Bonhams 1793 : DICKENS (CHARLES) Autograph letter in the third person ("Mr Charles Dickens"), to Mrs Edward Waller, 1854

Autograph letter in the third person ("Mr Charles Dickens"), to Mrs Edward Waller of Portsea: "Mr Charles Dickens present his compliments to Mrs Waller and begs to assure her that she has been imposed upon. He has not been within fifty miles of Portsmouth these five years, and has never in his life seen anyone there, to make any enquiries about anybody./ He is just come home from France, and has not yet had an opportunity of ascertaining whether his mother has any remembrance of the old nurse in question"; with autograph envelope addressed to "Mrs Edward Waller/ 7 Lion Terrace/ Portsea", stamped and postmarked, 2 pages, very light dust-staining but overall in fine fresh condition, 16mo, Tavistock House, 9 November 1854

Sold for £750 inc. premium

Footnotes

DICKENS FACES AN IMPOSTURE OVER HIS OWN BIRTH. This letter is printed and discussed in the Pilgrim Edition: the identity of Mrs Waller remains unknown, while the real-life monthly nurse who attended his birth is thought to have been a Mrs Purkis.

Category: Books / Books, Maps and Manuscripts

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