- 147
Wilde, Oscar
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
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Description
- Wilde, Oscar
- Autograph letter signed, to "Dear Sir" (R.E. Forrest)
- ink on paper
responding gracefully to a suggested change to his essay 'The Artist as Critic' ("... I do not agree with you that 'whirring wheel' is unmusical, but I think the epithet is too obvious - and also, as you have reminded me, it is not true - it conveys a wrong image. 'Silent' I like very much..."), 4 pages, 8vo, 16 Tite Street, London, [between July 1890 and May 1891], framed and glazed alongside a transcription
Provenance
Formerly on temporary deposit at West Sussex Record Office (library stamp)
Literature
APPARENTLY UNPUBLISHED. Not in The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde (2000).
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
Robert Edward Trexton Forrest (1835-1914) was an civil servant in India for 21 years before retiring to write potboilers with an Indian setting. His suggestion for a more elegant wording in 'The Artistic As Critic' was taken up by Wilde, and later versions of the text describe a vase emerging "flower-like from the silent wheel" beneath the potter's hands. This letter was presumably written between the essay's first appearance in Nineteenth Century (July 1890) and the publication of a revised text in Intentions (1891).