Name: Auction: McGonagall, William Topaz (1825-1902) - Hundred Years' War 'Jack o' the Cudgel'
Brand: Lyon & Turnbull
Price: 500 GBP
Availability: InStock

Other Properties | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 63 to 255

The Library of General Sir James Alexander | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 31 to 62

Africa and the Source of the Nile - Selections from the Library of a Scottish Gentleman | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 1 to 30

large_dominic-square.jpg

medium_dominic-square.jpg

small_dominic-square.jpg

thumbnail_dominic-square.jpg

xlarge_dominic-square.jpg

large_Graham_Hogg_squarejpg.jpg

medium_Graham_Hogg_squarejpg.jpg

small_Graham_Hogg_squarejpg.jpg

thumbnail_Graham_Hogg_squarejpg.jpg

xlarge_Graham_Hogg_squarejpg.jpg

large_sophie-dixon-square.jpg

medium_sophie-dixon-square.jpg

small_sophie-dixon-square.jpg

thumbnail_sophie-dixon-square.jpg

xlarge_sophie-dixon-square.jpg

The Library of a Victorian Adventurer: Sir James Edward Alexander (1803–1885)

Important manuscripts and artefacts from the renowned Victorian soldier-scholar who brought Cleopatra's Needle to London.  

How to Know if You Have a First Edition Harry Potter Book

Since its quiet debut in 1997, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has become one of the most sought-after modern first editions in the world of book collecting. 

Presenting our first Books &amp; Manuscripts auction of 2026, which will take place on Wednesday 25 February in our historic saleroom in Edinburgh and online. &nbsp;The auction will feature a number of private collections including The Library of General Sir James Alexander (1803-1885), containing his archive of sketchbooks documenting his travels in India, New Zealand and Canada, and his personal copies of his published travel accounts (lots 31 to 62). Later in life Alexander was the prime mover in the campaign to bring Cleopatra’s Needle to Britain, and his library is offered by Lyon &amp; Turnbull on behalf of Alexander’s direct descendants.Another single-owner collection will open the sale,&nbsp;Africa and the Source of the Nile - Selections from the Library of a Scottish Gentleman, focusing on the European exploration of Egypt, the Sudan and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the 19th and early 20th centuries and including key works by Richard F. Burton, James Bruce and others (lots 1 to 30). A first edition of David Roberts’s masterpiece, Egypt and Nubia (1846-9), completes the Egyptian theme.The sale is also strong in private press material, modern first editions, children’s books, and important historical documents, with highlights including a first edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, letters signed by the 15th-century monarch Edward IV and the privy council of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey, and a collection of rare signed broadsides by the infamous Scottish poet William McGonagall.

Alan

Specialists' Selection

large_884-header-2.jpg

medium_884-header-2.jpg

small_884-header-2.jpg

thumbnail_884-header-2.jpg

xlarge_884-header-2.jpg

884-header-2.jpg

ft. The Library of General Sir James Alexander

small_MicrosoftTeams-image-removebg-preview.png

thumbnail_MicrosoftTeams-image-removebg-preview.png

Logo with add text

Lyon & Turnbull | Online Auction Specialists  

large_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

medium_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

small_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

thumbnail_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

xlarge_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

A Historical Poem. [Edinburgh: for the author], c.1900. Printed broadside (25.6 x 20cm), signed by the author ('Sir Wm Topaz McGonagall Poet') in black ink, text in two columns, title and royal coat of arms to head, old folds, rust-mark to top edge, a few nicks to left-hand edge

'Jack o' the Cudgel'

McGonagall, William Topaz (1825-1902) - Hundred Years' War

0001_maMgIx.jpg

Zero Rated

McGonagall, William Topaz (1825-1902) - Hundred Years' War

'Jack o' the Cudgel'

Description

Footnote