- 20
Napoleonic Wars--Bathurst family
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
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Description
- Letters to members of the Bathurst family, most notably during the Waterloo Campaign, with three other volumes, the collection comprising:
- ink on paper
i) Bathurst family correspondence, including a group of 10 letters to Lady Georgiana Bathurst by friends and family members including Lady Georgina Lennox, Lady Sarah Lennox, and Lady Charlotte Greville, all written from Brussels at the time of the Waterloo campaign, describing the the atmosphere in Brussels immediately before Napoleon’s invasion, WITH AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL ON THE EVE OF THE BATTLE OF QUATRE BRAS (“...We had a great Ball last night & fancy the horror of hearing this news in the middle of it & of seeing all one’s friends fly to the right & to the left...”) and news of the unfolding campaign (“...The Prussians are come up, so if Bony is not soon annihilated I shall be surprised...”), the letters written in the aftermath of Waterloo being dominated by news of wounded and dead officers including Alexander Gordon, Lord Uxbridge, and many others (“...L[ad]y C[aroline] Lamb is arrived to nurse Col. Ponsonby who is doing on very well but she will hurt him I sh[oul]d fear. The surgeon told her the best thing she could do would be to hold her tongue...”, 3 July), the pitiful sight of the huge numbers of wounded (“...I long to nurse even the poor privates...”), and the return of Wellington (“...The Duke arrived Monday & went to Court today ... The King gave him a superb star and jewel of the St Esprit which they say is worth 500,000 Livres...”), 50 pages, 4to and 8vo, Brussels, 9 June to 4 August 1815 (where dated)
[bound together with:] other letters to family members including: two autograph letters by Georgiana Bathhurst to her mother, Lady Bathurst, with news of English society in France after Waterloo, 15 pages, 4to, [October 1815]; George (“Beau”) Brummell, autograph letter signed, to Lady Bathurst, complaining that “the odious woman” has not yet sent the promised additional ticket to her masked ball and assuring her that if it does not arrive “I will burn down the House before the hour of Masks”, 1 page, 4to, n.d.; an anonymous but apparently eyewitness account of the meeting between Sir Henry Bunbury, Lord Keith, and Napoleon, at Torbay, AT WHICH NAPOLEON WAS INFORMED THAT HE WOULD BE EXILED TO ST HELENA, with corrections, 2 pages, folio, [c. 31 July 1815], and a brief note conveying news of Napoleon’s surrender; 24 later letters to Lady Georgina Bathurst including three by Lady Augusta de Ameland (companion of the Duke of Sussex) attempting to have her daughter accepted at the prestigious Almack’s Club, letters to her as a train-bearer at the coronation of Queen Adelaide and her eight-page autograph account of the ceremony, and letters as Lady of the Bedchamber to HRH the Duchess of Gloucester discussing such subjects as the death of Wellington and the impact on Queen Victoria of the death of Prince Albert; altogether 53 numbered items, c.167 pages, 4to and 8vo, bound in a modern half russet morocco volume, 4to
ii) Lady Emily Charlotte Bathurst, autograph manuscript diary (“..News from Lord Wellington came of the Battle of Orthez last night ... Poor March is wounded...”, 20 March 1814), 29 pages, 8vo, 1 January to 30 April 1814
iii) Annuaire présenté au gouvernement ... pour l’an 1809. Paris, 1808, Imperial binding in green morocco gilt with monogram (L), inscribed by Lord March and also by his sister Emily Bathurst (“given to me by March Jany 1816. Taken from the Library at St Cloud. 1815”)
iv) Henry F. Ponsonby (1825-1895), notes on the Battle of Waterloo, c.60 pages, oblong 8vo, mid-19th century
[bound together with:] other letters to family members including: two autograph letters by Georgiana Bathhurst to her mother, Lady Bathurst, with news of English society in France after Waterloo, 15 pages, 4to, [October 1815]; George (“Beau”) Brummell, autograph letter signed, to Lady Bathurst, complaining that “the odious woman” has not yet sent the promised additional ticket to her masked ball and assuring her that if it does not arrive “I will burn down the House before the hour of Masks”, 1 page, 4to, n.d.; an anonymous but apparently eyewitness account of the meeting between Sir Henry Bunbury, Lord Keith, and Napoleon, at Torbay, AT WHICH NAPOLEON WAS INFORMED THAT HE WOULD BE EXILED TO ST HELENA, with corrections, 2 pages, folio, [c. 31 July 1815], and a brief note conveying news of Napoleon’s surrender; 24 later letters to Lady Georgina Bathurst including three by Lady Augusta de Ameland (companion of the Duke of Sussex) attempting to have her daughter accepted at the prestigious Almack’s Club, letters to her as a train-bearer at the coronation of Queen Adelaide and her eight-page autograph account of the ceremony, and letters as Lady of the Bedchamber to HRH the Duchess of Gloucester discussing such subjects as the death of Wellington and the impact on Queen Victoria of the death of Prince Albert; altogether 53 numbered items, c.167 pages, 4to and 8vo, bound in a modern half russet morocco volume, 4to
ii) Lady Emily Charlotte Bathurst, autograph manuscript diary (“..News from Lord Wellington came of the Battle of Orthez last night ... Poor March is wounded...”, 20 March 1814), 29 pages, 8vo, 1 January to 30 April 1814
iii) Annuaire présenté au gouvernement ... pour l’an 1809. Paris, 1808, Imperial binding in green morocco gilt with monogram (L), inscribed by Lord March and also by his sister Emily Bathurst (“given to me by March Jany 1816. Taken from the Library at St Cloud. 1815”)
iv) Henry F. Ponsonby (1825-1895), notes on the Battle of Waterloo, c.60 pages, oblong 8vo, mid-19th century
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where 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."
Catalogue Note
“...B[onaparte] then began to make strong remonstrances on the hardship of sending him to such a place as St Helena, when he mentioned his former splendour & days of prosperity Sir Henry thought he showed great emotion his Lips quivered & his Eyes appeared to moisten, but it was only for a minute – he was very anxious to impress Sir Henry with the idea that if the Government persisted in sending him to St H. he would destroy himself...”
Ladies Georgiana (1792-1874) and Emily (d.1877) Bathurst were the daughters of the Third Earl Bathurst.