BIB_ID
421139
Accession number
MA 1352.253
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1852 March 3.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (2 pages) ; 17.8 x 11.0 cm
Notes
Signed with initials.
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 from "Tavistock House / Third March 1852."
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 from "Tavistock House / Third March 1852."
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
Acknowledging receipt of the money and describing the Model Buildings; saying they "...are close to Bagnigge Wells. They lie between it and Calthorpe Street Gray's Inn Road. Drive to either place, and any one will shew you where they are, close at hand. Don't be alarmed by the apparent size of the little houses, because every house is in reality two complete houses. Knock at any door, and ask the people to let you see their rooms. There are houses of two sizes. Pray see both. The people are very civil and obliging, and will explain anything to you. One house (I think No. 17) is a large one, let in single rooms to widows and old women. It is capital. For eighteen pence a week, an old creature lives healthily, peacefully, and in perfect comfort - as far as her lodging and washing go."
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