Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Letter from Charles Dickens, London, to Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1854 February 7 : autograph manuscript signed.

BIB_ID
420146
Accession number
MA 1352.362
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1854 February 7.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (2 pages) ; 17.9 x 11.3 cm
Notes
Signed with initials.
Written from "Tavistock House."
Dickens adds "(My birthday)" under the date.
Envelope with stamp and postmarks: "Miss Burdett Coutts / Prospect Hill / Reading."
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 Urania Cottage business, including the process of finding a replacement for Mrs. Morson as matron; writing that he favors Mrs. Marchmont, particularly based on the strong recommendation she has received from Augustus Tracey; commenting on Mrs. Marchmont's physical appearance; saying that he fears he will not be able to attend Miss Burdett-Coutts's party on Thursday, as it is his "Household Words day, and my Sub Editor is ill."