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 H.G. Wells, Sandgate, Kent?, to Arthur Frederick Popham, 1900 February 2 : autograph manuscript signed.

BIB_ID
456112
Accession number
MA 14715.3
Creator
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946, sender.
Credit line
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
Description
1 item (1 page) ; 17.8 x 11.5 cm
Notes
Written from: Jas. Swiggles & Son / Watchmakers. / Hythe.
Sender is fictitious; signed "Swiggles & Co."
Approximate year of writing suggested by watermark.
A facetious letter written "To Sir Oran Haut-ton" (i.e. Arthur Frederick Popham); possibly inspired by the character of the orangutan called Sir Oran Haut-ton in Thomas Love Peacock's novel Melincourt.
Forms part of a collection of letters addressed by H.G. Wells to the Popham family, his neighbors at Sandgate, including the writer Florence Radford Popham, her husband Arthur Frederick Popham, and their young daughter Doris Popham.
Provenance
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
Summary
A letter returning a watch to "Sir O Haut-ton Bart" and adding "You will remember you complained of the hands going round that was altogether unreliable & never told told you the same thing for ten minutes together", explaining that the watch has been cleaned and examined and should "give you entire satisfaction."