Evelyn, John

Recommending Mr Pitcher for the contract to furnish tiles for Greenwich Hospital, 1 page, 8vo (190 x 147 mm), integral autograph address leaf, remains of red wax seal impression, Wotton, 13 October 1696; spotting, neat repairs. Red cloth folding-box and slipcase.

acquisition: Bernard Breslauer, 1987

A letter from Evelyn, one of the great virtuosos of the age, to his friend Wren, London's architectural genius. Evelyn was keenly interested in architecture and his friendship with Wren had developed through his support of various architectural projects. Greenwich Hospital was Wren's last major building and still in the early stages of construction when Evelyn wrote this letter of recommendation. The site had been granted just two years earlier, and during these early years of work Wren was completing and converting the abandoned palace on the site that had been begun by John Webb for Charles II.