Documents

SALE OF IMPORTANT BOOKS AND MSS

THE THRALE AND JOHNSON DOCUMENTS.

The books, manuscripts, and autograph letters from the collection of Mrs. Thrale, "the property of a descendant of one of the family," formed one of the chief features of yesterday's sale at Messrs. Sotheby's. Some of the more interesting passages in the Johnson and Burns documents have already been printed in The Times. The printed books from Mrs. Thralo's library attracted but little interest, although one of the lots in this section, a collection of 21 original caricature drawings in Indian ink, ascribed to Rowlandson, to illustrate the journey of Dr. Johnson and Boswell to Scotland, all of which were engraved, realized £56 (Quaritch). The lot consisting of six quarto volumes extending to about 1,630 pages, of Mrs.Piozzi's "Thraliana," entirely in her autograph, and extending from 1775 to 1809, was started at £150, and reached, in bids of £50 and £100, to £2,050 when it was knooked down to "Mr. Barclay," with Messrs. B. F. Stevens, the American book agents as underbidders. The next lot was the original MS. of Mrs. Piozzi's Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D., during the last 20 years of his life," on 200 pages folio, as published in 1786, and this fell to Mr. Pearson at £i54; Mrs. Piozzi's "New Commonplace Book," an unpublished MS. in her autograph, about 200 pages folio—£13 10s (Quaritch); Mrs. Piozzi's "Welse Journal," an autograph MS. of 97 pages quarto, apparently unpublished, recording a Joumey to Wales in company with Dr. Johnson in 1774—£32 (Quaritch); Mrs, Piozzi's "Children's Book," an unpublished MS of 186 pages folio, and extending from 1766 to 1778, a domestic journal chiefly respecting her children—£44 (Mainwaring); and a séries of 41 letters from Dr. Samuel Johnson, chiefly addressed to Mrs.Piozzi (then Mrs. Thrale), including 28 printed in her"Letters to and from the late Samuel Johnson," 1788, and 13 probably unpublisbed, were sold in one lot to Mr.Quaritch for £270.

With regard to the ownership of the Thrale lots, it may be stated that the interesting "Thraliana" knocked down at such a high price yesterday were to some extent utilized by the late Mr. A. Hayward in his "Autobiography Letters and Literary Remains of Mrs. Piozzi," where it is stated:"—" 'Thraliana,' which at one time she thought of burning, is now in the possession of Mr. Salusbury, who deems it of too delicate and private a character to be submitted to strangers, but has kindly supplied me with some curious passages and much valuable information extracted from it." We believe that these letters and other documents have never before been offered at public sale.