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Auction archive: Lot number 241

Unique collection of six autograph letters signed by Elizabeth the Queen Mother …

Auction 11.08.2016
11 Aug 2016
Estimate
£5,000 - £7,000
ca. US$6,555 - US$9,177
Price realised:
n. a.
Auction archive: Lot number 241

Unique collection of six autograph letters signed by Elizabeth the Queen Mother …

Auction 11.08.2016
11 Aug 2016
Estimate
£5,000 - £7,000
ca. US$6,555 - US$9,177
Price realised:
n. a.
Beschreibung:

Unique collection of six autograph letters signed by Elizabeth the Queen Mother in her late teens ('Elizabeth Lyon'), addressed to Private James Harding during the First World War. In the first letter she recalls the card games she used to play with Private Harding and his friend Private Nix. "I'm so glad you liked the photo, personally I think it's dreadful!...Yes the games of 'Hearts' were great fun. I enjoyed them very much, even tho' I was treated badly by you and Nix!". Lady Elizabeth also says that she hopes Harding's arm is feeling better and that she will be glad if he will write back soon, 29 November 1916. The second letter features a poem she composed about the tricks played by Harding and Nix "I sometimes go into the Ward/ And play a game or two;/ And if I get the Queen of Spades,/ T'is only due to you - /Private Harding./ Are you not ashamed and sorry/ That cheating should go on?/ Something's wrong about the dealing,/ I put the blame upon- /Private Harding!/ I don't quite know which is the worst/ Private Harding or Nix/ But when I sit between the two/ I'm always in a fix!/ Oh Private Harding!/ And if again I get the Queen/ (I'm sure there is a plot)/ There will be most awful trouble/ and a "telling off" will be the lot/ of Private Harding", 22 December 1916. In the third letter she writes "I am going to stay with my sister near Musselburgh next Tuesday and shall be arriving at Waverley Station at 4.49...I don't know if you are doing work of any kind yet, but if you are not, I should be so pleased to see you for a few minutes if you could come...it would be rather nice if I brought a pack of cards an we could play 'Hearts' on the platform!" 2 October 1918. In the forth letter she arranges a meeting with Harding for the following day. The fifth letter expresses her concerns that Harding could not find a job after the end of the war "It seems to be very difficult now...I wonder what sort of a job you want? I might by chance heard of one that you'd like, though you'd probably want to be in Edinburgh...I do hope something will turn up" and tells him of the "terrific excitement" at Glamis "when a motor van drove past the castle. We all rushed out and gazed at it. It was really very exciting!", 13 September 1919. The last letter is a reply to the news that Harding did find a position. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to hear the good news. It is too splendid, after so long, and I am only so sorry that I was so useless and couldn't help you more. But I will certainly let you know at once if I hear of anything very tempting. Could you please write and tell me what your previous jobs were, as people always want to know....I do hope that you will get on well in your new job", 11 December 1919; eighteen pages, some age toning, mailing folds, 8vo, Glamis Castle, St Paul's Walden Bury, Welwyn, Carberry Tower, Musselburgh and St James's Square London, 22 December 1916- 13 September 1919 Also included are five original mailing envelopes addressed to Private Harding in Lady Elizabeth's hand; a black and white photograph of Lady Elizabeth with a Queen of Spades pasted onto rear above her signature; a greeting card signed 'Elizabeth Lyon' and with a Queen of Spades affixed on one page; photocopies of letters of the Queen Mother not included in this lot (quantity) GROUP OF TOUCHING LETTERS FROM LADY ELIZABETH BOWES-LYON DURING WW1. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon met Private Harding at Glamis Castle, her family's Scottish home that had been turned into a hospital at the outbreak of the war in 1914. During the time spent there, she nursed the wounded soldiers and wrote letters on their behalf. She gladly joined a group of soldiers who used to play Hearts, a game where it is advisable to get rid of the Queen of Spades as she counts 13. Harding and his companions played tricks on Lady Elizabeth and "There was 'wild laughter' when she got the Queen of Spades time after time - and she discovered that they had been passing it under the table to giv

Auction archive: Lot number 241
Auction:
Datum:
11 Aug 2016
Auction house:
Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions
16-17 Pall Mall
St James’s
London, SW1Y 5LU
United Kingdom
info@dreweatts.com
+44 (0)20 78398880
Beschreibung:

Unique collection of six autograph letters signed by Elizabeth the Queen Mother in her late teens ('Elizabeth Lyon'), addressed to Private James Harding during the First World War. In the first letter she recalls the card games she used to play with Private Harding and his friend Private Nix. "I'm so glad you liked the photo, personally I think it's dreadful!...Yes the games of 'Hearts' were great fun. I enjoyed them very much, even tho' I was treated badly by you and Nix!". Lady Elizabeth also says that she hopes Harding's arm is feeling better and that she will be glad if he will write back soon, 29 November 1916. The second letter features a poem she composed about the tricks played by Harding and Nix "I sometimes go into the Ward/ And play a game or two;/ And if I get the Queen of Spades,/ T'is only due to you - /Private Harding./ Are you not ashamed and sorry/ That cheating should go on?/ Something's wrong about the dealing,/ I put the blame upon- /Private Harding!/ I don't quite know which is the worst/ Private Harding or Nix/ But when I sit between the two/ I'm always in a fix!/ Oh Private Harding!/ And if again I get the Queen/ (I'm sure there is a plot)/ There will be most awful trouble/ and a "telling off" will be the lot/ of Private Harding", 22 December 1916. In the third letter she writes "I am going to stay with my sister near Musselburgh next Tuesday and shall be arriving at Waverley Station at 4.49...I don't know if you are doing work of any kind yet, but if you are not, I should be so pleased to see you for a few minutes if you could come...it would be rather nice if I brought a pack of cards an we could play 'Hearts' on the platform!" 2 October 1918. In the forth letter she arranges a meeting with Harding for the following day. The fifth letter expresses her concerns that Harding could not find a job after the end of the war "It seems to be very difficult now...I wonder what sort of a job you want? I might by chance heard of one that you'd like, though you'd probably want to be in Edinburgh...I do hope something will turn up" and tells him of the "terrific excitement" at Glamis "when a motor van drove past the castle. We all rushed out and gazed at it. It was really very exciting!", 13 September 1919. The last letter is a reply to the news that Harding did find a position. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to hear the good news. It is too splendid, after so long, and I am only so sorry that I was so useless and couldn't help you more. But I will certainly let you know at once if I hear of anything very tempting. Could you please write and tell me what your previous jobs were, as people always want to know....I do hope that you will get on well in your new job", 11 December 1919; eighteen pages, some age toning, mailing folds, 8vo, Glamis Castle, St Paul's Walden Bury, Welwyn, Carberry Tower, Musselburgh and St James's Square London, 22 December 1916- 13 September 1919 Also included are five original mailing envelopes addressed to Private Harding in Lady Elizabeth's hand; a black and white photograph of Lady Elizabeth with a Queen of Spades pasted onto rear above her signature; a greeting card signed 'Elizabeth Lyon' and with a Queen of Spades affixed on one page; photocopies of letters of the Queen Mother not included in this lot (quantity) GROUP OF TOUCHING LETTERS FROM LADY ELIZABETH BOWES-LYON DURING WW1. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon met Private Harding at Glamis Castle, her family's Scottish home that had been turned into a hospital at the outbreak of the war in 1914. During the time spent there, she nursed the wounded soldiers and wrote letters on their behalf. She gladly joined a group of soldiers who used to play Hearts, a game where it is advisable to get rid of the Queen of Spades as she counts 13. Harding and his companions played tricks on Lady Elizabeth and "There was 'wild laughter' when she got the Queen of Spades time after time - and she discovered that they had been passing it under the table to giv

Auction archive: Lot number 241
Auction:
Datum:
11 Aug 2016
Auction house:
Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions
16-17 Pall Mall
St James’s
London, SW1Y 5LU
United Kingdom
info@dreweatts.com
+44 (0)20 78398880
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