WILDE, OSCAR (1854-1900) (And others) Signature and entry in a Visitors Book

WILDE, OSCAR (1854-1900) (And others)Signature and entry in a leather bound and gilt embossed Visitors Book from the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth, with 16 Tite Street, Chelsea. SW. in Wilde's hand, c1891; together with another entry by Wilde but dated in another hand 8/11/92, with Wilde's signature and further guests listed in Wilde's hand including Lord Alfred Douglas, author and poet, son of the 9th Marquess of Queensbury and Wilde's lover. It was in 1892 that Douglas wrote the poem 'Two Loves', most famously used against Wilde at his trial and with the sometimes misattributed line 'the love that dare not speak its name'. Two other guests noted by Wilde are Maurice Salis-Schwabe, whose name was essentially suppressed and Charles Spurrier Mason; a line in Wilde's hand finishes the entry with 'all charmed with the beauty and comfort of the hotel'. The volume contains several hundred other entries and includes many notable and worthy people from the world of politics, the arts, science, military and naval history and many titled individuals. Examples include Sir John Everett Millais,Charles Wyndham, Sir Charles and lady Hallé, Rear Admiral Augustus Ludlow Case U.S.N., Christopher Bradshaw of Bradshaw's Guides, J.J. Paderewski, Polish composer, statesman and prime minister, Baron & Baroness George de Reuter (2nd baron, of Reuters fame)- to name but a few.The Royal Bath Hotel was Bournemouth's first prestige hotel and was opened on the same day as Queen Victoria's coronation on the 28th June 1838. It was a favourite amongst the wealthy and fashionable of the 19th and early 20th centuries and was renowned for its high levels of service