Byron, George Gordon Noel, Lord

addressed "To Mrs Wilmot | at Lady Carberry's | Laxton | Wandsford" and dated 31 July 1814, with franking signature, postal markings dated 1 August 1814, with a fragment of 10 lines of the autograph letter on the verso, on a slip of paper (115 x 70mm.), adhesive residue
[together with:] album leaf from which the address panel has been removed, retaining the cut signatures of H.W. Longfellow and J.C. Herries 

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."

THE ONLY KNOWN FRAGMENT OF A LETTER TO THE WOMAN WHO INSPIRED 'SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY LIKE THE NIGHT'. Byron first met Anne Beatrix Wilmot, wife of Robert Wilmot, at a party on 11 June 1814. The meeting is recorded in a note by James Webster on a letter he received from Byron giving a non-committal reply to his invitation to the party: "I did take him to Lady Sitwell's party in Seymour Road. He there for the first time saw his cousin, the beautiful Mrs Wilmot. When we returned to his rooms in Albany, he said little, but desired Fletcher to give him a tumbler of Brandy, which he drank at once to Mrs Wilmot's health, then retired to rest, and was, I heard afterwards, in a sad state all night. The next day he wrote those charming lines upon her - She Walks in Beauty like the Night." (Byron's Letters and Journals: Volume 4, ed. Marchand (1975), p.124)