1861 Charles Dickens Letter
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GUEST:
This is a letter that was written by Charles Dickens to Lady Spencer, and my mom bought it for my father as an anniversary present. He always bought beautiful things for her, and this particular year, she wanted to be the one to buy the present and... She did. He was an avid Dickens reader, and it was just the perfect present for him.
APPRAISER:
It says, "Mr. Charles Dickens "presents his compliments to Lady Spencer, "and begs to say that he has just heard from Mrs. Watson "that possibly he can have the pleasure "of assisting Lady Spencer "to obtain some good position at his readings. "If Lady Spencer will have the kindness "to let Mr. Dickens know what her wishes are, "he will immediately instruct his secretary "to do the best he can to advance them. "There is great pressure on the room, however, "and Mr. Dickens regrets that he did not hear sooner "from their friend Mrs. Watson. Bedford Hotel, Brighton, Friday, eighth November, 1861." At the time, Charles Dickens' readings were like going to a Bruce Springsteen concert.
GUEST:
(laughing)
APPRAISER:
He was the rock star of readers. Getting a ticket to his readings wasn't an easy thing. So, Lady Spencer, she's asking for a favor, and he's saying, "Well, maybe if you had contacted me sooner, but I'll see what I can do." It's a nice content letter. It's kind of snubbing Lady Spencer, without saying, "Gee, you should have done your homework and asked me sooner." The signature part is up here in the first line. It's a third-person type of signature, as opposed to "dear"...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And then having the large signature that we know and can appreciate at the end. I wouldn't have a problem of marking it $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Now, the large signature that we know about Charles Dickens, where he's got the scrawls underneath it, if it had that kind of a signature, I would up it to maybe $4,000 to $4,500.
GUEST:
Can you tell me if the Lady Spencer that he was writing to is related to Lady Diana Spencer, Princess Diana?
APPRAISER:
I really don't know, because we don't know which Lady Spencer this is.
GUEST:
Thank you.
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