- 21
Capper, Col. James
Description
- Account of the First Anglo-Maratha War, addressed to Lord North
- ink on paper
[with:] 16 letters signed by Capper, to Lord Clarendon, on Indian affairs, including the progress of the Anglo-Maratha War and his disputes with the East India Company, c.58 pages, various sizes, Madras, Fort St George, and other locations, 1774-81, creased
Provenance
Cornbury was the last heir to the Earldom of Clarendon that had been created for the statesman and historian Edward Hyde (1609-1674). Cornbury had Jacobite sympathies but was MP for the University of Oxford – with which his family had powerful connections – from 1732 until 1751. He became disillusioned with politics in the later 1740s and spent his final years in France. Cornbury counted Pope and Swift amongst his friends, and was himself the author of pamphlets and at least two plays (see lots 6 and 7). He died, unmarried, in Paris in 1753. Most of Cornbury’s property was inherited by his niece, Charlotte (née Capel). Thomas Villiers, second son of the Earl of Jersey, was her husband. Villiers had spent the 1730s and ‘40s as a diplomat mostly in the German-speaking world (none of his diplomatic papers are included in this offering) and, following his retirement from the diplomatic service, he entered government in the 1760s. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1771-82 and 1783-86), Clarendon was in Cabinet during the American War of Independence (see lots 14-19).
Condition
"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
A DETAILED NARRATIVE OF THE FIRST ANGLO-MARATHA WAR, in which the British supported a pretender to the Maratha Empire and suffered a number of military defeats. James Capper (1743-1825) was an officer in the Madras Army and his critical analysis is founded on first-hand knowledge, with extensive quotation from contemporary letters and documents. Capper left Madras in February 1781 and wrote his narrative before the war was concluded with the Treaty of Salbai, signed on 17 May 1782.