CHARLES JOHN DARLING, 1st BARON DARLING (1849–1936)
IMPORTANT AUTOGRAPH LITERARY / PROOF-CORRECTION LETTER
RELATING TO ON THE OXFORD CIRCUIT, AND OTHER VERSES (1909)
AUSTIN OSMAN SPARE ASSOCIATION

An excellent and unusually specific autograph letter signed “Darling” by Charles John Darling, later 1st Baron Darling, concerning an author's alteration to the proof of one of his poems.

The corrected poem has been identified as“To a Friend, with a Volume of Verses”, associated with Darling's collection On the Oxford Circuit, and Other Verses.

The collection was published in London by Smith, Elder & Co. in 1909 and is catalogued under Charles John Darling. A contemporary bibliographical description gives the author as“The Hon. Mr. Justice Darling” and records the book as a 1909 first edition. 

THE LETTER

Written on printed stationery headed: 81 Albert Hall Mansions, S.W.7. Darling writes to an unidentified recipient regarding verses which had been sent in proof that same day, requesting a specific alteration before publication.

Using the transcription:

“Dear Sir

I shall be greatly obliged if you will alter the last line but one of the verses I sent you in proof today. The line should run, Of Borgia, Bourbon, the prey — nor yet of profane Buonaparte.

Yours truly
Darling”

The signature itself is“Darling”. There is faint later pencil writing in the area where a forename might otherwise appear, which initially makes the signature difficult to interpret.

AN AUTHORIAL PROOF CORRECTION

This is considerably more interesting than a routine social autograph letter.

Darling is communicating a specific textual correction to his verse at proof stage, giving the recipient the replacement wording to be used.

The reference to having sent the verses“in proof today” places the letter directly within a publishing/proof-reading process and provides an unusual piece of primary evidence concerning Darling's preparation of his poetry for publication.

The relevant collection, On the Oxford Circuit, and Other Verses, comprises 79 pages and was published by Smith, Elder & Co., London, in 1909. 

AUSTIN OSMAN SPARE CONNECTION

Of additional interest to collectors, the 1909 volume was illustrated by Austin Osman Spare.

A bibliographical description of the first edition records four wood-engraved plates together with wood-engraved vine initials and a tailpiece by Spare.

The present letter should not be taken as correspondence with Spare himself, as the recipient is unidentified. Rather, it is an original manuscript/proof-related document concerning a poem associated with the book that Spare illustrated.

LATER PENCIL IDENTIFICATION

There are also fascinating contemporary or later pencil research notes on another page. Using the transcription:

“Only Darling I know
Lord Justice
An old [unid] who
would probably say
is the Ld Justice
lived here”

These appear to represent an earlier owner's attempt to establish which Darling wrote the letter, apparently considering the prominent judicial Darling as a possibility and wondering whether the Albert Hall Mansions address could confirm the attribution.

The identification can now be made much more securely through the specific poem and its connection with Darling's published verse.

HISTORICAL INTEREST

Charles John Darling was subsequently 1st Baron Darling, although the contemporary 1909 publication appropriately identifies the author as The Hon. Mr. Justice Darling. 

The item consequently combines several attractive collecting areas:

• Charles John Darling autograph material
• British legal and judicial history
• Original literary manuscript material
• Authorial proof corrections
• 1909 poetry and publishing history
• Smith, Elder & Co.
• Austin Osman Spare association
• Albert Hall Mansions, London
• Early 20th-century literary ephemera

An unusual survival documenting an author's specific last-minute correction to the printed text of an identifiable literary work, rather than simply a routine signed letter.

Condition as photos. Guaranteed Original. All items can be returned for a full refund if found to be not as described.

Charles John Darling, 1st Baron Darling, PC (Dec 1849 – May 1936) was an English lawyer, politician and High Court judge.

PROVENANCE