Lot #468

Charles Dickens Autograph Letter Signed

Description

Dickens refuses a loan to his brother: "All sorts of people make similar requests (including father who is as well off as if he had put by ten thousand pounds) and I cannot do such things forever"

ALS signed “C.D.,” one page both sides, 4.5 x 7, November 9, 1850. Handwritten letter to his younger brother, Frederick Dickens, in part: "I am sorry that I cannot advance you the large sum you ask me for. All sorts of people make similar requests (including father who is as well off as if he had put by ten thousand pounds) and I cannot do such things forever. But I feel quite certain that if Milton wrote to Laffins, requesting a certain delay, and hinting that he was sure, if the matter were made known to me, I should consider such request reasonable…Thursday at one exactly is the day of the Rehearsal. As I plainly see that the Theatre could never be put up without me, I shall go down…at 5 that same afternoon. If you can go so soon, I will take you." In very good to fine condition, with a small rusty paperclip impression to the top of the first page, light toning to the edge of the second page, and trimming to the blank integral address leaf.

Frederick Dickens was the inspiration for two different Freds in his brother's books: the jovial nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and the dissolute brother of Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop. Like their father, he constantly struggled with his finances and was constantly in debt; Charles refused to help. In 1862, Fred Dickens was held in debtor's prison after his refusal to pay alimony, and he spent the rest of his life in gin-soaked poverty.

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts
• Dates: #616 - Ended September 15, 2021

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