BIB_ID
420604
Accession number
MA 1352.427
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1855 May 29.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (2 pages) ; 17.7 x 11.4 cm
Notes
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.
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
Describing the preparations for the play "The Lighthouse": "Mr. Stanfield being at present shut up in the Schoolroom with two of the dirtiest artificers I ever saw -- who have been dug out of the profoundest depths of some Theatre, appear to have wallowed in Gas from their infancy, and are now making chalk lines all over the floor, while the distinguished painter coerces them with an umbrella -- I am in a condition to report that the Night is Saturday the 16th of June;" passing along a message to Hannah Brown; saying that if there is anyone she would like to invite to the play, to let him know; mentioning various charitable projects of hers, including providing an allowance to the Defoe family; explaining in a postscript: "The interlineations in this note, are attributable to my being at work on the new book -- which makes me perfectly reckless as to erasures."
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