BIB_ID
129165
Accession number
MA 1352.631
Creator
Baring, Thomas, 1799-1873.
Display Date
Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1856 October 13.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 18 x 11.4 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.
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
Saying that the place from which he writes will explain the delay in his response; recommending a Mr. Bentley of Sloane Street, "who has for a long time cleaned and repaired pictures for me" (probably William Bentley); adding that "[a]fter the fire in my house he did wonders for me;" mentioning that his success in those restorations was so admired that he is now employed by the National Gallery; adding Bentley has also cleaned the pictures Baring bought at the sale of Samuel Rogers's collection; writing of Bentley: "He is in every respect a safe & trustworthy man of great experience & considerable talent."
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