- 70
Byron, George Gordon Noel, Lord
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
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Description
- Byron, George Gordon Noel, Lord
- Autograph manuscript draft fragment of the poem 'Oscar of Alva'
- paper
comprising stanza 73 (lines 289-292), beginning "Swift is the shaft from Allan's Bow", with revisions to three words on the first, second and third lines, on a slip of paper (c.70 x 180mm.), [February-March 1807], nicks and creases at edges
[with:] a wrapper originally enclosing the manuscript, endorsed in the hand of Elizabeth Pigot ("This is the fold of Ann Boleyn's love letters' to King Henry the 8th - Inside there is some of Lord Byron's Writing - It is not to be open'd, but sold as it is - Price one Sov[ereig]n. If unsold - To be returned to me as it is - E.B.P. 1841'') with a further inscription on the inside of the wrapper in a later hand, stating that Byron wrote the poem when staying with his mother at Burgage Green, Southwell in 1807, with remains of seal and ribbon ties
[with:] a wrapper originally enclosing the manuscript, endorsed in the hand of Elizabeth Pigot ("This is the fold of Ann Boleyn's love letters' to King Henry the 8th - Inside there is some of Lord Byron's Writing - It is not to be open'd, but sold as it is - Price one Sov[ereig]n. If unsold - To be returned to me as it is - E.B.P. 1841'') with a further inscription on the inside of the wrapper in a later hand, stating that Byron wrote the poem when staying with his mother at Burgage Green, Southwell in 1807, with remains of seal and ribbon ties
Provenance
Pigot family of Burgage Manor, Southwell; Sotheby's, 19 July 1993, lot 235
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."
Catalogue Note
'Oscar of Alva' was written by the nineteen-year old Byron in the early months of 1807 and published in his first published collection of poetry, Hours of Idleness (Newark, 1807). Elizabeth Pigot kept Byron's autograph draft, which he gave her to transcribe for publication, and she cut it up into small pieces for later sale or distribution (see The Complete Poetical Works, edited by Jerome J. McGann, vol. I (1980), pp. 54-66, 368). Some fourteen widely dispersed slips containing altogether 100 lines (out of a total of 316 lines) of Byron's draft are recorded in the Index of English Literary Manuscripts: Volume IV, ByL 501-509, where the present slip is not mentioned.