LEAR

A good letter, not the least of whose interest lies in the fact that it provides first-hand information about the Duke of Wellington. See Martin’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Begins: ‘Dear Mrs. Thomas, / Your variant of the King Lear story will, I am sure, delight Mr. Furness. Unfortunately King Lear has already been dealt with by him. It forms one volume of his magnificent Edition. But he loves every thing that concerns old England.

Although there is no clear connection, the present unpublished poem dates from around the same time as Edward Lear was drawing watercolours in the place referred to in it. Vidya Dehejia’s‘Impossible Picturesqueness / Edward Lear’s Indian Watercolours, 1873-1875’ (1989) describes how Lear visited ‘The two small hill-stations of Matheran and Mahabaleshwar near Bombay’. Of the former Lear wrote: ‘Matheran by the bye, has most probably been the original Eden - I don’t mean the first Lord Auckland, - but Paradise -’.

On slip of grey paper, roughly 4 x 13.5 cm. In fair condition, lightly aged, with traces of paper from mount adhering to the blank reverse. With two unobtrusive vertical fold lines. Reads: 'Kindest regards | Yours sincerely | Edward Lear.'

See Hofer's obituary in the New York Times, 12 October 1984, in which it is stated that 'Mr. Hofer, who was secretary of the Fogg Museum at Harvard for 12 years, was a recognized book collector focusing on 18th-century German, Iberian and Italian publications. Mr. Hofer put together an Italian book collection considered the finest outside Italy. | Konrad Oberhuber, professor of fine arts at Harvard, said of Mr. Hofer: ''He was one of the most farsighted collectors that Harvard ever had. [...]”'. Two airmail letters, both in good condition.

On 2 x 6cm strip of paper, cut from a letter. In good condition, lightly aged. A good firm signature, underlined, with the tiniest part of the head of the loop of the iniitial 'E' of 'Edwd' has been shaved off.

16pp., in illustrated wraps with the outer covers printed in green and brown, and three more pages of advertisements on insides and back cover. Bifoliate order form (4pp., 12mo) loosely inserted. The old stalwarts John Ruskin, Kate Greenaway, Walter Crane, Edward Lear, jumbled together with newer titles such as 'Gobbo-Bobo, The Two-Eyed Griffin', 'Prince Cheery-Heart' and 'The Bunkum Book. A Tale of Topsy Turvy Land'. Sadly no mention of Beatrix Potter ("Peter Rabbit" published 1902.). Scarce: no copy on OCLC WorldCat or COPAC.