# - Bevington, Louisa Sarah

on anarchist theory, her idealist principles and beliefs, British society and the class system, predictions of the imminent collapse of the Capitalist social order, international events, books and anarchist publications, anti-anarchist propaganda, and also personal affairs including her experiment in communal living and her declining health, one letter including a poem, together with three related letters (one on the death of Bevington), some envelopes, 137 pages, 8vo, Villa Platter in the Tyrol, Brighton, and 19 Lechmere Rd, Willesden Green, London, 25 November 1891 to January 1896, also including six Anarchist leaflets, in a blue solander box

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate. If you require additional information we would recommend viewing the item during the exhibition or contacting one of the specialists for this sale.
"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."

...that is anarchy: the right thing, the fit thing, the happy thing, the free thing everywhere...

Louisa Sarah Bevington (1845-95) is probably best known as a poet and the author of numerous pamphlets. She had a longstanding interest in political philosophy and had been a friend of Herbert Spencer long before she became active in the Anarchist movement in the 1890s. These letters dream of progress beyond the "barbarian idea Government" and bear witness to her active and passionate mind, as she explains her political philosophy with absolute conviction to her friend. Many of the leading figures connected with Anarchism appear in the letters, including Prince Kropotkin, Frank Harris, and Helen and Olivia Rossetti. She tends to skirt around the issue of terrorist outrages committed by Anarchist groups, and instead makes vociferous complaints about the agenda of the capitalist press: "Authority is thankful to have 'bombs' wherewith to keep all your minds busily away from what it (authority) fears more than a million bombs - the Idea".