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, 1848 September 8 : autograph manuscript signed.

BIB_ID
420725
Accession number
MA 1352.121
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1848 September 8.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (4 pages) ; 18.1 x 10.9 cm + envelope
Notes
Mourning envelope with seal and Dickens' signature to "Miss Burdett Coutts / Stratton Street."
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 mourning stationery from "Devonshire Terrace / Friday Night / Eighth September 1848."
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
Commenting on an inmate, Stonnell, whom he believes should stay in prison and a misunderstanding with Miss Cunliffe, a Matron; recommending the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool; asking for the name and address of her solicitor so that he might explain an issue to him related to the property tax on Urania Cottage; apologizing for his handwriting: "I am afraid I write illegibly - but I have been at my Sister's funeral today, and my hand is not as steady as usual."