. Wilson, at Plato's Head both in the Strand and R. Dodsley in Pall Mall, 1751 1st edition. Blank, Title page, 2 page dedication, 6 page preface, list of subscribers, errata, Introduction. 205 pages, 15 folding plates to rear. Bound in contemporary marbled boards, half leather. Boards well rubbed, leather to corners worn and furred. Small abrasions to leather of spine. Lable starting to peel. Gutters fornt and rear reinforced with linen tape, smartly done. Internally, Title page with damp spotting to edge continuing through, but diminishing preface and contents. rest of pages good. The plates are good, some browning at edges. Plate XV has more edgewear with slight loss to plate margin. A good solid copy of a very rare volume in the field. Bisset was born near Dunkeld in Scotland and was a physician as well as a soldier. This work rarely appears for sale..
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Exceptionally rare copy of Recollections of One of the Light Brigade, by Albert Mitchell, published in Canterbury in 1885, the first edition and with fascinating associations. Mitchell was a 24 year old private in the 13th Light Dragoons. After the war he became a police constable in Kent. This copy of his memoir belonged to Lt. Col Anstruther Thomson of Charleton in Fife. Thomson was in the 13th Hussars and a manuscript note states that the book was published by him and Captain Baden Powell (who at this time would have been 28 and also in the 13th Hussars). The book was published 'for the benefit of Sergeant Mitchell,' presumably to help him out financially. Also included are two letters; to Anstruther Thomson thanking him for sending copies of the book; one from Arthur Halkett (of the 42nd, Black Watch), whose brother(?) died in the Charge. Halkett's letter mentions several episodes from the war. The second letter is from Captain Thomas Hutton of 7, the Circus, Bath. He was shot in both legs during the famous charge, but survived. He is buried in Locksbrook Cemetery. In his letter Hutton writes of preserving the book by sending it to book binder and this binding survives though the backstrip is coming away. The original soft wrappers are bound in. Several other clippings pasted inside refering to the Charge. No other copies of this rare memoir online at time of putting this catalogue entry together.

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Ruhleben Racecourse outside Berlin was commandeered as an internment camp to house male British civilians and merchant seamen and foreigners with British connections as war broke out in 1914. Under the Geneva Convention the prisoners were given wide freedoms including their own printing press, which they used to publish a monthly magazine from June 1915 giving a remarkable insight into life in the camp. From no. 1 June 1915 to the Christmas issue and including a 'bye-election special', all with covers bound together in green cloth/patterned boards. The signature of one of the inmates, Julius Neville (actually a German citizen with an English mother) to cover of issue no. 1. Illustrated with many small drawings and caricatures and views of the camp., some clearly showing black merchant seamen.
Interesting controversies such as how the motion for a meeting of the Debating Society - 'Should war babies be legitimised' - split the camp. The bye election special appears to have been conceived as an 'entertainment' where three candidates stood: Israel Cohen, the Jewish author stood as the Liberal; a Mr. Boss stood for the Conservatives; and a Mr. Casting stood, intriguingly as a 'Suffragette' candidate, surrounded by 'lady' supporters. He won.

Privately printed Letters Written from the Crimea of Major Fiennes Cornwallis, collected by Mrs Wykeham Martin of Leeds Castle, 1868. A rare collection of letters written by a Cornet in the 4th Light Dragoons. Only 3 copies held by Oxford, BL and Univ. Of London. This is a family copy presented to Arthur Wykeham Cornwallis, the son of Fiennes.
'Arthur Wykeham Cornwallis, from his affectionate uncle Moyneham Martin, letters that his poor papa wrote in the Crimea, Major Cornwallis.'
Arthur was only two when his father died in a hunting accident. Slim octavo, a vg copy. Blue cloth binding, slight dink to spine and top edge of rear board, slight fading/mottling to foredge of front board. No copies online at time of cataloguing.