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Auction: 20003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 4

Dobell's personal scrapbook, 1890-1954.

The album measuring 390 x 480 mm, covered in blue 'leatherette' paper and containing 30 pages mounting photographs, original documents, Warrants for Orders (including Military Order of the Dragon), Mention in Dispatches certificates, Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum, letters, cuttings from newspapers and other publications, tickets and telegrams.

A truly remarkable and of course unique record of the long military career of Sir Charles Dobell, it seems probable that this scrapbook was compiled after his retirement and continued by his widow, since the last pages mount cuttings relating to his death and funeral, including obituaries. The items in the scrapbook range from his Diploma of Graduation from RMC Kingston, through maps for the Black Mountain expedition, of Crete, and of Peking/Beijing - together with two Chinese passports, extracts from orders and photographs relating to almost the whole of his career, all arranged chronologically, with sections of the relevant medal ribbons and all annotated by Dobell by way of explanation of the significance of the documents and photographs. Royal memorabilia includes tickets for the Coronation 1911 and the subsequent Investiture of The Prince of Wales. Personal memorabilia includes images and details of Dobell's various horses and images of members of his family, together with personal letters that include one from the National Portrait Gallery concerning his inclusion in the group portrait by John Singer Sargent of 'Some General Officers of the Great War'.

Very slight 'bumping' to the cover corners but otherwise in very good condition and a key item in the collection.

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Sold for
£4,200

Starting price
£450