BIB_ID
106194
Accession number
MA 1352.606
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
Boston, Massachusetts, 1868 March 31.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (2 pages) ; 17.8 x 11.3 cm
Notes
The letter is part of a collection, MA 1352, which consists of letters from Charles Dickens to the Baroness, to her companion Hannah (Meredith) Brown, or the latter's husband, William Brown; with 70 letters written by others to Miss Coutts or to Dickens in his capacity as her unofficial almoner; and a few others. See the collection-level record for more information.
Written on stationery with Dickens' initials engraved within a double circle.
Written on stationery with Dickens' initials engraved within a double circle.
Provenance
The letters formed part of the Burdett-Coutts sale (Sotheby, 17 May 1922); they were purchased for Oliver W. Barrett in whose collection they remained until it was sold by his son (Parke-Bernet, 31 October 1951).
Summary
Concerning the death of Mr. Townshend; saying "The tidings of my dear friend's death was indeed a shock to me, so far away, so heavily occupied, and so unable even to see him laid in his last earthly resting place. I had thought him greatly changed and weakened when he came to London, but fully believed that I should see him again. I purpose returning home by the Cunard Mail steamer which will leave New York on the 22nd. of April. Once at home again, I shall lose no time in discharging my trust with my utmost zeal and fidelity. Meanwhile I take it for granted that all Mr. Townshend's private papers are sealed up and reserved for me."
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