[Sir Austen Henry Layard, archaeologist at Nimrud and Nineveh.] Autograph Letter Signed to Foreign Office civil servant Sir Thomas Villiers Lister, giving advice and information for a stay in Venice.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Fifty-six lines of neatly- and closely-written text. On bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and folded once for postage. Signed ‘A. H. Layard’ and addressed to ‘My dear Lister.’ He is sorry that Lister will be in Venice when he is absent, as he is not returning until May. ‘The Hotel de la Grande Bretagne is, I think, now the best in Venice - and very well situated.’ If Lister mentions his name he is sure the landlord ‘will do his best for you. The Grand Hotel is also good. I should not recommend Danieli’s. The prices at all turn out about the same.’ He continues in the same vein with reference to cheaper hotels, before asking ‘Can I do anything for you during your stay at Venice?’ He mentions the name of ‘a Fishing Commissioner, and, I think, Clerk in the House of Lords’, with whom Lister may be acquainted. ‘His wife a Jekyll. He has almost lost the use of his limbs.’ Another acquaintance ‘Mr. Horatio Brown’ [Horatio Forbes Brown] ‘has just written a capital little book about Venice - Life on the Lagoons.’ He offers to provide an introduction to both individuals. A postscript concerns ‘the F[oreign]. O[ffice]. note on Foreign Policy’.