Bonhams 1793 : ELIOT (GEORGE) Autograph letter signed ("M.E. Lewes"), to Joseph Langford of Blackwood's, 1879

Autograph letter signed ("M.E. Lewes"), to Joseph Langford, of Blackwood's, giving reluctant permission for the publication of a series of drawings based on The Impressions of Theophrastus Such: "There is no harm in allowing the drawings to appear...But I must have no responsibility in the matter. They must be understood to be quite apart from my book in a material sense. And therefore I must not see them. The word 'illustrations' must be avoided. 'Heads from T.S.' – or some such title would be allowable, but not 'Heads illustrating' – which might be the reverse of true"; and asks him to convey this message to Ledebour, the artist in question, 2 pages, in purple ink on mourning stationery, integral blank, printed address, 8vo, The Priory, Regent's Park, 17 December 1879

Sold for £937 inc. premium

Footnotes

'I MUST HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MATTER': George Eliot deters a would-be illustrator. It appears that, following this devastatingly lukewarm endorsement, the scheme was quietly dropped. Her Impressions of Theophrastus Such published that same year comprised eighteen essays, for the most part being character studies on the Theophrastian model. Our letter is published in The George Eliot Letters, edited by Gordon S. Haight, vii, p. 229.

Category: Books / Books, Maps and Manuscripts

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