Charles Dickens (1812-1870) - photo 1
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) - photo 2

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Lot 30
30.07.2020 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 4 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 381237
Lot 30 | Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870). Autograph letter signed (‘Charles Dickens’) to Dr [John] Elliotson, Devonshire Terrace, [London], 10 June 1848.

1½ pages, 179 x 113mm, bifolium. Provenance: Christie’s New York, 15 December 2005, lot 421.

Dickens laments the death of the ‘Brave Courier’, immortalised in Pictures from Italy (1846). ‘I am deeply sorry to receive the intelligence you send me of the Brave Courier, who is one of the gentlest and most genial natures in the world. These fadings away are dreadful things, and so are all the pains and penalties of our mortal state. But I am sure if any man have reason to find comfort in them, you have, who can administer so much, and always with such kindness and consideration. I thank you from my heart…’

In the 1846 travelogue Pictures from Italy, Dickens recounts the events of an extended trip through France and Italy in 1844, during which the family relied upon a guide named Louis Roche, a native of Avignon whom Dickens referred to as the ‘brave courier’. Dickens described the effusive reaction of the landlord to Roche when the family’s coach stopped at a hotel for the night: he ‘can hardly wait for his coming down from the box, but embraces his very legs and boot-heels as he descends. 'My Courier! My brave Courier! My friend! My brother!' The landlady loves him, the femme de chambre blesses him, the garcon worships him. The Courier asks if his letter has been received? It has, it has. Are the rooms prepared? They are, they are. The best rooms for my noble Courier. The rooms of state for my gallant Courier; the whole house is at the service of my best of friends!’. The pioneering physician John Elliotson (1791-1868) was both close friend and medical advisor to Dickens; he also introduced the younger man to mesmerism, which would become a shared passion.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.07.2020 – 30.07.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>