- 59
# - Southey, Robert.
bidding is closed
Description
- collection of letters by and relating to southey and the coleridge family, including:
(i) Nine autograph letters signed by Southey ('RSouthey', 'RS.), to Henry Nelson Coleridge (1798-1843), the poet's son-in-law, including an apparently unpublished letter reacting to the news of coleridge's death (on 25 July 1834)
"...I...never looked upon his life as more precious than my own till a few days ago when Miss Hutchinson described the state in which she saw him...It is now forty years since our first meeting. You who know how much that meeting affected the future course of both our lives, may imagine what my feelings are at present..."
[This letter on the death of Coleridge gives a somewhat different impression of Southey's feelings than do other letters written at around the same time, which have been characterised by biographers as cold and detached (see Storey, Southey: A Life (1997), pp.333-34).]
other letters with a discussion of a book by his correspondent, expressions of anxiety for the state of Sara Coleridge (who died on 24 June 1835), comments on other books, people and news, and references to the discovery of 'newspaper fragments of S.T.C.'
...the marginal note is a notable one. Coleridge said to me speaking of Jacob Bohme, that when an author of that description had no meaning of his own, he liked to make one for him...
18 pages of text, 8vo and 4to, eight detached address leaves with seals and postal marks, Keswick, 4 August 1830 to 18 June 1836; together with a contemporary copy of another letter by Southey to H.N. Coleridge, about his 'late admirable friend', the Dutch poet Willem Bilderdijk, 23 December 1833
Coleridge's annotated copy of Jakob Böhme's Works in four volumes (1764-81) is in the British Library (C 126 k 1): see The Collected Works, Vol. I : 'Marginalia' (1980), pp. 553-696.
(ii) Three autograph letters signed by Southey ('Robert Southey'), to the Rev. Derwent Coleridge (1800-83), the poet's son
about visiting Devon and news of his own publications and family, with references to Tom Poole, the publisher Joseph Cottle (who published Early Recollections of Coleridge in 1837), and others
...I have prevailed on Cottle to expunge from his book some of those things which were most objectionable. A great deal remains notwithstanding...
7 pages, 4to, integral address leaves or panel, remains of seals and postal marks, Dawlish and Keswick, 21 October 1836 to 12 October 1837
(iii) Autograph letter signed by Southey, to Joseph Henry Green, of Lincoln's Inn, about a copy of the late S.T. Coleridge's will and the use of information for a possible life of the poet, 1 page, 4to, integral address leaf, seal and postal marks, Keswick, 16 September 1834
[The recipient is Dr Joseph Henry Green (1791-1863), Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy, friend of Coleridge's in Highgate, and to whom the poet left his insurance policy worth £2560 and the publishing rights in his manuscripts and letters, to be kept in trust for Mrs Coleridge and their children]
(iv) Copy of a mock agreement made between Southey and Derwent Coleridge at Keswick, 25 July 1815, made in 1843 by Kate Southey (the poet's daughter) and sent as a letter to Derwent, 1 page, 4to, integral address leaf, seal, postage stamp and postal marks dated 27/28 July 1843; together with a one-page contemporary copy of humorous verses etc.by Southey, and a printed memorial and epitaph on Southey, 21 March 1843
(v) Six autograph letters signed by Mary Morgan, to Robert Southey, warmly thanking him for his kindness, with references to her husband and sister, 14 pages, chiefly 4to, four address panels, seals, London, 24 August 1819 to 25 November 1836; together with a letter to Southey from J.M. Morgan, 5 October 1827, about Southey's forthcoming 'Progress & Prospects of Society'
Mary Morgan was the wife of Coleridge's and Southey's good friend John Morgan (1775?-1820), who had stood by Coleridge during the worst stages of his opium addiction. Both Coleridge and Southey gave help to her following his death
"...I...never looked upon his life as more precious than my own till a few days ago when Miss Hutchinson described the state in which she saw him...It is now forty years since our first meeting. You who know how much that meeting affected the future course of both our lives, may imagine what my feelings are at present..."
[This letter on the death of Coleridge gives a somewhat different impression of Southey's feelings than do other letters written at around the same time, which have been characterised by biographers as cold and detached (see Storey, Southey: A Life (1997), pp.333-34).]
other letters with a discussion of a book by his correspondent, expressions of anxiety for the state of Sara Coleridge (who died on 24 June 1835), comments on other books, people and news, and references to the discovery of 'newspaper fragments of S.T.C.'
...the marginal note is a notable one. Coleridge said to me speaking of Jacob Bohme, that when an author of that description had no meaning of his own, he liked to make one for him...
18 pages of text, 8vo and 4to, eight detached address leaves with seals and postal marks, Keswick, 4 August 1830 to 18 June 1836; together with a contemporary copy of another letter by Southey to H.N. Coleridge, about his 'late admirable friend', the Dutch poet Willem Bilderdijk, 23 December 1833
Coleridge's annotated copy of Jakob Böhme's Works in four volumes (1764-81) is in the British Library (C 126 k 1): see The Collected Works, Vol. I : 'Marginalia' (1980), pp. 553-696.
(ii) Three autograph letters signed by Southey ('Robert Southey'), to the Rev. Derwent Coleridge (1800-83), the poet's son
about visiting Devon and news of his own publications and family, with references to Tom Poole, the publisher Joseph Cottle (who published Early Recollections of Coleridge in 1837), and others
...I have prevailed on Cottle to expunge from his book some of those things which were most objectionable. A great deal remains notwithstanding...
7 pages, 4to, integral address leaves or panel, remains of seals and postal marks, Dawlish and Keswick, 21 October 1836 to 12 October 1837
(iii) Autograph letter signed by Southey, to Joseph Henry Green, of Lincoln's Inn, about a copy of the late S.T. Coleridge's will and the use of information for a possible life of the poet, 1 page, 4to, integral address leaf, seal and postal marks, Keswick, 16 September 1834
[The recipient is Dr Joseph Henry Green (1791-1863), Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy, friend of Coleridge's in Highgate, and to whom the poet left his insurance policy worth £2560 and the publishing rights in his manuscripts and letters, to be kept in trust for Mrs Coleridge and their children]
(iv) Copy of a mock agreement made between Southey and Derwent Coleridge at Keswick, 25 July 1815, made in 1843 by Kate Southey (the poet's daughter) and sent as a letter to Derwent, 1 page, 4to, integral address leaf, seal, postage stamp and postal marks dated 27/28 July 1843; together with a one-page contemporary copy of humorous verses etc.by Southey, and a printed memorial and epitaph on Southey, 21 March 1843
(v) Six autograph letters signed by Mary Morgan, to Robert Southey, warmly thanking him for his kindness, with references to her husband and sister, 14 pages, chiefly 4to, four address panels, seals, London, 24 August 1819 to 25 November 1836; together with a letter to Southey from J.M. Morgan, 5 October 1827, about Southey's forthcoming 'Progress & Prospects of Society'
Mary Morgan was the wife of Coleridge's and Southey's good friend John Morgan (1775?-1820), who had stood by Coleridge during the worst stages of his opium addiction. Both Coleridge and Southey gave help to her following his death
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."