MANUSCRIPTS

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Autograph letter and envelope by A. John Trucchi to  Harry Nelson Gay
Autograph letter and envelope by A. John Trucchi to Harry Nelson Gay
This letter includes bills for repairs to Keats’ and William Shelley’s graves., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Letter accompanied by original envelope., Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., On headed paper: Villa Novello.
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Autograph letter and envelope by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke to Alexander Main
Purchased by the UK Committe of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA), 1949., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Edouard de Reszke to Miss Lathrop Dunham
Autograph letter and envelope by Edouard de Reszke to Miss Lathrop Dunham
Édouard de Reszke (1853 - 1917) was a major Polish bass singer. Born in Warsaw into an educated family (his brother was the tenor Jean de Reszke, with whom he coupled professionally throughout his career), he made his debut as the King of Egypt at the Paris premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida (1876). His adaptable voice and histrionic presence made him a sought-after performer, who worked regularly on both sides of the Atlantic and shifted boldly amidst the Italian repertoire and Richard Wagner. His choice of the German composer eventually resulted in his moving from Paris to London (after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 the association with German culture was seen as risqué in France). In this letter, written to Miss Dunham on 9 February 1892 while in New York City, de Reszke uses French to communicate with the American heiress. It is to be noted that at his Metropolitan Opera debut in a Wagnerian role, de Reszke would sing in German. Indeed his linguistic aptitude was so developed that when he recorded music in Polish at the beginning of the twentieth century, his native accent was almost unrecognizable., Gift of Marchesa de Viti de Marco (née Harriett Lathrop Dunham)., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by George Frederick Watts to Miss Lathrop Dunham
Autograph letter and envelope by George Frederick Watts to Miss Lathrop Dunham
George Frederick Watts OM RA (1817 - 1904) was a British artist known in his time as ‘England’s Michelangelo’. His vast range of works spans from Choosing (1864), a dainty portrait of his 17-year-old wife Ellen Terry now at the National Portrait Gallery, to Physical Energy (1902), a powerful bronze statue, a copy of which is installed at Kensington Gardens. Watts was influenced by the work of contemporary Pre-Raphaelite co-founder Dante Gabriel Rossetti but the dreamlike quality of his brush, relatively unusual in a Royal Academician of the mid-Victorian age, also paved the way for later Symbolism. The artist’s fame waned in the twentieth century but nowadays his posthumous reputation has acquired new vigour since it was revealed that President Barack Obama’s influential slogan ‘Yes, We Can’ took inspiration from Watts’s picture Hope (1886). An allegorical work showing a blindfolded woman playing a one-stringed lyre on top of the world, the image had also provided solace to Nelson Mandela while he was imprisoned at Robben Island. Watts made a remarkable painting after Keats’s Endymion, now at the Watts Gallery in Surrey., Gift of Marchesa de Viti de Marco (née Harriett Lathrop Dunham)., Letter accompanied by original envelope.
Autograph letter and envelope by Henry James to Miss Lathrop Dunham
Autograph letter and envelope by Henry James to Miss Lathrop Dunham
Henry James (1843 - 1916) was an American-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Europe. A recognized pioneer of Modernism, he combined an exceptional critical reputation with a constant failure to please the public. His only commercial success in his lifetime was the Rome-set Daisy Miller (1878), and his now celebrated works include the novel The Portrait of a Lady (1881) and the novella The Aspern Papers (1888). The latter is inspired by the story of Shelley’s devotee Captain Silsbee, an adventurer who allegedly courted Claire Clairmont’s unmarried niece Paulina in order to obtain memorabilia of the poet. Despite his very reserved personality, James was an extraordinary socialite: he famously boasted to have dined out 107 times in London during the ‘Season’ of, 1879, which is probably why, in answer to Miss Dunham’s invitation, to which this short note is the answer, James regrets that, ‘contrary to my hope, I shall not be able to dine with you tomorrow evening’. The letter, whose year is unknown, was written from his residence at 34, De Vere Gardens, now known as the fifth most expensive street in London. James lived there between 1886 and 1902 and, since he is addressing Miss Dunham with her maiden name, we can assume that the letter was written before 1895 (Watts’s letter to the same address is from 1890, see 9.17). Henry James (1843 - 1916) was an American-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Europe. A recognized pioneer of Modernism, he combined an exceptional critical reputation with a constant failure to please the public. His only commercial success in his lifetime was the Rome-set Daisy Miller (1878), and his now celebrated works include the novel The Portrait of a Lady (1881) and the novella The Aspern Papers (1888). The latter is inspired by the story of Shelley’s devotee Captain Silsbee, an adventurer who allegedly courted Claire Clairmont’s unmarried niece Paulina in order to obtain memorabilia of the poet. Despite his very reserved personality, James was an extraordinary socialite: he famously boasted to have dined out 107 times in London during the ‘Season’ of 1879, which is probably why, in answer to Miss Dunham’s invitation, to which this short note is the answer, James regrets that, ‘contrary to my hope, I shall not be able to dine with you tomorrow evening’. The letter, whose year is unknown, was written from his residence at 34, De Vere Gardens, now known as the fifth most expensive street in London. James lived there between 1886 and 1902 and, since he is addressing Miss Dunham with her maiden name, we can assume that the letter was written before 1895 (Watts’s letter to the same address is from 1890, see item numbered 9.17)., Gift of Marchesa de Viti de Marco (née Harriett Lathrop Dunham)., Letter accompanied by original envelope.

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