BIB_ID
419863
Accession number
MA 1352.315
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1853 February 7.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 18 x 11.4 cm
Notes
After the date, Dickens writes "(And my Birthday)."
Signed with initials.
Written from "Tavistock House."
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.
Signed with initials.
Written from "Tavistock House."
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
Discussing the case of Antonina Matthews and saying he believes it is "quite genuine and not at all liable to abuse;" thanking her for her offer of votes for a child's election to St. Ann's Schools; asking how she is and saying that he hopes Lord Campbell has made short work of Richard Dunn; calling the circumstances under which the action was brought "shameful and flagrant;" saying that he believes it demonstrates the "only intelligible and consistent principle of the English law -- the principle of making business for itself;" mentioning that John Forster is laid up again, with rheumatism in his eyes and both feet.
Catalog link
Department