charles eamer kempe archive ian marr rare books

CHARLES EAMER KEMPE ARCHIVE
IAN MARR RARE BOOKS
IAN MARR RARE BOOKS
23 Pound Street
Liskeard
Cornwall PL14 3JR
England
We are pleased to be offering this archive (unless sold beforehand) in conjunction with the
London Olympia International Antiquarian Book Fair, May 28th -30th 2015, where you may find
our stand C13. For free tickets and further details, please visit the website:
www.olympiabookfair.com
Before then, enquiries may be made by telephone, which will be answered by Ian or Anne Marr:
01579 345310
or, if calling from abroad: 0044 1579 345310
or, mobile: 0773 833 9709
or, via e-mail: [email protected]
We will gladly supply more detailed descriptions, further images, etc.
Visitors are welcome, but please contact us first to make arrangements. The ancient Cornish town of
Liskeard is about 20 minutes by car or railway, west of Plymouth, or 4 ½ hours from London.
We are always interested to hear of books, manuscripts, ephemera, etc., which may be for sale,
wherever they may be.
The images were shot using strong natural light and represent a fair estimation of the real objects.
CHARLES EAMER KEMPE & CO. ARCHIVE
Introduction
Offered here is a fine, very private archive of original material, photographs, letters, stained
glass, desk objects, etc., passed down until now through direct descent and never before on
the market, mostly relating to the life and work of Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907), but
also to his successor, Walter Earnest Tower (1873-1955), together with a few objects from
an earlier era, relating to Kempe’s grandfather-Eamer’s family.
Charles Eamer Kempe was born in Ovingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, in 1837, the nephew of
Thomas Read Kemp (the Brighton developer), and grandson, on his mother’s side, of Sir
John Eamer, sometime Mayor of London and city magnate. After Oxford, Kempe studied
under the leading ecclesiastical architect G.F.Bodley, and then at the stained glass
manufacturers Clayton & Bell, before setting up on his own, in London, in 1866, designing
and manufacturing stained glass and church adornments. By 1899 he headed a large
concern, and by the end of his life his work employed upwards of a hundred people, and
was to be found in the cathedrals of Gloucester, Chester, Wells, Lichfield, York and
Winchester, with some 4,000 windows commissioned worldwide, as well as 116
commissions in his native Sussex, where he had bought (in 1875), renovated and furnished
the (at the time of his purchase) decayed Elizabethan house, Old Place, in Lindfield, Sussex,
and where he also installed stained glass and developed extensive gardens. Old Place, as
well as being his home, represented an aesthetic which drew visitors from far and wide
(everyone from William Morris to members of the Royal Family). Kempe, whilst notably shy
(a pronounced stutter had prevented him entering the clergy), was a good and willing host,
allowing his visitors time and space to absorb the atmosphere and design of “Old Place,”
which pretty much represented both a showcase of what he could help to assemble (a
syncretic blend of old and new), and what he was aiming for, in terms of style and
ambience. Two of the letters offered here give us an idea of the impact that Kempe’s home
had on people, one of them from his former mentor Bodley, describing it as an “earthly
Paradise.”
On Kempe’s death in 1907, his estate and the firm passed to his relative Walter Tower, who
renamed the firm C. E. Kempe & Co. Tower remained true to Kempe’s vision, and also
maintained Old Place according to Kempe’s principles. As can be seen from the
Commissions Books included in the archive, the business continued to bustle, garnering
extensive work both at home and abroad. However, the Great Depression of the 1930’s
finally put paid to the business, and it was wound up in 1934.
PROVENANCE: private ownership, on the market now for the first time.
PRICE ON APPLICATION
OLD PLACE
VISITORS’ BOOK, titled on the upper cover: “Old Place 1892,” small oblong 4to
[7 x 9 inches], elaborately gilt old-style leather (upper cover detached, spine
loose along one edge), engraved armorial ex-libris bookplate of Charles Eamer
Kempe, inscribed in ink, “From H.A.M., Aug. 1892,” some 43 ff. filled in (mostly
one side only). A fine range of signatures, with dates, of the great and the
good, well-connected locals, et alia. Signatures include: A.Wollaston Franks,
Henry James (1897), Frank Dicksee, Violet Paget, Dorothy Nevill, Ottoline
Morrell, Arthur C. Benson, Princess Louise, Queen Alexandra, and many others.
Loose within, 4 telegrams, including one from Queen Alexandra, and another
from Princess Victoria.
ROYAL VISIT A small vellum-gilt bound
album (the binding by Bumpus), 5.75 x
5.25 inches, entitled on the upper
cover: “Old Place May 3rd 1914” with
Queen Alexandra’s crowned gilt
monogram. Two-page letter pasted in,
letter-headed Marlborough House, 12
May 1914, “Dear Mr. Tower, I am
desired by Princess Victoria to send the
enclosed photographs, which Her Royal
Highness took during her visit with
Queen Alexandra to your lovely home .
. . Her Royal Highness hopes that you
and Mrs Tower will be pleased with
them . . . [signed] George Holford.” Eleven small black-and-white photographs
of the visit lightly mounted within. Also loose within a postcard dated 1921,
from Queen Alexandra giving grateful thanks to the Towers for “the beautiful
little Statue.”
GARDEN NOTE BOOK. A folio notebook, 12 x 9 inches, with loose material,
letters, notes, etc., inserted, concerning a) the famous sundial in the garden .
b) garden planting, including a 2 page autograph signed letter from W.
Robinson of Gravetye Manor, dated 27.6.[19]13, “. . .if you would care to have
a few plants . . . your gardener may come any time without notice or formality
of any kind . . .” together with misc. informal plant-related notes in pencil, on
“Old Place” headed paper, etc. Together with 1) Miss Ingram’s recipe for
potpourri, manuscript on Whatman paper watermarked 1824 2) another
recipe for potpourri, of similar date, by Miss Louisa Eamer. 3) paper deed
relating to Old Place, signed and sealed by the owner, Andrew Merry, British
Consul at Madrid, dated 1794, 2 pages, foolscap, mentioning that the property
is tenanted by Elizabeth Wade, widow.
PHOTOGRAPHS
A carte-de-visite mounted photograph of Charles Eamer Kempe, ca. 1900. [see
back cover]
A box of photographic glass slides, colour, 4 in total: 2 large, 5 x 6.5 inches,
showing the garden of Old Place in the foreground and the house behind; 2
small, 3.25 x 4.25 inches, showing garden, etc., all edged in tape, ca. 1900 (4, in
original box).
PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM. Large album, 14.5 x 12 inches (spine 3.5 inches across),
entitled on upper cover: “ARCHITECTURAL”: cloth bound, a very full album,
containing photographs, etc., of domestic and ecclesiastical work. Starting with
photos of “Shelley’s Folly, 1899,” the full album procedes through various
commissions into the early 1920’s, mostly UK, but including work in Madras,
India. Most of the work is captioned, including a good quantity of loose
material (photographs). The photographs are black-and white, 12 x 10 inches,
et infra. [see illustration at foot of previous page]
PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM. Quarto album, 11.75 x
10 inches (covers off, spine gone), containing
21 photographs, pasted in, 8.5 x 6.5 inches, et
infra, mostly of “Old Place” and environs, and
approx. 27 photos, loose, mostly Sussex, all
ca. 1900 & next two decades.
A collection of 15 original
photographs (one dated Aug.,
1898) and 38 black and white
postcards of Old Place.
COMMISSIONS BOOKS [Windows]
2 volumes, foolscap, red cloth-bound photostats / typescripts of commissions
undertaken, (UK & worldwide, incl. Australia, USA, etc.), both volumes gilttitled on spine: 1) “Kempe. List of Commissions,” giving place, date, location
within building, number of windows, “Area”, subject title. Date range: 1880’sca. 1907. 2) “Tower. List of Commissions,” giving place, date, position within
building, number of windows, subject title, “Area”. Date range: 1907-ca.
1920’s; UK only. Many hundreds of commissions. An important historical
record of the large scale, geographical spread, and enormous amount of work
undertaken.
STAINED GLASS
A fine, leaded, stained glass panel, overall 27 x 13 inches, with the main
composite panel measuring 16 x 13 inches [see front cover illustration]. A lot
rarer than religious or heraldic glass, this piece is purely secular, or civic, and
depicts a half-length portrait of ‘Justice’ blindfolded (but with the penetrating
gaze of Justice clearly visible beneath), holding the scales and sword. Beneath
is the motto “Imago Justitiae”. Although the piece does not have the
characteristic identifying mark of a wheatsheaf in the design, the practice of
including it was not prevalent in Kempe’s early work. Clearly this was a
retained piece from the start, and has remained in the family until the present
day. In his early days, Kempe collaborated and worked on stained glass and
designs with the well-known Pre-Raphaelite artist Arthur Hughes. In Justice’s
face, and in the cherub heads in the side panels, it is tempting to think that this
may indeed be an early piece, reflecting the collaboration of Kempe with
Hughes.
Also, a collection of separate but uniform small stained glass roundels, average
diameter 4.75 inches, fine quality, detailed armorials, and a diamond shaped
panel with the Kempe wheatsheaf. All with leaded surrounds.
An original watercolour design for a triple stained glass window, C.E.Kempe &
Co., dated March, 1934, and a packet of small format black and white
photographs, ca. 1900, of stained glass windows.
DESK OBJECTS
TRAVELLING INKWELL and pen set, within scallop-shaped tortoiseshell
veneered, hinged box with white-metal push button opener, containing
adjustable pen body, two white metal glass pots, three knibs, a chopping
blade, and a cut glass miniature seal (cracked) with the oak sheaf armorial of
the Kempes, the lid with mirror on the inside (mirror cracked, otherwise
excellent condition), probably French manufacture, ca. 1840.
MEMORIAL ALBUM, containing newspaper and other obituaries and articles
(incl. illustrated) published on the death of C.E.K. in 1907, and including
material relating to the stained glass memorial subscription window at St.
Agnes’s Church, Kennington, with photograph and related documentation, and
other memorial windows, etc., at Southwark Cathedral, Chichester, etc..
Quarto album, covers off. Contents also include a clipping from The Times
relating to the sale of Old Place, in 1926, to Lady Rupert Clarke, describing the
house as one of the “finest of its type” and the gardens brought “to great
perfection.” Together with associated material.
SKETCH BOOK. A small oblong sketch book, 5.25 x
8.25 inches, half leather binding, 29 pages with
pencil, ink or watercolour sketch, and 3 pages of
poetry (of which one dated 1858). A very
interesting insight into the mind of the young
Charles Eamer Kempe, and already displaying
some of the interests which found full expression
later in his life, i.e. minutely copied mediaeval
illuminated manuscript material, some mediaeval
scenes (imagined, architectural, etc.), and so forth. Also depicted are some
comic and romantic scenes.
LETTERS Two letters from Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount
Wolseley (1833-1913) to C.E.K. 1) 3 page autograph letter, signed, on War
Office headed paper, dated 20th August 1898: “Only a line from this sad city to
say how much I feel the change from your lovely country to this hot maze of
ugly towers & very “smelly” streets. I miss the charm of living in “Old Place”
with its reposeful rooms filled with beautiful things to gladden & interest the
eye, its architecture, its books & pictures, that church tower ringing-out each
quarter of an hour, but above all I miss the genial companionship of its owner
& creator . . .” 2) 2 pages on War Office headed paper, thanking C.E.K. for a
book: “I delight in all old books about . . . England’s Army & Military Institutions
. . .” with a note by C.E.K. dating the letter to June, 1896, and naming the book
as the “earliest Rules of the Royal Military College, about 1780.”
POEM manuscript poem, by G.F.Bodley, dated Nov. 1894, entitled “Old Place,”
16 lines: “Time hath dealt gently with thee, fair old place, / And now thy youth
to thee is all renewed / By touch of gentle art and tender grace / [last lines:]
Fair Place, both old & young, for us thou art / An earthly Paradise, for present
rest.”
A carved ivory bulb-handled DESK SEAL, the seal head in silver, the full
armorial seal approx.. 1 inch diameter, maker’s mark (four-petalled flower
head), overall 4 inches tall, original silk-lined leather box.
A small desk seal, shaped ivory handle, with inset glass intaglio seal, engraved
with a motto, 2.75 inches tall.
A pair of novelty lorgnette spectacles,
folding, with loop for hanging, whitemetal frames.
A fine pair of steel framed lorgnette
spectacles, with shaped tortoishell
handle / case, both sides engraved “Sir
John Eamer.”
Two Silver Prize Medals, each 1.75
inches diameter, 1) obverse side with a
classical scene of Athena presenting a
gift, under the motto, "Postera Gresces
Laude Regens". Reverse with laurel leaf
border and the motto at top, "HONOS ALIT ARTES." and around bottom,
"THORP ARCH SEMINARY." The centre is engraved, "To J.H.Eamer, for his
Knowledge of the German
Language, Dec.r 1798". 2) as
abover, but engraved:
“J.H.Eamer, for his Merit in
Drawing, June, 1798.” Thorp
Arch Seminary was in Yorkshire.
Copper printing plate for Mr. Eamer’s visiting card.
A 4-page letter to Louise Eamer, from her mother, 1839.
A 4-page letter from G.G.Bradley to Charles Eamer Kempe, about the Alfred,
Lord Tennyson Memorial for Westminster Abbey, discussing design, and with a
loose pencil design by C.E.K.
A collection of buttons: 23 fine silvered buttons (made by Firmin , with the
Kempe arms of wheatsheaf and swan, 11 brass buttons similar, and 6 small;
together with a quantity of brass buttons with the
Tower armorial.
An oval portrait miniature of Charles Eamer, on card,
inscribed on the verso: “Charles Eamer, died in India (?)
a copy. And another miniature: “Miss Moody. Marr.d . .
Roberts, old firend of Mr. Claxson.
A collection of original artwork (and 1
printed) for ex-libris bookplates for
Charles Eamer Kempe.
A collection of miscellaneous ephemera and photographs, including a quantity
of miscellaneous postcards, mostly to C.E.Kempe.
GENEALOGY
HITCHIN-KEMP (Fred.) A General History of the Kemp and Kempe Families of
Great Britain and Her Colonies with Arms, Pedigrees, Portraits, Illustrations of
Seats . . . Documents, Old Jewels, Curios, &c., large 4to, illus., cloth gilt (upr.
cvr. soft / damp affected), London, Leadenhall Press, [1902]. Together with
printed prospectus & order form, hectoring subscription and contribution ms.
letters from the author, including one disputing C.E.K.’s right to use the
armorial which he’s employed, the correctness of it, etc.
A folio volume, 14 x 10 inches, art paper, bound wallet-style in limp vellum,
being the manuscript research vol. of Walter Tower, with 18 ff. ms. pedigerees
with accompanying hand-col’d coats of arms. Also, some loose notes,
watercolour drawings (a design for hanging tapestry; a large design for an
armorial window), newspaper cuttings, a small collection of Barrow family
bookplates, etc.
C.E.K. at “Old Place,” ca. 1900
MMXV