Lot 132
  • 132

Patmore, Coventry

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
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Description

  • Patmore, Coventry
  • Collection of 14 autograph letters, together with one autograph manuscript poem, comprising:
  • Ink on paper
autograph manuscript poem, 'Night' (published as 'Night and Sleep'), variant text of three eight-line stanzas only, a fair copy signed at the bottom, differing from the published four- and five- stanza versions, 1 page 
note signed, countersigned by F. Lawrence, agreeing a bet of "10 shillings to 10 pounds that the Duc de Bordeaux will be King of France some time within twelve years", 1 page, oblong slip, 4 May 1848
to [John W. Parker], on a photographic portrait and royalty negotiations with the American publishers Ticknor and Field, 3 pages, British Museum, 23 April 1857, splitting at folds
to "dear Madam", an unnamed associate of Henry Reeve (editor of the Edinburgh Review), a carefully crafted letter of thanks for an anonymous monetary gift that has come through Reeve ("...If ... my friend has been made by my verses, he may like to know that, chiefly through the relief of mind he has afforded me, I shall be enabled to persevere in the same sort of writing..."), 4 pages, Highwood Castle, Finchley, 9 March 1859
to Miss A.J. Brown, responding thoughtfully to comments on his collection Forever Faithful ("...If you mean by the ne plus ultra tendency to unimaginative poetry ... the tendency which some poetry - and certainly mine ... - has to dwell upon realities which exceed all imagination (but which nevertheless can only be discovered by the help of the imagination) the remark seems to me to be a very just one..."), 4 pages, mourning stationery, British Museum, 31 January 1861
to S. Dyer Knott, sending his autograph, 1 page, mourning stationery, British Museum, 23 March 1863, with envelope
to "dear Sir", arranging a meeting, 1 page, mourning stationery, Saturday [1863]
to an unnamed writer, "Dear Madam", praising her prose and writing bitterly that his verse is "pitched in a key that the modern ear cannot hear" and that "if I were to try to write my thoughts in prose it would be a shriek and not an articulate protest, like yours", 4 pages, Heron's Ghyll, Uckfield, 31 October 1870
to Alexander Nesbitt, regretting he cannot attend a meeting on local issues, 2 pages, Mansion, Hastings, 21 March 1878
to F.G. Stephens, informing him that he is "having Henry [Patmore's] poems beautifully printed at the private press of the Rev. Henry Daniel", 2 pages, Hastings, 8 April [1884]
to "dear Sir", arranging a meeting in Oxford, 2 pages, Hastings, 20 July 1884
to Richard Garnett, thanking him for "Panizzi's reports, and for the Guide-Book, in which my donations are so handsomely mentioned", 1 page, Battle, 14 June 1888, with autograph envelope
to Campbell, with faint praise for William Cory's poem Ionica, 1 page, Monday [in another hand: 26 January 1891] 
to James Spiers, returning a book by Swedenborg and with thanks for a poem on 'Marriage Love', 1 page, Lymington, 26 July 1892 
to Basil Champneys, discussing Champneys's review of The Rod, the Root, and the Flower ("...when I appear to suggest that we may neglect 'truth', I meant to indicate an inimical intention, when I said, 'truth that has no immortality in it', as if such 'truth' could be truth..."), 4 pages, Lymington, 20 August 1895

all 8vo

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing 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."