ID 1109079
Lot 279 | Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
Estimate value
£ 6 000 – 9 000
Three autograph letters to [William Petty, 1st] Marquess of Lansdowne, 1794-1796
11 pages in total, 230 x 188mm, on three bifolia and a singleton, Shelburne pagination. Provenance: Marquesses of Lansdowne; their sale, Christie’s, Bowood House sale, 12 October 1994, lot 6.
Bentham despatches three missives to his patron on matters ranging from Shelburne’s prodigal son, Lord Wycombe, to the acquisition of books and a French cook. 26 June 1794: ‘Mr [John Farr] Abbot saw Lord Wycombe on the road near Schaffhausen on foot, in very good health, in haste to pass the dog- days under an Italian sky’, thanking Lord Lansdowne for his ‘kind offer about the proxy. The Bill out of danger, but the Bastille still hanging in the Air, for want of land to be set down upon’; 11 December 1794: asking for payment for books purchased on behalf of Lord Lansdowne, ‘All this will seem a dream to you: but if you will enquire whether such books are in the library, you will probably find them there: and if you enquire from what Bookseller they come, you will hear of none’; 9 February 1796, Queen’s Square Place: a humorous letter asking Lord Lansdowne to employ his French cook, who he has been forced to let go due to lack of funds, reassuring his correspondent of the efforts of neighbours and acquaintances to keep him fed.
John Petty was returned to the Commons as MP for Chipping Wycombe in 1786 at the behest of his father, Lord Lansdowne, who was determined that his son ‘take a manly part in politics, be it aristocrat or democrat’. Frustrated, however, by his continued dependence on his father’s favour, Wycombe escaped to Europe in 1789–90, where he experienced the first stirrings of the French Revolution. In 1791, he travelled to America, returning to England in 1792 as an outspoken critic of the government, before leaving for the continent again in 1794. His arrival home after three years of travel in Italy and Switzerland marked a break in relations with his father; he repaired to the family’s Irish estates, where he fell under suspicion of involvement in the United Irish rebellion in 1798. That same year he would be described by Bentham – his father’s patron and his personal friend – as a man who has ‘begun to feel his ground by taking some novel propositions’.
Artist: | Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | England |
Artist: | Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | England |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview |
| |||||
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |||||
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |||||
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
More from Creator
Related terms
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.