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Lot #477
Alexander Pope Handwritten Letter

Handwritten letter by Alexander Pope, congratulating Judge Fortescue on "being removed from ye pain of sitting upon Life & Death"

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Estimate: $1000+
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Description

Handwritten letter by Alexander Pope, congratulating Judge Fortescue on "being removed from ye pain of sitting upon Life & Death"

Brilliant, highly influential British poet (1688-1744) best known for his satire Rape of the Lock and his editions of Homer and Shakespeare. Handwritten letter by Alexander Pope, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 6.25 x 8, November 1, 1741. Handwritten letter to the Right Honorable William Fortescue, in part: "I was going to give you some account of myself, after so long an absence…when ye news of yr removal to the Rolls makes me address you as a Publick Person, with a hearty congratulation…I am sorry at the same time to condole with you upon any Indisposition as a Private Man. Your happiness of all kinds, & in all states, I sincerely wish. Therefore I desire to hear you are as I wish you, first well, & then happy. I have often thought this particular advancement wd contribute much to ye ease…especially I congratulate you upon being removed from ye pain of sitting upon Life & Death; for I know yr compassionate Temper. You will laugh wn I add, that I rejoyce you are, by this, removed, & forced to a Better House, free from ye smoke & confin'd prospect of Bell-yard, wch Ive never been contented with, tho you were." He adds an interesting postscript regarding some medical cures on the opposite page. In very good to fine condition, with splitting to the vertical folds, and a tear to the last page, apparently the result of the signature being torn off at some point.

Auction Info

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





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