[The Great Duke of Wellington, conqueror of Napoleon at Waterloo, and two-time Tory Prime Minister.] Manuscript Letter in the third person, apparently written by a secretary.

One of the great figures in world history. See his entries in Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Oxford DNB. On one side of piece of laid paper rougly 11 cm squarer, with partial watermark ‘J G’. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased, with traces of mount on blank reverse. Folded twice. Reads: ‘London March 7 1842 / F M The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to Miss Busby / Not being resident at Oxford he has no Controul [sic] over any matter relating to the Bodleian Library. / Miss Busby should apply to the Vice Chancellor. -’ The identity of the actual writer of the letter has been questioned in pencil at the foot of page with ‘Qy Secy’ (i.e. ‘Query? Secretary’), and the doubt does not seem unjustified. It may well be that this item is in the Duke’s hand - the writing certainly has his characteristic slope - but although it is superficially similar, there are several elements in the calligraphy that raise a strong doubt: the ‘L’ and ‘M’ of the date ‘London March’; all four initials in ‘F M The Duke’, the fact that the second ‘l’ in ‘Wellington’ is looped, and in particular the fact that the ‘r’ in ‘resident’ and ‘n’ in ‘no’ begin below the line of writing, which is not a characteristic observed in the Duke’s writing at any period. See Image.