Footnotes

• The recipient of this elegantly calligraphic and characteristic letter has not been identified: although close enough to be called "Fred", Wilde still signs himself with his surname, suggesting the recipient may be an admirer with whom Wilde has struck up a friendship rather than a longstanding friend as such. The letter is unlikely to be to the actor Fred Terry, to whom Wilde wrote only one letter that is known, where he addresses him as "Mr Terry"; it is equally unlikely, given the reference to evening wear, to be to one of Wilde's lower-life acquaintances such as Fred Atkins (although he certainly called him Fred). Wilde lived at 16 Tite Street for the whole decade between 1885 and his trial in 1895; although from the writing-paper and handwriting one might well be able to narrow down the date further.

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Category: Books / Books, Maps and Manuscripts

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